Mary M Potter

Name Variants
Mary Martindale
Person ID
207905
About
White Female born in 1914 died in 2012
Census Records
YearNameRelation to HeadAddressAgeRacePOBMarriageOccupation
1920Martindale, MaryDaughter112 Cook St5WhiteNew YorkSingleNone
1930Martindale, Mary HDaughter112 Cook St16WhiteNew YorkSingleNone
1940Potter, MaryWifeDryden Rd26WhiteNew YorkMarriedSales Girl
1950Potter, Mary MWifeDryden Rd36WhiteNew YorkMarriedSecretary
Relatives in 1920 US Census
NameRelation to HeadAddressAgeRacePOBMarriageOccupation
Martindale, MauriceHead112 Cook St38WhiteNew YorkMarriedFuneral Director
Martindale, CarolineWife112 Cook St38WhiteNew YorkMarriedNone
Martindale, DorthyDaughter112 Cook St11WhiteNew YorkSingleNone
Martindale, CatherineDaughter112 Cook St7WhiteNew YorkSingleNone
Illston, Henry BStepfather112 Cook St57WhiteNew YorkWidowedElectrical Engineer
Relatives in 1930 US Census
NameRelation to HeadAddressAgeRacePOBMarriageOccupation
Martindale, Maurice DHead112 Cook St49WhiteNew YorkMarriedDirector
Martindale, Caroline BWife112 Cook St48WhiteNew YorkMarriedNone
Martindale, Catherine CDaughter112 Cook St17WhiteNew YorkSingleNone
Illston, Henry BStepfather112 Cook St68WhiteNew YorkWidowedLaborer
Relatives in 1940 US Census
NameRelation to HeadAddressAgeRacePOBMarriageOccupation
Potter, MartinHead26B Dryden Rd29WhiteNew YorkMarriedPomologist
Potter, MartinSonDryden Rd3WhiteNew YorkSingleNone
Martindale, CarolineMother-in-LawDryden Rd58WhiteNew YorkWidowedNone
Relatives in 1950 US Census
NameRelation to HeadAddressAgeRacePOBMarriageOccupation
Potter, Martin IHeadDryden Rd39WhiteNew YorkMarriedOrchard Foreman
Potter Jr, MartinSonDryden Rd13WhiteNew YorkNever MarriedNone
Martingdale, CarolineMother-in-LawDryden Rd69WhiteNew YorkWidowedNone
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Add Source/NarrativeSources & Narratives
BOOLTOWN
From The Origin of Place Names in Tompkins County by W. Glenn Norris (1951).

"Booltown.
A local name given to a small area containing a few houses built by Henry Bool for his workmen whom he employed in his large greenhouses. It was located on the Dryden Road east of and adjacent to the present Cornell University apple orchards. The land is now owned by the University, and although the houses remain, the localism Booltown has nearly disappeared."

The 1949 USGS TOPO map {Ithaca East Quadrangle: New York-Tompkins Co. 1949. USGS 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic)} shows a group of 4 residential buildings along the south side of Dryden Road just east of Caldwell Rd. Further east is another residential building opposite the McConville Barns. See https://www.fhia.org/historic-maps-of-forest-home/#1949

The 1951 map of Lands Administered by the N.Y. State College of Agriculture shows that the four houses would have been on the Bool Farm, acquired by Cornell in 1912. See https://www.fhia.org/historic-maps-of-forest-home/#1951

Two Cornell Veterans, The Potters, To Retire
The Ithaca Journal, Jun 29, 1972, p. 13. 

'Martin I. Potter, manager of the Cornell University orchard, retires at the end of June after 38 years of service. His wife, Mary, a veteran secretary of 35 vears, is retiring at the same time.
  Both belong to the Department of Pomology at the State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell. Their combined service totals 73 years. Martin's father, Irving. was also the orchard manager before Martin and served for 26 years until his retirement in 1943.
  One thing Martin said he has loved most since his boyhood is fishing. Instead he picked fruit all his life.
  "I'll get caught up on my fishing." Martin declared. Mary nodded approvingly during a joint interview. 'However, I got my share of fish right along." Martin smiled.
  Martin's story goes back to his boyhood days. Since his father was in charge of the orchard management, Martin went to work there as a boy, carrying water for fruit crops. It was a five-cent an hour job.
  "I hated that job, because, you know, any young boy would rather go fishing." Martin recalled.
  He said he remembers that the orchard was established in 1910 and young trees were planted the same year Martin was born in Seneca Castle near Geneva. When he was two years old, his family moved to Ithaca.
  In 1933, when the country was hit by a depression. Martin lost a job as a mason. He found a two-week temporary job in the orchard. It led to a life-long career for him.
  During the next 10 years, he assisted in a research project involving the studies of fruit tree photosynthesis under the direction of the late Prof. Arthur J. Heinicke, who was then head of the pomology department.
  When Martin's father retired in 1943, Martin took over as orchard superintendent. The 90-acre orchard has five regular full-time employees, and the number of temporary workers during busy harvest periods swells to 65 annually.
  Mrs. Potter, meanwhile, got acquainted with the orchard quite early, too. As a girl, she picked fruit for more than a dozen years to earn spending money. As a part-time worker. she later worked in the sales room until 1937, when she was employed as a full-time laboratory technician. In 1942, she became a stenographer and later secretary in the department.
  The Potters plan to stay at their present home at 902 Dryden Rd.'

Note: Seneca Castle is now known as Castleton.

June 29, 1972

Obituary for Mary Martindale Potter.
The Ithaca Journal, May 18 2012 P. 4, Col. 1.

"Mary Martindale Potter, age 98, of 902 Dryden Road. Ithaca passed away Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at home. 
  Born Feb. 21, 1914, she was a daughter of Maurice and Caroline (nee Braht[1]) Martindale. Born in Brooklyn, NY she and her family moved to Ithaca at age 4. Mary and her family lived in Ithaca, on Cook Street, where her father owned and operated Martindale Funeral Home, until her marriage to Martin I. Potter in October 1931. She then became a lifelong resident of Booltown and Varna. For 28 years, Mary served as administrative manager in the Pomology Department at Cornell University, where her husband also served as manager of the Cornell Orchards. They retired together in July 1972 from the university. 
  Mary is a charter member of the Varna Community Association and the Varna Senior Citizens, where she has enjoyed several decades of volunteering and comrade with her fellow members and friends. She has served on the Board of Directors at the community center, most recently from 1981-2011 and has held the office of Treasurer of the Varna Senior Citizens from 1977-2009. Mary was also Varna's Hamlet Historian from 2005. 
  She is survived by a son, Martin I. Potter, Jr. of Boston, Massachusetts; four grandchildren, Geoffrey M. (Dawn) Potter of Ithaca, Gregory M.(Tina) Potter of Endicott, Mari Potter of Newfield, and Robert (Carol) Stone of Ithaca; eleven great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. Mary was predeceased by her husband, Martin: and two sisters, Dorothy Hynes of Tampa, Florida and Catherine Willis of Cortland. A Memorial Service and celebration of Mary's life will be at the Varna Community Center, 943 Dryden Road on Saturday, May 19 at 2PM. A private burial will be in Willow Glen Cemetery."

Note:
  1. Caroline's maiden name was often spelt "Brott" rather than "Braht".  Presumably "Brott" is an anglicization adopted by her parents at some point.


May 18 2012

Mary Martindale Potter

DoB: 21 Feb 1914
PoB: Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Died: 16 May 2012, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York
Buried: Willow Glen Cemetery, Dryden, Tompkins County, New York