"The Idler" by Harry Appleton Groesbeck, Jr

Privately printed in early 1929 (my copy is stamped "APR 11 1929" on the inside cover), bound with a ribbon, "The Idler" gives the impression it was written about someone specific. Its four sheets of what could be parchment, folded into eight pages, are inside a larger-sized card-board cover.

The Idler:
A Romance in which the Builder Builded Better than he Knew
by Harry Appleton Groesbeck, Jr
Copyright 1929

We had just returned to his office from a personally conducted tour of the establishment. "A fine outfit, Mr. Gordon, and it looks to me like an unusual organization. I noticed a tall white-haired man who appeared in almost every department we visited. What is his connection with the business, may I ask?"

"That's Sandy. He's my 'Idler pulley.' I inherited him."

"Idler Pulley! Where did he get that title?"

Donald Gordon smiled. "It's worth telling," he said. "Back in father's time, power came from steam or water. A leather belt, running from the driving pulley on the shaft of the engine or water wheel to a fixed pulley on the main shaft, transmitted the power. The machinery could not be moved to accommodate the varying tightness or slackness of the belt due to weather conditions and temperature, so it was some problem to maintain constant and satisfactory power transmission. The trouble was general with all users of power. but the fact that it meant loss of money, inspired Sandy to stop the leak. He hated waste, naturally.

"One morning he showed me a heavy pulley which he had rigged on the top side of the upper stretch of the driving belt. It was held in place by means of two uprights, fixed to the floor on either side of the belt, both channeled to carry two especially made sliding bearings in which the pulley-shaft revolved. It took but a moment for me to realize that our driving-belt troubles were over, for this pulley afforded constant traction and assured maximum transmission of power, by rising or falling to meet the mood of the belt while in motion. As Sandy explained it, 'Ut cud luk to ye lika ussless theng jus lyen there idlin away uts time, but mon dere, it is the buzzies thing in the works, savin power at every turrn.'

"Idling away its time—an idler—Sandy had named the pulley."

"Why had he not stopped the trouble in your father's time, Mr. Gordon?"

"I don't know, unless it was that Dad wasn't the sort to invite experiments as he called them, but Sandy sensed a sporting streak in me and determined to set it to work."

"So you pensioned him for his idea and gave him the run of the shop to cheer him in his old age."

"Not a bit of it," replied Mr. Gordon. "Days of steam and water power with attendant belt troubles have given way to direct connected electric motors, but we still have to deal with the transmission of power, though in a different way. Today, the ideals of the management represent the power, the people on the payroll are the connecting link like the belt of old, by means of which we try to transmit the power of our ideals to a buying public. A too slack mental attitude anywhere among our people would mean direct loss of trade. Nothing could more quickly interfere with success. Sandy is our human 'Idler Pulley.' He takes up the slack—the mental slack—and keeps all hands 'constant' thinking and working happily at maximum efficiency and with minimum exertion, because they understand their work and are happy at it."

"I can see that what you pay Sandy is not wasted. As an analyist, I am interested to know to what department you charge his wages and how you trace his value in cash returns."

"Sandy is a 'Salaried official'," replied Mr. Gordon, "just for matter of record, what he draws comes out of overhead and is charged under the specific classification 'Idler Pulley Maintenance.' As to tracing results, how can any of our great merchants handling dry goods, for instance, directly trace the value of advertising, window display, show cases, counters and furnishings, information booths, the handling of customers by means of elevators and escalators, the office force in its entirety and, last but not least, free deliveries of merchandise? Give me the answer to that question and I will be able to answer yours."

"This I do know, that the installation of that idler pulley was, to me, so fundamental an event, that I credit it with having exerted the greatest influence in my life and the most far-reaching. It taught me that a fundamental of success is the stopping and prevention of leaks, be they mechanical, mental, moral, physical or financial. It taught me the value of time and enabled me to teach it to others. It taught me tolerance, and that just judgment cannot be based on what we think we see but only on what experience has made us to know. It taught me that the seemingly active person is not always the greatest contributor to the success of the work in which he appears to be engaged. It taught me how to live, and how to make life worth living—for others."

"So you feel that this man Sandy, without being directly associated with any one particular department, exercises an influence over the people of your organization in— well, what I might call the harmonizing of the cussedness of human nature."

"Yes, exactly, and far more effectively than if he were connected with the departments of personnel or welfare. The very fact that he is a free lance gives him moral standing. He goes where he will, when he will, and does whatever he cares to do. We ask no questions, lay down no program, and I don't mind telling you that in addition to his official salary, his name is on the bonus list every year."

"That is certainly most interesting. Now I am just wondering, in view of his unique usefulness, if he is training an understudy."

"No," replied Mr. Gordon. "I don't think that would be possible. Men of his type are rare, very rare, Sandy knows people and how to get them to give their best, willingly. I question if he is conscious of his own ability, but he does not allow any discord in this place because he knows what it costs. He has reduced labor turn-over to a minimum. I can only hope that the pride and pleasure of having known him will continue to stimulate us to work along his lines even were he not here. Personally, I feel that he is responsible for my successful transmission of vital power to all with whom I come in contact. I am sure that anything so fundamental as his work has now been built into the spirit of the organization, but I certainly do drink to long life to Sandy."

Marriage Certificate for Daniel & Johanah

Went to the Archives today and examined and photocopied the pension files for Daniel and Robert McMurray. The best thing in the files was the original marriage certificate for Daniel McMurray and Johanah Pettit. It was in pieces. I had to assemble it like a jigsaw puzzle. The writing was very faint. It said:

This certifies that Mr. Daniel R. McMurray of Williamsport and Miss Johanah Pettit of Williamsport were by me united in the bonds of marriage on the 23 day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty eight conformably to the ordinance of God and the law of the State of Pennsylvania and town of Williamsport, County of Lycoming.

At the bottom, to the left there was an abbreviation that looked like "Parins," which I took to mean "parents," as it listed J.P. McMurray and [] E. McMurray, and also Moses Pettit and J[]ima Pettit. These four names were indicated to be witnesses. An abbreviation that looked like "br" that I took to mean "best man" preceded the name ??? Shular, and a missing piece is probably where there was an abbreviation for bridesmaid, as the name "Rachel Pettit" followed.

It was signed Minister of the Gospel, E.E. ?????? (Couldn't read it. Too faint.)

The file had an envelope that previously held the certificate. On the envelope was marked, "Handle with care. Fragile."

Malinda Flood

Family lore has it that the Floods were from South Carolina, and that Malinda Flood was a cousin of General Beauregard of Fort Sumter fame. So when I started looking for her parents, South Carolina is where I thought I would find them. Malinda's connections to Beauregard and South Carolina may uncovered some day, but today they remain obscure.

In a signed statement, Malinda Flood says she was born 27 May 1840 at Fort Montgomery, Orange County, New York. She was the wife of John Wesley Bassett (born 1833 or 1834, died 1892), a 3-month veteran of War Between the States. He served from 20 Apr 1861 to 2 Aug 1861 in Company H, 8th New York State Militia. In 1892, immediately following her husband's death, Malinda began the application process for a widow's pension. The pension file, preserved by the National Archives, lead me not to South Carolina, but to New York and New Jersey.

The file includes depositions from her brother, Wallace D Flood (age 62 in 1894), her brother-in-law, Joseph Rose (age 50 in 1894), and a childhood friend, Jasper M Odell (age 57 in 1895), among others. Japser, who in a signed statement says that "Malinda Flood has been well know to deponent since childhood," can be found, age 11, in the 1850 Census in Cornwall, Orange County, New York, about 10 miles north of Fort Montgomery on the Hudson River. At the same time, there is a Malinda Flood living in Cornwall in 1850, enumerated only five pages before. She is 10 years old, living in the household of Martha Flood (age 47), who is presumably her mother.

[Skip the next paragraph if you don't want your brain to hurt.]

I think the location and age match is really enough to feel confident 10-year-old Malinda is the future Mrs Bassett, but there is additional evidence linking widow Malinda and mother Martha and brother Wallace. Follow me here, because the trail is long and snaking. In the 1860 Census, Martha (age 57) is living in Cornwall in a household headed by what appears to be her son, Walter (with wife Charlotte and four children). Also in the household is what appears to be her other son, Wallace, with his wife Louisa and two children, John (age 3) and Erastus (age 5 months). I lose Wallace in the 1870 Census...just haven't been able to find him. In the 1880 Census, he appears to be living in Elizabeth, New Jersey, with a new wife and four children, the oldest two being John B (age 21) and William E (age 21). I'm thinking the "E" stands for "Erastus." The 1883-84 city directory for Elizabeth shows Wallace D Flood and William E Flood both living at 154 Third Street. In his pension file deposition, Wallace D Flood says that he is Malinda Flood's brother and that he lives at 154 Third Street.

[Moving on.]

Feeling confident that Martha Flood of Cornwall was Malinda's mother, I began to look further backward in time. I had never used pre-1850 censuses much before this. Fortunately, there appears to be only one Flood family in this township during this period.

Martha Flood is listed as head of household in the 1840 Census. There are nine people total in the household, including Martha. Martha's age is between 30 and 40. No other member of the household is older than 20. There are four boys and four girls. Since we know Malinda was born 27 May 1840, and the official date for the 1840 Census was June 1st, Martha's husband is presumed to have died at some point during the preceding 9 months.

The 1830 Census for Cornwall has two Flood heads of household, enumerated in succession, Elizabeth and Alexander. The ages for members of Alexander's family line up perfectly with the 1840 entries for Martha, indicating that Martha's husband (and Malinda's father) was Alexander Flood. Elizabeth has no members of her household other than herself. One is inclined to guess she is Alexander's mother.

The 1820 Census for Cornwall has only one Flood family, that of Alexander Flood, with a female 45 or over (wife Elizabeth) and a male 16-26 (son Alexander). This family appears in the 1810 Census for Cornwall and in the 1800 Census for Cheesecocks.

Given that this Alexander Flood was old enough to have fought in the Revolutionary War, I looked for a pension file, and indeed found one. From the file, we learn Alexander Flood was born in 1753/54. He enlisted in New York City in May 1775, and fought until "the close of the war." He was with Captain Gershom Mott in Colonel Alexander McDougall's 1st New York Regiment, Continental Line. He fought in the battles of "St Johns, Brandywine, Monmouth, Jamestown, and in many skirmishes." He lived in Cornwall at the time of sworn testimony in September 1820, with an unnamed wife (age 59) and an unnamed son (age 21), who he says, "works at days labor for himself." He swears to the following inventory: "twenty acres of mountain lands worth two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) an acre, two and ½ acres he tills, a log hut worth five dollars, one cow, three pigs, three sheep, three old chairs, an ax, and some old things not worth anything." The pension records he died on 10 May 1829.

Not mentioned in the file, he appears to have received 200 acres bounty land in what is now Maine. I am going to pursue this lead during my next visit to the National Archives.

I'm pretty happy about going back two more generations. I've got a lot of Flood descendants identified, and even exchanged email with another researcher. I've got more to do on Wallace D Flood and his two wives. I need to follow up on a lead on Bible records in the Rutgers University Library that is supposed to have a marriage record for Wallace D Flood (1832-1902) and Mary L Tompkins (1838-1899). Alexander and Martha's children appear to have been: Warren, Walter C, a female, Wallace D, a male, Temperance, Mary Ann (wife of Joseph Rose), and Malinda. I have theory that Wallace D's son, William Erastus, married Theresa Stutzlen, but that's a guess that needs some research.