From the Archive-Episode 311-Kathryn Smith is a journalist from South Carolina, author of “Gertie: The Fabulous Life of Gertrude Sanford Legendre, Heiress, Explorer, Socialite, Spy.”
American Revolution Conference in the Mohawk Valley June 9-12, 2022
https://fortplainmuseum.org/viewevent.aspx?ID=1062
A letter from Sousa to Jessie in 1899 said, “Anytime I can be of service to you, please command me.”
The March King’s St. Johnsville friend
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
John Philip Sousa was no stranger to the Mohawk Valley. His band performed concerts at Amsterdam’s old Opera House on Main Street and at the former Sacandaga Park in the Adirondacks.
In 1926 Sousa’s band played at Smalley’s Theater in Fort Plain. A longtime friend, Jessie Zoller, took Sousa to lunch at a St. Johnsville restaurant.
Sousa was born in Washington D.C. in 1854. His father was Portuguese and Spanish and his mother was Bavarian.
Jessie Zoller was born in 1856 in the hamlet of Hallsville in the town of Minden. She was the daughter of egg farmer Abram Zoller and his wife Alma. The Zollers were prosperous. After the Civil War the family moved to Washington where Abram Zoller held a high post in the U.S. Treasury.
Jessie was gifted in art and music. She met Sousa when they both were students at a music and art conservatory in Washington.
The late St. Johnsville historian Anita Smith said Jessie’s father did not encourage the budding romance calling Sousa “a young upstart musician who would never amount to much.”
Jessie earned a degree at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie and then enrolled in the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany. Smith said Jessie was sent to Europe by her father to keep her away from Sousa.
Jessie and her mother spent 14 years in Europe. She was presented to the Emperor of Germany. Her father joined them for the last four years abroad. Jessie became fluent in German, Italian and French. She was trained as an opera singer.
Tomorrow, Monday, April 11, 2022-The story behind the story podcast on John Philip Sousa’s friendship with a woman from St. Johnsville. Monday Podcast "7 Minutes"
When the Zollers returned to America they went to Chicago where Jessie continued her studies. In Chicago she saw Sousa once again.
Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis in 1879. Bellis was a singer from Philadelphia. Jane and Sousa met when he was playing violin in a theater where she performed. They had three children.
In 1880 Sousa was named to head the U.S. Marine Band at the White House and his reputation soared. He formed his own band in 1892. He composed many marches.
A letter from Sousa to Jessie in 1899 said, “Anytime I can be of service to you, please command me.”
Jessie’s mother died in 1902. Jessie and her father moved back to the Mohawk Valley, settled on Kingsbury Avenue in St. Johnsville and later lived on Ann Street.
Abram Zoller died in 1906. His obituary noted Jessie “watched with devoted care” over her father’s “declining years.”
When Sousa passed through St. Johnsville by train, he sometimes visited Jessie, once getting the train to make an unscheduled stop. Village residents said the “March King” looked dapper in his dress clothes replete with medals and white gloves.
Cultured and talented, Jessie had become the foremost authority in St. Johnsville on language, music and art. Jessie was a teacher until 1928 and then lived a more reclusive life. She never married
Sousa and his family lived his later years in Sands Point, Long Island. He kept on touring with his marching band.
He died in 1932 at age 77 in a hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania after conducting a band rehearsal the previous day. He was buried at Congressional Cemetery in Washington.
A member of the Christian Science church, Jessie, 82, died in 1938 at the home of her cousin, Irving Devendorf, and was buried at Fort Plain Cemetery. Jessie’s obituary said she was one of Sousa’s closest friends.
Jessie’s version of a detail from a Raphael painting, called “The Two Cherubs,” has been displayed at St. Johnsville Community House. Local lore has it that Jessie said the two cherubs represented her and Sousa.
Historians Go Fund Me 2022...now totals $2100. That’s a third of our $6,000 goal! Please donate online here- https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-historians-podcast-2022 Or send a check made out to Bob Cudmore to 125 Horstman Drive, Scotia, NY 12302. On the production schedule we’re working on Episode 418-Bruce Dearstyne is encouraging New Yorkers to celebrate April 20 as the birthday of the Empire State and Episode 421 on the story of a 1955 African American Little League baseball team.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-Mills at war.
Wednesday, April 13, 2022-From the Archives-Episode 153, March 3, 2017-Michael Barrett has an account of the eastern end of the Erie Canal in the 1880s which had numerous locks and a reputation for payoffs and rowdiness. Barrett is executive director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway in Troy.
Thursday, April 14, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette-What did they call the flat land in Amsterdam’s East End?
Friday, April 15, 2022 Episode 418-Bruce Dearstyne is encouraging New Yorkers to celebrate April 20 as the birthday of the Empire State. The first New York State constitution was adopted April 20, 1777 during a momentous year for the state during the Revolutionary War. Bruce Dearstyne was formerly on the staff of the Office of State History and the State Archives. He has written books and articles on New York State history.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, April 10, 2022
A chance of showers, mainly between 11am and 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. West wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. West wind 8 to 14 mph.
Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Chilly with brisk winds and scattered showers mainly across the
higher terrain today. Fair weather along with milder temperatures
return for Monday. Looking at the rest of the week, we will
have above normal temperatures however the weather will be
unsettled particularly on Thursday.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced a free waterfront lifeguard course will be offered April 19 through 22 in Gloversville, Fulton County. Individuals looking for seasonal summer employment who enjoy the outdoors are encouraged to learn more about DEC’s summer recreation opportunities.
https://www.dec.ny.gov/about/726.html
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, April 10, 2022
Daily Gazette
Focus on History: The March King’s St. Johnsville friend
John Philip Sousa was no stranger to the Mohawk Valley. His band performed concerts at Amsterdam’s old Opera House on…
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Amsterdam Recorder
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