Here’s a 1901 New York City Surrogates Court Estate Document Signed
by Prominent Insect Scientist, Lawyer, Local Historian and
Co-Lyric Writer of Cornell University’s Famed Official Alma
Mater Song!
ARCHIBALD
CROSWELL WEEKS
(1850 – 1927)
AMERICAN
LAWYER, SCIENTIST, AND LOCAL HISTORIAN BEST KNOWN FOR CO-WRITING THE LYRICS TO
"FAR ABOVE CAYUGA'S WATERS," THE
OFFICIAL & WORLD-FAMOUS ALMA MATER SONG OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
"Far Above Cayuga's Waters" is Cornell University's alma mater. The
lyrics were written circa 1870 by roommates Archibald Croswell Weeks (Class of
1872), and Wilmot Moses Smith (Class
of 1874), and set to the tune of "Annie Lisle,"
a popular 1857 ballad by H. S. Thompson about
a heroine dying
of tuberculosis. This
song is one of the better-known alma maters in the United States. It is
the only alma mater song included in Ronald Herder's 500 Best-Loved
Song Lyrics. In a novel, Betty Smith called
it "the saddest and oldest of all college songs." Edward Abbey,
in One Life at a Time, Please, mentions a campfire sing in
which he contributed "the first line of the only Ivy League song
that occurred to me: 'Far above Cayuga's waters . . .'"
The tune has since become one of the most famous college
songs in the world and has been adapted by dozens of other universities and
high schools for their own alma maters.
The Document
is also Signed by Prominent Local Businessman and Public Official in Atlantic
Highlands, New Jersey, in the late 19th/early 20th century.
GEORGE
F. BARTLESON
George
F. Bartleson (1860–1940) was born in
Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Bartleson and Elmina Stirk. Brtleson was a
prominent local businessman and public official in Atlantic Highlands, New
Jersey, around the late 19th/early 20th century.
During
the era circa 1900, Atlantic Highlands was growing rapidly as a popular coastal
borough. George F. Bartleson established himself as a central figure in the
community. He operated a local livery stable, providing horses, wagons, and
carriage services to residents and visitors. Historical records from the Long
Branch Daily Record note his role as a prominent livery operator in the
region.
Bartleson served as an Atlantic Highlands Borough Councilman,
and beyond the council, he was actively involved in local governance, serving
on the Board of Health alongside other prominent local figures of the era.
Duration: 1 minute and 50 seconds.1:BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: ARCHIBALD CROSWELL WEEKS
Birth: Oct 1850, Yaphank, Suffolk County, New York,
USA
Death: 14 Nov 1927 (aged 77), Yaphank, Suffolk County,
NY
Burial: Saint
Andrews Cemetery, Yaphank, Suffolk County, NY
Archibald Croswell Weeks
(1850–1927) was an American lawyer, scientist, and local historian best known
for co-writing the lyrics to "Far Above Cayuga's Waters," the
official alma mater song of Cornell University.
While attending Cornell University as a member of the Class
of 1872, Weeks and his roommate, Wilmot Moses Smith (Class of 1874), sought to
create a popular song for their school. Around 1870, they sketched out six
verses by alternating lines between each other.
Weeks was an avid skater and oarsman who spent a great deal
of time on Cayuga Lake. He noted that the sweeping view of the campus buildings
from the water, combined with the melody of a popular 1857 ballad called
"Annie Lisle" playing in his head, directly inspired the opening
line, "Far above Cayuga's waters…”
Professional Life & Scientific Interests
Outside of his musical legacy, Weeks lived in Brooklyn and
Yaphank, New York, where he built a diverse career:
Entomology & Ecology:
Weeks was a passionate scientist and active member of the Brooklyn
Entomological Society frequently serving as its Librarian. He was deeply
invested in wildlife conservation, famously opposing the oiling and draining of
wetlands because of the damage it caused to local ecosystems. He even claimed
to have invented a secret, eco-friendly method to eliminate mosquitoes without
harming wildlife, though he never publicly disclosed the formula.
Scientific Contributions:
He regularly published scientific notes and papers. In 1900, his work was
featured in Volume 8 of the Journal
of the New York Entomological Society.
Public Debates:
He used his scientific expertise to influence public policy, occasionally
writing letters to major publications like the New York Sun to weigh in
on natural science issues and insect crusades in the city.
Legal Practice: Admitted
to the bar in the late 19th century, Weeks operated his law practice in the New
York metropolitan area. He specialized in real estate, estate management, and
local statutory law.
Long Island Historian: Weeks
is heavily remembered for compiling and editing early New York colonial
records. His estate, known as “Wampmissic,” was located in Yaphank
(Suffolk County), and he spent decades transcribing early regional history. He
later compiled the definitive Brookhaven Town Records.
OBIT- ARCHIBALD C. WEEKS
Obituary - Archibald C. Weeks, of Brooklyn and Yaphank,
widely known as a lawyer, scientist and local historian, died yesterday in the Methodist hospital in Brooklyn at
the age of 77 years. A funeral service will take place tonight in Brooklyn at
27 Seventh Street, and burial will be made in the family plot at Yaphank
tomorrow, with service at St. Andrew's P.E. Church on arrival of the forenoon
train.
Mr. Weeks was a picturesque character, whose
oddities drew him sometimes into peculiar situations but his remarkable
qualities of mind and attainments along several lines were always recognized
among those who knew him. He did an immense amount of painstaking work
transcribing for the printer the ancient Brookhaven town records, which are now
in book form, which few people were able to decipher completely, and he
received practically no remuneration for the work.
Of late months, he had on several occasions
urged that he be commissioned to transcribe the remaining old records for
printing but discussion of terms delayed action and the town trustees undertook
another arrangement. His father did similar work on the records long ago.
Mr. Weeks was born in Yaphank October 19,
1850, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. William J. Weeks, and he spent the
greater part of his life at the family home, having been educated at Cornell
University. He leaves a son, Henry C. Weeks, of East Orange, N.J., five
sisters, Mrs. C.B. Hawkins, of Bellport, Miss Clara Weeks, of Yaphank, Mrs.
Joseph B. Lawles of Brooklyn, Mrs. Susan Gerard of Brooklyn, and Mrs. Laura
Hesselberg of New York, also one brother, Reginald C. Weeks of New York.
At Cornell Mr. Weeks was a chum of the late
Wilmot M. Smith, afterward Supreme Court justice, and he and Mr. Smith brought
out the song "Far Above Cayuga's Waters," the actual authorship being
later a matter of dispute. While earning his living by the law, Mr. Weeks
devoted much of his time to nature study and other science, and it was one of
the claims that he could eliminate mosquitos, by some method he never
disclosed. He hotly opposed oiling and draining as a ruinous to wildlife.
A few weeks ago he and a young man working for
him at Yaphank were arrested charged with bathing nude, of which the testimony
on trial cleared Mr. Weeks, but a question of his sanity was raised, and he
voluntarily went to Central Islip State Hospital for the customary examination.
He was discharged before the ten days test period was over, and came home
gleefully relating that he had not only passed the mental examination but that
the physical tests had shown him to be in great condition for his age.
Nevertheless he came out suffering with an apparent cold, from which his family
said he never recovered, and a sudden aggravation of his caused his removal to
the hospital in Brooklyn.
Mr. Weeks' wife died last July and shortly
afterwards he instituted proceedings in the Brooklyn Surrogate's Court to set
aside her will of June 14, 1926 and substitute a will executed on July 11,
1925. In the first will he was given all of her estate, but in the one made out
in 1926 he was excluded in favor of his son.
(Patchogue Advance, Tuesday, November 15, 1927, Page: 1)
The
document is in excellent condition.
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