Solvieg's New York Times story got lots of comments. (see original story below) Here they are. a fun read.
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Common Sense commented October 15
C
Common Sense
Connecticut
Oct. 15
How I loved this article. I've been watching the YouTube channel Treasure House. A young woman named Chloe bought a house in Minnesota with everything in it for $97,000. The previous owners had no children and their distant relatives sold it to her. In these videos, Chloe goes through every chest of drawers, every cabinet, every closet and often discovers something from the past, such as an old yearbook. From that she pieced together that there were triplets in the previous owners' ancestry. She collected the little toys she found and put them in a cut up city directories, which she then placed in Little Free Libraries around town. I think somewhere in Heaven, the previous owners are smiling down on her.
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MT Guy commented October 15
M
MT Guy
Helena, MT
Oct. 15
People don't have to be connected by some previous device like family or business. They can meet and find their connection themselves.
I have sent the notecard I found several times over the years. The inside reads... Friends are family we make for ourselves.
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Trini commented October 15
T
Trini
Oregon Coast
Oct. 15
What a marvelous story! A perfect combination of historical and modern day mysteries which led to a friendship. The photograph of the two 'dueling' females is, also, priceless and the story behind it, begs to be told.
Seven years ago, I inherited some boxes of letters from an older friend from people who had written to her over many years. I set the letters aside until I retired and recently went through the letters. I was particularly drawn to a packet of letters from Australia as the writing was so luminous. With a little detective work, I found the author of those letters written several decades ago; and mailed them back to her. It turned out that she is a retired journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald. This led to a friendship through email exchanges and me enjoying a cache of her articles, stories, and plays that she had written.
Despite living on different continents, it was much like finding a fairy godmother who lived and continues to live a very vibrant life with her partner in Sydney.
The stories behind these stories are magical. I encourage you all to find stories like these and enjoy them. Hopefully you will be just as fortunate for friendships to ensue.
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MC commented October 15
M
MC
Hawaii
Oct. 15
So much fun to read - and that photo! I think what makes this extra interesting is that it is so far in the past - beyond any living person's memory - to be a different world. Could you imagine wearing a corset!?!? It immediately brought to mind The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.
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Macaulay commented October 15
Macaulay
Tribeca
Oct. 15
What a great story!
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Hazel commented October 15
H
Hazel
Los Angeles County
Oct. 15
I love old houses and am now in my third over 100 years old home. I did a lot of fixing up and repairing in all of them and always found some mementos of the past during the work, from newspapers from the 1920's to receipt and account books from the early 1900s. I've kept it all as it never connected to a living person or other place, but it would have been great to connect with the past the way the folks in this story have.
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Monica Francisco commented October 15
M
Monica Francisco
New York City
Oct. 15
What a wonderful story! I go by those townhouses all the time since I go to Church at St. Francis across the street.
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Katie commented October 15
K
Katie
MN
Oct. 15
Genealogists beg younger people to take an interest in history. According to my American History prof, people don't think about the past until they're about 50. I figure it's a miracle that residents in both locations wanted to keep this info real.
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CT commented October 15
C
CT
Dallas TX
Oct. 15
Sarah Nir - Wonderful story. I hope you have amassed even more material to expand this into a book - it can be fiction, but inspired by the events you narrated. I would definitely read it.
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Francey commented October 15
F
Francey
New York City
Oct. 15
Curiosity leads to many wonderful discoveries.
Thanks for the story and by the way I live on 16th street so now 23 west 16 street will have a special interest for me.
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SF Pierre commented October 15
S
SF Pierre
California
Oct. 15
How fortunate that Ms. Shearer and Mr. Sommer are who they are. At any point this could have fallen apart or failed to coalesce. Many people in Ms. Shearer's circumstance would simply have dumped the material without a second thought; and just as many in Mr. Sommer's place would have tossed the package addressed to "Resident" after a fleeting glance. But, kindred spirits aligned and now we can all enjoy and imagine the past lives that brought them together, and gave us all a respite from our current realities.
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Eileen commented October 15
E
Eileen
Upstate NY
Oct. 15
Compile your own historical ephemera - during Covid I began a time capsule for my grandchildren, including a 2020 month-by-month 34-page booklet that I titled "The Covid Chronicles", which includes significant historical events recorded at www.onthisday.com/events/date/2020/ (followed by the month - February is a good example for that year), family photos from that month (including family Zoom screenshots) , and several cartoons related to Covid. I hope one day my grandchildren will appreciate this personalized time capsule. I had the booklet bound and printed for each of my children in addition to my own copy that I placed in the time capsule. The time capsule also includes some of the700+ masks my daughter made and gave away, the medical record of my Covid vaccine shots, and TIME magazine covers. Now, when - and for what occcasion??? - to open the time capsule?
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storyteller commented October 15
S
storyteller
the page
Oct. 15
What a wonderful story about these artifacts finding their way home and two strangers becoming friends in the process. The dedication Solveig showed in tracking down the current residents of 23 West 16th Street is truly admirable, and Charles's openness to this unexpected connection is lovely.
I will say the narrative structure made this harder to follow than it needed to be. The piece jumps between the 1800s, 1950s, and present day without always making clear how the pieces connect. The crucial detail that Rosemary actually owned the brownstone doesn't appear until well into the story. I spent several paragraphs puzzled about why Thorn's belongings were in an unrelated Ohio house before that key fact emerged.
A more straightforward chronology might have served this material better: Thorn's life at the address, Rosemary's purchase and discovery of his effects, her move to Ohio with the items, Solveig's detective work, and finally the "Resident" letters and friendship that followed.
The "mystery unfolding" approach can work beautifully, but it requires very clear breadcrumbs for readers who weren't along for the original discovery. That said, the illustrations by ALE+ALE are wonderful and do much of the heavy lifting here. The shadowy figure with papers flying and the Victorian couple holding books truly capture the spirit of this story and make it worth reading.
The heart of the piece comes through. These connections across time and place are what make history feel alive.
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2 REPLIES
Lynne C commented October 15
L
Lynne C
Shelter Island, NY
Oct. 15
@storyteller The achronological approach is one of the aspects I loved about the piece. I didn't find it hard to follow.
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BannerWits commented October 15
B
BannerWits
Scranton, PA
Oct. 15
@storyteller I loved the story as well, but also found elements of it confusing.
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Sharon K. commented October 15
S
Sharon K.
TX
Oct. 15
Stories like this are why I subscribe. Thank you!
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Janine Nichols commented October 15
J
Janine Nichols
Brooklyn NY
Oct. 15
This house was owned at least in part by the late and much-missed comedy writer Michael O’Donoghue (SNL, National Lampoon) for a time. I remember it vividly — the huge parlor, especially, not the upstairs apartment. Extravagantly subversive decor. All the best parties.
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Maria commented October 15
M
Maria
New York
Oct. 15
To Sarah: You are a wonderful writer and journalist. Thank you so much for giving life to the past.
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The Houstonian commented October 15
T
The Houstonian
Houston
Oct. 15
Such a magical, enjoyable story! Thank you so much for it.
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Michele commented October 15
M
Michele
San Marcos, TX
Oct. 15
What a wonderful piece! This kind of story-telling is what keeps me renewing my subscription, year after year.
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Jennifer Julier commented October 15
J
Jennifer Julier
Hamden, CT
Oct. 15
An excellent story! Hopefully this archive will eventually find a home at the New York Public Library or the New York Historical Society. My mantra is that a public institution, even if it’s just the local historical society, should be my first “go to” before that irreversible walk to the trash bin. From recent work I’ve done on my own family’s archive, I’ve sent or plan to send items to Yale’s Beinecke Library, UVa’s Mary Washington College, the Loomis School, the New York Public Library, the United States Coast Guard, Connecticut College, the Hartford Public Library, and Mystic Seaport. A dozen photos here, two dozen letters there - nothing of national historic significance has been donated, but all have been gratefully received.
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C. Whiting commented October 15
C. Whiting
OR
Oct. 15
Beautifully illustrated article.
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Stephan Morrow commented October 15
S
Stephan Morrow
Manhattan
Oct. 15
Amazing story even though it was so convoluted I didn't have time to break it down altogether. But for a decade I lived in a 'railroad flat' @ 355 W.45St and when I had the walls taken down to make it into a 47' long open loft I discovered a ferry ticket in the large heavy duty cloth baskets the workers used to clear the debris: The ticket was from a ferry that went up the Hudson (or to Iona island - something like that - been a long, long time) and that may have been the one that had a terrible accident during a picnic excursion I think it was - when I tried to track it down. But it held a fascination for me and I even mounted it on my wall as a featured treasure. Also, I had an aunt who visited the flat & was the only one who appreciated it (probably because she would travel to china in her retirement and was open to things like that). So NYC walls can hold deep secrets. Same deal - stuffed into the wall as insulation.
Artistic Director
The Great American Play Series
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2 REPLIES
Cat commented October 15
C
Cat
New York
Oct. 15
@Stephan Morrow Thanks for that. It was convoluted! I've just come back for a second time to see if I could unravel it, since the people posting comments seems to get it.
I got lost between how a letter came to a NYC address (I visualized the apt. I grew up in on East 82nd) and suddenly we're looking at books in Ohio!
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Stephan Morrow commented October 15
S
Stephan Morrow
Manhattan
Oct. 15
@Cat Right. But that's not to take away from the general drift of the story. I just didn't care enough about the details to go over it again and was carried back to the singular occurrence of finding my own treasure in the walls of my flat. And it was very special to me and as an occurrence lasted years. Never forgot it. Esp that only one aunt got it besides myself. (I'm up to my ears & in pre-production for a revival of my recent run of 'The Story of Sal B and Barbranne: A Mob Fantasia or Cyranno Redux) coming Dec 18 to Theater for the New City so I just didn't have time to belabor the details of provenance of the letters and all the people on their trail.
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Lynne C commented October 15
L
Lynne C
Shelter Island, NY
Oct. 15
I love this story! I'm going to use it in my high school English class as a model of how to tell a complicated story in an interesting and engaging way. I love the description of the image of the dueling sisters and all of the author's clever word choices.... A+ !!!
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1 REPLY
Sconseter commented October 15
Sconseter
Sconset
Oct. 15
@Lynne C
Boy, do we disagree!
The chronology is tough to follow, the changing names of all the people involved.....
It is a fascinating story but told in a very convoluted, back-and-forth way that takes away from its charm.
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Chris G. commented October 15
C
Chris G.
Virginia
Oct. 15
What a beautiful story! I needed a story like this at this crazy moment. Thank you.
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Bob H commented October 15
B
Bob H
Illinois
Oct. 15
Great article and a shoutout to Tom Miller whose daily blog A Daytonian in Manhattan is on my daily list to read similar stories every day. Like this story, I enjoy the notes on architecture, culture, history, scandals, but mostly the people that made these places interesting. On a daily basis, Mr. Miller reminds you that there is something interesting going on right next door.
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Shonuff commented October 15
S
Shonuff
New York
Oct. 15
it is stuff like this that made me write down all of my recollections revolving around two addresses in Jersey City (which will be condemned shortly thanks to Jared Kushner). Maybe someone can mail a copy of my book to the occupant of the 72-story skyscraper replacing my brownstone on Van Reipen Avenue. I did not quite realize it then, but there were lots of pieces of the Gilded Age hanging around in plain sight. Now it is being replaced. by cookie-cutter corporate blandness.
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tim torkildson commented October 15
tim torkildson
utah
Oct. 15
Haiku:
The brown falling leaves
Like old letters and photos
Land in odd places
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Newtown CT commented October 15
Newtown CT
CT
Oct. 15
I often think about the house I grew up in, and the people who live there now. I wonder if they would be interested in knowing about my father and uncles recently returned from WWII service. (all departed) They built that house in the early 1950s. We do have some pictures of the construction process. The basement was largely hand dug. The stone for the foundations and fireplace was laboriously hand quarried in a nearby forest and trucked to the building site using an old Ford Model A "doodlebug" outfitted for off-road use. The whole house was built using hand tools and manual labor. It is a solid 1950s ideal of a suburban ranch house. It was a good home for our family.
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TallDeepVoice commented October 15
T
TallDeepVoice
Victoria BC
Oct. 15
Fascinating! So many home and family histories end up in thrift stores or the trash, unread, uncared-about, "just old stuff".
I work as part of a team here in Victoria BC, researching histories of the builders, owners, and former residents of our city's old houses, many extant, many more demolished.
Some houses reveal their stories easily, through city directories, newspaper articles, various archives, family photos, etc. They seem to welcome the attention and share everything with us.
Others, though, remain stand-offish. There they are, in outline on fire insurance maps, their building permits noted at city hall, but once built, they vanish - no photos, no reference to occupants, zip. Those are the homes that, through genuine detective work, can sometimes reveal intriguing stories (like 23 West 16th St).
The director of our city-funded non-profit refers to the jam-packed office where our research takes place as Victoria's own Bletchley Park.
Sadly, there are houses that keep their doors firmly shut to any and all prying, no matter what angles we try. All we can do for them is hope for an envelope in our mailbox addressed to "Resident".
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Betty commented October 15
B
Betty
Connecticut
Oct. 15
Fascinating story and a very enjoyable read! Would have liked to see more photos of the finds.
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Liz L commented October 15
L
Liz L
New York
Oct. 15
Such an interesting story! I have people in my family. I don’t know anything about them, other than that they lived in South Africa. I have a collage of photos on my bedroom wall from a big box that my cousin gave me. I periodically do Internet searches, but can’t find anything about the family. The photos are from 1910. I’ll go back to the Internet now after reading this story, Thank you!
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1 REPLY
Jennifer Julier commented October 15
J
Jennifer Julier
Hamden, CT
Oct. 15
@Liz L Try finding them on Ancestry!
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Robert commented October 15
R
Robert
Formerly Of NJ
Oct. 15
What an interesting and wonderful story
Thank you
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horse commented October 15
H
horse
north america
Oct. 15
I've got a lovely connection to the family who owned our farm for decades, and have seen some wonderful photos as a result. The most interesting coincidence is that a horse I bought a year ago from halfway across the country is a relative (several generations back) of their prized horse, who is featured in a lot of the photos that have been shared. When I look at her as she stands in front of the barn in the same pose as her great-great "uncle," it's the neatest feeling!
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Nancy commented October 15
N
Nancy
Maine
Oct. 15
I too love this story. So many personal stories from past lives lost through time but here is this nugget of a family's history spared. I am an avid vintage and antique shopper (mostly window) for many, many years. I have old magazines and one in particular, while living in Spokane, featured a new mid century modern home in Spokane giving the physical address. I located the home. I knocked on the door and I gave the magazine to the wife of the couple living there. She was younger than I and I don't think she thought too much one way or the other about her home but I showed her the article and the pictures and gave it to her as I thought it's where that magazine belonged. She just gave me a somewhat baffled look the whole time I spoke to her (which was brief so as not to worry her). And off I departed.
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Michele commented October 15
M
Michele
San Marcos, TX
Oct. 15
@Nancy I did the same thing in Tucson. I found out that my little cul-de-sac of MCM homes had once been featured as "homes of the future!" on a Parade of Homes back in the late 50s. I found the old newspaper story and had the photos printed along with the story. I took them around to all the neighbors, but few were interested at all. I found it fascinating!
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KTb commented October 15
K
KTb
Leander tx
Oct. 15
What a lovely, quaint, interesting story of how the rich lived and live today. Quite a formal way of fencing I must say!
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Elizabeth commented October 15
Elizabeth
NYC
Oct. 15
I grew up in a house that dated in part to the late 18th century. After he retired, my father became intrigued by the property’s history and did a lot a research about it, uncovering maps, census information and wills.
After his death, when the house was sold, I put all the research into a bright red archival box with a note explaining the material, and added some photos of the house from my family’s time there. I left it in on a closet shelf for the new owners, and I hope they will do the same when they sell.
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God is Love commented October 15
G
God is Love
New York, NY
Oct. 15
@Elizabeth
What a wonderful "house warming" present for the new owners. I hope they appreciated it, I know I would have.
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WWW commented October 15
W
WWW
North Carolina
Oct. 15
Thanks so much for this story Ms. Maslin Nir. It's so refreshing to escape into something completely unrelated to political upheaval.
Can't help but think this could be turned into a wonderful novel - and perhaps a movie!
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Carla commented October 15
C
Carla
NY
Oct. 15
Before I even finished this article I wanted to research this Victorian family and write a book about them! That “jousting” picture says so much about them—quirky, thoughtful, self-absorbed, creative—and on top of being interesting themselves, imagine the people they knew! Wild.
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mcp San Diego commented October 15
M
mcp San Diego
san diego
Oct. 15
A most delightful article to start my day, so much better than reading about the current administration.
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Historian commented October 15
H
Historian
CT
Oct. 15
Fascinating story. This kind of history is so valuable in linking the present to the past.
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Allison commented October 15
A
Allison
Floriduh
Oct. 15
What a thoroughly wonderful read!
About 30 years ago I came into the possession of a box that was my grandfather's, that he found in an abandoned brownstone (he was in the mortgage business in Brooklyn.) In the box was 1850's era New York City train schedules, post cards, letters, and, my personal favorite, the '1856 Empire Base Ball Club Rule Book and Bylaws' which I donated to the museum at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1997.
Thanks to this article I'm going to look more closely at the names and addresses on the pieces of correspondence and see if I can locate family members.
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globe commented October 15
G
globe
New York
Oct. 15
It is amazing what can be found within the walls…if the bulldozers never come.
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Michael commented October 15
M
Michael
Washington, DC
Oct. 15
The Thorns' lives were led, then forgotten.
As will your life, as will mine.
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1 REPLY
saurus commented October 15
S
saurus
Vienna, VA
Oct. 15
@Michael speak for yourself. I'm holding onto hope.
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-ABC...XYZ commented October 15
-ABC...XYZ
NYC
Oct. 15
my wife & I ate at Gage & Tollner yesterday - I mentioned to her the 1847? push-botton light-switches in the reastroom that our pre-1900 ParkSlope house had when we bought in the 1990s - if I had thought of it then I would have brought them to T&G when I changed them out for modern Decora switches - T&G must have spare parts & a dedicated historical-electrician
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Dan Frazier commented October 15
Dan Frazier
Boca Raton
Oct. 15
Every brownstone in New York City could have a room, or a whole floor that was a museum to its past inhabitants. Indeed, each building in its entirety could be a museum to the past, but then where would the people of New York City live?
We try to hang on to the past as best we can, but like the sands of a broken hour-glass, it slips slips slowly between our ever aging fingers, leaving us only with shards of broken glass, which we puzzle over, bewildered at what the glittering fragments mean.
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1 REPLY
Mememenotuuu commented October 15
M
Mememenotuuu
California
Oct. 15
@Dan Frazier
Wow, that was beautifully put.
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Cheddar commented October 15
C
Cheddar
Appleton
Oct. 15
Ms. Shearer and Mr. Sommer seem like fantastic people. One day, Mr. Sommer will sell his home. I hope the next owners treasure these small treasures from the past as much as he does. Love this story.
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maddygates commented October 15
M
maddygates
cambridge, ma
Oct. 15
This is so awesome! The artistic depiction of Ms. Shearer and Mr. Thorn whispering together is just magical.
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Caro commented October 15
C
Caro
New York, NY
Oct. 15
These are the stories that keep me coming back to the NYT over and over again. A gem amidst the depressing news of war, famine, climate change and cruelty....THANK YOU!
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aduignancabrera commented October 15
A
aduignancabrera
New York
Oct. 15
Touching and so evocative of a world gone by, yet, the era of Thorn's success, the Gilded Age, mirrors our world in so many ways, what with the
