Marion Street in Black Rock
What’s the connection between Marion Street in Black Rock and Wade Avenue in the Leroy Neighborhood? Marion Street runs between Reservation Street and Elmwood Avenue, just north of Amherst Street. You cannot drive from one end of Marion Street to the other because of the railroad corridor which bisects the street into two halves. Wade Avenue runs between Fillmore Avenue and Holden Street near Main and Fillmore Avenue. These two streets are both named after Marion Wade Nicholson! Marion was the daughter of real estate developer James Nicholson, who built and developed the streets.
Wade Avenue in the Main-Leroy Neighborhood
Today’s post is a partnership with Buffalo Women’s Caucus for Women’s History Month. Buffalo Women’s Caucus is an organization to empower women in all fields to become leaders and changemakers. You can follow the Buffalo Women’s Caucus by clicking this link: https://www.instagram.com/buffalowomenscaucus/ Today (March 8th) is International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. I’m glad to feature Marion Wade Nicholson today. I think when we think of women’s history, we often remember the big changemakers, but I think it’s important to remember all the women who lived fairly regular lives. Marion was a daughter, a wife, a mother, an insurance saleswoman and a singer. Unlike most people streets are named for – she never held elected office, own large amounts of real estate or run successful businesses. She had success in her musical endeavors, but she would probably have considered herself a normal woman of her time. And I think it’s important to celebrate these women, remembering that our lives today is built on these women. Behind every man I’ve written about, there was almost always a woman on the sidelines. Many of those women are forgotten to history, their names written as Mrs. Husband’s Name. Even more are completely forgotten to the pages of history all together. So, remember those women as we learn today about Marion.
James W. Nicholson was born in Buffalo on May 5, 1862. He attended school in Hamburg and later moved to Buffalo with his family, who lived at 154 Fifteenth Street, near Vermont Street. He operated a real-estate business in Buffalo from the 1880s until he retired in 1930. His office was in the Erie County Savings Bank Building. Besides Marion and Wade, other streets on which he built homes were Woodlawn Avenue, St. Paul Street and Otis Place.
456 Ashland Avenue. Home to the Nicholson Family for more than 50 years!
James William Nicholson married Ella Riley in 1887. Their first child, a son Wesley Nicholson was born later that year. The Nicholsons moved into 456 Ashland Avenue in 1890. Mr. Nicholson was a member of the Richmond Avenue Methodist Church, joining on April 7, 1895. He also served on Official Board and the Board of Trustees of the Church. He was active in the Pan American Exposition in 1901. He was a part owner of the Philippine Village, helping to make arrangements to bring people from the Philippines to the Expo. (Note from Angela: these types of exhibits with “native” villagers on display, often referred to as human zoos, were common at the time. News reports from Buffalo in 1901 reported that the Philippine Village was one of the most visited exhibits of the Exposition, considered to be a great hit – people enjoying the way that it matched “amusement with instruction”. The Philippine Village was set up to be an exhibit in order to showcase the Philippines as America’s newest imperial possession. The exhibit was guarded by American Soldiers guarding a large, war-torn gate, a model of the fort in Manila Bay which represented a commemoration of war and the American triumph overseas. Newspapers also reported that the residents of Philippine Village were suffering in the cold Buffalo weather as the summer weather turned to fall. We do not condone these types of exhibits.)
1927 Picture of Marion. Source: The Buffalo News.
James and Ella’s second child, Marion Wade Nicholson, was born in April 1895. She grew up in the house at 456 Ashland. When she was 4 years old, Marion Street was named for her. She attended School 56 and Buffalo Seminary. While she was in high school, Wade Avenue was named in her honor. When interviewed about her streets, she sad “I was about thirteen when Wade Street was opened, and I told all my schoolmates about it at once. I still tell people about my streets”. H. Katherine Smith wrote of her interview that “(Marion) is the only one of more than 100 persons with streets named for them who admitted to me she got a thrill from being so honored”.
Marion was well known in the Buffalo musical circles. She sang in the choir of Westminster Presbyterian Church and played the piano. She was associated with Margaret Adsit Barrell’s studio; Mrs. Barrell was a founder of the Community Music School. Marion also sang on the radio and worked with many welfare organizations in Buffalo, often singing for those groups.
Marion Nicholson concert announcement in the Buffalo News, November 1926
Marion married Lester Adam Paterson on October 1, 1917 and became Mrs. Lester Paterson. The wedding was held at the house on Ashland, which was decorated with roses and autumn flowers, ferns and smilax. Marion wore a gown of white satin with court train and a veil fastened with orange blossoms and carried a bouquet of bride roses, sweetheart roses and gypsophyllium. Marion’s brother Wesley was the best man. Marion and Lester took a honeymoon road trip to Boston, New York and Philadelphia before returning to live at the house on Ashland with her parents. They had two children – Sara (Sally) Wade Paterson, born in 1923 and Jean Marion Paterson, born in 1930.
In June 1935, Marion traveled to Reno to file for divorce from Lester on non-support charges. At the time, divorce was not as common and was suppressed by state laws that discouraged the dissolution of couples. In New York, up until 1985, the only way to get a divorce was to prove your spouse had committed adultery! Reno, Nevada became the Divorce Capital of America in the 1930s. The grounds for ending marriage had a liberal interpretation there. Women would travel to Nevada for six weeks to establish residency. During the 1930s, it’s estimated that more than 30,000 people went to Reno to get a divorce. Hotels and guest ranches were established near the Court House to house the women who came. Marion’s divorce decree was granted on June 28, 1935.
Marion Nicholson in costume for an Easter Play at Westminster Church. March 1937. Source: Buffalo News.
After her divorce, Marion worked as a saleswoman for the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company. She was a member of the Buffalo Life Underwriters’ Association, the Business and Professional Women’s Club, the Wednesday Morning Musical Club, the Junior Musical Club and the Women’s Evening Club of Westminster Church. She had considered a career in music, but once she got her job, music became her hobby. It was reported that she played or sang every single day, no matter how busy she was with work or her daughters. She said “I play or sing every day. Music still is an important factor in my life. Playing or singing affords me immediate relaxation. I can lose myself in music and forget everything else.” She was one of founding members of the Wednesday Morning Musicale Club, which started in October of 1925. The group was formed by several women who were interested in making music together on a regular basis. At the time, there weren’t as many outlets for women. Women didn’t play in the the Philharmonic at the time, unless the song required a harpist. Marion was interviewed as a member of the Wednesday Morning Club, 60 years later in 1985, still singing and playing the piano at the age of 90. The group is still active today, nearly 100 years after it’s founding!
Marion (seated at piano), from the Buffalo News, August 1967
Marion continued to live in the house on Ashland as an adult. The family had been in Buffalo since the 1830s. Marion’s Great Grandmother had arrived to the small town of Buffalo via the Erie Canal. The Great Grandmother brought her belongings in a chest which was still in Marion’s possession more than 100 years later. The family also had heirloom fiddleback chairs of mahogany, a walnut chest of drawers, a dropleaf table, and the family’s old China place settings which had served the family for generations and had places of honor in Marion’s home. In 1940, Marion was quoted as saying of the old china: “It’s beautiful, of course, but so fragile, I feel anxious from the moment it appears on the table until it’s safely back in its place.”
Marion served as a director of the Graduates’ Association of the Buffalo Seminary. Her daughter Sally also attended the Seminary. Her other daughter, Jean, attended the School of Practice of the Buffalo State Teacher’s College (aka the State Normal School).
The Nicholson family summered at Shore Meadows in Angola, where they swam and did other outdoor sports. Shore Meadows was developed by the Lake Shore Real Estate company for business men in Buffalo who couldn’t afford the “fashionable higher priced colonies along the Lake Shore”, but wanted a respectable quality house. In 1946, Mr. Nicholson, Marion and the girls ended up moving from the house on Ashland to their summer house in Shore Meadows on Shore Cliff Road. Marion married Dr. Carlton Roberts sometime before 1948 and became Mrs. Carlton Roberts. Dr. Roberts was the first dental consultant to the Erie County Department of Social Welfare. In 1936, he set up the dental procedures for the guidance of the Department, which was the first of the type in New York State! Mr. Roberts died in 1965 after three years in the Gowanda State Hospital.
After the death of her second husband, Marion Roberts moved back into the city. She sold the house in Angola and moved to 515 Ashland Avenue in September 1965. Her new home was just a block away from her childhood home. Marion Wade Nicholson died August 14, 1987. She is buried, along with her family, at Prospect Lawn Cemetery in Hamburg.
Sara Wesley Paterson’s bridal announcement. Buffalo News, July 1948.
Marion’s daughter Sara (Sally) Paterson was a 1941 graduate of the Elmwood School and Buffalo Seminary. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Buffalo in 1945, graduating with honors. She taught for a few years in Bradford PA and Middleport, NY. In 1948, she married Raymond W. Garris, a chemical engineer in the oil industry. She and her husband in many places across the South and Midwest. They lived in 22 states and 8 countries, including six years living in Saudi Arabia, where he was an advisor to the Minister of Petroleum. They moved to Daphne, Alabama when he retired in 1985. She died in 2000.
Jean Marion Paterson Yearbook Photo, Millard Fillmore School of Nursing1953.
Daughter Jean Paterson attended the Millard Fillmore School of Nursing. She married James Elliott Dunning of Los Angeles in August 1961. They lived in San Diego, California and she worked as a registered nurse in a hospital. She died in 2007.
Both Marion and her daughters were a well known part of Buffalo society. Even after Sara and Jean moved away, there were articles in the paper when they’d visit town or come home for Christmas. In 1955, the Buffalo News reported that Marion was making her special plum pudding for her girls who were coming home for Christmas from Baltimore and the family was looking forward to being together and singing their traditional Christmas carols.
Marion (third from left) with her daughter Sara (standing) when Sara made a Saudi Arabian lunch on a visit home. Buffalo News. August 1978.
In 1978, Sara came for a visit while living in Saudi Arabia. She prepared traditional Arabian food while home in Buffalo. The main course was “Kabsah (the national dish of Saudi Arabia) and homos [sic] with Arab bread and fresh vegetables” and a traditional Saudi dessert which they did not know the official name of. Here are Sara’s recipes which were printed in the paper:
Kabsah
4 cups rice
4 whole medium tomatoes
1 small can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 tablespoons oil
2 to 2 1/2 pounds chicken or lamb, cut up
Brown meat lightly with chopped onions. chop tomatoes;; add to the meat. Add the spices and tomato sauce; simmer for 10 minutes. Add 8 cups of water and cook for 20 minutes. Add rice and more water if needed. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve on a platter with the meat piled in the middle surrounded by rice. Platter may be decorated with lemon or tomato slices.
Saudi Arabian Dessert
About 2 cups whole wheat berries
Dried figs, cut up, about 1 cup
Dried apricots, cut up, about 1 cup
Dates, cut up, about 1 cup
3/4 cup sugar
Pine Nuts
Walnuts
Cashews
Soak wheat overnight in water to cover. Drain. Add clean water, covering wheat by about 5 inches. Add sugar and simmer slowly until wheat swells and liquid thickens. Just before it is finished cooking, add dried fruit and continue to simmer for about five minutes. Mixture should be as thick as pudding. Remove from pan, place in a dish with cover. Sprinkle top with a small handful of each time of nut. Cover and cool. Particularly delicious with thick whipped cream.
So the next time you drive past Marion St and Wade Ave, think about Marion! Remember all the women who lived in Buffalo over the years. Let me know if you try one of the recipes! To learn about other women with streets named after them check out this post here: Women’s History Month – Some Buffalo Women You Should Know . Want to learn about other streets? Check out the Street Index. Don’t forget to subscribe to the page to be notified when new posts are made. You can do so by entering your email address in the box on the upper right-hand side of the home page. You can also follow the blog on facebook. If you enjoy the blog, please be sure to share it with your friends.
Sources:
- “Sara P. Garris, former teacher, Buffalo Native”. Buffalo News. February 4, 2000.
- “James W Nicholson, 89; Retired Real Estate Man”. Buffalo News. December 20, 1951, p8.
- “Garris”. South Florida Sun Sentinel. October 20, 2014, pB8.
- “Paterson-Nicholson”. Buffalo Courier. October 2, 1917, p9.
- “Local Woman Asks for Divorce”. Buffalo News. June 27, 1935, p21.
- “Miss Paterson in White Organdy Over Taffeta”. Buffalo News. September 18, 1948, p14.
- “Buffalo Native Home on a Visit Cooks a Saudi-Arabian Meal”. Buffalo News. August 16, 1978, p22.
- Voell, Paula. “60-Year Old Musicale Is Outdated in Name But Youthful in Spirit”. Buffalo News. November 18, 1985, p28.
- Smith, H. Katherine. “Two Buffalo Streets Named For a Musician – Saleswoman”. Buffalo Courier-Express. October 6, 1940, p6-9.
- Marks, Ben. “Remembering When Reno was the Divorce Capital of America”. February 14, 2019. https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/remembering-when-reno-was-the-divorce-capital-of-america
- “Welcome Back”. Buffalo News. September 30, 1965, p4.
- “Reasonable Country Homes Aim of This Corporation”. Buffalo Enquirer. March 25, 1922, p8.
Mr. Pooley got remarried a year later, in 1854, to Cornelia Pooley. George and Cornelia had four children – Mary Hubbard, Cornelia, Katie, Edward, and Harriet Of Mr. Pooley’s nine children, only three lived to adulthood – Maria Smith Pooley, Harriet Pooley and George Clinton Pooley (we’ll call him George Jr). The Bird family lived at 162 Bird Avenue.
Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time 