Founder and Benefactor of Starr Institute in Rhinebeck, NY
Established as a memorial to her husband, William Starr Miller.
"The sad duty devolves upon us of recording the death, after a long and painful illness, on the seventh instant, of Mrs. Mary B. Miller, in the seventy-fourth year of her age. For months her painful deprivation of sight had elicited the sympathies of all, and the deep hold which the record of a life spent in doing good gave her upon our hearts, made us feel almost as if her sufferings were ours. She was the granddaughter of Major-General Philip Schuyler and the daughter of Washington Morton and his wife, Cornelia Schuyler. Her parents dying in her early childhood, she was adopted into the family of her maternal uncle, Mr. Philip J. Schuyler, where she received the best education which the times afforded. She became the wife of Hon. William Starr Miller, an eminent and wealthy merchant and at one time a member of congress. With him she made the tour of Europe, and thus had an opportunity of mingling with the best societies at home and abroad, in all of which she shone as a lady of culture and refinement. By his death she became a widow in 1854, without children, and possessed of an ample fortune. Two years afterward she purchased the old homestead of her ancestors, in this town and the taste she displayed in refitting it rendered it one of the most beautiful and attractive residences in the county. The rare treasures of art with which it is adorned are surpassed by those in few private houses. There at “The Grove” for years, until disabled by disease, she was wont to extend to her friends the elegant and genial hospitalities of a refined Christian lady.
But her enlarged views embraced the wants of all of her neighbors. The sphere in which she was most at home was that of doing good to the needy. With a very large heart, she tried to imitate the example of her Lord. The poor, who were objects of her tender care, will feel her loss very deeply. Every church and pastor were partakers of her bounty, though she was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and for years one of its principal supporters. By her liberality and that of Mr. Horatio Miller, the handsome rectory of the Church of the Messiah was provided. Through her instrumentality the chapel adjoining the church we erected. She built, at her own expense, the rectory at Rhinecliff, and that mission was largely sustained by her purse.
In I860 she founded the Starr Institute, naming it after her respected husband. The elegant building with its appurtenances were presented by her as a gift to the board of trustees controlling them, for the use and benefit of the general public of Rhinebeck, where it will stand as a fitting monument to her memory.
Nor were her benefactions restricted to the immediate vicinity. Hospitals and institutions for spreading the gospel shared largely in her bounty, and to many of them she was a lifelong subscriber. She had a number of private stipendiaries, and her method of giving was so systematic that each was paid on a particular day with as much punctuality as if it were a debt. As known among us, her reputation was that of a large-hearted, Christian lady, whose liberality was only bounded by her means. She has left behind her a very (illegible phrase) a vacancy not easily filled.
Her funeral took place at one o'clock on the afternoon of the tenth instant, from “The Grove," her late residence, many relatives and friends being present. The services were conducted by Revs. Drs. Olmsted and Walsh, of the Episcopal, and Rev. Dr. Strobel, of the Lutheran church. Her remains were deposited with her ancestors in the old burying ground at the Grove."
Rhinebeck Gazette March 19, 1881
Starr Institute Beginnings
Before Starr
1857
"In July 1857, the plan for establishing a Reading Room and library in the village of Rhinebeck was commenced in a quiet manner, by renting and fitting up two rooms, to test the "Experiment." Amid many doubts, a prophesies of failure the rooms were furnished and made ready to use." Mrs. Mary Miller joined this group upon her return to Rhinebeck in 1858.
It is interesting to note that this original group may have been almost entirely composed of women. Nearly all of items listed in the original catalogue of 1858 were presented by women.
1858
In 1858 Mary Regina (nee Morton) Miller returned, permanently, to Rhinebeck after her husband's death in 1854. Mary R. Miller was the granddaughter of Revolutionary War General Philip John Schuyler. Her parents died shortly after her birth circa 1807 and her uncle Philip Jeremiah Schuyler of Rhinebeck became her guardian. Mary's husband was William Starr Miller. The Starr Institute was dedicated as a memorial to him.
In November 1858 "The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck" was published. The collection contained 666 bound volumes. Other materials included light reading pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals. There were 122 subscribers who paid fifty cents per year. A special room for the ladies had a subscription fee of $1.00
Mrs. Mary Miller donated nearly 1/3 of the books in the original collection. Mrs. William Kelly was a distant second. Mrs. W.B. [William Backhouse] Astor was among other well known names in the community. 99% of the books were donated by women.
1860
In 1860 Mary R. Miller purchased two pieces of property which were joined and became the site if the Starr Institute building.
"Being the same Lands conveyed to the Party of the first part by Two Deeds; One from John Ansele (??) and Wife dated the 26th of March 1860 and recorded in the Clerk's Office of Dutchess County in Book of Deeds No. 115 page 453 etc; the other from William S. Cowles and James A.A. Cowles dated May 1st 1860 and recorded in same office in Book of Deeds No 116 pages 440 etc and being the same Lot and Premises on which the Building known as the Starr Institute now stands."
The Starr Institute is born
1862
April 1862
On April 18, 1862, "An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute" was passed by the New York State legislature. Section 1. reads – "Mary R. Miller, Joshua S. Bowne, William Kelly, Freeborn Garrettson, Senior, Lewis Livingston, N.W.H. Judson, Theophilus Gillender, Homer Gray, William R. Schell, Ambrose Wager, Henry M. Taylor, James A.A. Cowles, William B. Platt, Theophilus Nelson, M.D., John N. Cramer, and Andrew J. Heermance, and their successors, are hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of The Starr Institute, to be located in the village of Rhinebeck in the county of Dutchess."
This group of 16 become the first trustees of the Starr Institute.
May 1862
Mary Miller deeds Starr Institute building on 5/20/1862 to newly incorporated Starr Institute.
Excerpts from Deed
…And whereas the object and purpose of the said Corporation, that Party of the second part, as expressed in its Act of Incorporation, are to furnish facilities for the Intellectual and moral improvement of the Inhabitants of the Town of Rhinebeck; and it is my desire and purpose to promote such Object and purpose by the grant of the Premises and Property which is hereby conveyed to the Corporation….
… I therefore accompany this grant with this my bequest to the Trustees of the Corporation and their Successors that they will not permit the Premises hereby conveyed to be used for Party Political Meetings, nor the holding of Courts and Trials of Cases at Law nor for Abolition Lectures or meetings, nor as a place for Balls and suppers, nor for the holding of any religious meeting or the Advocacy of any religious principles Except such as are commonly known as Orthodox. The several apartments in the Building to be kept with their furniture, to the use to which they are now appropriated…
… I also request the said Trustees and their successors that in filling vacancies in the Office of Trustees such selections shall be made as to prevent any one religious denomination from having at any time a majority of Members in the Board of Trustees…
Second deed conveying the furnishings and fixtures in the building, was recorded on the same day.
July 1862
Item from Rhinebeck Gazette -1862, July 22nd – The Starr Institute has been greatly improved in appearance during the past week by a coat of paint. It is now a great ornament to the village
Evidently they were sprucing up the building before the first meeting of the Board of Trustees
The Rhinebeck Gazette also reported on July 22, 1862 - We are informed that Mrs. W. Starr Miller, of this town, has sent to the Sanitary Commission, as her own contribution, Nine Hundred and Ninety Six articles of clothing…
On July 24, 1862 the first meeting of the Trustees was held with the 15 male trustees in attendance. Offices were elected and by-Laws accepted.
The Catalogue created in 1862 indicates the library collection had grown. There were 917 in the Circulating Library and 896 in the Standard [Reference] Library. The collection had nearly tripled in four years. In contrast to the first catalog, many additional works were donated by men
Starr Institute Programs
The Institute did not waste anytime, a program was announced in the next paper, July 29th 1862.
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, July 29th – Our citizens should not fail to attend the "Floral Concert," at the Starr Institute, Wednesday evening…
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, August 5th – The Floral Concert on Wednesday Evening, of last week, was attended by a large audience, who seemed greatly pleased with the performance. The "Flower Queen" is full of beautiful music, the greater part of which was well rendered. The performance of the little girls, Miss Peters and Miss Styles, was very fine and they were loudly applauded.
The concert was repeated on Thursday Evening, or the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers. The audience was a very good one.
Sources
An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute. Passed April 18, 1862 / People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly
Catalogue of the Starr Institute. Rhinebeck, N.Y. 1862 / New York: James Miller, 1862
Historic old Rhinebeck, echoes of two centuries : a Hudson River and post road colonial town / Howard Holdridge Morse / Rhinebeck: Howard H. Morse, 1908
The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck Rhinebeck: G.W. Clarke, 1858
Rhinebeck Gazette, July 22, 1862; July 29, 1862; August 5, 1862
Compiled by Beverly Kane, MLS
March 2012
Established as a memorial to her husband, William Starr Miller.
"The sad duty devolves upon us of recording the death, after a long and painful illness, on the seventh instant, of Mrs. Mary B. Miller, in the seventy-fourth year of her age. For months her painful deprivation of sight had elicited the sympathies of all, and the deep hold which the record of a life spent in doing good gave her upon our hearts, made us feel almost as if her sufferings were ours. She was the granddaughter of Major-General Philip Schuyler and the daughter of Washington Morton and his wife, Cornelia Schuyler. Her parents dying in her early childhood, she was adopted into the family of her maternal uncle, Mr. Philip J. Schuyler, where she received the best education which the times afforded. She became the wife of Hon. William Starr Miller, an eminent and wealthy merchant and at one time a member of congress. With him she made the tour of Europe, and thus had an opportunity of mingling with the best societies at home and abroad, in all of which she shone as a lady of culture and refinement. By his death she became a widow in 1854, without children, and possessed of an ample fortune. Two years afterward she purchased the old homestead of her ancestors, in this town and the taste she displayed in refitting it rendered it one of the most beautiful and attractive residences in the county. The rare treasures of art with which it is adorned are surpassed by those in few private houses. There at “The Grove” for years, until disabled by disease, she was wont to extend to her friends the elegant and genial hospitalities of a refined Christian lady.
But her enlarged views embraced the wants of all of her neighbors. The sphere in which she was most at home was that of doing good to the needy. With a very large heart, she tried to imitate the example of her Lord. The poor, who were objects of her tender care, will feel her loss very deeply. Every church and pastor were partakers of her bounty, though she was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and for years one of its principal supporters. By her liberality and that of Mr. Horatio Miller, the handsome rectory of the Church of the Messiah was provided. Through her instrumentality the chapel adjoining the church we erected. She built, at her own expense, the rectory at Rhinecliff, and that mission was largely sustained by her purse.
In I860 she founded the Starr Institute, naming it after her respected husband. The elegant building with its appurtenances were presented by her as a gift to the board of trustees controlling them, for the use and benefit of the general public of Rhinebeck, where it will stand as a fitting monument to her memory.
Nor were her benefactions restricted to the immediate vicinity. Hospitals and institutions for spreading the gospel shared largely in her bounty, and to many of them she was a lifelong subscriber. She had a number of private stipendiaries, and her method of giving was so systematic that each was paid on a particular day with as much punctuality as if it were a debt. As known among us, her reputation was that of a large-hearted, Christian lady, whose liberality was only bounded by her means. She has left behind her a very (illegible phrase) a vacancy not easily filled.
Her funeral took place at one o'clock on the afternoon of the tenth instant, from “The Grove," her late residence, many relatives and friends being present. The services were conducted by Revs. Drs. Olmsted and Walsh, of the Episcopal, and Rev. Dr. Strobel, of the Lutheran church. Her remains were deposited with her ancestors in the old burying ground at the Grove."
Rhinebeck Gazette March 19, 1881
Starr Institute Beginnings
Before Starr
1857
"In July 1857, the plan for establishing a Reading Room and library in the village of Rhinebeck was commenced in a quiet manner, by renting and fitting up two rooms, to test the "Experiment." Amid many doubts, a prophesies of failure the rooms were furnished and made ready to use." Mrs. Mary Miller joined this group upon her return to Rhinebeck in 1858.
It is interesting to note that this original group may have been almost entirely composed of women. Nearly all of items listed in the original catalogue of 1858 were presented by women.
1858
In 1858 Mary Regina (nee Morton) Miller returned, permanently, to Rhinebeck after her husband's death in 1854. Mary R. Miller was the granddaughter of Revolutionary War General Philip John Schuyler. Her parents died shortly after her birth circa 1807 and her uncle Philip Jeremiah Schuyler of Rhinebeck became her guardian. Mary's husband was William Starr Miller. The Starr Institute was dedicated as a memorial to him.
In November 1858 "The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck" was published. The collection contained 666 bound volumes. Other materials included light reading pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals. There were 122 subscribers who paid fifty cents per year. A special room for the ladies had a subscription fee of $1.00
Mrs. Mary Miller donated nearly 1/3 of the books in the original collection. Mrs. William Kelly was a distant second. Mrs. W.B. [William Backhouse] Astor was among other well known names in the community. 99% of the books were donated by women.
1860
In 1860 Mary R. Miller purchased two pieces of property which were joined and became the site if the Starr Institute building.
"Being the same Lands conveyed to the Party of the first part by Two Deeds; One from John Ansele (??) and Wife dated the 26th of March 1860 and recorded in the Clerk's Office of Dutchess County in Book of Deeds No. 115 page 453 etc; the other from William S. Cowles and James A.A. Cowles dated May 1st 1860 and recorded in same office in Book of Deeds No 116 pages 440 etc and being the same Lot and Premises on which the Building known as the Starr Institute now stands."
The Starr Institute is born
1862
April 1862
On April 18, 1862, "An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute" was passed by the New York State legislature. Section 1. reads – "Mary R. Miller, Joshua S. Bowne, William Kelly, Freeborn Garrettson, Senior, Lewis Livingston, N.W.H. Judson, Theophilus Gillender, Homer Gray, William R. Schell, Ambrose Wager, Henry M. Taylor, James A.A. Cowles, William B. Platt, Theophilus Nelson, M.D., John N. Cramer, and Andrew J. Heermance, and their successors, are hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of The Starr Institute, to be located in the village of Rhinebeck in the county of Dutchess."
This group of 16 become the first trustees of the Starr Institute.
May 1862
Mary Miller deeds Starr Institute building on 5/20/1862 to newly incorporated Starr Institute.
Excerpts from Deed
…And whereas the object and purpose of the said Corporation, that Party of the second part, as expressed in its Act of Incorporation, are to furnish facilities for the Intellectual and moral improvement of the Inhabitants of the Town of Rhinebeck; and it is my desire and purpose to promote such Object and purpose by the grant of the Premises and Property which is hereby conveyed to the Corporation….
… I therefore accompany this grant with this my bequest to the Trustees of the Corporation and their Successors that they will not permit the Premises hereby conveyed to be used for Party Political Meetings, nor the holding of Courts and Trials of Cases at Law nor for Abolition Lectures or meetings, nor as a place for Balls and suppers, nor for the holding of any religious meeting or the Advocacy of any religious principles Except such as are commonly known as Orthodox. The several apartments in the Building to be kept with their furniture, to the use to which they are now appropriated…
… I also request the said Trustees and their successors that in filling vacancies in the Office of Trustees such selections shall be made as to prevent any one religious denomination from having at any time a majority of Members in the Board of Trustees…
Second deed conveying the furnishings and fixtures in the building, was recorded on the same day.
July 1862
Item from Rhinebeck Gazette -1862, July 22nd – The Starr Institute has been greatly improved in appearance during the past week by a coat of paint. It is now a great ornament to the village
Evidently they were sprucing up the building before the first meeting of the Board of Trustees
The Rhinebeck Gazette also reported on July 22, 1862 - We are informed that Mrs. W. Starr Miller, of this town, has sent to the Sanitary Commission, as her own contribution, Nine Hundred and Ninety Six articles of clothing…
On July 24, 1862 the first meeting of the Trustees was held with the 15 male trustees in attendance. Offices were elected and by-Laws accepted.
The Catalogue created in 1862 indicates the library collection had grown. There were 917 in the Circulating Library and 896 in the Standard [Reference] Library. The collection had nearly tripled in four years. In contrast to the first catalog, many additional works were donated by men
Starr Institute Programs
The Institute did not waste anytime, a program was announced in the next paper, July 29th 1862.
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, July 29th – Our citizens should not fail to attend the "Floral Concert," at the Starr Institute, Wednesday evening…
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, August 5th – The Floral Concert on Wednesday Evening, of last week, was attended by a large audience, who seemed greatly pleased with the performance. The "Flower Queen" is full of beautiful music, the greater part of which was well rendered. The performance of the little girls, Miss Peters and Miss Styles, was very fine and they were loudly applauded.
The concert was repeated on Thursday Evening, or the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers. The audience was a very good one.
Sources
An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute. Passed April 18, 1862 / People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly
Catalogue of the Starr Institute. Rhinebeck, N.Y. 1862 / New York: James Miller, 1862
Historic old Rhinebeck, echoes of two centuries : a Hudson River and post road colonial town / Howard Holdridge Morse / Rhinebeck: Howard H. Morse, 1908
The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck Rhinebeck: G.W. Clarke, 1858
Rhinebeck Gazette, July 22, 1862; July 29, 1862; August 5, 1862
Compiled by Beverly Kane, MLS
March 2012
Founder and Benefactor of Starr Institute in Rhinebeck, NY
Established as a memorial to her husband, William Starr Miller.
"The sad duty devolves upon us of recording the death, after a long and painful illness, on the seventh instant, of Mrs. Mary B. Miller, in the seventy-fourth year of her age. For months her painful deprivation of sight had elicited the sympathies of all, and the deep hold which the record of a life spent in doing good gave her upon our hearts, made us feel almost as if her sufferings were ours. She was the granddaughter of Major-General Philip Schuyler and the daughter of Washington Morton and his wife, Cornelia Schuyler. Her parents dying in her early childhood, she was adopted into the family of her maternal uncle, Mr. Philip J. Schuyler, where she received the best education which the times afforded. She became the wife of Hon. William Starr Miller, an eminent and wealthy merchant and at one time a member of congress. With him she made the tour of Europe, and thus had an opportunity of mingling with the best societies at home and abroad, in all of which she shone as a lady of culture and refinement. By his death she became a widow in 1854, without children, and possessed of an ample fortune. Two years afterward she purchased the old homestead of her ancestors, in this town and the taste she displayed in refitting it rendered it one of the most beautiful and attractive residences in the county. The rare treasures of art with which it is adorned are surpassed by those in few private houses. There at “The Grove” for years, until disabled by disease, she was wont to extend to her friends the elegant and genial hospitalities of a refined Christian lady.
But her enlarged views embraced the wants of all of her neighbors. The sphere in which she was most at home was that of doing good to the needy. With a very large heart, she tried to imitate the example of her Lord. The poor, who were objects of her tender care, will feel her loss very deeply. Every church and pastor were partakers of her bounty, though she was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and for years one of its principal supporters. By her liberality and that of Mr. Horatio Miller, the handsome rectory of the Church of the Messiah was provided. Through her instrumentality the chapel adjoining the church we erected. She built, at her own expense, the rectory at Rhinecliff, and that mission was largely sustained by her purse.
In I860 she founded the Starr Institute, naming it after her respected husband. The elegant building with its appurtenances were presented by her as a gift to the board of trustees controlling them, for the use and benefit of the general public of Rhinebeck, where it will stand as a fitting monument to her memory.
Nor were her benefactions restricted to the immediate vicinity. Hospitals and institutions for spreading the gospel shared largely in her bounty, and to many of them she was a lifelong subscriber. She had a number of private stipendiaries, and her method of giving was so systematic that each was paid on a particular day with as much punctuality as if it were a debt. As known among us, her reputation was that of a large-hearted, Christian lady, whose liberality was only bounded by her means. She has left behind her a very (illegible phrase) a vacancy not easily filled.
Her funeral took place at one o'clock on the afternoon of the tenth instant, from “The Grove," her late residence, many relatives and friends being present. The services were conducted by Revs. Drs. Olmsted and Walsh, of the Episcopal, and Rev. Dr. Strobel, of the Lutheran church. Her remains were deposited with her ancestors in the old burying ground at the Grove."
Rhinebeck Gazette March 19, 1881
Starr Institute Beginnings
Before Starr
1857
"In July 1857, the plan for establishing a Reading Room and library in the village of Rhinebeck was commenced in a quiet manner, by renting and fitting up two rooms, to test the "Experiment." Amid many doubts, a prophesies of failure the rooms were furnished and made ready to use." Mrs. Mary Miller joined this group upon her return to Rhinebeck in 1858.
It is interesting to note that this original group may have been almost entirely composed of women. Nearly all of items listed in the original catalogue of 1858 were presented by women.
1858
In 1858 Mary Regina (nee Morton) Miller returned, permanently, to Rhinebeck after her husband's death in 1854. Mary R. Miller was the granddaughter of Revolutionary War General Philip John Schuyler. Her parents died shortly after her birth circa 1807 and her uncle Philip Jeremiah Schuyler of Rhinebeck became her guardian. Mary's husband was William Starr Miller. The Starr Institute was dedicated as a memorial to him.
In November 1858 "The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck" was published. The collection contained 666 bound volumes. Other materials included light reading pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals. There were 122 subscribers who paid fifty cents per year. A special room for the ladies had a subscription fee of $1.00
Mrs. Mary Miller donated nearly 1/3 of the books in the original collection. Mrs. William Kelly was a distant second. Mrs. W.B. [William Backhouse] Astor was among other well known names in the community. 99% of the books were donated by women.
1860
In 1860 Mary R. Miller purchased two pieces of property which were joined and became the site if the Starr Institute building.
"Being the same Lands conveyed to the Party of the first part by Two Deeds; One from John Ansele (??) and Wife dated the 26th of March 1860 and recorded in the Clerk's Office of Dutchess County in Book of Deeds No. 115 page 453 etc; the other from William S. Cowles and James A.A. Cowles dated May 1st 1860 and recorded in same office in Book of Deeds No 116 pages 440 etc and being the same Lot and Premises on which the Building known as the Starr Institute now stands."
The Starr Institute is born
1862
April 1862
On April 18, 1862, "An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute" was passed by the New York State legislature. Section 1. reads – "Mary R. Miller, Joshua S. Bowne, William Kelly, Freeborn Garrettson, Senior, Lewis Livingston, N.W.H. Judson, Theophilus Gillender, Homer Gray, William R. Schell, Ambrose Wager, Henry M. Taylor, James A.A. Cowles, William B. Platt, Theophilus Nelson, M.D., John N. Cramer, and Andrew J. Heermance, and their successors, are hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of The Starr Institute, to be located in the village of Rhinebeck in the county of Dutchess."
This group of 16 become the first trustees of the Starr Institute.
May 1862
Mary Miller deeds Starr Institute building on 5/20/1862 to newly incorporated Starr Institute.
Excerpts from Deed
…And whereas the object and purpose of the said Corporation, that Party of the second part, as expressed in its Act of Incorporation, are to furnish facilities for the Intellectual and moral improvement of the Inhabitants of the Town of Rhinebeck; and it is my desire and purpose to promote such Object and purpose by the grant of the Premises and Property which is hereby conveyed to the Corporation….
… I therefore accompany this grant with this my bequest to the Trustees of the Corporation and their Successors that they will not permit the Premises hereby conveyed to be used for Party Political Meetings, nor the holding of Courts and Trials of Cases at Law nor for Abolition Lectures or meetings, nor as a place for Balls and suppers, nor for the holding of any religious meeting or the Advocacy of any religious principles Except such as are commonly known as Orthodox. The several apartments in the Building to be kept with their furniture, to the use to which they are now appropriated…
… I also request the said Trustees and their successors that in filling vacancies in the Office of Trustees such selections shall be made as to prevent any one religious denomination from having at any time a majority of Members in the Board of Trustees…
Second deed conveying the furnishings and fixtures in the building, was recorded on the same day.
July 1862
Item from Rhinebeck Gazette -1862, July 22nd – The Starr Institute has been greatly improved in appearance during the past week by a coat of paint. It is now a great ornament to the village
Evidently they were sprucing up the building before the first meeting of the Board of Trustees
The Rhinebeck Gazette also reported on July 22, 1862 - We are informed that Mrs. W. Starr Miller, of this town, has sent to the Sanitary Commission, as her own contribution, Nine Hundred and Ninety Six articles of clothing…
On July 24, 1862 the first meeting of the Trustees was held with the 15 male trustees in attendance. Offices were elected and by-Laws accepted.
The Catalogue created in 1862 indicates the library collection had grown. There were 917 in the Circulating Library and 896 in the Standard [Reference] Library. The collection had nearly tripled in four years. In contrast to the first catalog, many additional works were donated by men
Starr Institute Programs
The Institute did not waste anytime, a program was announced in the next paper, July 29th 1862.
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, July 29th – Our citizens should not fail to attend the "Floral Concert," at the Starr Institute, Wednesday evening…
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, August 5th – The Floral Concert on Wednesday Evening, of last week, was attended by a large audience, who seemed greatly pleased with the performance. The "Flower Queen" is full of beautiful music, the greater part of which was well rendered. The performance of the little girls, Miss Peters and Miss Styles, was very fine and they were loudly applauded.
The concert was repeated on Thursday Evening, or the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers. The audience was a very good one.
Sources
An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute. Passed April 18, 1862 / People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly
Catalogue of the Starr Institute. Rhinebeck, N.Y. 1862 / New York: James Miller, 1862
Historic old Rhinebeck, echoes of two centuries : a Hudson River and post road colonial town / Howard Holdridge Morse / Rhinebeck: Howard H. Morse, 1908
The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck Rhinebeck: G.W. Clarke, 1858
Rhinebeck Gazette, July 22, 1862; July 29, 1862; August 5, 1862
Compiled by Beverly Kane, MLS
March 2012
Established as a memorial to her husband, William Starr Miller.
"The sad duty devolves upon us of recording the death, after a long and painful illness, on the seventh instant, of Mrs. Mary B. Miller, in the seventy-fourth year of her age. For months her painful deprivation of sight had elicited the sympathies of all, and the deep hold which the record of a life spent in doing good gave her upon our hearts, made us feel almost as if her sufferings were ours. She was the granddaughter of Major-General Philip Schuyler and the daughter of Washington Morton and his wife, Cornelia Schuyler. Her parents dying in her early childhood, she was adopted into the family of her maternal uncle, Mr. Philip J. Schuyler, where she received the best education which the times afforded. She became the wife of Hon. William Starr Miller, an eminent and wealthy merchant and at one time a member of congress. With him she made the tour of Europe, and thus had an opportunity of mingling with the best societies at home and abroad, in all of which she shone as a lady of culture and refinement. By his death she became a widow in 1854, without children, and possessed of an ample fortune. Two years afterward she purchased the old homestead of her ancestors, in this town and the taste she displayed in refitting it rendered it one of the most beautiful and attractive residences in the county. The rare treasures of art with which it is adorned are surpassed by those in few private houses. There at “The Grove” for years, until disabled by disease, she was wont to extend to her friends the elegant and genial hospitalities of a refined Christian lady.
But her enlarged views embraced the wants of all of her neighbors. The sphere in which she was most at home was that of doing good to the needy. With a very large heart, she tried to imitate the example of her Lord. The poor, who were objects of her tender care, will feel her loss very deeply. Every church and pastor were partakers of her bounty, though she was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and for years one of its principal supporters. By her liberality and that of Mr. Horatio Miller, the handsome rectory of the Church of the Messiah was provided. Through her instrumentality the chapel adjoining the church we erected. She built, at her own expense, the rectory at Rhinecliff, and that mission was largely sustained by her purse.
In I860 she founded the Starr Institute, naming it after her respected husband. The elegant building with its appurtenances were presented by her as a gift to the board of trustees controlling them, for the use and benefit of the general public of Rhinebeck, where it will stand as a fitting monument to her memory.
Nor were her benefactions restricted to the immediate vicinity. Hospitals and institutions for spreading the gospel shared largely in her bounty, and to many of them she was a lifelong subscriber. She had a number of private stipendiaries, and her method of giving was so systematic that each was paid on a particular day with as much punctuality as if it were a debt. As known among us, her reputation was that of a large-hearted, Christian lady, whose liberality was only bounded by her means. She has left behind her a very (illegible phrase) a vacancy not easily filled.
Her funeral took place at one o'clock on the afternoon of the tenth instant, from “The Grove," her late residence, many relatives and friends being present. The services were conducted by Revs. Drs. Olmsted and Walsh, of the Episcopal, and Rev. Dr. Strobel, of the Lutheran church. Her remains were deposited with her ancestors in the old burying ground at the Grove."
Rhinebeck Gazette March 19, 1881
Starr Institute Beginnings
Before Starr
1857
"In July 1857, the plan for establishing a Reading Room and library in the village of Rhinebeck was commenced in a quiet manner, by renting and fitting up two rooms, to test the "Experiment." Amid many doubts, a prophesies of failure the rooms were furnished and made ready to use." Mrs. Mary Miller joined this group upon her return to Rhinebeck in 1858.
It is interesting to note that this original group may have been almost entirely composed of women. Nearly all of items listed in the original catalogue of 1858 were presented by women.
1858
In 1858 Mary Regina (nee Morton) Miller returned, permanently, to Rhinebeck after her husband's death in 1854. Mary R. Miller was the granddaughter of Revolutionary War General Philip John Schuyler. Her parents died shortly after her birth circa 1807 and her uncle Philip Jeremiah Schuyler of Rhinebeck became her guardian. Mary's husband was William Starr Miller. The Starr Institute was dedicated as a memorial to him.
In November 1858 "The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck" was published. The collection contained 666 bound volumes. Other materials included light reading pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals. There were 122 subscribers who paid fifty cents per year. A special room for the ladies had a subscription fee of $1.00
Mrs. Mary Miller donated nearly 1/3 of the books in the original collection. Mrs. William Kelly was a distant second. Mrs. W.B. [William Backhouse] Astor was among other well known names in the community. 99% of the books were donated by women.
1860
In 1860 Mary R. Miller purchased two pieces of property which were joined and became the site if the Starr Institute building.
"Being the same Lands conveyed to the Party of the first part by Two Deeds; One from John Ansele (??) and Wife dated the 26th of March 1860 and recorded in the Clerk's Office of Dutchess County in Book of Deeds No. 115 page 453 etc; the other from William S. Cowles and James A.A. Cowles dated May 1st 1860 and recorded in same office in Book of Deeds No 116 pages 440 etc and being the same Lot and Premises on which the Building known as the Starr Institute now stands."
The Starr Institute is born
1862
April 1862
On April 18, 1862, "An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute" was passed by the New York State legislature. Section 1. reads – "Mary R. Miller, Joshua S. Bowne, William Kelly, Freeborn Garrettson, Senior, Lewis Livingston, N.W.H. Judson, Theophilus Gillender, Homer Gray, William R. Schell, Ambrose Wager, Henry M. Taylor, James A.A. Cowles, William B. Platt, Theophilus Nelson, M.D., John N. Cramer, and Andrew J. Heermance, and their successors, are hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of The Starr Institute, to be located in the village of Rhinebeck in the county of Dutchess."
This group of 16 become the first trustees of the Starr Institute.
May 1862
Mary Miller deeds Starr Institute building on 5/20/1862 to newly incorporated Starr Institute.
Excerpts from Deed
…And whereas the object and purpose of the said Corporation, that Party of the second part, as expressed in its Act of Incorporation, are to furnish facilities for the Intellectual and moral improvement of the Inhabitants of the Town of Rhinebeck; and it is my desire and purpose to promote such Object and purpose by the grant of the Premises and Property which is hereby conveyed to the Corporation….
… I therefore accompany this grant with this my bequest to the Trustees of the Corporation and their Successors that they will not permit the Premises hereby conveyed to be used for Party Political Meetings, nor the holding of Courts and Trials of Cases at Law nor for Abolition Lectures or meetings, nor as a place for Balls and suppers, nor for the holding of any religious meeting or the Advocacy of any religious principles Except such as are commonly known as Orthodox. The several apartments in the Building to be kept with their furniture, to the use to which they are now appropriated…
… I also request the said Trustees and their successors that in filling vacancies in the Office of Trustees such selections shall be made as to prevent any one religious denomination from having at any time a majority of Members in the Board of Trustees…
Second deed conveying the furnishings and fixtures in the building, was recorded on the same day.
July 1862
Item from Rhinebeck Gazette -1862, July 22nd – The Starr Institute has been greatly improved in appearance during the past week by a coat of paint. It is now a great ornament to the village
Evidently they were sprucing up the building before the first meeting of the Board of Trustees
The Rhinebeck Gazette also reported on July 22, 1862 - We are informed that Mrs. W. Starr Miller, of this town, has sent to the Sanitary Commission, as her own contribution, Nine Hundred and Ninety Six articles of clothing…
On July 24, 1862 the first meeting of the Trustees was held with the 15 male trustees in attendance. Offices were elected and by-Laws accepted.
The Catalogue created in 1862 indicates the library collection had grown. There were 917 in the Circulating Library and 896 in the Standard [Reference] Library. The collection had nearly tripled in four years. In contrast to the first catalog, many additional works were donated by men
Starr Institute Programs
The Institute did not waste anytime, a program was announced in the next paper, July 29th 1862.
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, July 29th – Our citizens should not fail to attend the "Floral Concert," at the Starr Institute, Wednesday evening…
Rhinebeck Gazette 1862, August 5th – The Floral Concert on Wednesday Evening, of last week, was attended by a large audience, who seemed greatly pleased with the performance. The "Flower Queen" is full of beautiful music, the greater part of which was well rendered. The performance of the little girls, Miss Peters and Miss Styles, was very fine and they were loudly applauded.
The concert was repeated on Thursday Evening, or the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers. The audience was a very good one.
Sources
An Act to Incorporate the Starr Institute. Passed April 18, 1862 / People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly
Catalogue of the Starr Institute. Rhinebeck, N.Y. 1862 / New York: James Miller, 1862
Historic old Rhinebeck, echoes of two centuries : a Hudson River and post road colonial town / Howard Holdridge Morse / Rhinebeck: Howard H. Morse, 1908
The Report and Catalogue of the Reading Hall and Circulating Library at Rhinebeck Rhinebeck: G.W. Clarke, 1858
Rhinebeck Gazette, July 22, 1862; July 29, 1862; August 5, 1862
Compiled by Beverly Kane, MLS
March 2012
Inscription
daughters of Washington Morton & Cornelia Schuyler
Gravesite Details
wife of William Starr Miller
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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