“A Christmas Ride" poem by Mrs. Le Grand Benedict (1870) http://doesnotevenrhyme.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-christmas-ride-by-mrs-le-grand.html It’s not a great poem - most of the ones I find aren’t - but I continue to find it interesting just how many poems were published in Troy newspapers by Troy authors. Emma Frances Gardner (1847-1932) had married Colonel Le Grand Benedict (1842-1912), both of Troy; they lived in Lansingburgh then moved to Brooklyn. I believe they’re both buried in Oakwood Cemetery. There’s at least a few different origin stories for Eggs Benedict, one attributing it to Mrs. Le Grand Benedict: "To the Editor: I am writing to correct the statement by Edward P. Montgomery concerning the origin of Eggs Benedict, as reported recently by Craig Claiborne. The true story, well known to the relations of Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, of whom I am one, is as follows. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict, when they lived in New York around the turn of the century, lunched every Saturday at Delmonico's. One day Mrs. Benedict said to the maitre d'hotel, 'Haven't you anything new or different to suggest?' On his reply that he would like to hear something new from her, she suggested poached eggs on toasted English muffins with a thin slice of ham, hollandaise sauce and a truffle on top. This recipe has gone around the world. Commodore E. C. Benedict, who was given the credit, was a cousin and undoubtedly enjoyed these eggs, but it would have been unlike him to have called them his inventions. The name is occasionally given, erroneously, as 'Eggs Benedictine.'--Mabel C. Butler, Vineyard Haven, Mass." ---Letters to the Editor, New York Times, November 26, 1967 (p. SM 40) http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodeggs.html Le Grand Benedict’s mansion in Lansingburgh was demolished in 1941. It’s pictured in Don Rittner’s Lansingburgh book https://books.google.com/books?id=srTW2Rf-JxoC&pg=PA19 and in an article about the Benedicts by the late Frances Broderick http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/Troy%20NY%20Times%20Record/Troy%20NY%20Times%20Record%201971/Troy%20NY%20Times%20Record%201971%20-%207251.pdf A fire station’s located there now. Chris