Hi Listers: My g-grandmother,Charlotte E. Monroe in a letter to my grandfather Charles W. Levis and later to my father Willis S. Levis Sr.,she indicated the the fire in Troy destroyed all of any documents of the family John Wilkes Ryan m.Anna Rowley.d.Caroline Ryan. They have become a brick wall.for me.Their names have not surfaced in any reports that I'v read. Help. Good hunting. Willis S. Levis Jr.( Bill L.) -----Original Message----- From: Marianne Briggs <mbriggs@nycap.rr.com> To: NYRENSSE-L@rootsweb.com <NYRENSSE-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000 9:00 AM Subject: [NYRENSSE] Great Fire of Troy >Troy actually had three "Great" fires, but the one in 1862 was the last and >the greatest as far as overall damages and area destroyed. According to >Anderson's "Landmarks of Rensselaer County", the total burned area covered >about 75 acres and encompassed about $2.6 million in property losses. >(Think of that amount in 1862!) > > He mentions "several" people who died in the fire, but the enormous >devastation to the downtown part of the city was the big story. The fire did >start on the wooden railroad bridge over the Hudson which was located where >the Green Island bridge is now. What really made the difference was a brisk >northwest wind which blew flaming pieces of the bridge far over the city, >sparking little blazes all over town which were then fanned by the wind. > >I remember reading contemporary newspaper accounts, which kind of strained >credulity, that claimed flaming embers were seen in places miles away. > >The area which was almost completely leveled was bounded by Federal St on >the north, Congress St. on the south, the river on the west and Eighth St on >the east. Curiously, given that the fire which sparked the whole thing was >right on the river, the blocks closest to the river were actually less >scorched than streets futher away, because of the southeasterly direction of >the wind gusts which blew the fire uphill, so to speak. > > I think I read somewhere that the fire was part of the impetus for the >"Institute" (RPI) starting its move out of the downtown and up onto the hill >on Eighth St. when they were re-building after the fire. > >There was a massive subscription drive to aid individuals and the city as a >whole, and that money came in from all over the world. By the following >year, most of the city was either rebuilt or in the process of being >rebuilt. It really was an extraordinary effort. > >Marianne Briggs > >mbriggs@nycap.rr.com > > > >==== NYRENSSE Mailing List ==== >Some Rensselaer Births, Marriages & Deaths: http://www.angelfire.com/fl/Sumter/Troy.html >Rensselaer County Genweb page: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyrensse/ >GenConnect Board: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/NY/Rensselaer >Listowner: Pat Connors mailto:nymets11@pacbell.net > >