Chapter 16 Notes
2. "Saturday, April 7: Divorce of Adah Isaacs Menken," Vincent's Semi-Annual United States Register: A work in which the principal events of every half-year occurring in the United States are recorded, each arranged under the day of its date. Volume containing events transpiring between the 1st of January and 1st of July, 1860 (Philadelphia: Francis Vincent, 1860), 269.
3. New York Herald, "Knickerbocker Athletic Club," January 8, 1879, 10, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html.
4. New York Herald, "Skating Champions. Making Headway with Difficulty Against a Strong Northwest Wind," January 29, 1885, 9, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html; Spirit of the Times: The American Gentleman's Newspaper, "Skating. An Irish Yankee in Montreal: What Mr. Pfaff thinks," February 23, 1884, 99, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html.
Pfaff took part and was ultimately beaten in a unique race against then champion runner L.E. Myers. Pfaff skated for 115 yards while Myers, ran on the ice in shoes equipped with short spikes for a distance of 120 yards, and Myers bested Pfaff by about four feet. See Long Island City Daily Star, "A Novel Race," 9.2698 (January 23, 1885): 1. The Daily Star incorrectly refers to L. E. Myers as "S. E. Myers." But on January 17, 1885, at Van Courtlandt Lake, Pfaff took to the ice and finished first in the quarter mile race and, later, set a new record in the quarter-mile trials. See New York Clipper and Theatrical Journal, "Skating Against Time. Phillips and Pfaff Create New Records," January 24, 1885, 717, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html.
In 1884, Pfaff, Jr., then approximately twenty-seven years old, traveled from New York to Montreal to compete against Canadian skaters at the Victoria Rink. After the race, the American Gentleman's Newspaper printed an excerpt from a private letter Pfaff wrote about the skating competition. In his letter, the young skater described his defeat and his desire for a second race with the Canadian athletes:
I was beaten before the start, for almost any boy up there could turn the corners better than I, and why shouldn't they on the only place they skate on, the rinks? But I was beaten fair enough, only under disadvantages. [. . .]. I am the first American amateur who ever visited Canada to skate a race, and I was fairly beaten . . . I acknowledge they are great skaters, but I do not agree with THE SPIRIT that the best five men in Montreal could beat the best five in New York, on New York ice, and I would like to be one of the five to try it.Even though Pfaff was outpaced by at least a mile on the Victoria Rink, he seems proud to have been afforded the opportunity to skate in a race in Canada, and he appears to see himself as a pioneer, an amateur skater competing on Canadian ice for the first time. He goes on to say that "[a]ltogether it was very enjoyable trip" because he felt welcome and was "splendidly treated" by gentlemen from the various athletic clubs who attended the event. See the Spirit of the Times: The American Gentleman's Newspaper, "Skating. An Irish Yankee in Montreal: What Mr. Pfaff thinks," 99. Pfaff, Jr.'s letter also reveals his competitive spirit, and he seems eager for a rematch between Canadian and American skaters in his native New York, where he might have the advantage of a race in a venue where he had previous experience and practice. When Pfaff was not competing, he enjoyed skating at the Manhattan grounds in Eighty-sixth street and Eighth avenue, and he and his fellow skaters sometimes demonstrated "fine fancy skating" moves including "grapevines and spread eagles," much to the delight of on-lookers. See New York Herald, "Sporting Notes," December 26, 1884, 7, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html.
5. Spirit of the Times, "Amateur Athletic Records: Amateur Skating Records. Corrected up to March 21, 1885," March 28, 1885, 254, http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html.
Four years before the last Pfaff's closed, in January 1883, Charles Pfaff, Jr., was one of three young men—the others were William G. Brokaw and Louis Reyford—to compete in a ten- mile skating contest. At the start of the event, "[T]he crowd screamed, 'Go it, Charley,' and 'go it, Billy,' and the three skaters bounded vigorously forward for the lead. Pfaff, the smallest of the three, obtained it." New York Times, "Racing Ten Miles on Skates," January 24, 1883, 3. Pfaff remained in first place for the initial five miles of the competition before Brokaw passed him; however, on the final lap of the last mile, "Pfaff shot ahead, and Brokaw, in spite of all his efforts was unable to close with him. Pfaff came in the winner in 44:34 3-5. After his "most desperate effort" earned him the win, Pfaff "sank to the ice from exhaustion, but was quickly revived when taken to the dressing- rooms." St. Louis Globe-Democrat, "Sporting Sawyer Vanquished by Donovan at Straight Billiards (Sports): Skating. A Ten-Mile Race," January 26, 1883, 7.
6. New York Times, "Racing Ten Miles on Skates," 3.
7. "Charles Pfaff [Jr.]," 1920 United States Federal Census.
8. "Charles Pfaff [Jr.]," New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 11; Assembly District: 23; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 14, Ancestry.com, New York, State Census, 1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; "Charles Pfaff [Jr.]"; Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1578; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 1064; Image: 883.0; FHL microfilm: 2341313, Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2002, Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
9. "Charles Pfaff, [Jr.?]," Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: T627_2663; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 31-1649, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
10. New York City Death Index, New York City Death Records Search 1891-1948, Italian Genealogical Group, italiangen.org/records-search/deaths.php