Henry Shoemaker, Pennsylvania Folklorist & Historian

Henry Shoemaker at Restless Oaks, his McElhatten Estate,  1913 

along with Ramsden Rex, his English-bred Russian wolfhound.

Henry Wharton Shoemaker (February 24, 1880 – July 14, 1958) was a prominent American folklorist, historian, diplomat, writer, publisher, and conservationist.

 "Shoemaker preserved settler-versions of what were claimed to be some of the last surviving oral stories of the American Indians of Pennsylvania—the Lenni Lenape, the Iroquois, Shawnee, Susquehannock, Tuscarora, Oneida, and others."

 - Tom Shakely

A brilliant & prolific folklorist, Shoemaker  traveled all throughout Pennsylvania, recording the legends & folklore,  as he believed those stories are part of our history. Yes, perhaps, he also  embellished those stories,  and added to them.  He came under much criticism for that during his own lifetime, but it is exactly what any story teller of old would have done, as they told these stories around the fires, to the next generation.     

Shoemaker is also responsible for a large majority of the historical markers placed in our area, and he often led historical tours through the valley.  Unfortunately, he also had historical markers erected for events that most likely never happened, making it difficult to trust any of the history he presents. [Two examples come to mind - the marker for the Green Massacre in Sugar Valley, and the Tiadaghton Elm Declaration - neither event likely occurred, both have historical markers, thanks to Shoemaker.]  

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Shoemaker Stories & Connections

• Friend of  Science Fiction Writer H. Beam Piper
• Responsible for bringing the three columns from old State Capital Building to our area
• Responsible for The Historical Marker For A Tree That Doesn't Exist & An Event That May Not Have Happened - The Tiadaghton Elm
• The Lenape Wigwam Monument At McElhattan
• The Schwaben Creek Werewolf Legend
• Responsible for the creation of the Hairy John Picnic area

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Shoemaker's Restless Oaks Estate In McElhatten Pa

Henry Wharton Shoemaker was born February 24th 1880 to wealthy parents Henry Francis and Blanche (Quiggle) Shoemake, in New York. The Shoemaker family had a home in New York next to the Rockefellers, an estate in Connecticut, and the Restless Oaks Estate, a summer home in McElhatten Pa.  

He was a descendant of Michael Quigley, the first white settler in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. His father, Henry F. Shoemaker, was born in Orwigsburg, Penn., and his mother, Blanche Quiggle Shoemaker, was the niece of Judge C. A. Mayer of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. 

Shoemaker Attended Columbia University

Henry  would travel the world, own a newspaper in Altoona, work at the state museum at Harrisburg, and even serve as the U.S. Minister to Bulgaria, but it was to the mountains surrounding his McElhattan estate that he would return time and time again, and near there that he would choose to be buried.

A young Henry Shoemaker, at his desk, in Military Dress.  Date Unknown.

“Imagine a life that includes safaris to Africa, climbs to the world’s highest peaks, time on the front lines of war, and audiences with European royalty. Envision huge fortunes gained and lost. Think about efforts going into bringing lions, wolves, elk and other wild game into a private forest reserve stretching for 4,000 acres. From there you help initiate and name a vast system of state forests, parks, camps, and trails. Amass barns full of museum-quality remnants of pioneer life – wagons, canoes, spinning wheels, guns, and much, much more. While you’re at it, write more than 200 books and pamphlets, address thousands of groups, prepare a daily column, and manage four newspapers……….. If you can imagine all that, you have an idea of the enormity of Henry Shoemaker’s life.”

-- Popularizing Pennsylvania, by Simon J. Bronner

Shoemaker, according to his obituary,  "served as a U.S. envoy abroad, and befriended the King of Bulgaria when sent there as an American minister during President Herbert Hoover's term. Colonel Shoemaker also served as Secretary of the American Legation at Costa Rica, Portugal; Secretary of the Embassy at Berlin; and, from 1930 - 1933, American Minister to Bulgaria. A Colonel of military intelligence, Henry served in World War I, in special duty during World War II, and received a citation for exceptional services from the War Department"

A Partial Time Line Of Shoemakers Life

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1880- February 24 -Henry Wharton Shoemaker was born In New York State
1901  - Graduated From Columbia University

1903 - Secretary of the American Legation, Costa Rica and Lisbon

1904- 3rd Secretary at the American Embassy, Berlin Germany

1905 - Partner of Shoemaker, Bates & Co.

1907 - Married Beatrice Genevieve Barclay, June 12, At Newberry, Lycoming Co. Pa

1907 - Joined National Guard of New York

1910 - Divorced from wife

1913 - Married Mabel Ruth "Mabelle" Ord, May 10 in Westchester NY

1915 - Lieut. Col. in the National Guard

1917 - Received Honorary Doctorate from Juniata College

1917 - President of the Alpine Club

1917 - Member of the commission for National Defense

1918 - Member of the State Forest Commission

1918 - Occupation was Newspaper Publisher, in New York

1919 - President of the Hugeunot Society

1920 - Purchased the Altoona Tribune

1923  - Chairman of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission.

1924 - Received Honorary Doctorate from Franklin & Marshall College

1924 - Member of the State Geographic Board

1924  cofounded the Pennsylvania Folklore Society, along with Bishop J.H. Darlington.  Shoemaker was president from 1930-1957. 

1925 - President of the Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies

1930 - Foreign Minister to Bulgaria

1933 - Promoted to rank of Colonel, Officers Reserve Corps

1937 - appointed State Archivist for Pennsylvania in

1938 - Resided in Harrisburg, at 325 N. Front Street

1938- President Herbert Hoover appointed Shoemaker as the U.S. Minister to Bulgaria.

1939 - Awarded Order of Meritorious  for folklore research by Governor George H. Earle.

1939 -  Appointed director of the State Museum in Harrisburg 

1942 - Archivist, State Library, State Dept. of Instruction

1948 - After the Pennsylvania archives, museum, and historical commission merged to form the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission following World War II, Shoemaker oversaw the creation of the Division of Folklore in the commission  and took the position of the nation's first state folklorist. 

1958- July 14 Henry Wharton Shoemaker died, in Williamsport Pa.  He is buried in Lock Haven.

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Books By

Henry Wharton Shoemaker

(He published more than 200 books and pamphlets, the list below is merely a partial list.  My goal is to eventually link all of these to online sources where they can be read)

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1. The Black Moose in Pennsylvania
2. Stories of Great Pennsylvania Hunters
3. Pennsylvania wild cats
4. A WEEK IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS: The Record of a Happy Outing
5. The Man Pinchot: A Character Sketch of the Popular Candidate and Answer to Candidate McSparran
6. Proceedings of Dedication Ceremonies: Placing Names of Wayne Township Soldiers of World War, 1917-1918, on Monument at McElhattan, Clinton County, Pa;, July 5, 1920
7. Extinct Pennsylvania Animals (Volume 1): The Pennsylvania Lion or Panther
8. Extinct Pennsylvania Animals (Volume 2): Wolf Days in Pennsylvania
9. Susquehanna Legends: Collected in Central Pennsylvania
10. The Legends of the Nittany Valley
11. The Importance of Collecting Indian Legends
12. A Pennsylvania Bison Hunt; Being the Results of an Investigation Into the Causes and Period of the Destruction of These Noble Beasts in the Keystone State, Obtained from Descendants of the Original Hunters. Including a Sketch of the Career of Daniel Ott
13. The Last of the War Governors: A Biographical Appreciation of Colonel William Sprague
14. South Mountain Sketches: Folk Tales and Legends Collected in the Mountains of Southern Pennsylvania
15. A Catalogue of Early Pennsylvania and Other Firearms and Edged Weapons at "Restless Oaks", McElhattan, Pa.
16. More Allegheny Episodes: Legends and Traditions, Old and New, Gathered Among the Pennsylvania Mountains
17. Allegheny Episodes: Folk Lore and Legends Collected in Northern and Western Pennsylvania
18. North Pennsylvania Minstrelsy: As Sung in the Backwoods Settlements, Hunting Cabins and Lumber Camps in Northern Pennsylvania, 1840-1910
19. Eldorado Found: The Central Pennsylvania Highlands
20. Penn's Grandest Cavern: The History, Legends and Description of Penn's Cave in Centre County
21. Juniata Memories: Legends Collected in Central Pennsylvania
22. Pennsylvania Deer and Their Horns
23. Black Forest Souvenirs: Collected in Northern Pennsylvania
24. Pennsylvania Lion or Panther & Felis Catus in Pennsylvania
25. In the Seven Mountains: Legends Collected in Central Pennsylvania
26. The Indian Steps and Other Pennsylvania Mountain Stories
27. Tales of the Bald Eagle Mountains in Central Pennsylvania
28. More Pennsylvania Mountain Stories
29. Pennsylvania Mountain Stories
30. The Importance of Marking Historic Spots, an Address
31. A Pennsylvania Bison Hunt
32. Extinct Pennsylvania Animals: The Panther And The Wolf.-pt. Ii. Black Moose, Elk, Bison, Beaver, Pine Marten, Fisher, Glutton, Canada Lynx
33. Susquehanna Legends: Collected In Central Pennsylvania
34. Life and Adventures of Charles Baptiste Ariel, Famous Trapper of Pennsylvania's North Mountain Country (1920)
35. Two Addresses: Some Extinct Pennsylvania Birds, And, Observations on Wild Animals: Delivered Before the Audubon Society, and the Boys' Science Class, of Williamsport, Penna., High School, Longfellow's Birthday, February 27, 
36. Wild Life in Western Pennsylvania
37. The Last of the war Governors; a Biographical Appreciation of Colonel William Sprague
38. North Mountain Mementos
39. Extinct Pennsylvania Animals
40. Extinct Pennsylvania Animals: The Panther and the Wolf.-PT. II. Black Moose, Elk, Bison, Beaver, Pine Marten, Fisher, Glutton, Canada Lynx...
41. The Black Bear of Pennsylvania: Ursus Americanus
42. The man Pinchot; a Character Sketch of the Popular Candidate, and Answer to Candidate McSparran Volume 2
43. Elizabethan Days

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READ MORE

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https://amzn.to/3DbTAI5

(This is currently $80 on Amazon - so if any of you happen to see it at a yard sale, or thrift store, I'd really love to read it...  just not enough to spend $80 for it)

Henry W. Shoemaker

An Appreciation

By William M. Allison · 1915

Henry W. Shoemaker's first wife, without Shoemakers permission, attempted to have her second husband adopt their son, Henry Franklin Shoemaker.   The adoption was overturned.  

Wedding to Miss Mavelle Ord

Shoemaker's mother gifted him with a house in New York, as a gift for his second wedding.

He also was made a Knight of the Order of the Redeemer by the Greek government for his work on the Greek refugees in Central Pennsylvania, and King Boris of Bulgaria awarded him the Grand Cordon of the Order of Civil Merit.

Colonel Henry Wharton Shoemaker was born 24 Feb 1880 to Henry Francis and Blanche (Quiggle) Shoemaker in New York City and died 14 Jul 1958 at age 78 of a heart attack at Williamsport Hospital in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At the time of his passing, Henry resided in an apartment at 911 Front Street in Harrisburg, PA with a second home, Restless Oaks, in McElhattan A graduate of Columbia University, Colonel Shoemaker was a historian and diplomat who held major military posts, serving many years as state archivist and as a member of the State Historical Commission. He served as a U.S. envoy abroad, and befriended the King of Bulgaria when sent there as an American minister during President Herbert Hoover's term. Colonel Shoemaker also served as Secretary of the American Legation at Costa Rica, Portugal; Secretary of the Embassy at Berlin; and, from 1930 - 1933, American Minister to Bulgaria. A Colonel of military intelligence, Henry served in World War I, in special duty during World War II, and received a citation for exceptional services from the War Department. He was a descendant of Michael Quigley, the first white settler in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. His father, Henry F. Shoemaker, was born in Orwigsburg, Penn., and his mother, Blanche Quiggle Shoemaker, was the niece of Judge C. A. Mayer of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Colonel Shoemaker was also a founder and active member of Pennsylvania Alpine Society, and published "Pennsylvania Mountain Stories" in 1903, establishing him as a premier folklorist. He was survived by his second wife Mabelle (Ord) Shoemaker, son Henry F. Shoemaker of Switzerland, one granddaughter, sister Mrs. Donald Carr of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and nieces and nephews, including Alfred Wagstaff of Bermuda, Allen Shaw of Lafayette, Louisiana, Robert H. Gardner Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina, Henry Shoemaker Gardner of the U.S. Army at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and Mrs. Robert H. Gardner of Sewickley, Pennsylvania.