Yale Monument
Salisbury Rural Cemetery

By Lisa Slaski

Photos: sorry about the angles!  It was difficult to get the monument centered in my little view-finder, due to the hilly terrain and my hurrying as my 13 month old son was screaming in his car seat even though his grandfather was still in the car with him (he couldn't see Mommy!).  But I hope the pictures still add interest to this article!

Yale Monument

An Unusual Monument


      This monument was dedicated by William T. Yale on 20 May 1939 to ten generations of the Yale family who made their way in this country.  The monument is made of granite stone with nine small gold plated bas-reliefs figures sculpted by Herman A. MacNeil of College Point, L.I.

Yale Monument
The Inventor

      The five figures on the front of the monument are clearly visible from the road with two additional figures on each of the narrow sides.  The reliefs represent the various professions of different members of the Yale family with each figure holding a tool or other symbol of that profession.  The figures are, from left to right, the: Settler, Surveyor, Revolutionary Soldier, Farmer, Inventor, Developer, Postmaster, Merchant, and Executive.

Yale Monument

      Under the reliefs on the front of the monument is the following inscription:

1637 - Yale - 1937
Landed at Boston from Wales
Settled in New Haven Colony, 1638
Came to Salisbury about 1810, whence
the last five of ten generations went forth

      The back side of the monument has a bronze plaque with the portraits of William T. Yale and Milton H. Yale in place of reliefs.

Yale Monument

      The inscription on this plaque reads as follows:

"The western part of this cemetery was given to the association by Milton H. Yale in 1907.  The Yale Memorial Trust Fund, given in 1922 by his son William T. Yale, and other cemetery benefactors, is an endowment for the cemetery's perpetual care."

      On the sides of the monument, under the figures, are the words "Courage" and "Wisdom" and the names and dates of William's 9 ancestors, himself and Fred S. Yale of Flushing, L. I.:

Thomas Yale 1616-1683
Capt. Thomas Yale 1647-1736
John Yale 1687-1782
Nash Yale 1715-1802
Nash Yale 1744-1789
Divan B. Yale 1772-1849
Allen Yale 1793-1865
Truman L. Yale 1815-1888
Milton H. Yale 1845-1920
William T. Yale 1875-1943
Fred S. Yale 1881-1971


      Divan B. Yale came from Meriden, CT and established a home in Salisbury on the first hill top east of Cold Brook along the Emmonsburg Road, on the west side of the road.  His son, Linus Yale, Sr., settled in Newport about 1835 and manufactured the first Yale lock there.  Power for the factory was provided by water driven wheels.  Linus was an inventor and locksmith and his son, Linus Yale, Jr., was a trained portrait painter who joined his father in 1849 in the lock business at Newport.

      The father and son are credited with manufacturing the tumbler lock as we know them today.  Linus, Sr., first concentrated on bank and vault locks, and later focused on producing locks to be used by the average person.  His son, Linus, Jr., developed the cylindrical pin tumbler lock and focused on reducing it's size, utilizing various types of keys.

Historical Markers
located on Rt 28 in Newport
OCTAGONAL HOUSE 
BUILT ABOUT 1850 BY
LINUS YALE
INVENTOR OF THE
YALE LOCK
THE YALE LOCK 
WAS FIRST MADE BY
LINUS YALE
IN A SHOP ON THIS SITE
1847

      In 1849 Linus, Sr., built the limestone Octagon House as a wedding gift for his daughter, Chlotilda, when she became the wife of Ira L. Cady.  This home, which still stands, has a spiral "hanging staircase" with no visible means of support and bosts a lock and key on every door, original to the house.  The house and the historical markers, whose inscriptions are provided above, are the only evidence now of the various buildings that Linus built or owned  in Newport.

     In 1855, Linus Yale, Jr., left Newport to move to Philadelphia and later Shelburne Falls, Mass where he also engaged in the manufature of locks.  Linus Yale, Sr. was born  27 April 1797 in Middletown, Ct. and died in Newport in 1857.  After his death the lock business in Newport was carried on by Tyler and Harris and later the Harris Brothers and Co. and they continued as manufacturers of Yale's Patent Locks and Night Latches.

      Meanwhile, in 1861, Linus Yale, Jr., replaced the fluted key with a flat key and in 1868 he entered into a partnership with Henry Robinson Towne and moved to Stamford, Ct., where they started the Yale Lock Manufacturing Company, now known as Yale & Towne.  Linus, Jr., was born in Salisbury on 4 April 1821 and died on 25 Dec 1868 unexpectedly, after a heart attack, while consulting about locks for New York City's new Equitable Building.

      While Linus Yale, Sr., held  at least 14 patents, 9 of which were related various to locks, his son was the inventor of the pin-tumbler lock which added fame to the name Yale.  The significance of this invention was that the small flat key was easier to carry if more than one were in daily use, from the previously large, heavy keys of the past, and the lock provided greater security and was capable of mass production, so that ti was available to everybody at a reasonable price.

      Allen Yale was a mechanic in his brother's, Linus Yale, Sr.'s, factory in Newport.  Truman L. Yale, grandfather of William T. Yale, had a sawmill at Cold Brook on the Emmonsburg Road (afterward known as the Hawks Mill).  He also served as postmaster before returning to Salisbury Center.


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Created: 1/9/00
Copyright © 2001 - 2009 Photos and Article - Lisa Slaski

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