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=== Later Years ===
=== Later Years ===
Arthur married Annie Caribel Campen in 1919, and they had two children, Cline Brooks Ostrander and Arthur Frederick Ostrander.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} He lived his life in the Norfolk and [[Chesapeake]], Virginia areas, and after a successful career with the [[shipyard]], retired to his home in Chesapeake, dividing his leisure time [[fishing]], [[hunting]] and spending time with his family.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} He owned land in the so-called "outer banks" of [[North Carolina]], and often vacationed there in his [[cottage]]. He died suddenly in February 1978,<ref>Social Security Death Index of Arthur F. Ostrander, Jr.</ref> and was interred in [[Chesapeake Memorial Gardens]] beside his wife, who predeceased him in 1971.<ref>Cemetery records of Chesapeake Memorial Gardens, Chesapeake, Virginia.</ref>He was survived by his two sons, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Arthur married Annie Caribel Campen in 1919, and they had two children, Cline Brooks Ostrander and Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Jr.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} He lived his life in the Norfolk and [[Chesapeake]], Virginia areas, and after a successful career with the [[shipyard]], retired to his home in Chesapeake, dividing his leisure time [[fishing]], [[hunting]] and spending time with his family.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} He owned land in the so-called "outer banks" of [[North Carolina]], and often vacationed there in his [[cottage]]. He died suddenly in February 1978,<ref>Social Security Death Index of Arthur F. Ostrander, Jr.</ref> and was interred in [[Chesapeake Memorial Gardens]] beside his wife, who predeceased him in 1971.<ref>Cemetery records of Chesapeake Memorial Gardens, Chesapeake, Virginia.</ref>He was survived by his two sons, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.


=== Faith ===
=== Faith ===

Revision as of 14:24, 1 July 2008

Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Sr.
File:Poe&Arthur Ostrander 1907.jpg
George Poe and Arthur Ostrander, 1907
Born(1895-02-14)February 14, 1895
Died(1978-02-00)February , 1978
ChildrenCline Brooks Ostrander
Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Jr.
Parent(s)Abram Cline Ostrander
Harriet Louise Ostrander

Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Sr., was an assistant to the scientist and inventor George Poe in the early 20th century. He toured with Poe from mid-1907 through 1908 while still a child,[1] demonstrating how an artificial respiration device functioned. His assistance to Poe was instrumental in the successful development of the respiration device, as he performed the fine detail work and metal fabrication that Poe could no longer do.[2][3] [4]His face came to be one of the most well known of the time, having been featured in several large circulation newspapers[5].

Biography

Arthur was the youngest child of Abram Cline and Harriet Louise Ostrander.[6] He descended from Dutch settlers who migrated to the town of New Amsterdam (present day New York City) in the 1660s. He had five siblings: Louis (Lewis) Sherley Ostrander, George M. Ostrander, Cornelia Elizabeth Ostrander, Faith Wilbur Ostrander, and Helen Louise Ostrander.[7]

Early life

Arthur was born in the town of Schodack, Rensselaer County, New York, on his family's farm (named "Brookview Farmstead"), which was in the process of being subdivided after the death of his grandfather,[8] Walter Ostrander. Sometime during the late 1890s[9][10] his father moved the family south to Norfolk County, Virginia, and bought a large tract of land, using contacts gained from his wife's Virginia branch of the family. Arthur was raised to be a farmer, like his father before him. He attended public schools along with his siblings, and labored on the farm during term breaks.[citation needed]

From an early age, he exhibited an interest in science and an aptitude for mechanics. When his family boarded George Poe for several years, he began to assist the inventor with his work. Poe, by then nearly blind and paralytic, soon discovered the boy had both the technical skills and dexterity to perform fine metal work, and could act as his veritable hands and eyes on tasks of minute detail. Poe approached the Ostrander family with a proposition; if Arthur would assist him full time, he and his two assistants, (J. P. Jackson, M.D., and Francis Morgan, M.D.) would privately tutor Arthur through high school. The family consented, and he exited the schooling system to become a full time member of the artificial respiration device team at age ten.[citation needed]

He worked with Poe, Jackson, and Morgan for the next several years, and toured with them when they demonstrated the artificial respirator in 1907. In doing so he received a rigorous education in science, in addition to classes in Classical Studies and the arts provided quid pro quo by his tutors. Even though the device was well received, Poe's health continued to decline, and the device was never successfully marketed.[11] When Poe died in 1914, Arthur had already made plans to enter Apprentice School at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He completed training and became a skilled machinist, and later a supervisor.[citation needed]

Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Sr.
Arthur Ostrander and grandson Greg Ostrander, 1964

Later Years

Arthur married Annie Caribel Campen in 1919, and they had two children, Cline Brooks Ostrander and Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Jr.[citation needed] He lived his life in the Norfolk and Chesapeake, Virginia areas, and after a successful career with the shipyard, retired to his home in Chesapeake, dividing his leisure time fishing, hunting and spending time with his family.[citation needed] He owned land in the so-called "outer banks" of North Carolina, and often vacationed there in his cottage. He died suddenly in February 1978,[12] and was interred in Chesapeake Memorial Gardens beside his wife, who predeceased him in 1971.[13]He was survived by his two sons, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Faith

Arthur was raised an Episcopalian, but later joined the Methodist Church to which his wife belonged.[14] He was a Master Mason, and a member of South Norfolk Lodge, Chesapeake, Virginia.[citation needed]

Sources

  1. ^ "Bringing the Dead to Life: A Machine that Claims the Miracle", summary of events surrounding the device and its tour in the New York City area in 1907, The New York Herald, Magazine Section, April 7, 1907.
  2. ^ "Rabbit Killed Seven Times Brought Back to Life Each Time With Wonderful Machine", article states: "Not the least interesting feature of Prof. Poe's device is the fact that a mere 10 year old lad, Arthur Ostrander, acted as eyes and hands for the almost sightless and semi-paralyzed scientist in the construction of the device",The Washington Times, Magazine Section, page 4, January 27, 1907.
  3. ^ "This Machine Raises the Dead, Sobers Drunks", article states: "The boy Arthur, of whom the Professor was fond, assisted in assembling the model, and in doing what the Professor's palsied hands and dim eyes could no longer do", The Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette, page 24, March 10, 1907.
  4. ^ "It Raises the Dead", article states: "With the assistance of young Ostrander, he built a working model in line with the construction of the heart", The Newark Daily Advocate, March 11, 1907.
  5. ^ "Rabbit Killed Seven Times Brought Back to Life Each Time With Wonderful Machine", article published first picture of Poe and Arthur Ostrander together, The Washington Times, Magazine Section, page 4, January 27, 1907.
  6. ^ Ostrander, Vinton & Ostrander, Emmett. (1996).Ostrander: A Genealogical Record: 1660-1995, page 448, listing of children of Abram and Harriet Ostrander.
  7. ^ Ostrander, Vinton & Ostrander, Emmett. (1996). Ostrander: A Genealogical Record: 1660-1995, page 448.
  8. ^ Will of Walter Ostrander, executed August 29, 1887, upon the death of Eliza Ostrander.
  9. ^ Arthur Frederick Ostrander and family in the 1900 US Census
  10. ^ Indenture (land sale) from Abram C. Ostrander to Hendrik Privus, Schodack, NY, September 7, 1895.
  11. ^ Poe's cure for death.|url=http://www.nemsmf.org/content/articles/george-poe-pdf.pdf (New Scientist, 13 January 2007 pages 50-51)
  12. ^ Social Security Death Index of Arthur F. Ostrander, Jr.
  13. ^ Cemetery records of Chesapeake Memorial Gardens, Chesapeake, Virginia.
  14. ^ List of 50 Year Members of Chesapeake Avenue United Methodist Church, 1969, indicating membership starting in 1919, the year he married Annie Campen in that church. Harper, Raymond L.,(2005). South Norfolk Virginia 1661-2005, A Definitive History, page 98.