THE WINNING ENTRY & JESSE PENDERGRAST’S PRIZE
The almost 300 entries in the first contest, which ended in February 1866, were judged by Bourne, as well as many prominent New Yorkers. The Unitarian pastor of the First Congregational Church (later All Souls Church) in New York City, Rev. Henry W. Bellows (1814-1882) served as president of the United States Sanitary Commission, a leading soldiers’ aid society during and after the war. Poet William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) edited The New York Evening Post. Author George William Curtis (1824-1892) edited Harper’s Weekly, an influential national publication. Businessman and philanthropist William Earl Dodge, Jr. (1832-1903) was a founder of the Union League Club in New York City, and had experience with soldiers’ issues after serving on a commission that monitored the conditions of New York State troops during the war. Reuben E. Fenton (1819-1885) represented districts in western New York in the United States House of Representatives during the Civil War, and was the governor of New York at the time of the contest. New York lawyer Howard Potter (1826-1897) served as the treasurer of the United States Sanitary Commission. New York businessman and philanthropist Theodore Roosevelt (1831-1878) worked on behalf of soldiers’ families by promoting pay deduction and war claim programs. Today the elder Theodore Roosevelt’s fame is primarily as the father of future U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).
The entry that won the grand prize of $150 was submitted by Franklin H. Durrah of Philadelphia. An example from his 9 page entry about his wartime experience is shown below. It is exceptionally legible, and almost looks to have been written by a machine. The penmanship would still be outstanding, even if it were done by someone using their dominant hand!
(equivalent to $2500 today )
After all the prizes were awarded, Jesse Pendergrast returned to his home on Cape Cod a richer man.
He was awarded a prize of $20.00, for “exceptional circumstances, having lost his right arm, and two fingers and part of the thumb of the left hand.”
Jesse S. Pendergrast died at age 61 of pneumonia. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Reading, Middlesex county Massachusetts. (His name on the gravestone is spelled Pendergrace, which may have been done in error!)
(1835 – 1897)