This souvenir postcard from Atlantic City touches the family of noted jurists and political figures in New York State.
John Van Voorhis lived in Irondequoit, a town between the Genesee River and Lake Ontario in western New York State.
Irondequoit, until the end of World War II, was a town of a few thousand people – east of the city of Rochester.
Today, this is a large suburban community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irondequoit,_New_York
John was born in 1897, making him about 11 years old when he received a postcard from his Aunt Margot.
In May of 1908, Aunt Margot sent a greeting from Atlantic City.
The face of the postcard is a drawing of dogs in endearing poses.
I cannot find an artist’s mark; the postcard was printed in Germany.
On the reverse, Aunt Margot writes, “We have seen them puff rice, too!”
I am not sure if the dogs were trained to puff rice or if the “they” referred to the general carnival atmosphere of the Boardwalk.
(There were trained animal acts on the Boardwalk.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boardwalk_(entertainment_district)
Our boy, John, was the grandson of another John Van Voorhis who was a noted lawyer in Rochester who became City Attorney and who held several political posts.
Grandfather was elected as Representative to the US House for three terms.
In Congress, Van Voorhis led the fight to protect the Seneca Nation from the claims of the Ogden Land Company.
The grandfather was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964.
As an abolitionist, he became a friend and defender of Frederick Douglas and was an honorary pallbearer at Douglas’ funeral in 1895.
Grandfather also served as legal counsel to Susan B. Anthony at her trial (for attempting to vote) in 1872.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Van_Voorhis
The grandson, John Van Voorhis, followed in his grandfather’s footsteps.
Eight years after receiving this postcard, John graduated from Yale, in 1919 – he was admitted to the bar in 1922.
He served as Town Attorney for Irondequoit until his election to the New York Supreme Court in 1936. He served three terms on the Court, until reaching the mandatory retirement age.
He resumed the practice of law and taught at New York Law School until his death in 1983.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Van_Voorhis_(judge)
One of the joys of collecting postcards is the discovery of the long stories represented by many of them.
