By MaryLynne Turner, Trustee, Morgan-Manning House Museum.
The story begins in 1864, when newlyweds Susan and D.S. Morgan moved into what was then a boarding house at 151 Main Street in Brockport. They purchased the home three years later, and all of their seven children were born there. Sara, born on March 21, 1868, was the third child and the eldest of the three girls.
Sara and her sister, Susanne, attended boarding school in Dobbs Ferry, NY, and later went to Europe, where they studied art and music. After their return, in 1893, Sara married Dr. Fredrick Arnold Manning, who practiced medicine in New York City. Their son, Arnold, was born the next year. Sadly, Dr. Manning passed away from tuberculosis just three years into their marriage. As if being widowed at age 28 was not difficult enough, Sara’s son was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the spine, a different bacterial strain from his father’s. Today, tuberculosis is rare, but at that time it was often fatal. Grief struck once again when Arnold passed away at the age of 21.
After Frederick’s death, Sara returned to Brockport to live with her widowed mother. She became immersed in civic and church activities at her beloved St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. She entertained and donated generously. Her home was open to extended family, some of whom had regular “apartments,” or sets of rooms, in the house.
Sara lived in the house until her death in 1964, at age 96, following a disastrous fire that swept through the house on September 26th of that year. Firefighters took extreme measures to find her that evening and carried her out of a window. She passed away several hours later at Lakeside Hospital. In her will, she instructed her bank, as trustee, to entrust her home to an organization that could use and care for it. Volunteers took great strides to again make it a place to entertain and to learn about the Morgans’ place in Brockport’s history.
The Morgan-Manning House Museum strives to honor the woman who overcame repeated sadness and lived a life of generosity to her family and her community. They are deeply grateful for her contributions to Brockport.
The Museum is hosting a program at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, at Whitehall Mansion for the community to learn about the restoration of the Morgan-Manning House Museum thus far and expectations for the future. A $25 donation will be appreciated at the door or in advance.
