A00343 - Bridging the Divide: A More Complete History for Charles Thompson and Wilbert Lew

 Today, I received my copy of the Fall 2024 Amherst magazine. I was particularly interested in the article entitled "Bridging the Divide" which provides some of the background information for Charles Thompson and Wilbert Lew. 

Bridging the Divide | News | Amherst College 

Both Charles Thompson and Wilbert Lew are on my Memorial List.  Charles Thompson is one of the nine Civil War Soldiers that we recall during the Memorial Service.  As for Wilbert Lew, I prefer calling him "The Horse Whisperer". 

Below is the information I have compiled for my "Amherst College Biographies" blog.  Hopefully, this information will provide a more complete history for Charles Thompson and Wilbert Lew.

Peace, 

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Class of 1975

Fairfield, California

October 30, 2024

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The Civil War Soldiers

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Joseph Evins

Charles Finnemore

Sanford Jackson

William Jennings

Genalvin Marse

Charles Thompson

Christopher Thompson'

James Thompson

John Thompson

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Civil War Tablets

THE TOWN OF AMHERST IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE PUBLIC VIEWING HOURS FOR THE EXHIBIT OF THE CIVIL WAR TABLETS STARTING JULY 26, 2021

ABOUT

The Civil War Tablets were donated to the Town of Amherst by the Grand Army of the Republic in 1893 to commemorate the 300+ soldiers from the Amherst region who served in the Union forces, including those African Americans who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment and 5th Calvary. 

Amherst residents Christopher, John, Henry James, and Charles Thompson who served in the 54th Regiment, are among those memorialized in the plaques. The Thompson brothers were among the troops to arrive in Texas in 1865, one of the final hold out states to admit defeat during the Civil War. They were among the troops to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and formally mark the day that all slaves in the United States were freed, which is now a national holiday, Juneteenth. The Thompson brothers are laid to rest in the West Cemetery in the Amherst. 

Amherst resident, Dudley Bridges, Sr., spent the last years of his life advocating and fundraising to honor these handcrafted memorials with prominent and befitting placement within the community. The exhibit is curated and guided by Debora Bridges, daughter of Dudley Bridges Sr. and descendant of the Thompson's.

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Wilbert Lew, Class of 1883

Wilbert Lew did not educate people—but he likely educated horses. That was a phrase in fashion in the 1880s, to “educate” a horse meant to break him of bad behavior. This was a skill highly in demand: Some estimates hold that there were 11 million horses in the nation at that time. Lew learned his craft from one of the top horse whisperers of the day: Dennis Magner, author of 1872’s The New System of Educating Horses and several other books on how to treat illnesses in horses and other animals.

There were almost no official veterinary schools at the time. The profession was in its colt stage: young and wobbly. It wasn’t until 1945 that Tuskegee started the first program for Black veterinarians.

In census and directory records, Lew is listed as working at the J.N. Leonard silk factory in Florence, Mass., part of Northampton, in 1888-89. From 1890, he is listed as a veterinary surgeon and dentist in Florence.

Wilbert Blanchard Lew was born in Gardner, Mass., in 1861, and spent part of his childhood in Florence. He lived in the same Pine Street neighborhood where Sojourner Truth and David Ruggles had once dwelled, when the town was a hive of abolitionist activity. His father’s occupation is listed as “hair dresser,” his mother’s as “keeping house.”

There was an ad for his services in the 1891 city directory: “Dr. Wilbert B. Lew, Veterinary Specialist and Dentist. Agent for The American Stock Growers’ Mutual Benefit Association. Proprietor of Karmoline, Royal Tar, Canadian Liniment.” 

In 1920 he was appointed “inspector of animals” for the town of Amherst. He died in September 1923, after four decades of treating and educating horses and other animals, and riding into the dawn of a new profession.

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