Talk:Jesse Merwin

Contested deletion

This article should not be speedily deleted for lack of asserted importance because... (The New York Folklore Society has awarded an Historical "Legends and Lore" marker with Jesse Merwin's name on it to go at the Kinderhook schoolhouse he taught in, as he was the known inspiration for the character of Ichabod Crane in Washington Irving's story, Legend of Sleepy Hollow) --Vaaltje (talk) 23:07, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

According to a notation by Irving and a certification written in long hand script by Martin Van Buren, the 'pattern' (Van Buren's words) for the character of Ichabod Crane was based on the original Kinderhook schoolmaster named Jesse Merwin, whom Irving became friends with in Kinderhook, New York, in 1809. The author lived in the village for about eight weeks that year, after the death of his fiancée; he wrote portions of A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty in Kinderhook[19] The two friends continued a pen-pal correspondence for thirty years. The Columbia County Historical Society (New York) owns the original Kinderhook Schoolhouse named after the Irving character based on Jesse Merwin, the town's first schoolteacher. The Kinderhook town school district (Ichabod Crane Central School District) is also named for the Irving character.

The NY Folklore Society 'Legends and Lore' marker states "Washington Irving Based the character of Ichabod Crane in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow on the Kinderhook Schoolteacher, Jesse Merwin " and has been awarded to the Kinderhook schoolhouse. The historical marker dedication will be in a ceremony on June 17th, 2017 as a featured part of New York State's annual Path Through History.