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Saratoga New York was the location of a surprise. Recently unearthed documents appears to show that Mrs. Mary E Pleasant (of Philadelphia) provided a $400 mortgage to Norman and Lorinda Bedortha of Saratoga Springs, NY. [Note: at the time of this document MEP was back east in support of John Brown and is presumed to have visited several east coast cities.] Research with the Cayuga County Historian’s office uncovered the actual mortgage property. Research in the location and in Philadelphia did not find a similarly named female.The financial pattern is similar to other transactions MEP initiated.
The property was a 2-acre lot on the south side of a new street adjoining the village cemetery, originally conveyed to Norman Bedortha by William L.F. Warren & wife (deed dated January 12, 1853). The lot fronts a street running from J.B. Guilday’s easterly, adjoining the village cemetery. The Bedorthas are to pay Mary E. Pleasant $28/year (interest on the $400 principal) on each May 1st for the duration of her natural life, per the conditions of a bond. Default authorizes Pleasant to sell the premises to satisfy the amount due. Executed July 14, 1859 before John T. Barn, Justice of the Peace, Saratoga County. Both Norman and Lorinda Bedortha acknowledged execution; Lorinda examined separately from her husband, confirmed she acted freely. Recorded: July 27, 1859
Then on on June 9, 1860, Norman and Lorinda Bedortha sell the same two-acre property to Oliver L. Barbour for $300. Crucially, the deed explicitly states the sale is subject to a Mortgage & Bond made to Mary E. Pleasant for $100 and interest, made about May 1859. Barbour agrees to assume and pay off the Pleasant mortgage within five years.
This means Pleasant’s lien transferred with the property — she remained a secured creditor regardless of who owned the land.
Notable discrepancy: The original mortgage document states the consideration as $400, while the Barbour deed references the Pleasant mortgage as $100. This indicates a partial pay-down occurred between 1859-1860.
Some background on Dr. Norman Bedortha: Dr Bedorta managed a water cure spa/hotel in New Lebanon Springs, New York, then in the early 1850s moved to Saratoga Springs, where he owned a water cure and a hotel. He believed cold baths and compresses were helpful for life’s ailments. University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center
In July 1863, Augustus Healy, recorded a nearly two week his visit at the spa for headaches. link
By 1868, N. Bedortha held the position of P.W.P. (Past Worthy Patriarch) in the Saratoga Division, Sons of Temperance — placing him firmly in the reform community, which significantly overlapped with abolitionist circles. He and family members also have association with Oberlin College, another link to abolitionist sentiments.
The document links-
Bedortha Mortgage document Page 1
Bedortha Mortgage document Page 2
Bedortha to Oliver Barbour document Page 1
Bedortha to Oliver Barbour document Page 2