212 Cascadilla Street - The Birthplace of Alex Haley
In preparation for the unveiling of the Alex Haley historical marker at 212 Cascadilla St, HistoryForge Project Coordinator Eve Snyder dug into the history of the building on HistoryForge to see who else had lived at 212 Cascadilla Street when Haley was born there.
Alex Haley was born on August 11th 1921, at the time his family rented a room at 212 from the family of Mr. Lewis T. Payne. Mr. Payne was an African-American man who worked as a janitor at Sigma Phi Epsilon from at least 1913 to 1929 (the last time the address of his place of employment appeared in the city directory). His wife Mazie Madeline Payne died in a tragic train accident returning home from NYC on December 23rd 1915. Mrs. Payne had been the head designer for the firm of Floersheimer & Co, dealers in women's wear in New York City, and had returned from Paris only three weeks prior to her death. She is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Ithaca.
The Payne family lived at 212 Cascadilla Street from at least 1913-1931. The Payne family migrated to Ithaca from North or South Carolina (different states are listed on different census years), traveling through Maryland and New York City and arriving in Ithaca by 1913.