Mystery Lock Tender identity revealed
May 20—The identity of Lock Tender No. 10 seated on the staircase at the Flight of Five remnants has been revealed.
Lock Tender No. 10 has officially been identified as William Crowley by the Locks Heritage District and was announced at the Lock Tenders Tribute at the Erie Canal Discovery Center on Saturday morning.
Crowley was one of 14 real-life late 19th century lock tenders that is being immortalized through the creation of bronze statues by sculptor Susan Geissler. The statues are based off a 1897 photograph by F.B. Clench and are located on the staircase of the locks where the original photograph was taken.
Born in 1869, Crowley was one of six children born to James and Margaret Crowley who were Irish immigrants. He worked as a lock tender for three years between 1896-1898 according to the Locks Heritage District.
They said there are no records of Crowley ever being married and he lived most of his life with various family members including parents and siblings.
A group of LHD volunteers formed a "Hidden Figures" team to identify all 12 lock tenders and one child in the Clench photograph and track their descendants so they could be honored and recognized.
All other lock tenders had previously been identified with the exception of Crowley. LHD chair Dave Kinyon said a team of researchers including Jeff Degnan, Shelley Richards and himself were assisted by Geissler in reviewing photographs and documentation to identify Crowley.
Kinyon said the verification of his identity was determined by analyzing photos of Crowley's family members, since there are no other confirmed photos of him known to exist.
They compared various physical features of Crowley to other family members, including his brother Richard. Geissler determined that Crowley was only about 5' 4". He died in 1940.
The event also featured the presentation of the 18th annual Keys to the Lock Award. This year's award was presented to Charlie Begley, a retired Lockport School District teacher who is a reenactor with the Niagara History Center's Step Back in Time Players and a docent for Locks District Tours.
A planned procession to the locks from the Discovery Center for a ceremony at the Lock Tenders Tribute Monument was canceled due to rain. However, several people braved the weather to place flowers at the statues of the lock tenders, including Mayor Michelle Roman.
"It's always good to know where you came from and who was there. (The identity of Lock Tender No. 10) always felt like a little missing piece. So this puts it all together," Roman said.
