Mrs. Carrie Grover, aged 66, wife of Earl Grover of Afton [Chenango Co., NY], for many years a resident of this vicinity and beloved by a host of friends, died suddenly Sunday morning in the Binghamton City hospital. Mrs. Grover is survived by her husband, two sons, Arthur Grover of Afton and Hilton Grover of Pine Bush; two daughters, Mrs. Gilbert Ellis of Waverly and Mrs. Dudley Nash of Pelham Manor, and 11 grandchildren. Mrs. Grover was a member of the Presbyterian Church, the American Legion Auxiliary and the D. of U. V. Funeral services were held this Wednesday afternoon in the Presbyterian Church of this place. the Rev. Clifford E. Webb officiating with burial in Glenwood Cemetery [Afton, Chenango Co., NY]. [MHD notation: d. Dec. 8, 1935]
Frank Gurnsey, 87, Nineveh [Broome Co., NY], died at his home Tuesday at 4:20 a.m. after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mabel H. Gurnsey, Nineveh; a daughter, Mrs. Emory C. VanDusen, Nineveh; several nieces and nephews. He was a member of the Afton Baptist Church for many years; a former member of IOOF, Afton; former member of the Oneonta Grange and a division representative for the Dairymen's League Inc., for 40 years. The body was removed to the Karschner Funeral Home, Afton, and later taken to his late home in Nineveh where friends may call today and Thursday at their convenience. The funeral will be held at the Karschner Funeral Home, Afton, Friday at 2 p.m. The Rev. Marlin Bowes will officiate. Committal services will be held in the spring in Glenwood Cemetery, Afton at the convenience of the family. [MHD notation: March 8, 1960]
Joel Morse Guy was born on the hill farm in the town of Oxford [Chenango Co., NY] on March 29, 1948. He was the son of Joel Guy and Condise Morse Guy. The family was one of the sturdy old fashion kind with ten children. When "Joe", as he was best known, was 13 years old the family moved from Oxford to the Patrick farm on The Plains, near Center Village. One of "Joe's" frontier stories was of a big New Foundland dog on the Patrick farm who did double duty as churn dog and saddle pony, provided he did not see the churn in preparation, when he would promptly disappear. After two or three years the father, Joel Guy, Sr., purchased the farm three miles south of Afton which for many years was known as the Joel Guy farm. When they purchased the farm the river flat was a swampy wood lot. Only an old-fashioned family with plenty of man-power and no fear of hard work would have tackled the job. Today it is one of the finest pieces of land in the township and stands as a monument to the industry and energy of Joel Guy and his family. As he came to young manhood, "Joe" worked for a time for his father, farming in the summer and lumbering in the winter. Later he went to Colorado where he engaged in sheep raising for nearly three years. That was in the days when the buffalo dotted the plains and the antelope went fleeting away light as thistle down. "Joe" was an enthusiastic hunter and he had a great many interesting adventures with the "old Sharpe rifle". In later years these stories were a source of great entertainment to his boys as they gathered around the fire on winter evenings. Upon his return form Colorado, he was married on February 20th, 1878, to Martha K. Chamberlin who was his faithful and loving helpmate for more than 45 years. Four sons were born of this union; Frank, Bert, Randolph and Harry, all of whom are living. Of "Joe's" brothers and sisters two are still living; Henrietta, of Hinsdale, N.Y., now 86 years old, and Charles, a younger brother, who resides in this village. A quiet, home-loving man, little given to social entertainment, "Joe" was best known to his family and near neighbors for his unfailing industry, his straight-forward honesty and his absolute fearlessness. To these qualities he added a constant seasoning of kind wit. Making no pretense of piety, he lived a clean upright life as he saw it. The world is poorer for his going, but better for his having been here.
After more than three quarters of a century of devoted service in home and community, Mrs. Martha R. Guy passed to her long rest on Friday of last week. Nearly ninety years ago Rufus and Eliza Chamberlin came from Otego to settle in this part of the Susquehanna Valley. Martha, one of eight children, was born on the old Harger farm at Wilkins Settlement. When she was about nine years old the family moved to the Chamberlin farm about two miles below the village [Afton, Chenango Co., NY] which has been in the ownership of the family ever since, nearly seventy years. The family was devoutly religious, attending the Baptist church at Harpursville where Martha was baptized at the age of 13. Her education was acquired in the little old red school house in the Guy district and in Afton High School. As soon as she finished school she began teaching, where her keen, active mind, pleasing personality, and purposeful determination made her both popular and successful. She taught at Bettsburg, Middlebridge, Nineveh and La Piere, Michigan. One of the greatest pleasures of Mrs. Guy's later life was the calls she often received form former pupils whose love and respect she always retains. After teaching about ten years, she was married to Joel M. Guy to whom she was a faithful and devoted wife for nearly fifty years. Four sons, Frank, Bert, Randolph, and Harry were born to Mr. and Mrs. Guy, all of whom still survive her. Mr. Guy died about four years ago. A brother, Randolph A. Chamberlin, and a sister, Miss Sarah, still remain. In addition to the many duties of a farm home and the mothering of four lively boys, Mrs. Guy always found time for community activities, especially those of the church. Throughout her life she look an active part in the work of the First Baptist Church of which she was a member. She was gifted with a very sweet voice and for many years was one of the mainstays of thew Baptist choir. Whether it was teaching in the Sunday School, attending the prayer meeting, or working in the Ladies' Aid Society, she was always to be found in her place when she was needed. Of late years she has taken a less active part but her interest has never waned. Through the kindness of her pastor, Rev. Huxtable, she has been able to attend church services, prayer meetings and missionary circle meetings, and she got much pleasure from all of them. When she died she had completed all her Mission Circle stories for the month of August. Women like Mrs. Guy are the greatest single influence for the upbuilding of our community or nation. They bear and bring up the men and women of tomorrow; they nurse the sick, comfort the bereaved, sustain the church and promote much of the great reforms.
Their love is as deep as the ocean,
Their faith reaches up to the stars,
Their courage and zeal and devotion
No thought for themselves ever mar.
They bear us and love us and leave us;
We feel in our hearts a great void,
But the thing they have left in our spirits
Seems to us like the voice of God.
[MHD notation: d. Aug. 26, 1927]
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