Ralph & Susan (Sage) Kirby
Bainbridge News, Oct. 6, 1955
There died in Bainbridge on Sept. 23 and 24 two persons who had probably contributed as much of value to the community life and welfare of Bainbridge village [Chenango Co., NY] as any other couple who had spent their lives in our midst. The lovely and unique double funeral at the Baptist Church on Sept. 26 of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph W. Kirby was a most impressive event, and to those of the older generation it aroused many fond recollections of vanished yesterdays in Bainbridge history.
Ralph William Kirby
1871-1955
Ralph W. Kirby was born May 12, 1871, a son of William D. Kirby and Harriett Cudworth. His birth place was at the old Kirby farm at the Humphrey Settlement in the southern portion of the town where his great-grandfather, Reuben Kirby, had been one of the earliest settlers of old Jericho. Ralph attended the district school near his home and later the Bainbridge Union School and Academy. Finishing his education here, he entered the First National Bank as a bank clerk under the presidency of Dr. Gervis Prince. Shortly after, the cashier of the bank, Irving Pruyne, left Bainbridge to make his home in the West, and Ralph was promoted to the position of cashier in the late 1890's. In 1911 he succeeded Erwin Ramsdell as president of the First National Bank. His intimate contacts with the public and long connection with the local banking house have made his name synonymous with any banking facility in Bainbridge. In his student days at the Bainbridge Academy and his early activities in the bank, he was a quiet, unpretentious, diligent and friendly person. Personal warmth did not notably accent his manners. He was definitely not the back slapping, hand pumping, first name calling, "I'll be seeing you" type. He was a quiet modest man, not seeking and not having personal publicity. In fact he had a good deal of contempt for those who loved to beat the drum and toot the horn to feed their hungry ego, but unostentatiously and imperturbably he kept alert to his job. In 1910 Mr. and Mrs. Kirby took an extended European trip with some Bainbridge friends visiting the Mediterranean coast and most of western Europe.
During the first world war, Ralph Kirby had a large burden of work thrown upon him including the various local subscriptions for War Bonds, Red Cross drives and a dozen other war connected activities. At this time he had no other help in the bank but the cashier Sebert Hollenbeck. Following the war, the period of inflation with the subsequent devastating collapse caused some of those interested in the bank many anxious months and not a few sleepless night. Kirby, through it all shouldered most of the banking responsibility and let it be said to his eternal credit that with adroitness, good humor, common sense and an undismayed courage, he met the challenge of those dreadful days and brought the bank through the crisis without catastrophic losses and with entire solvency.
The affiliation of the First National Bank, of Bainbridge, with The National Bank and Trust Company, of Norwich, was consummated in December, 1938. Mr. Kirby was made Assistant Vice President in charge of the Bainbridge Branch and has since remained the titular head of the local banking facility. Steadfastness and a kindly courtesy combined with a good working knowledge of small town banking have been his outstanding attributes. He held the position of President of the Village for one term and has been Treasurer of the Bainbridge School system since 1894. He has always been a leading member of the Baptist Society here and with Mrs. Kirby has given liberally his time and money to the church. He was a sixty-year member of Susquehanna Lodge F.&A.M. and was an honorary member of the Bainbridge Rotary Club.
Ralph Kirby always remained the same quiet, contemplative, friendly figure, the same unglamorous speaker, the same friendly adviser he has always been. He scorned to play the showman--and indeed he had neither the art or the personality to do so, yet with his gentle friendliness, his unfailing patience, and his moral integrity, he built up an army of acquaintances and admirers which for the most part were local and devoted to the end. His courage and insistence to keep at his work in the face of the shocking brutality of the obvious ravages of his relentless paralytic disease were the admiration as well as the despair of his closest friends. It was less than a week before death came that he gave up the fight and entered the Bainbridge Hospital as a patient where he steadily failed until his death a week ago last Friday. Characteristic of the man were his last words to his attending nurse: "I thank you. You have been so good to me." A few moments later he was dead.
Susan (Sage) Kirby
1874 - 1955
Susan Sage Kirby was born at South New Berlin [Chenango Co., NY], where she spent her girlhood. She was the daughter of Jay and Lucinda Sage. Following her graduation from high school, she attended and completed her education at the Fredonia State Normal School and later taught for a few year at National Park Seminary at Washington, D.C. While visiting in Bainbridge in 1897 she met and married Ralph W. Kirby and it was here she has since lived her rich and rewarding life. She very early became a diligent worker in the Baptist Chruch and was an honorary member of the New York State Baptist Missionary Society and has been active in her membership of the world Wide Guild. In 1899 she aided greatly in the formation of the Bainbridge Women's Club and was its first president. She was a member and past regent of the local chapter D.A.R. In 1908 when the Bainbridge Free library was organized by the Rev. Walter E. Carrington, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Kirby was elected President by its first Board of Directors, a position which she continued to hold until her death, a period of nearly half a century. Her devotion to the success and development of this institution recalls the truth of Emerson's remark that "an institution is the lengthened shadow of one person." There was no detail in the library activities with which she was not familiar and willing to carry on its services. The whole village joins in extending praise and tribute to the truly remarkable service she rendered to Bainbridge in her library work. Personally, Susan Sage Kirby, was a radiantly lovely character, blessed with temper and imagination with kindness and courage, and most of all with a noble urge for community service which she so generously displayed.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Ruthvan Chalmers, pastor of the Baptist church assisted by the Rev. deforest Lowen, pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church at Utica, N.Y.
Survivors of Mrs. Kirby were three cousins, Mrs. Cloud Wampler, of Syracuse; Mrs. Ralph Loomis, and Mrs. Laura Vaughn, both of Sidney, N.Y.
Survivors of Ralph W. Kirby are a sister, Miss Eudora Kirby, of Bainbridge, and two nieces, Mrs. Eleanor Roehrl, of Erie, Pa. and Mrs. Barbara Moore of Eugene, Ore. There are several grandnieces and nephews. There are also four cousins, Mrs. Arthur McCormick, Harold and John Cudworth, of Cortland and Mrs. Gleon Parker, of Groton, N.Y.
Pallbearers at the double funeral were Carroll Niles, Ernest Hoyt, Charles Lord, Orris Coe, Maurice McGinnis, all of Bainbridge, and Everett Gilmour of New Berlin. Honorary Bearers: Nathan Truman, Morell Colwell, Fred Robbins, G.E. Howland and Dr. Edward Danforth, all of Bainbridge, and Otis Thompson, of Norwich.
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Marriage - Kirby-Sage
Chenango Semi-Weekly Telegraph, September 4, 1897
At a quiet and charming wedding, Wednesday afternoon, at South New Berlin [Chenango Co., NY], Ralph W. Kirby, cashier of the First National Bank of this village [Bainbridge, Chenango Co., NY] and Susan L. Sage were linked in matrimonial bonds. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jay Sage, at whose home the ceremony was performed by the Rev. J.B. Genung, at 3 o'clock. Elaborate and extensive decorations with appropriate designs and arrangements of flowers emblematic and characteristic of the event, made the wedding room resplendent. Only intimate relatives and friends of the bride and groom were present. John R. Kirby of New York, brother of the groom acted as best man. Miss Frances Rollins of Oneonta, was the maid of honor and Miss Susan McFarland of Salem, was bridesmaid. The ushers were Frank D. Robinson of Oneonta and Clarence D. Kirby of Bainbridge. During the entire service music was rendered by Miss Ida M. Haynes of Norwich. The ceremony was beautiful in every respect. Presents were many and costly. The bride is one of the most accomplished and charming ladies and the groom is one of the leading young men in Chenango county. He is recognized for his excellent business capabilities and is very popular in all circles--Bainbridge Republican.
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