Chenango Union, Norwich, NY, April 13, 1876
Marriages
SUFFERN - PARKS: At the residence of the bride's parents in this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY] April 6th by Rev. L.M.S. Haynes, Mr. Simeon G. Suffern to Miss Adelia P. Parks, all of Norwich.
BEERS - CHAMBERS: At the home of the bride's mother in Providence, Pa., April 4th, by Rev. W.J. Judd, Mr. Samuel G. Beers of Providence to Miss Eliza J . Chambers, late of Norwich [Chenango Co. NY].
RAISBECK - BEMIS: At the Congregational Parsonage in Odell, Ill, March 23d, Mr. Frank Raisbeck to Miss Sarah A. Bemis, youngest daughter of A.N. Derals, Esq. formerly of Oxford, N.Y. [Chenango Co.].
Deaths
BROOKS: In this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], April 7th, Lucy Brooks, wife of J.L. Brooks, and sister of S.J. Barrows, Esq. of Utica [Oneida Co. NY], aged 52 years.
NELSON: In this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], April 7th of paralysis, Mr. John Nelson, aged 58 years and 7 months.
BARTLE: In this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], April 7th, Bertha H. Bartle aged 7 years and 5 months.
HOWLAND: In Oxford [Chenango Co. NY], April 8th, Frances A. [Howland] wife of Hiram C. Howland, aged 41 years.
KEELER: In Preston [Chenango Co. NY], April 7th, Mr. William Keeler, aged 65 years, formerly of Oxford [Chenango Co. NY].
POWELL: In East Pharsalia [Chenango Co. NY], March 26th, Lucy M. [Powell], wife of O.M. Powell and daughter of Dea. C. Sumner aged 39 years.
NEWTON: In East Guilford [Chenango Co. NY], May 29th, 1875, Mr. William Wallace Newton aged 24 years, 11 months and 16 days.
NEWTON: In East Guilford, March 25th, 1876, Mr. Horace Newton, aged 72 years.
RATHBUN: In McDonough [Chenango co. NY], March 3d, Mr. Lewis A. Rathbun, aged 47 years.
IVES: In Sidney Plains [Delaware Co. NY], April 6th, Mr. Edwin Ives aged 67 years 5 months and 6 days.
NEWBERRY: At Rome, Italy, of inflammation of the throat on the 4th of April, Julia Rosa Newbery, only surviving child of Mrs. Walter Newbery of Chicago, aged 12 years.
William Sisson an old and esteemed resident of Binghamton [Broome Co. NY] died on Thursday morning, aged 74 years.
Richard Fitzgerald a farmer living at Kattellville [Broome Co. NY], was found dead in an open field on his farm on the evening of the 30th ult. It is supposed he had been dead two days. He was living alone.
Harvey Grummond of Clintonville [Clinton Co. NY], aged 17 years, and two other young men were in the woods recently chopping. Gummond was thrown from a log on which he was standing by the springing up of a limb or sapling which had been bent down. He fell in such a manner as to bring his ax between him and the log which inflicted a wound in the lower part of the abdomen, seven inches in length severing the intestines and femoral artery and vein, resulting in almost instantaneous death.
Leonard A. Salisbury was run over by the U.I.&E. Railroad train going east on Wednesday evening of last week, a short distance west of Cortland village [Cortland Co. NY] and shockingly mutilated. The accident was not discovered until the arrival of the train at the depot when blood was discovered on the engine. Deceased lived 2-1/2 miles west of Cortland, was forty years of age, and leaves a widow to whom he had been married but little over a year.
Mr. Upton, Chenango Co. NY: The sad intelligence of the death of Mrs. Mary Bartlett of Lake Crystal, Minnesota was recently received here by her friends. She was the daughter of Wm. Green, once a popular hotel keeper in this place, and who died twelve years ago of consumption. We learn that she was affected with the same disease and the news of her death is received with much sorrow by her many friends and relatives in this place. She was about thirty years of age.
Holmesville, Chenango Co. NY: Rosamond Arnold a blind lady, living in Otsego County [NY] was buried on Sunday at White Store [Chenango Co. NY], aged 84 years. She has been blind from infancy.
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In Memory of Mrs. Howard Bennett
Whole columns are often written upon the lives of good men of our town, and it seems but just that a little space should be given in our County papers in memory of this lovely woman. Seldom do we see so much of goodness and beauty combined in one. She was an ornament in the circle of aristocracy and wealth, and no loss amid the poorer class. There was a sociableness to all with whom she met, but few have the gift to possess. She seemed to look at the heart, to know the worth instead of the outward appearance. How sweet the remembrance of many words and deeds of kindness bestowed upon the writer of these few lines. They will always be cherished in her memory, as those of love and tenderness. I can never forget the noble look of that woman, as she was giving her last requests. All that was beautiful was blended in that dying form before us. As she calmly kissed us all good-bye, it seemed that God had need of her in a fairer clime than this. We mourn when we think of the loss of one so young. We sympathize with her husband and the father and mother, she was their only daughter and her numerous friends who loved her tenderly, for no one knew her but to love her.
We weep at the parting clasp of the hand, / As the pale feet press the slippery sand; / They wait for an angel to carry then o'er / To the mansions on the other shore; / And we hush our breath, as if to hear / Sounds of the harpers as they draw near; / A shattered song or dip of an oar, / As the boat glides from life's rugged shore. Marilla Whitman
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News Items
Last week we mentioned the sudden death of a young man named George Ostrander who was in the employ of Gordon A. Wood, in the east part of this town [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], which occurred on Wednesday morning the 5th inst. Coroner Hand held an inquest on Thursday and from the evidence it appeared that the deceased was twenty-two years of age and had formerly made it his home with his grandfather, George Mosher, of Unadilla [Otsego Co. NY]. His mother is living with her second husband, in Smyrna [Chenango Co. NY]. He had worked for Mr. Wood but a few weeks and was to leave about the time his death occurred. No postmortem examination was made, as it was shown that he was subject to fits, having had several while at Mr. Wood's - one on the morning of his death; and the jury found that he fell from a log upon which he was chopping, while in a fit, in such a position as to cause strangulation, as he lay among some brush, with his head turned unnaturally when found.
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Terrible Accident in Binghamton
A frightful accident occurred at the steam engine manufactory of Shapley & Wells in Binghamton [Broome Co. NY], between six and seven o'clock on Saturday evening last which the Times says surpassed in its terrible fatality and disastrous effects anything which has ever before occurred in that city.
A new sixty-horse locomotive boiler just completed for the new steamboat at Owego, while being tested on Hawley Street in front of the works, just inside the sidewalk, suddenly exploded, killing three persons and seriously wounding eleven or twelve others.
Charles Carter, foreman of the boiler room, who had charge of the testing; John Maloney, a caulker from the boiler room; and a lad ten years of age named Gamber who was standing near the boiler at the time of the explosion were killed. Others who were passing by at the time, were seriously injured, those sustaining the most severe wounds being Fred Oshsenbein a jeweler, John Nelson, Samuel Ingham and Paul Tealy. Latest accounts state that the injured men will probably recover.
Some idea of the terrible force of the explosion can be formed from the fact that the heavy boiler was turned end for end and the massive firebox torn form the boiler in two pieces, one being carried to a distance of about 500 feet and imbedded in the mud of the canal bed, the other portion weighing about 4,800 pounds was carried to the store house of Bartlett Brothers on Collier Street, a distance of between 400 and 500 feet and crashed into the side of the building which is about 20 feet high and 30 feet long, and was filled with sash, blinds and doors, piled closely together. The massive piece of iron comprised the firebox, the dome and the end of the boiler wall was straightened into a piece about 30 feet long and fully four feet wide. Other pieces were thrown great distances in various directions. The shell of the boiler was reversed with such force that one end was buried to a perpendicular depth of about four feet in the roadbed, severing the gas pipe.
A few minutes before the accident, a gentleman passing by noticed that the gauge indicated 120 pounds of steam and at that time Mr. Carter was on top of the boiler arranging the safety valve. When asked if he had not too much steam on, he replied that he "guessed not." At the same time the safety valve commenced blowing off and two persons were sent into the building to procure some additional weights of iron to place upon it. Among the many explanations given of the cause of the accident is one which seems most generally accepted by the boiler makers. It is that there was something wrong with the gauge by which it failed to show the correct pressure.
Chenango Telegraph, Norwich, NY, April 13, 1876
Fatal Boiler Explosion!
A terrible boiler explosion occurred at the engine manufactory of Shapley & Wells i Binghamton on Saturday evening which caused the immediate death of three persons and injured ten others. We condense the particulars form the Binghamton Times.
The firm had just completed the boiler for the new steamboat, "Lyman Truman" at Owego, and congratulated themselves that it was one of the best pieces of workmanship ever turned out from a boiler manufactory in this country. It was made of five-sixteenths inch Bailey boiler iron - the best flange iron in the market - with steel fire box. The diameter of the shell was 48 inches and the flues of which there were 147, nine feet long by two inches in diameter, with four and one-half foot fire box. It had been inspected by a number of practical boiler builders and was pronounced one of the best pieces of workmanship they had ever seen.
The work of testing the boiler as well as that of its construction was in the hands of Mr. Charles Carter, the foreman of the boiler room, a man who had the fullest confidence of his employers, and who had during seven years' service in their employ, proved himself thoroughly competent and almost invaluable to them. So great was the confidence of the foreman in this piece of work, that he neglected to apply the usual water pressure test, deeming it entirely safe to apply steam at once. Carter was assisted in his work by John Maloney, a caulker from the boiler room, while Michael Major and a boy named Charles Gleason were engaged in painting the boiler.
A fire was started under the boiler about five o'clock. Although the fire was a heavy one, the steam pressure, as shown by the gauge, went up very slowly, reaching but a little over thirty pounds in the first hour, if the statements of passersby can be depended upon. After 5 o'clock the pressure as shown by the gauge, increased more rapidly and at about half-past six, Mr. Wm. B. Kirby, an employee in Hull's planing mill passed along the street and noticed that the gauge indicated a pressure of 120 pounds. At that time Mr. Carter was on top of the boiler, arranging the safety valve, while Maloney was attending the fire and was at other work about the boiler. Kirby asked Carter if he "Had't too much steam on?" Carter replied that he "Guessed not," and Kirby passed on. At this time the safety value commenced blowing off, and Major and the Gleason boy were sent into the building to procure additional weights of iron to place upon it.
They had entered the building and were partially across the floor when they were almost lifted from their feet by a terrible concussion, which shattered the window of the building, tore the heavy outside doors from their hinges like pieces of paste board, and jarred the building and ground as by an earthquake. It was a shock which was heard in nearly every part of the city and which, from its strange character, aroused premonitions in the breasts of many, although some understood that it was the explosion of a heavy boiler.
Mr. Shapley was in the building when the explosion took place and on rushing out, the first animate object which met his gaze was the figure of a man seated in several inches of water in the ditch close to the shattered boiler and facing it. His clothing was torn in many places and his face covered with dirt and blood. Mr. Shapley stepped up to the figure and recognizing a resemblance to Maloney says "Is that you Johnny?" He was answered "Yes." Upon being asked if he was hurt badly, he says, "Yes, my leg is broken, for god's sake pick me up and carry me in." Some of his associates, who had then gathered near him picked him up and carried him into the shop. He was afterwards taken to his boarding place at the Farmers Hotel and lived about an hour. His injuries consisted of several terrible cuts upon his legs from some of which a considerable portion of the flesh was torn to the bone and doubtless other internal injuries.
Carter was found lying upon the ground under a truck on the opposite side of the street in a large pool of blood. He must have been blown many feet into the air. He was alive when found, but only breathed a few times. His neck, jaw, right shoulder and left arm were broken and there was a terrible scald over his heart. There were several cuts and scalds on other parts of the body. The body was first taken to Sullivan's liquor store and afterward to his former home in Pope Block on Exchange Street.
The third person killed was a lad ten years of age, son of Mr. Fred Gamber, a German and janitor of the High School building. The boy was standing near the boiler at the time the explosion took place and was thrown several feet by the concussion. He was taken into a small house on Hawley Street, occupied by a colored woman. He died in a few minutes. His skull was fractured, and there were slight bruises on the temple and cheek bone. The body was removed to his father's residence on Butternut Street.
Among the injured is Fred Ochsenbin, a jeweler who was looking at the boiler when the explosion occurred. He was blown across the street had one rib broken, his scalp badly cut and was badly scalded. His recovery is very doubtful. John Nelson was standing about 15 feet away, on a plank walk and was blown across the street, badly scalded and otherwise injured. His injuries are very serious. Samuel Ingham aged about 18 was picked up at some distance from the ruins, badly scalded and otherwise injured. His condition is critical. These are all who appear to be in danger of fatal results; but some of the others are quite seriously injured. The whole accident and loss of life appears to have been a consequence of a neglect of the usual precautions in making the boiler test.
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