Disappearance of Palmer Rich - 1888

Reward for Information About Disappearance of Palmer Rich

Chenango Union, January 16, 1890

The offer of a reward of $1,000 by Ransom Rich and Angelina E. Ellis, through Sheriff Klaney - $500 to the person or persons who will produce the body of Palmer Rich, late of South New Berlin [Chenango Co., NY], alive or dead; and $500 to the person or persons who will produce the evidence which shall lead to the conviction of the persons who killed said Palmer Rich, if he is dead--recalls to mind the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Rich from this village fifteen months ago.

 

Thursday, October 11th, 1888, Palmer Rich, a well-known farmer residing at Ambler Settlement, near South New Berlin, came to this village, leaving his horse and carriage in the boarding stables of William McQueen, on Court street  He afterwards called at the home of his aunt, Mrs. George W. Freeman, whom he invited to ride home with him that afternoon, and spend a few days with the family, which invitation was accepted.  Rich did not return for her, and on Saturday morning she took the train for South New Berlin.  Upon her arrival at Rich's home she made inquiries for him, when she learned that he had not been there since he left for Norwich on the Thursday previous.

 

A thorough search was at once instituted.  Friends coming to Norwich found Rich's horse and carriage at McQueen's stables, and in the carriage was the missing man's overcoat.  It was learned that he had visited several drinking places in town on the day of his disappearance, spending money freely, having in his possession about $400.  He dined at the Palmer House, and was later seen in company with several hard characters. He next visited a disreputable house, after which no trace of him was found, although search was made, and continued for a long time after.  There were many rumors afloat as to Rich's whereabouts, but all were without foundation.

 

While there were many who believed that Rich had been foully dealt with, and that he never left this village alive, a large majority were of the opinion that he had left voluntarily, and that he had reasons for keeping his whereabouts a secret.  What his motive could have been for such a move is beyond the comprehension of those who knew him best, as he was well to do, and respected in the community, occasional over-indulgence in drink being his besetting sin.

 

Whether there are any new developments in the matter, causing the offer of the reward, is best known to the friends of the missing man, and to the officers engaged in ferreting it out.  All will join with them in the hope that the mystery may soon be unraveled.

 



Mysterious Disappearance of Palmer Rich Never Solved

South New Berlin Bee, July 2, 1953

 

The mysterious disappearance of Palmer Rich on Oct. 10, 1888, has become a legend in Chenango County.  Palmer Rich was a respected farmer and an officer in the cheese factory in Amblerville.  On October 10, he came to Norwich and left his horse and rig in a livery stable.  he went to the bank and withdrew a "considerable sum" of money.  It was reported that he was seen during the day about the village and then, like the Genie that answered the rubbing of Aladdin's lamp, disappeared.

 

Adding to the mystery is the fact that his disappearance was not noted until two weeks later, when there appeared the following paragraph hidden among briefs from South New Berlin in the Chenango Semi-Weekly Telegraph: 

"The mysterious disappearance of one of our citizens, Palmer Rich, which happened two weeks ago, is a common topic of conversation." 

 

After that paragraph was published the stories and rumors began to grow, and a week later the Telegraph devoted a story to denying the rumors.  The story reads in part: 

"Last Friday it is said his body had been found in Mead's Pond just north of the village. This report was utterly unfounded." 

 

The Telegraph story continued:

"There came a still more fantastic narrative.  There was a trunk.  It was taken to one of our railroad depots for the proprietors of a disreputable house, by one of our draymen.  he and the baggage master thought it unduly heavy.  So they opened it and crowded into the trunk were the ghastly remains of Rich.  The body had been disemboweled and the stomach and intestines carried away.  This story horrified everybody until it was found to be entirely without foundation.  In conclusion there is a great diversity of opinion concerning the fate of the missing man."

 

According to another story a team of horses was hitched up late at night and Rich's body was taken by a round about way up King Settlement Road and back to be buried in a swamp behind Chenango Lake.  It was recalled that on the same night Rich disappeared a large barn burned in the Chenango Lake road, and there were some who believed Rich's body was disposed of in the fire. 

 

At one place in the Telegraph there is speculation that Palmer Rich may have taken the money and may have "gone west." 

 

The most usual story is that Palmer Rich was last seen going into a house on York Knoll late in the evening, a house occupied by Rose Fox.  The foundation for this story is the statement of a man who came forward with the information after a $1,000 reward was offered in the case.  About 18 months after the disappearance of Rich, an indictment was filed against Rose Fox, and the yellowing indictment still rests in the Chenango County Clerk's office.  Without the body, the indictment is fantastic.  It charges Rose Fox with first degree murder on two cunts.  In the first count the indictment said that Rose Fox murdered Rich "by means of poisonous drugs."  In the second count it said she murdered him "by means of certain deadly weapons; a rope or cord and a certain knife."  It said that she strangled and chopped and stabbed him to the heart.  Rose Fox was arrested in Carbondale, Pa., and brought back to the Chenango county Jail, where she spent 10 months.  Arrested in Pittsburgh, about the same time and brought back as a witness against Rose Fox, was Ida Tucker, or Mrs. Moran as she is referred to in the old newspaper accounts.  She brought her English pug dog with her and was confined in the front room of the old county jail.  Mrs. Moran was supposed to have been an "instructor of gymnastic classes" and to have lived with Rose Fox.  Another witness was to be Mary Ride, who claimed Rose Fox confided in her.  The Telegraph said that Mary Ride would testify that Rose Fox had burned Rich's body, "in the stove, after anointing it with a preparation to prevent the odor of burning flesh escaping to the street."  But Palmer Rich's body was never found, and the indictment against Rose Fox was dismissed and she was released.

 

As late as 1920, the case was reported briefly by Ward N. Truesdell, then district attorney, after the finding of a human skeleton during the making of an excavation where a woodshed had stood on a farm near Route 8 in the Town of New Berlin.  Mr. Truesdell said that the remains found apparently were those of an Indian buried in a sitting position. 

 

later than that, an old letter presuming to give directions for unearthing Palmer Rich's body on a farm in the East River Road, south of Polkville, was brought to the attention of the late Neil Lewis, when he was Chenango County sheriff.  He investigated, but there was no body found. 

 

The story of Palmer Rich continues to grow, but his disappearance is as much a mystery now as it was the week after he vanished.