Chenango Union, Norwich, NY, January 25, 1877
Marriages
UTLY - SAYLES: In this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 19th, by Rev. L.M.S. Haynes, Mr. Byron J. Utly of Cortland County [NY] to Miss Perleyette A. Sayles, of Norwich.
STURGES - WOLCOTT: In Fabius [Onondaga Co. NY], Jan. 18th, by Rev. J. Storrs, Mr. Austin Sturges of Otselic [Chenango Co. NY] to Miss Jane E. Wolcott of Fabius.
VOLMER - WILCOX: In Smyrna [Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 11th, by Rev. H. Fox, Mr. Anthony Volmer to Miss Adelia J. Wilcox all of Smyrna.
BEECH - JONES: In North Norwich [Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 20th, by C.S. Brookins, Esq., Mr. Edmond D. Beech of Pharsalia [Chenango Co. NY] to Miss Lida J. Jones of New Berlin.
NEARING - BEEBE: In Guilford [Chenango Co. NY] Dec. 27th by Rev. E.W. Caswell, Mr. Afton J. Nearing of Mt. Vision [Otsego Co. NY] to Miss Maimie Beebe of Guilford.
Wooden Wedding: On Wednesday evening, January 17th, Mr. and Mrs. B.J. Cone of Columbus [Chenango Co. NY] celebrated their fifth anniversary, or Wooden Wedding. A large number of friends from Smyrna [Chenango Co. NY], the home of Mrs. Cone, New Berlin and Columbus, were in attendance, and the evening passed off to the satisfaction of all present. Richardson's Band were on hand and furnished excellent music for all those who were versed in the arts of Terpsichore. The happy couple were the recipients of a good supply of wooden ware and the well wishes of all the guests. At a late hour the next morning the party broke up, feeling that the night had been pleasantly spent and wishing the worthy couple many happy returns of the day.
Deaths
PELLET: In this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 22d, Mr. John Pellet, aged 88 years.
GODFREY: In this town [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 19th, Mary M. [Godfrey], wife of Richard Godfrey, and daughter of Linus and Julia Benedict, aged 24 years.
GATES: In East Pharsalia [Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 6th, Archie [Gates] son of Frank and Mary Gates, aged 9 months and 21 days.
DRAKE: In Oxford [Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 2d, Gracie M. [Drake] daughter of Zebra Drake, aged 7 months.
FISK: In Oxford [Chenango Co. NY], Jan. 14th, Mr. Charles Fisk, aged 23 years.
DWIGHT: In Cincinnatus [Cortland Co. NY], Jan. 11th, Mr. Solomon Dwight, aged 62 years.
Plymouth [Chenango Co. NY]: Diphtheria has prevailed here to quite an extent. Almost every family have been afflicted with it. Jessie B. [Cushman] one of the twins and the youngest daughter of George P. Cushman, aged 8 years and 2 months, was taken with this disease and died December 26th, living but two days after she was taken. All of Mr. Cushman's family have been sick with this same disease. Johnny, twin brother of Jessie is now sick.
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MAYNARD: In Hillsdale, N.Y. [Columbia Co.], Jan. 14th, Mrs. Cynthia H. Maynard, aged 51 years, sister of Mrs. Thomas Stackhouse, of this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY].
On Sunday morning, the 14th inst., Mrs. Cynthia H. Maynard, wife of Hon. Arba K. Maynard, of St. Paul, Minn., and some thirty years since a resident of this village, met with a terrible death from fire, at Hillsdale, Columbia County.
For years past, deceased had not lived with her husband, and for some time previous to her death had made it her home with Thomas Owens of Hillsdale who was formerly employed upon the farm of her husband and had married his adopted daughter but is now a widower with two children. Mr. Owens had arisen on that morning, kindled a fire in the kitchen stove and went out to do his chores. He was soon after startled by the cries of his little girl who ran from the house in her night dress, crying "Grandma is burning up." Hurrying to the house, he found the unfortunate woman in the pantry adjoining the kitchen enveloped in flames which she was vainly endeavoring to quench by throwing water upon her person with a dipper, from a pail. Mr. Owens threw a bed quilt over her and wrapping her in it, laid her upon her bed, but she died instantly, giving but a gasp.
It is supposed that deceased was busying herself in preparing breakfast and that the sleeve of her dress took fire from the stove from which a cover was removed. From a scorched spot upon the kitchen floor, it was evident that she had thrown herself upon it, hoping to extinguish the flames, when her screams aroused the little girl. She was terribly burned about the breast and vitals.
Mrs. Maynard was for something like seven years an inmate of the Insane Asylum at Utica, which institution she left with reason restored about four years since and for a time made it her home with her sister, Mrs. Thomas Stackhouse, of this village, when she removed to Hillsdale. Many who made her acquaintance while here will regret her sad death. Her age was fifty-two years. Mrs. Stackhouse, with her daughter, Mrs. Volney Butts, attended her funeral.
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The people of Utica [Oneida Co. NY] were shocked on Wednesday afternoon of last week by the announcement that Col. Alvan White, an old and much respected resident of that city, had fallen through the opening of the elevator at Faxton Hospital from the upper story to the basement, dislocating his neck, killing him almost instantly.
Col. White had resided in Utica from his boyhood and was in his seventy-second year at the time of his death, although he looked much younger. In early life he was a clerk in a store in that city, and afterwards proprietor of the Mansion House, which he left in 1845 to take charge of the Central Hotel, where he remained for thirteen years. Retiring from the hotel business he was employed for several years in the freight office of the Central Railroad Company. When the war broke out, he volunteered his services and was made Captain of Company A, 117th Regiment. When the regimental organization was perfected, he was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel, and after the Regiment took the field, ill health forced the Colonel commanding to resign, when the command fell upon Col. White, who was soon afterwards commissioned. He was with his Regiment in many engagements and was a cool, fearless officer, beloved by his men. Ill health compelled him to resign his commission in 1864 and he returned to his home where he served as Deputy Sheriff, Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenues, and finally as Steward of the Faxton Hospital, which position he occupied at the time of his death.
Deceased was formerly well known to many residents of the Chenango Valley as a popular landlord and genial gentleman. In the winter of 1869-70 he resided in this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY], occupying the position of salesman for Messrs. Nettleton & Heath, clothing merchants from Utica. He made many warm friends and renewed old acquaintances during his brief residence among us.
His funeral was attended on Sunday morning by the Citizens' Corps of which organization he was Captain before the war, Knights Templar, 117th Regiment, exempt Firemen, Common Council and a large concourse of citizens. Services were held at the Church of the Reconciliation and the remains interred in the Utica Cemetery with appropriate ceremonies.
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Deaths of Prominent Citizens
"Sentinel," in a recent letter to the Utica Herald, gives the following interesting reminiscences of prominent citizens connected with the Banking institutions of this village [Norwich, Chenango Co. NY]:
The recent decease of Nelson B. Hale, President of the Bank of Norwich, brings to mind the sad inroads made by death in the ranks of bank directors and officers and prominent men of Norwich within the past few years. The Bank of Norwich was organized in 1856 with thirty-nine stockholders, eleven of whom were constituted a board of directors. Of the original stockholders, twenty-two have died. Ten only who subscribed to the original articles of association are now stockholders of the bank. But four of the eleven directors, as the list was first constituted, survive: Warren Newton, the cashier; B.B. Andrews, Harvey Thompson and Charles Lewis. the first director that died, and who was also the youngest was Charles N. Wheeler, in 1859 or 1860. Next in order of time comes Theodore Miller, who died July 31, 1860; Ansel Berry, who died in July, 1870; Jonathan Wells, Vice President from the organization, died November 20, 1871; James H. Smith, President from the organization till his death, which occurred May 15, 1872; William Packer, died in December 1874, and last Nelson B. Hale, who superseded Mr. Smith and who died on the 16th. David Griffing, an original stockholder and later a director, a man of much prominence in business and financial circles, died in November 1872.
The Bank of Chenango, one of the oldest institutions of the kind in this portion of the State, organized in 1818, has also sustained signal and severe losses in the death of officials, within a few years. Benjamin F. Rexford, a director and attorney, and for twenty years Vice President, died August 29, 1872. Walter M. Conkey, for half a century connected with the bank as teller, cashier and President, died December 20, 1872. William B. Pellet, for fifty years associated with the institution as clerk, teller and cashier, died January 10, 1873. Benadam Frink, a director and Vice President, died April 5, 1875.
Of the deaths noticed, some of them occurred not merely in near succession, but with shocking suddenness, in a moment least expected and in an unlooked-for manner.
It was Monday and Mr. Smith was at the bank as usual, apparently in good health. On Tuesday morning he was stricken in his bed with apoplexy and before noon of Wednesday he was dead.
Mr. Rexford argued a motion before the special term of the Supreme Court in the morning and in the afternoon walked from the court to his office in his strength. A little before six in the evening he was struck with apoplexy and within an hour was dead.
Mr. Conkey for a few days ill, but in a condition in no way alarming, one Sabbath evening came downstairs from the room of his son, stepped to the mantlepiece in his dining room, wound the clock, when seized with apoplexy of the lungs, he fell to the floor and in half an hour was dead.
At noonday, Mr. Pellet was seen sitting in his accustomed place in the Eagle dining room, apparently well. He was noticed to recline and partially fall from his chair. Apoplexy was doing its dread work, and in ten minutes the victim was dead.
The sudden deaths of four bank officers within eight months whose aggregate term of service numbers over 150 years, certainly is no ordinary occurrence, the like of which probably can nowhere be found.
In this connection, while noticing sudden deaths, I am led to make mention of one more, not, I believe, a banker, but most intimately, politically and socially, related to those who were called away so unexpectedly and unwarned. Possessed of enviable gifts of rare intelligence and commanding presence, my closing subject was a decided character in our town. For ten years assistant clerk of the Assembly and for three terms, 1847, 1848. and 1849, clerk of that body, of fine discrimination and a good judge of character of scholarly tastes and habits, his knowledge of men and things was remarkably surprising. About 4 o'clock one afternoon, in unusual good spirits, he went into his office on South Broad Street and while in pleasant conversation with his laundress, who had just come in with a basket of clothes, he was observed to slide from his chair and before a physician could reach his room from the street, Philander B. Prindle was dead.
