Stories from Bovina's Cemeteries - A.T. Strangeway

Andrew T. Strangeway was born in Bovina in 1839, the son of Christopher Strangeway (1814-1890) and Margaret Thompson (1815-1875).  He was a business agent for a company called Gregg and Company before partnering with John Hilson as a merchant.  The partnership was dissolved in 1872, the same year that he married Maggie A. Doig.  In 1874, he built his store which still stands in the hamlet of Bovina Center and is now owned by Tom Hetterich.  Strangeway built onto the back of his store a hall in 1888.  Strangeway’s Hall was used for town meetings and other public events until the Bovina Community Hall was built in 1930.  He operated the store until his death on May 28, 1907.  The store had several owners after Strangeway’s death, including at one point his two competitors – John Hilson and A.T. Doig.  The building was sold to Arthur Hillis in late 1923 and was converted into a garage.  Several owners operated it as a garage, including Clayton Thomas, who ran his garage there for over 20 years. 

From Munsell's 1880 History of Delaware County

Andrew Strangeway and his wife had four children, including a daughter, Margaret Doig Strangeway, born in 1873.  Margaret married Walter Coulter and was the mother of Ruth Coulter Parsons and M. Celia Coulter.   They lost an infant and their son Harvey died when he was eight.  Andrew’s marriage was brief, his wife dying in 1878.  He never remarried.  As well as being a merchant, Strangeway served several terms as Town Clerk and was active in the Bovina United Presbyterian Church. 

Photo courtesy of Ed and Dick Davidson.

An interesting side note:  Just over a month before Andrew Strangeway's death, his store was burglarized.  Fortunately, he had removed all the money so that the burglars who broke in on April 24, 1907 got only some change, a few cigars and a few other articles.