This Day in Bovina for November 2025

Ninety-six years ago today, the Catskill Mountain News on the front page of its November 1, 1929 issue printed an article that originally appeared in the Delaware Republican with the headline "CITY ENGINEERS PLAN DAM ON THE LITTLE DELAWARE." The paper noted that if the plans reached fruition, "properties at the 'Hook' including the beautiful St. James' chapel and community house erected by Miss Angelica Gerry…" would be flooded. The article went on to note that "nothing may come of all this…." but noted that "there may be 'more truth than fiction' in the rumors of the Little Delaware dam project; the fact may be nearer than we think."

166 years ago today, on November 2, 1859, Robert J. Forrest, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Forrest, died at the age of 4 years, 6 months and 19 days. He died as the result of being scalded. The hired girl had left a pail of water on the floor while getting more. The little boy was playing with the water in the pail when he heard the girl coming back. He was afraid he would be scolded and backed away from the pail, falling against a pot of boiling water which proceeded to spill on him. He lived for a couple of days after the accident.

167 years ago today, November 3, 1858, Edward O’Connor signed this document submitting his claim for expenses as commissioner of highways.  O’Connor is noted in history as one of the two men sentenced to hang for the killing of Undersheriff Osman Steele during the Anti-Rent War in 1845.  O’Connor’s sentence was commuted to life in prison, and he was released from prison within about a year.  He had been a town official before going to prison and resumed participating in town government after his release. 

This image of Edwin LaFever taken by Delhi photographer Harold McMurdy in 1940. My great uncle Ed was born in 1914, the son of Sylvan A. LaFever and his second wife, Alice Smith. He married Thelma Reinertsen in Bovina the year this photo was taken. Ed and Thelma would have five children and were married until Ed's death in 1975 at the age of 61. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. 

About 100 of the 212 women voters in Bovina voted 107 years ago today, November 5, 1918.  As reported later by the Andes Recorder, “Their votes did not change results in the town except to swell the Prohibition vote by about 40.”  Women in New York gained the right to vote in the November 1917.  This was the first time in New York that women were able to vote.  Women suffrage became nationwide in 1920.

117 years ago today, the Bovina column of the November 6, 1908 Andes Recorder reported that "A monument has been erected in the Center cemetery to memory of John and Barbara Lewis." Here's the stone today. 

These two images are of the Bovina Center creamery in the 1910s. They come from Chuck McIntosh's postcard collection. 

142 years ago today, on November 8, 1883, James R. Shackelton was paid $1 for taking a quarantine notice to E.L. Dean. 

These passport images of Mrs. Henry Menke were taken by Delhi photographer Bob Wyer in 1960. Mrs. Menke was born Frieda Petsche and married Henry Menke in 1952. She was born in the former Yugoslavia in 1921 and came to the U.S. after World War II. She was widowed in 2000 and died in 2012 at the age of 90. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. 

161 years ago today, on November 10, 1864, tavern keeper Dorcas Aitkin presented this bill for various services to the town, including lodging four recruits likely receiving town bounty to help Bovina meet its quota (who these men were we do not know).  Her hotel/tavern was located where the Jardine house is now located. 

Gordon Coulter entered the blacksmith shop of Gideon Miller to learn the trade 118 years ago today, November 11, 1907.  Gordon probably is Elton Gordon Coulter (1891-1945), the son of David and Lucy Coulter and an uncle to Grace Coulter Roberts.

This image of the Francis Coulter family was in the collection of images from Martena Monroe Kellem. Francis was a grandson and namesake of the original Coulter settler. Born in 1831, he married Loruhama Henderson in 1857. They had five children, all of whom made it to adulthood. This image shows the five children. Hannah (1870-1933) and Walter (1862-1900) are in the back row, James (1872-1900) is in the middle and Margaret (1868-1915) and Elizabeth (1860-1937) are in front. Martena was the daughter of Margaret Coulter, who married James Monroe in 1893.  Sadly, the two brothers, Walter and James, died 11 days apart in March 1900, both of pneumonia. James' wife, Minnie Miller, died a few days after her husband and two days before her brother-in-law, also of pneumonia. Loruhama died in January 1909 and her husband followed her to the grave six months later, after an illness of over 10 years. 

128 years ago today, November 13, 1897, as later reported in the Delaware Republican: "Lester Hoy, son of Thomas Hoy of Bovina, died of consumption Sunday, aged 22. Mr. Hoy was a very exemplary young man and had a wide circle of friends who will mourn his early death." Two years later, his brother William’s wife Robena gave birth to a son who was named for his uncle Lester. This later Lester Hoy is the one who lived in the Hoy family home, now the home of Tim and Tamara McIntosh.

In 1946, Delhi photographer Bob Wyer took a series of aerial pictures around Bovina in a plane piloted by Eddie Davidson. This is an image of Lake Delaware at the Gerry estate. The Lake House is partially hidden by trees. Lee Hollow is at the upper right. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. Wyer Aerials 058 Gerry Estate

Thirty years ago today, the November 15, 1995 Walton Reporter carried this Bovina column by Ann Cairns: 

Eighty-six years ago today, the Bovina column of the November 16, 1939 Delaware Republican reported that "Mrs. Elizabeth McNair has returned to Binghamton to spend the winter with her son, Raymond, and family after spending the summer with her daughter Mrs. J.W. McCune." She would die at her son's home a few months later in April 1940. Mrs. McNair was born in 1852, the daughter of James and Jane Crosier. She married Peter McNair in 1869 and would have four children. Peter died in 1908. She is buried in the Bovina Cemetery.

104 years ago today, on November 17, 1921, Mina Wilson signed this oath of office as the Tax Collector for the town of Bovina. She was the town's first female office holder. More about Mina can be found on the Bovina NY History blog at http://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/11/bovinas-first-female-office-holder.html

Sunset View Farm on Russell Hill Road was one of the earliest boarding establishments. Run by Martha Bergman Russell, she started the business in the 1920s. The late Dorothy Ryder was introduced to Bovina by spending summers at Mrs. Russell’s. The rate was $12.50 per week for adults and children over ten years old. Children aged five to ten were $8.00 a week; children under five were charged $5.00 per week. Today it is a private residence. 

146 years ago today, November 19, 1879 Alexander Meyers was married to Isabelle Laing.  The couple would be married for almost 68 years.  In 1939, the couple celebrated their 60th anniversary with a party given for them in the Bovina UP Church parlors.  Bob Wyer photographed the event. Alex died in 1947 at the age of 91.  His wife Isabelle died 4 years later in 1951, when she was 90 years old.  

In 1946, Delhi photographer Bob Wyer took a series of aerial pictures around Bovina in a plane piloted by Eddie Davidson. This is a view of Tunis Lake when the Tunis Lake Camp was still in existence. Established by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Mirski in 1922, they sold it in 1944. The camp, originally a boys’ camp, became co-ed in the 60s. It operated until 1970. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. 

205 years ago today, on November 21, 1820, William Murray was born in Bovina, the son of William Murray and Jean Black. He married Rachel Merwin in 1850 and died in Delhi in 1887 at the age of 66.

 

148 years ago today, the Andes Recorder, November 22, 1877, reported that "A number of cases of typhoid fever and other diseases, thirteen cases in all, are reported from Bovina.”

124 years ago today, the November 23, 1901 Walton Reporter carried this article about the new Bovina Center Creamery: "The Bovina Center Cooperative creamery building is completed and

the company will open it for business on January 1, 1902. The buildings are all first class and satisfactory and the outlook is very good. The officers are Wm. A. Hoy. president; Douglas Davidson, vice president; Jas. A. Thompson. secretary and treasurer. The directors are, W. A. Hoy. Alex Hilson, Silas T. Rockefeller, Douglas Davidson and James A. Thompson.

132 years ago today, the Andes Recorder's November 24, 1893 issue, reported that "A son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Gow, and a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Barnhart, all of Bovina." Sadly, the son of James and Willamina Gow died a couple of days after this was reported. The Barnhart daughter was my grandmother, Anna Bell, who died in 1980 at the age of 86. 

Earl Harold Miller, son of John M. Miller of Bovina, and Miss Rachel Mary Sullivan, of St. Paul, Minnesota, were married 111 years ago today, November 25, 1914, in Minnesota. Miller was living in Minnesota by then, but had grown up on Pink Street, the son of John and Bertha Miller, at the farm that later became Suits Us Farm. He was a lawyer in St. Paul and ran for congress there (unsuccessfully) in 1920. Earl died in 1955 in Walton and is buried in Bovina.

Eighty-eight years ago today, the November 26, 1937 Otsego Farmer (published in Cooperstown), carried this item on its front page: "Residents of the upper end of Delaware county are looking forward to uninterrupted, sleep following the arrest of Walfred Hansen, aged twenty-four of Bovina, picked up by Corp. Harold Bentley and Trooper Russell Coons of the Stamford outpost of Troop C, State Police, who charged him with having a siren on his private car. Arraigned before Justice of the Peace Omar Edwards at Stamford, Hansen pleaded guilty, paid a five-dollar fine and promised to remove the noise-maker from his car."

142 years ago today, the Bovina column in the November 27, 1883 issue of the Stamford Mirror reported that "D.L. Thomson has finished his job of tinning the roof of the R.P. Church." This church stood where the playground and fire hall now stand. It was taken down in 1943. 

Charles F. Smith was married to Christina Lamont 169 years ago today, November 28, 1856.  This was his second marriage.  Born in Scotland in 1824, he first married Annie Williamson, by whom he had two children before her death in November 1855.  There were no children from the second marriage.  Charles was widowed again in 1898 and he died 10 years later in 1908.  He ran the hotel at what is now Jardine's for many years.

107 years ago today, on November 29, 1918, John Elliot moved from his house on Maple Avenue "to the Thomas Miller house."  The following Monday, Mrs. John Irvine, the mother of Isabell Russell, moved into the Elliott house (now the home of Tony and Norma Gabriele).  Note: I’m still trying to figure out which house was the "Thomas Miller house."

Eighty-one years ago today, the Bovina column in the November 30, 1944 Delaware Republican Express had this item: "Mr. and Mrs. Alex Hilson have a son, born on November 24th; his name is James Alexander." This is Jim on the left with his parents and siblings, taken in 1952. 

 

 

A Week with Bovina People - November 1900 - 125 Years ago from the Andes Recorder

November 2, 1900

• John Hewitt was down at Delhi on Friday.

• James More, of Hamden, was here on Sabbath.

• Mrs. Thomas Miller was over at Andes on Friday.

• Peter McNair and wife were at Margaretville over Sabbath.

• George Bell, from Otsego county, was in town last Thursday.

• W.T. Black, the next County Clerk, was at Margaretville Tuesday. [William T. Black had served as the Bovina Town Supervisor from 1893-1898. As will be noted later in November in the Recorder, he moved from Bovina to Delhi because of his new duties. He would be county clerk until 1907. He continued living and working in Delhi until his death in 1938.]

• Mrs. Robert Mallory, of Hamden, visited her parents on Sabbath.

• John Taylor and Mrs. Colin McNaught visited Walton last week.

• Mrs. Robert Forrest and Miss Irene Forrest visited Delhi on Saturday.

• Marion Robertson and wife and David Oliver were over at Andes Saturday.

• Mr. and Mrs. John R. Hoy have returned home from their visit at Oil City, Pa.

• Rev. Levi Bird, from Scranton, Pa, gave a temperance address here Tuesday evening.

• Arthur How, Howard McPherson and Douglas McCune were at Bainbridge on Monday.

• Mrs. Elmer Hastings and Miss Jennet Ellen Hoy are spending the week in New York city seeing the sights.

• Among those in town Friday were Harvey Smith, of Bloomville, and Dan R. Liddle and Bert Gladstone, of Andes.

• Alex Hilson has placed gasoline lights in his store – four double burners and two single ones.  Rev. Samson has also placed a single burner in his house, which can be set on the table or carried around like a lamp.

November 9, 1900

• Dr. Gates was in town Monday.

• Alex. Hilson was at Delhi Thursday.

• James Gladstone was in town Wednesday.

• William Miller returned to Walton on Saturday.

• Frank R. Coulter and wife were at Delhi Wednesday.

• William Dennis has been visiting his brother, John P.

• Richard Smith returned from a visit at Walton Saturday.

• Some went to Walton Saturday to hear Senator Depew.

• Thomas Gordon went to Delhi Saturday after the ballots.

• Hon. E.T. Gerry returned to New York city Saturday.

• Gideon Miller, of Colchester, has been visiting in town.

• Mr. Swift of Scranton was in town last week buying butter.

• John Blair started Thursday with another drove for Kingston.

• Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Miller visited in Otsego county this week.

• Dr. W.J. Phyfe and wife, of Delhi, were visitor here on Sabbath.

• Alex. Myers commenced Monday to paint G.D. Miller’s residence.

• J.L. Hughes has been painting F.R. Coulter’s new wagon house.

• Gideon Miller and wife spent Sabbath with his parents at Andes.

• Mrs. Kennedy Warren visited in town the latter part of last week.

• Wesley Miller and wife, of Oneonta, were guests at G.D. Miller’s on Thursday.

• At the sociable at G.D. Miller’s last Friday evening for the benefit of the Methodist church, amounted to about $19.

• Mr. and Mrs. William D. Thompson celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage Wednesday evening, November 7. [William would die in 1902, and his wife, the former Agnes Murray, in 1905.]

• On election day the ladies of the Methodist church served meals in A.T. Strangeway’s rooms and the receipts were about $15.

• Rev. Levi Bird, of Scranton, preached in the United Presbyterian church Sabbath evening.

• Colonel Copeland will deliver the first lecture in the course here on Tuesday evening, November 15.

• William Northrup and men of Walton, have been giving the Methodist church a new dressing of paint.

• Peter McNair has the contract to do a job of grading for Mr. Feder at Margaretville. The contract price is $1,550.

• Quite a number went to Delhi last Friday to hear M. Linn Bruce, and all were highly pleased with the speech. [Bruce, who had grown up in Andes, was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York for one term, 1905-06.]

• Last Thursday Drs. Gates, Phinney and McNaught performed an operation for appendicitis on, George, son of Jas. B. Thompson.  The operation was a difficult one, but the patient is doing as well as could be expected.  

• The whole number of votes cast in Bovina Tuesday were 262 a gain of 11 over four years ago.  There were two void ballots and 11 Prohibition votes.  Of the total vote McKinley received 190, a gain of 11, and Bryan 58, Odell 190, Sanchfield 56, and the remainder of the state ticket received the same vote as that of Governor.  On the county ticket Axtell received 166, Warner 78, Grant 165, Andrus 79, Smith 161, Kilpatrick 86, Black 197, Tway 50.

Bovina Lecture Course.

The Bovina lecture course is evidently going to be a grand success.  140 course tickets have been sold and seats secured.  Colonel L.F. Copeland will deliver the opening lecture November 15.  More money has been expended in securing the speakers and entertainments than ever before, and the course will be the best offered a Bovina audience. [Colonel Copeland of Harrisburg, PA was a noted Chautauqua and lyceum lecturer. Born in 1841, he died suddenly in July 1904.]

November 16, 1900

• W.J. White was at Andes Wednesday.

• Fred Bramley was over at Andes on Friday.

• Jennie Campbell was home over Sabbath.

• David Miller, of Delhi, is visiting his son, David J.

• John E. Gladstone was in town the first of the week.

• Mrs. Daniel McMullin was a visitor in this place Saturday.

• Andrew Franklin and George Persons, of Delhi, were in town Saturday.

• Leslie McNee and Arthur Burns went to Kingston Monday to enter school.

• Miss Alice Oliver went to Deposit Monday, where it is stated she will attend school.

• Among those at Delhi on Tuesday were W.T. Black, James Forman, J.B. Lee and John H. Hewitt.

• Wednesday at noon, Mina J. daughter of Alex Bryden and William Hogg [Hoag] were united in marriage, Rev. Samson, officiating. [They would have two children and were married until William’s death in 1944. Mina was 90 when she passed away in 1966.]

• Supervisor John A. Irving went to Delhi Monday to attend the meeting of the supervisors. John looks well to the interests of the town.

• Side walls are being built on the culvert across the deep ravene near Clark Hogaboom’s, and the roadbed has also been raised considerable.

• The amount of town audits this year is $294.37, and the amount of sheep audits agains the dog fund are $112.75. One man had $60 for sheep killed. 

• Saturday W.J. Doig started for Bloomville and when going up the pitch above R.A. Thompson’s one of his horses dropped down dead in the road.

• George Thompson, upon whom an operation for appendicitis was performed two weeks ago died Monday morning aged 15 years.  The funeral was held Wednesday.

November 23, 1900

• Peter Arbuckle was up from Delhi Saturday.

• William T. Black will move to Delhi next week.

• Archie Dickson was in town Friday from Andes.

• Barton Jackson was seen in this place Monday.

• Miss Maggie Archibald was a visitor at Andes Tuesday.

• Jacob Pintoff, of Philadelpia, has been town delivering fine enlarged pictures.

• Supervisor Irvine was at Delhi Monday and Tuesday attending a meeting of the Board.

• Otis McCumber, wife and daughter, of Andes, were guests at Mrs. Muller’s over Sabbath.

• Miss Linda Laing of Andes, who has been visiting relatives here during the past week, returned home Tuesday.

• The wife of William McPherson, son of Ferris McPherson of this town, died at Roscoe, November 14, with consumption. [This was the former Elizabeth Stott. She was born in 1863 and married William in 1891. She was the daughter of William and Mary (Neish) Stott. More about the Stott family https://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/stories-from-bovina-cemeteries-stott.html.]

• Are the Democrats now satisfied of what they saved out of the sheriff’s bills as against the bills of Youmans and Patterson? This is reform.

• Cards are out announcing the marriage of Miss Elizabeth Rogers to John L. Gordon, Wednesday evening, November 28, at 6:30 o’clock, in St. Vincent Ferres church, New York city. [The sad story about John Gordon is in the Bovina NY History Blog: https://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/05/stories-from-bovina-cemeteries.html]

• The following list of grand jurors for this town have been selected by Supervisor Irvine: T.C. Strangeway, Jacob Bailey, R.A. Thomson, Andrew Doig, W.B. Smith, David Liddle, W.L. White.

• Among Bovina people at the County Seat Saturday, were Mr. and Mrs. G. D. Miller, Mrs. Pinney, Mrs. Mary A. Russell, F.C. Armstrong, Frank Brown, James Robson, Peter Robson two daughters. 

• James Foreman and Miss Jennie Archibald were united in marriage at the home of the bride in upper Bovina Tuesday, Rev. W.L.C. Samson officiating.  The couple took the afternoon train from Arkville for New York city where they will spend their honeymoon. [James and Jennie would be married until her passing in 1941. They had six children, three of whom survived to adulthood, including Isabella Foreman, who would marry Delhi doctor Orin Q. Flint.]

November 30, 1900

• John Blair was at Delhi Monday.

• F.R. Coulter visited Andes Friday.

• G.D. Miller has his house nearly painted.

• Jackson & Mason’s team was in this place Friday.

• Ward Coulter and mother were over at Andes Friday.

• Grant Maxwell and wife were in town on Sabbath.

• Mary Ann Dean has been visiting relatives in town.

• A.O. Butts and Alex. Thompson have traded trotters.

• Miss Lillian McNaught of Delancey, is visiting relatives in town.

• David J. Miller purchased a matched team of colts at Hobart last week.

• Union Thanksgiving services will be held in the Methodist church on Thursday.

• William T. Black moved his household goods to Delhi this week.  Bovina loses and Delhi gains a good citizen.

• The next entertainment on lecture course will be concert by the Norton Wald Musical company December 10.

• Thomas Gordon and wife and B.S. Miller attended the Gordon-Rogers wedding in New York City this week.

• The hall was well filled last Thursday evening to listen to Colonel Copeland in his lecture “Snobs and Snobbery.” [I don’t know the content of this lecture, but it appears it was a regular one given by Colonel Copeland around the country.]

• Rev. Robb, a former pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian church, who has been a missionary in China, is visiting in town. [Rev. William Robb was a missionary in China for much of his life, even after his marriage in 1907. In fact, Robb would die in China in 1929.] 

• Among recent real estate transfers in town was George W. Redmond to William Rogers, $950. Property is at Lake Delaware.

• Oliver Dickson and sister will move next month from their farm on Pisgah to Delhi to spend the winter, and will move back again in the spring. 

• The old soldiers were invited to John P. Dennis’ last Thursday evening, and spent an enjoyable evening together.  The inner man was well cared for and an excellent repast served. [Old soldiers is a reference to veterans of the Civil War.]

 

Bovina and the American Revolution - Jesse Purdy (1748-1840)

Jesse Purdy, also known as Justus Purdy, is believed to have been born in Westchester County in 1748. A year after the Declaration of Independence, he enlisted in Dutchess County in 1777, serving in the Second Regiment, Artillery, Capt. Samuel Lockwood/William Steven’s Company. He was discharged in 1780. Jesse was in at least one battle, but he could not remember the name of it when he applied for his pension in 1826. By 1800, he was living in Delaware County, likely in what later became Bovina. 

Most of the information we have about Jesse Purdy comes from his pension application He noted that he was old and infirm (he was 76) and so was his wife, Deborah. 

His personal property included a bed and bedding, 4 very old chairs, a table, and a pot and kettle. Jesse also had “two suits of clothes of woolen and cotton, cheap and coarse in quality and worn.” He also noted that he had about 40 acres of land but never had a title to it.  In an amended filing from 1827, he said that until just before he filed his claim, that he "had sufficient bodily ability to labor" and that through "the kindness of the widow of General Richard Montgomery" he was allowed to occupy "a small piece of land belonging to her."  For the past three years, however, he claimed that old age and a rupture had made it almost impossible for him to support himself and that he "has now no means of subsistence save the charity of his country."  Purdy was placed on the pension rolls in 1828, receiving $96 a year.  

A problem developed with the pension a few years later when he claimed that his daughter-in-law, Ann Purdy, who had power of attorney for her father-in-law, refused to pay the funds to him. She held a certificate or warrant from the war office which authorized the pension, but she threatened to burn it up. 

The total sum he received was $594.57.  Purdy was in his 90s at his death in 1840, Bovina’s oldest revolutionary war soldier.

We are not totally clear as to where Jesse is buried. His name appears on the Hogoboom family monument in the main Bovina cemetery. The stone was installed in the early 20th century. Along with Jesse, the stone includes Elizabeth Hogoboom, who was Jesse’s granddaughter (and likely the daughter of Ann Purdy, who was withholding pension funds from her father-in-law). Elizabeth’s husband was John Hogoboom. Also on the stone is their son Henry, who was a Civil War veteran. 

November 1925 - 100 Years Ago in "That Thriving Town"

Life in Bovina 100 years ago this month, from the pages of the Andes Recorder. 

November 6, 1925

• Mrs. Hamilton Russell is nursing at Walton. [Mrs. Russell, formerly Margaret Doig, was the mother of Cecil Russell.]

• The poles are being set for the electric light line.

• Mrs. William Armstrong is under the care of a nurse.

• Mrs. Patrick Doig, is visiting her nephew, C.S. Gladstone.

• George Gladstone has gone to Delhi to visit his son, Walter Gladstone.

• Some thermometers are reported to have reached zero Saturday morning.

• The Woman’s Missionary Society realized about $12 at their bake sale on Election day.

• George Cable, of Delhi, has been helping Norton Forrest lay water pipe to take the water into his stable.

• Bovina real estate transfers recorded are Jessie Bryden to Floyd Rockefeller $1; Floyd Rockefeller and wife to John Bopp and another $1.

• Charles McPherson and wife, Oscar Felton and wife, C.S. Gladstone and wife, Thos C. Strangeway, William Strangeway, and Mrs. W.G. Coulter attended the funeral of John Strangeway at Unadilla on Monday.

• Mr. and Mrs. C.S. Gladstone entertained at a dinner party last Thursday the following: Dr. and Mrs. Whitcomb and son, of Walton, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dickson, of Little Delaware, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Brown and children, of Delhi, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Burgin and Mr. and Mrs. John Hilson, and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Thomson, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Miller, of Bovina, Mr. and Mrs. Leon Taggart, of Oneonta. 

VanDusen-Liddle, from our Bovina Correspondent

Miss Edith Liddle and Leon VanDusen were married by Rev. F.N. Crawford on Saturday, October 31. The newlyweds went to Niagara Falls on a wedding trip, returning home on Tuesday night. The bride is primary teacher in the Bovina Center school. [The couple spent most of their lives in Broome County. Leon worked for IBM for 29 years. Edith and Leon had one daughter, Ellen. Edith died in 1968, Leon in 1977. They were buried in Bovina.]

Election in Bovina

There was considerable interest in the election in Bovina on Tuesday and below is the result:-

• Supervisor – W.J. Storie, r, 208; Wallace B. Smith, d, 156.

• Town Clerk – David G. Currie, r, 262; John W. McCune, d, 87.

• Justices of the Peace – John W. Storie, r, 192; M.T. Hastings, r, 149; Howard McPherson, d, 164; James A. Boggs, d, 160.

• Justice (to fill vacancy) – T.C. Strangeway, r, 231; Rema Hobbie, D, 107.

• Collector – Isabelle Myers, r, 128; Jennie I. Hoy, d, 233.

• Assessor – W.J. Archibald, r, 228; Harold Campbell, d, 114.

• Assessor (to fill vacancy) – William C. Russell, r, 291.

• Superintendent of Highways – W.G. Coulter, r, 237; Guy Rockafeller, d, 82.

November 13, 1925

• Mrs. Gideon Miller, of Hamden, is visiting in town.

• Bovina real estate transfers recorded are Jennie B. Doig to Lena Doig, $1.

• Harry Frisbee, of Walton, was in town Tuesday in the interest of Farm Bureau.

• The Young Ladies Missionary Society held an all day meeting with Mrs. Alfred Russell on Friday.

• Misses Kate and Freda Muller spent over the wek end with their sister, Mrs. Otis McCumber, at Andes.

• Supervisor Wallace B. Smith is in Delhi this week attending the annual meeting of the board of supervisors.

• The Pickwick farm Lake Delaware, has been sold to John Ballard, of the town of Kortright. This is the former Franklin farm.

• There will be a chicken pie supper in the U.P. church parlors November 27, under the auspices of the Young Ladies Missionary Society.

• About 60 were present at a surprise party given the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Leon VanDusen last Friday evening. All reported a good time.

• Dr. N.B. Whitcomb, medical missionary to Egypt, who is home on a vacation, will speak at the Thank Offering service at the U.P. church on November 22. 

Bovina Man Injured

Thursday forenoon while Sloan Archibald was working on the telephone line in Bovina Center the pole broke and threw him to the ground. It is feared that his hip may be broken. 

November 20, 1925

• From a social last Friday night the sum of $23 was realized.

• The Gerry house at Lake Delaware has been closed for the winter.

• Miss Edith Russell is employed in the home of Fletcher Davison.

• Born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson LaFever, November 15, a 5 ¾ pound son – Howard James.

• Mrs. Cora Tripp, of Oneonta, spent over the week end with her sister, Mrs. C.S. Gladstone.

• Robert Forrest and sisters, Misses Mary and Margaret Forrest, from the Little Delaware, were callers in town Monday.

• There was considerable damage done by high water caused by a heavy downpour of rain in the thunder storm Sabbath night.

• In the estate of Frank C. Armstrong late of Bovina, the estimate is $3,200 all of which is given to the son, William Armstrong.

• It is reported that Miss Lena Doig, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Doig, and Benj. Schofield, were married November 18.

• Mr. and Mrs. Milton Liddle, and Mr. and Mrs. David Liddle visited the brother of the last named’ William A. Liddle, at Andes on Sabbath. 

• The town of Bovina has had the following sums levied against it: Town audits $1,010.36; Library $100; Street Lighting $430; Compensation Insurance $300.

Helda-Hennings

Miss Inez Hennings, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hennings, of Bovina, and Louis Helda, of Brooklyn, were married November 14, by Rev. T.C. Bookhout at Delhi.

Surprise Bovina Newlyweds

A very pleasant evening was spent by the King’s Daughters’ Sabbath School class, their husbands, and many other friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Van Dusen on Friday evening. The party numbered over sixty. The class presented Mrs. VanDusen with a beautiful framed picture “Dawn”. The bride was also given by her class a large bride’s cake decorated with orange blossoms and a wedding bell. Underneath the bell on top of the cake reposed a miniature bride and groom. Many other useful and costly gifts were left as a reminder of the occasion with best wishes for a long and happy married life. Mrs. VanDusen was Miss Edith before her recent marriage. 

November 27, 1925

• Bovina Center is now lighted by the new electric lights.

• Union Thanksgiving services were held in the R.P. church.

• Norton Forrest and John Robinson have each purchased a truck.

• Dr. Lester Irvine has been in town the past week examining dairies.

• Frank Brown and family, of Delhi, spent the week end at C.S. Gladstones.

• Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Thomson, of New Kingston, attended church here on Sabbath.

• The first entertainment of the Bovina Lecture Course will be held in Hillis’ Hall on November 28.

• Mrs. William Armstrong, who has been ill for several weeks, is now able to sit up for a very short time. [This likely is the former Mary Kaufman. She would survive another four years, dying in December 1929.]

• Mr. and Mrs. Milton Liddle and daughter, Dorothy Bergman, Mr. and Mrs. David Liddle were callers at Alex Anderson’s at Delhi on Sabbath.

• Mr. and Mrs. Thos C. Strangeway and Mr. and Mrs. John Hilson spent Thanksgiving with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dickson on the Little Delaware.

• Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Oliver and family, of Peak’s Brook, Delhi, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Oliver and Mrs. James Oliver were Thanksgiving guests of their sister, Mrs. Alfred Russell. 

This Day in Bovina for October 2025

 

James Archibald Boggs was born 141 years ago today, October 1, 1884, in Bovina, the son of Thomas Boggs and Jane Archibald Boggs.  He would spend his whole life in Bovina and run the family farm.  James was married three times.  He first married Elizabeth Felton in 1913.  They had one son who died at the age of two months.  Elizabeth died in 1918.  The following year, James married Edith Barnhart (my great aunt).  They would have five children, daughters Anna, Mary, Grace and Helen and son Clifford.  Grace died at the end of 1929.  In early 1930, Edith died after giving birth to Clifford (he died in 1933).  James married for the third time in 1947 to Catherine Cameron Kelsey.  He died in 1972 at the age of 87. This portrait of James with his wife Catherine was taken by Bob Wyer in December 1951. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. 

113 years ago today, on October 2, 1912, Helen Miller was married to Marshall W. Thomson in Bovina. They were married for 50 years, until Marshall's death in 1962, less than two weeks after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Helen would live another 35 years, dying in 1997 at the age of 107, two days after the 85th anniversary of her wedding. Here's the invitation to the wedding, received by John Hilson and his sister Jane.   

These images of Rev. and Mrs. Charles Lay were taken by Delhi photographer Harold McMurdy in the late 1930s. Rev. and Mrs. Lay were the parents of Clark Lay, who was the Bovina Highway Superintendent for many years. Rev. Lay was born in 1877 in England and died in Margaretville in 1946. He married Maude Miller in Bovina in 1913. Maude Miller was born in Delancey. After she was widowed, she was remarried in 1951 to John Rockwell, who died the following year. She died in 1968 while being taken to Fox Hospital in Oneonta. Charles and Maude had four children. The couple lived in Vermont for a time, where their two sons were born. They also lived in Hamden and in Bovina, though Rev. Lay never was a minister in a Bovina church. As well as Clark, they had two daughters, Evelyn and Ida and a son Charles, who died in 1942 of tuberculosis at the age of 26. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association.  

143 years ago today, the October 4, 1888 Hobart Independent reported that "T. Ormiston's carriage team took the first premium at Delhi and Hobart fairs. The team was first put together when two years old, since then they have taken five prizes, and were not shown when three years old. One of them took the first at Hobart, and second at Delhi when one year old.

131 years ago today, October 5, 1894, a baseball game was played at Indian Rocks.  Given that it was the Sabbath, it caused some controversy.  The Andes Recorder, when reporting this game in its Bovina column, stated that “how the game succeeded we do not know, but such actions as this should be stopped immediately.” This image of Indian Rocks dates from around 1906. 

Lake Mohigan, also known as Silver Lake and Cole’s Lake, is on Route 28 heading towards Andes. The lake was manmade, built in 1909 by a group of men hoping to promote it as a resort spot, mainly for fishing. The partner-ship did not last long – they sold it in 1915. These two postcard views of the lake are courtesy of Chuck McIntosh. 

105 years ago, on October 7, 1920, the Bovina Town Supervisor and Highway Superintendent requested that a proposition be placed on the November ballot to appropriate money for a “Steam Road Roller.”  The proposition was placed on the ballot, but the Andes Recorder later reported that on election day "Bovina taxpayers voted down a proposition to appropriate the sum of $4,680 for the purchase of a steam roller for use on the road.  The vote was a tie – 64 to 64." The appropriation was approved the following March at a special town meeting.  

Forty-five years ago today, the October 8, 1980 Delaware County Times reported in its Bovina column that "Thirty farmer breeders from Holland arrived at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Inman last Wednesday. The tour was arranged through the Holstein-Friesian Association of Brattleboro, VT. The farmers also visited the Dreamstreet herd at the Bond Farm in Bloomville. They left for the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisc."

122 years ago today, October 9, 1903, the Catskill Mountain News reported in its Bovina column that “Hamilton Russell of Bovina is building a fine two-story house, 22 x 44 feet, with piazza in front, and equipped with all the modern improvements.  John Tweedie is the mason and James Scott of New Kingston is the carpenter.”  This house was on Mountain Brook Road and was later the Charles Rabeler farm.

118 years ago today on October 10, 1907, the first load of freight shipped to Bovina via the new station on the Delaware and Eastern at Andes was brought to town by Milton Hastings.  Previously, items shipped by railroad had to be picked up in Delhi.

130 years ago today, the October 11, 1895 Andes Recorder in the Bovina column had the following item:  “A letter recently came to this point office addressed to, Miss Maggie, Bovina Centre, N.Y.  This shows one of the many thousands of examples of carelessness that floods the Dead Letter Office every year.”

Thirty-two years ago today, the Bovina column from the Delaware County Times for October 12, 1993 carried this item: "Beth Rossley, club news reporter for the Bovina Happy Hearts 4-H club reports that there will be a meeting for new members from ages 8 to 18 on October 22nd at 7:30 at the Bovina community hall. Mrs. Carol Brannen is the leader."

132 years ago today, on October 13, 1893, James Coulter headed out for the Chicago World’s Fair.  In reporting this its Bovina column, the Andes Recorder noted that “others talk of going.  We say go, you will never regret it.” Also known as the World Columbian Exposition, Coulter likely went to the New York Agriculture pavilion at the fair. More information about why he went is on my blog at Here's an entry from July 2015 about Bovina at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893: http://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/07/bovina-at-world-columbian-exposition.html

In 1946, Delhi photographer Bob Wyer took a series of aerial pictures around Bovina in a plane piloted by Eddie Davidson. This is the Herbert Huggins farm at the intersection of Miller Avenue and Lee Hollow. Herbert Huggins was born in 1902 in the Beaverkill area and farmed in Bovina from 1931 until his death in 1964. The small building at the lower center where Miller Avenue and Lee Hollow meet is the Bovina District 5 School house. The building was later moved across the road and is a residence today. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. 

159 years ago today, on October 15, 1866, Thomas Gordon became a citizen of the United States. More information about Gordon can be found at:

https://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-people-of-county-who-knew-him-will.html

Eighty-four years ago today, the October 16, 1941 issue of the Delaware Republican carried this item in its Bovina column: "Miss Stella Sluiter and Mrs. Mary Anne Snell, teachers here, spent the week-end in New York City." (Stella Sluiter was married a couple of years later to Frank McPherson.) The same Bovina column also reported that "Mr. and Mrs. Alex Hilson arrived home from their western trip the first of the week." Also reported was that "Miss Ida Lay has finished her work at the Lovett's, at Lake Delaware, and has taken a job at Delhi with the Bruce Pitchers."

Eighty-five years ago today, on the Bovina column of the October 17, 1940 Delaware Republican reported that "John McCune has been ill the past week. David Roberts has been caring for the U.P. Church in his stead." John W. McCune was born in 1866 and married Ida McNair in 1896. The couple lived in Bovina on Maple Avenue. John died in 1942. This undated image of John is courtesy of Jim and Tom Hoy. 

164 years ago today, October 18, 1861, Christina Smith was paid 29.72 for teaching in the Coulter Brook School district between May 1 and September 30, 1861. Here’s the receipt for her payment.  

John W. Bramley died 126 years ago today, October 19, 1899, of diabetes, age 81 years. Fifteen months earlier, in July 1898, he was found passed out on the side of what is now Route 28, with his wagon and team about a mile or so ahead. It was likely that the diabetes caused him to pass out. After his death, the Andes Recorder reported that, “He was born and always lived in this town and was one of our most extensive and best farmers.  He leaves a widow and four children – three sons John G, William and Fred and one daughter, Mrs. E.C. Dean.  The funeral will take place on Saturday at 11 o’clock from his late residence.”  He was living in the Bovina Center hamlet at his death but spent much of his life on his farm on Bramley Mountain, which likely was located in the area of Reagan Road.

Forty-eight years ago today, the October 20, 1977 Delaware Republican Express carried this item in its Bovina column about the Bovina Girl Scout Troop 534. 

This picture from the Monroe family shows the adult children of James and Margaret Storie Monroe in 1939 - Jim (1899-1973), Martena (1898-1988, married to Arthur Kellam), Henry (1896-1992) and Amy (1894-1987, actually named Loruhamah, she was married to Lewis Jocelyn and later to Howard Samuels). 

October 22, 1961, sixty-four years ago today, as later reported in the Delaware Republican Express, “Walter Reinertsen and his cousin Sverre Reinertsen of New York, were week-end guests at Walter’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Reinertsen.”

205 years ago today, on October 23, 1820, Mary Ann McPherson was born in Bovina, the daughter of Alexander McPherson and Eliza Yeomans. She married James Rutherford in 1847 and died in Franklin, NY in 1902 at the age of 81. She was the mother of five children, two of whom survived her.

115 years ago today, on October 24, 1910, this bill was issued to the Town of Bovina for bridge decking.  This appears to be the decking for a new bridge to the Bovina Center creamery.  The bridge was completed in November 1910.  

In 1946, Delhi photographer Bob Wyer took a series of aerial pictures around Bovina in a plane piloted by Eddie Davidson. This is the John Burns farm at the upper end of Crescent Valley Road. Moses Burns settled on this farm in the early 19th century. The farm stayed in the Burns family for over 100 years. My grandfather, Benson LaFever, was born in the house in June 1900 (his mother was the former Ella Burns). John Burns, the owner of the farm in 1946, was the great grandson of Moses and the father of Agnes Burns and Mary Lounsbury. The farm is now owned by Mike and Heidi Goggins.  Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association. 

148 years ago today, on October 26, 1877, Andrew T. Archibald was born in Bovina.  He would marry Mabel E. Johnston in 1901 and would have seven children, including an infant who died in 1913.  His surviving children included Mary (1903-1999), George (1905-1978), Elizabeth (1906-1986), Leonard (1909-1990), Marvin (1911-1987), and Herman (1913-1983).  Andrew died in 1963 and is buried in Bovina. This image is of Andrew later in life with his granddaughter, Joan Archibald Townsend. 

114 years ago, the Bovina column of the Andes Recorder for October 27, 1911 reported that "Miss Jennie E. Hoy is visiting Andes relatives." She wasn't the only person reported as going to Andes. The same column noted that "J.T. Barnhart made a trip to Andes early in the week." Also reported in Andes during the past week were Mrs. Alex Crosier and daughter and Thomas C. Strangeway. The latter was there to purchase two cows.

116 years ago today, at 1 pm on October 28, 1909, W.J. Doig, of Bovina Center, had for sale at an auction the following items, as advertised in the Andes Recorder:  “5 cows, 2 horses, surry, rubber tired buggy, 2 buggies, 2-seated buckboard, lumber wagon, truck wagon, mowing machine, 3 set single and 1 of double light harness, heavy work harness, bobs, 2-seat pleasure sleigh, 2 cutters, buffalo and lap robes, blankets, whips, harrow, cultivator, grind stone, chains, crow-bars, sledge hammers, whiffletrees, hay rigging, straw from 95 dozen oats, 10 barrels apples, 3 piece parlor suit, stoves, bedsteads, springs writing desk, 2 bracket lamp, hall rack, hall map, etc.”  The Recorder later reported that the sale could not be completed on the 28th and was continued on election day. Doig was selling these items before heading out west to Crested Butte, Colorado, which he did by mid-November.  He settled in Gunnison, Colorado, where he was a coal miner, a rancher and then a hardware merchant.  He died in California in 1939 and was buried in Colorado.

Eighty-two years ago today, October 29, 1943, was the start of two days of distribution of "War Ration Book No. 4." These were issued at the Bovina Center school (now the Bovina Library). People coming for their new book were asked in the Delaware Republican Express to "bring War Ration Book 3 properly filled out." The paper went on to note that "Applications for War Ration Book 4 may be secured at the stores or at the Post Office or the schools. Fill out only one application for each family group."

138 years ago today, the October 30, 1883 Stamford Mirror reported in its Bovina column that "On Monday last the family of John Hastings, was much frightened at the appearance, without wagon or driver, of the horse which John had left home with a short time before. Friends at once started out to find John and met him near the village, and learned that his horse had kicked and caught his foot behind the cross-bar of the thills and then tried to run. The wagon was overturned and John thrown out, and the harness broken, so that the horse became loosened from the wagon and soon arrived at home without doing very serious damage." This John is likely the son of James Madison Hastings and Elizabeth Elliott. Born in 1825, he died in 1891.

This image of school children dressed for Halloween comes from the Archibald collection and likely dates from the 1940s or early 1950s. At least it probably is Halloween. The masks somewhat resemble the masks worn by the Calico Indians during the Anti-Rent War in the 1840s.