Seventy-one years ago today, on May 1, 1955, as later reported in the Stamford Mirror-Recorder, "Mr. and Mrs. Merle Galusha and sons of Scotia attended church services [in Bovina] and were dinner guests of his brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Craig Banuat. Other callers at the Banuat home on Sunday were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Spraig and son, Willard of Andes." Merle would die in the crash of Mohawk Airlines Flight 450 in 1972.
174 years ago today, on May 2, 1842, the town of Bovina issued several liquor licenses, including this one for John Seacord and Thomas Secord, "to sell strong and spirituous liquors and wines to be drunk in his present dwelling house.." The 'dwelling house' likely was the Secord hotel, which stood across from the end of what is now Maple Avenue.
144 years ago today, the May 3, 1882 Delaware Gazette carried this notice for an interest meeting for a railroad that would have gone through Bovina. Nothing came of this particular idea - at least as far as Bovina was concerned.
Ninety-two years ago today, the May 4, 1934 Delaware Republican carried this Bovina column. I'm not 100% sure where the baseball diamond mentioned in the column was located, but seems very likely it was on the field next to the Bovina Center school (now the Bovina Public Library).
Fifty-five years ago today, on May 5, 1971, Mary Burns Lounsbury died at the age of 57. Born in Bovina in 1913, she was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Burns and the sister of Agnes Burns. She married Harold Lounsbury in 1938. They lived for many years on the Burns family farm at the end of Crescent Valley Road. This undated image shows Mary with her parents, John and Elizabeth Burns, her sister Agnes with her husband Bob Burns (right) and at the left is her husband Harold.
154 years ago today, on May 6, 1872, the Bovina Board of Excise met to review applications for licenses to sell liquor. No applications were presented. It likely is at this point that Bovina became a 'dry town' and would stay so until after the end of Prohibition.
194 years ago today, on May 7, 1832, a Bovina storekeeper created this page in his ledger for various sales to Bovina citizens. Items included tobacco, hayseed, silk, tea and calico. Morgan Livingston, who owned a chunk of Bovina as landlord, bought an axe. The 'Dr' after each name means debtor. Most of the payments are by cash but it looks like Sopher Peleg was making a payment (the 'Cr' after his name probably means credit) in butter. We do not know where this store was located because we cannot determine who kept the ledger - we only know that it was in Bovina. It possibly was a store kept by James Cowan, which stood where Russell's Store now stands.
Ellen McBurney was born 200 years ago today, May 8, 1826, the daughter of Francis McBurney and Margaret Boyd. She married Andrew Boyd and would have 11 children, most of whom made it to adulthood. She was widowed in 1879 and died in February 1893. She is buried in the Bovina Cemetery.
129 years ago today, in its May 9, 1897 edition, it was noted by the Andes Recorder that five brothers were seen at the same church in Bovina. What made this so remarkable was that the youngest was over fifty years old. The paper did not note what family this was, though it could be the Miller family. At this time, the six sons of William Miller still were alive and all lived locally. Here is a picture of the six brothers. What five attended church we don't know, but William lived in Walton, Walter in Delhi and Berry Shaw in Andes. Thomas, Michael and Gilbert all lived in Bovina.
These images of E. Ray Thomson were taken by Delhi photographer Harold McMurdy in the late 1930s and in 1940. Ray was born in Bovina in February 1895. His mother was Cora J. Thomson. Who his father was isn’t clear. On Ray's birth record, his father is recorded as Archie VanBramer, who was married to Cora in September 1894. Ray is recorded as Ray VanBramer, though later 'Thomson' is inserted in the record. When Ray was about a year old, Archie kidnapped him from his grandparents, William and Jenette Thomson, and kept him for several weeks before returning him of his own accord. Ray was raised by his maternal grandparents, because his mother Cora was sent to the Middletown Insane Asylum when he was quite young (she died there in 1910). He was known by then as Ray Thomson. When he was married in 1916, he's Eldred Ray Thomson on the certificate and his father is recorded as "not known, adopted son." He lived in Bovina into the 1930s, then moved to Delancey and finally in Unadilla, NY, where he died in 1975. Images courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association.
Eighty-two years ago today, the May 11, 1944 Delaware Republican Express carried this Bovina column.
115 years ago today, on May 12, 1911, the Bovina column of the Andes Recorder reported that "A child was recently born to Rev. and Mrs. Robb, in China, where he is a missionary. The mother was formerly Jennie J. Campbell of Bovina." The child was a daughter, Jean Robb. Jean later married Patrick Perrone in Los Angeles. She died in LA in 1989.
Sixty-one years ago today, Bovina column in the May 13, 1965 Delaware Republican-Express reported that "The prize fisherman of the season is John Robson who caught a six pound-12 ounce trout over the week-end."
Sixty-five years ago, on May 14, 1961, as later reported in the Bovina column of the Delaware Republican Express, "We were all pleased to see Mrs. Lena Lounsbury at Church Sabbath Day, she has been in Schenectady the past few months helping care for an invalid." Lena was the mother of Harold Lounsbury. She died in 1963.
146 years ago today, the May 15, 1880 issue of the Delaware Republican reported on an article they had published called "Woman's Work in the Church," by "Mrs. Knox of New York City." The paper pointed out that the article "will attract especial attention from the fact that Mrs. Knox was a Delaware county woman, daughter of Rev. James Douglas, for many years pastor of the Bovina Associate Reformed Church, (whose doctrines were not in accordance with the views there announced,)…Mrs. Knox has also take a very prominent part in works for temperance reform, and in many other ways practically exemplified the benefits arising from the course she advocates."
Eighty-six years ago today, the Bovina column of the May 16, 1940 Delaware Republican reported that "Little Nancy Brooks spent the week-end with her great-aunt, Mrs. John Hilson and family." Nancy was the daughter of Dean Brooks and Marian Isabella Dickson. Marian's mother was Margaret Bell Strangeway, sister of Helena Hilson. Nancy was born in Delhi in 1936. Married in 1957 to Loring Hulslander, she died in Montana in 2013 and is buried in Springville Township, Pennsylvania, where she grew up.
139 years ago today, on May 17, 1887, the Stamford Mirror reported in its Bovina column that "John Hilson is improving his house by removing the old sash from the windows, and replacing them with a more modern style, each sash containing two large panes of glass."
In 1946, Delhi photographer Bob Wyer took a series of aerial pictures around Bovina in a plane piloted by Eddie Davidson. This is the Don Boggs farm, which later became the Howard Conklin farm, on Reinertsen Hill Road. Image courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association.
The Andes Recorder reported 115 years ago today in its May 19, 1911 Bovina column that "There is some talk of putting in a pond on John Blair's farm on the Oliver brook and stocking it with trout." This farm is now the Jack Burns farm at the foot of Bramley Mountain. If the pond was stocked it was not reported in later editions of the paper.
Seventy-seven years ago today, on May 20, 1949, as later reported in the Catskill Mountain News Bovina column, "The latest to buy a new car is George Storie with a Dodge sedan. Vincent Rosa is taking over the car recently owned by Storie."
Seventy-eight years ago today, on May 21, 1948, the Bovina column of the Catskill Mountain News reported that Mrs. Mary Gordon, who received a bad fall down a flight of stairs at her home last week, is slowly recovering. She is still lame and sore." Mary was the widow of Thomas Gordon, who died in 1921, and the mother of Delhi social studies teacher Margaret Gordon. Mary died in 1953.
130 years ago today, May 22, 1896, the Otsego Farmer (Cooperstown) carried the following item: "An exchange has it that in the town of Bovina, Delaware county, there are more abandoned farms than there were in all Delaware County ten years ago. This fact is interesting for the reason that Bovina has been called the leading dairy town in the county." A couple of weeks later, another item appeared in the Otsego Democrat further disparaging Bovina's farms, reporting that the town "suffers more severely than its neighbors from the general agricultural depression. There are no railroads and no manufacturing industries within its limits. On the other hand there are a large number of abandoned farms in the town."
Sixty-eight years ago today, the May 23, 1958 issue of the Catskill Mountain News published an article under the headline "Bovina WAC Earns Recruiting Citation." The WAC was "Sgt/1c Helen I. Johnston, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. George Johnston of Bovina Center." She was enrolled in a "Women's Army Corps enlisted recruiting course at For Benjamin Harrison, Ind." The paper went on to report "Sgt Johnston was in competition with 38 of the recruiters stationed through the United States. She earned the award by achieving an average of 85 percent for the course." More about Helen and her remarkable career in the Army can be found on my blog at https://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2022/01/bovina-ex-pats-command-sergeant-major.html
133 years ago today, the May 24, 1893 Delaware Gazette reported that "Work has commenced for the foundation for the new school house in Bovina Centre." This is the building that is now the Bovina Public Library.
Eighty-eight years ago today, on May 25, 1938, as later reported in the Delaware Republican, "Mrs. George Miller died…at her home [in Bovina]." Born Ida Kinch, she was married to George Miller and had three children, daughters Maude and Nellie and son Clark. Clark was killed in World War I. She was survived by her husband and two daughters. Ida was the maternal grandmother of Clark Lay.
The Andes Recorder reported 133 years ago today in its May 26, 1893 issue that "Richard Johnson of Bovina this season made 318 gallons of heavy maple syrup from 700 trees. This is equal to 2,544 pounds of sugar."
Seventy-seven years ago today, the Bovina column in the May 27, 1949 Catskill Mountain News reported that "Paul Rosa is moving this week to his new home on Pink street road which he recently purchased of Gene Vandenbord."
These pictures were likely taken by Grace Coulter Roberts when she was teaching at the Bovina Center school in the 1940s. I recognized several of the children, including my uncle George LaFever, Bobby Boggs, Patty Boggs, Marge Thomas, Dick Roberts and Bob Burns. Let me know if you recognize anyone else. These images were shared by Joe Riebling. His wife, Susan Roberts Riebling, is Grace's granddaughter.
Angelica D. Gerry, the daughter of Elbridge Gerry and Louisa Livingston, was born 155 years ago today on May 29, 1871. She built a summer home at Lake Delaware known as Ancrum and also was instrumental in the building of St. James Church.
121 years ago, on May 30, 1905, as later reported in the Andes Recorder, baseball teams from "Lake Delaware and the Hook battled for supremacy on the diamond Tuesday at the Centre and the score was 12 to 4 in favor of the former."
131 years ago today, the May 31, 1895 issue of the Andes Recorder in its Bovina column included the following item: "Sylvester McFarland, who left this town over twenty years ago, and who had not been heard from since, suddenly made his appearance in town a few days ago." McFarland was born in Wisconsin in 1843 and died in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1914 and is buried in Meredith, NY. He was a prison officer in Massachusetts. It is not clear when he lived in Bovina. His father, James McFarland, was a Bovina native.
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