I have been doing daily entries on the Facebook Bovina History group since June 4 with little snippets I find in researching old newspapers, records, etc. I've had a request to include these on this blog. Logistics make it difficult to post these each day, so I will combine them into one monthly entry and post at the end of each month. And I will be posting the ones I've already put on FB over the rest of October.
Note: I managed to find something for most days but occasionally, a day was missed.
June 4, 1859 – Starting what I hope will be daily entries on the Bovina NY History Facebook page - This Day in Bovina - using various newspapers and other sources. 154 years ago today, in 1859, Alexander Sylvanius Bramley, son of John W. Bramley and Margaret McCune was born. He would die only 21 days later on June 25. John and Margaret had a total of eight children, five of whom made it to adulthood. Alexander was their fifth child. This is his headstone, courtesy of Ed and Dick Davidson.
June 5, 1930 – The Village Improvement Society held its monthly meeting at the old Firehouse. Fourteen members answered the roll call. “Motion made and carried that V.I.S. take charge of the opening of the new Community Hall. It was moved that the Executive appoint a head com. To have charge. A motion was also made and carried that all the money that V.I.S. has on hand, and what is made this year aside from necessary expenses to be used for equipment for Community House. Motion was also made and carried that Executive Committee appoint three committees to look after furnishings lights, curtains, and seating.”
June 6, 1904 –109 Years Ago Today - The June 10, 1904 issue of the Catskill Mountain News reported on this error filled ball game on June 6 between Margaretville and Bovina...
June 7, 1911 - Andes Recorder reported that Andrew T. Doig had ‘purchased a “Cadillac” automobile” and on June 7, 1911, broke ground “for the building in which to house it.”
June 9, 1895 - Today's Bovina History on this Day entry is brief. 118 years ago, the Andes Recorder reported in the Bovina column that on Sunday, June 9, 1895 "A number of the boys were up [to Bovina] from Delhi ... on their wheels." In this instance, 'wheels' means 'bicycles.' The 1890s were the heyday of bicycling in the United States. It was bicyclists who started the push toward better maintained roadways.
June 10, 1900 – Del Rep – Wm. T. Miller died of heart trouble at his residence in Bovina, Sunday evening, aged about 60. He leaves a wife who was a sister of John and Thomas Hastings, and one daughter, Mrs. Geo. T. Russell. Mr. Miller was one of the substantial men of Bovina, and a very worthy citizen. His funeral was held on Tuesday, the pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church officiating.
June 11, 1872 - 141 years ago today, on June 11, 1872, Michael Miller and F.C. Armstrong, Assessors and Fence Viewers for the Town of Bovina settled James Ormiston's claim concerning a lamb that was killed by dogs. Fence viewers, who adjudicated disputes about boundaries and maintenance of stone walls, also had the job of determining how sheep or lambs were killed. They looked at the lamb in question and interviewed witnesses to determine that the killing was done "by dogs and in no other manner." The viewers certified "that the amount of damages sustained by the said James G. Ormiston in consequences of the killing of said lamb as afoursaid is $6.00." There was a town fund to reimburse farmers for such killings when it could not be determined whose dog did it.
June 13, 1864 – 149 years ago, on June 13, 1864, a liquor license was issued in Delhi for P.D. Aitkin. Her tavern was located in Bovina where Jardine’s house is today. Mrs. Aitkin's full name was Pamelia Dorcas Hilton Hamilton Aitken (1823-1883). At the time of this license, she was married to her second husband, John G. Aitken. The tavern she ran had been her first husband's, Walter Hamilton. She left Bovina in the late 1860s and spent the rest of her life in Delhi. This license comes from the Town of Bovina Town Clerk files.
June 14, 1919 – Ninety four years ago today, on June 14, 1919, as reported by the Andes Recorder, “Sergeant Donald Lee, a member of the Lightning division, who served over a year in France, arrived home ….having received his discharge.” Lee was born in Bovina in 1896, the son of John Bruce Lee and Lucy A. Hall. The Lee family lived on Lee Hollow. Donald was a US Army Sargent during World War I, receiving the Purple Heart. Lee’s mother had died about two months before his discharge. Donald’s half-brother Clarence also served in World War I and was wounded in a gas attack. Clarence came home about a month before his brother and never recovered from the attack. He died in 1922 age only 29. Donald was luckier than his brother, living to see his 99th birthday. He died in Florida in May 1995 and is buried in Bovina.
June 15, 1857 – 156 Years ago today, on June 15, 1857, a liquor license was issued for Dorcas Hamilton’s tavern in Bovina Center. This is where Jardines house now stands. The June 13 FB entry on this page shows a later license when she was P.D. Aitkins. To see the 1857 license, go to this link on the Bovina NY History Flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30793716@N06/4617264926/in/set-72157624083483324
June 16, 1895 - 118 years ago today, Sunday, June 16, 1895, Bovina saw the end of a weekend of burglaries. It started the evening before when Homer Burgin's home on present day Route 28 was entered. The following morning, while the William Forrest family was at church, two burglars entered his house and took his gun and a number of other things. That evening, burglars entered Francis Coulter’s house on Coulter Brook. While rummaging through the house, they awoke Mr. Coulter and fled. Coulter found his pants dropped on the veranda. It is likely, though not definite, that all these burglaries were done by the same people. I never found any evidence that the perpetrators were caught.
June 17, 1843 - 170 Years ago today, on June 17, 1843, the commissioners of highway of the Town of Bovina received an application to alter a highway from Alexander Storie: "The undersigned resident of the said town and liable to the assessed for highway labour therein hereby makes application to you the said commissioners to alter the highway in said Town Commencing at the old road on the line between Priscilla Carman and William Jobson and running a northeasterly course through said Jobsons land to the Stamford town line (which said highway will pass through the improved lands of said William Jobson who does not consent to the laying out of the same)." Where this is located I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's the upper Pink Street area. Alexander Storie had a farm where Tom and Joan Burns now live. The Carman property may be where the John Thompson farm is located. A few days later, twelve men were brought in to hear the case for and against laying out this highway and agreed that it was necessary to do so. William Jobson's objections (whatever they were) essentially were overruled.
118 years ago, on June 19, 1894 – The Oregon Medicine company closed their show in Bovina. The company had been in Bovina for ten days. The Andes Recorder reported that "[t]hey gave good entertainments and had good success in selling their medicines. We understand that they went to Davenport.” This company likely was the Oregon Indian Medicine Company. It was founded by Thomas Augustus Edwards, who was born in Saugerties in 1832. Edwards used a number of approaches to sell his remedies, including Indians to hawk his wares on the streets and medicine shows to promote his products. Founded in 1876, Edwards was actively involved until his retirement in 1901.
112 years ago, on June 20, 1901, the Bovina 'uptown' cooperative creamery was organized. As reported in the Andes Recorder, the "creamery will be built on the Andrew T. McFarlane [McFarland] farm," now the Schumann property. Thirty farmers were to participate. The trustees elected were Andrew McFarland, George T. Russell and Alexander Burns. The Recorder went on to report that "[t]he contract for the building and apparatus has been let to F.B. Floyd for $4,350 and it is to be ready for business by September 1." This creamery was organized a couple of months before the Bovina Center Cooperative Creamery was organized. The uptown creamery building is no more, though the foundation is still identifiable.
June 21, 1919 - Ninety four years ago today, June 21, 1919, Clifton Irvine arrived home from service in the army in the Great War. The Andes Recorder reported that "He is going back to Seattle, where he was before the war, and Lloyd Irvine and Millard Blair expect to go with him." Clifton and Lloyd were brothers and the brothers of Isabell Irvine Russell (Lloyd was her twin). Millard Blair was the brother of Helen Thompson. Clifton, Lloyd and Millard all settled in Washington State.
June 22, 1864- 149 years ago today, on June 22, 1864, a vote was held in Bovina to pay a bounty of $500 to any man enlisting in the Civil War, to be credited to Bovina. There were several such votes during the war, each time for a larger amount. By the end of the war, it was up to $800. This vote was the closest of the war, passing by only one vote, with 68 for and 67 against. The two documents here show the tally sheet and the certification by the election inspectors of the result. Note that there was an initial miscalcuation in the tally sheet on the count for those against the bounty, with 77 crossed out and 67 written down instead. Also note that the tally sheet is not complete - the inspectors apparently were going to put their certification on the tally sheet, then instead put it on a separate sheet.
June 23, 1973 -Forty years ago today, June 23, 1973, Bovina residents John Behrer, Loretta Dorsett Fink, Roger Hadley, Jim Haran, John Hewitt, Diane LaFever, Ray LaFever, Marie Stromann (aka Agnes Menke), Ethel Mellott Hammond, Bob Monroe, Donna Parsons Weber, Steve Pelletier, and Connie Stewart Finkle graduated from Delaware Academy.
June 24, 1895 - Two unrelated events that both happened 118 years ago today, June 24, 1895, as reported by the Andes Recorder: "Thomas Gordon closed his school at the Butt End on Monday. He will retire from teaching we understand." (Gordon later became Bovina Town Clerk and was the father of Margaret Gordon, who taught Social Studies at DA for many years. The second event: "William Palmer and Charles Thompson made a trip on their wheels (bicycles) to Delhi and Bloomville the first of the week." William Palmer likely was the son of Charles Palmer, born in 1875. I have not identified who Charles Thompson was, since there are several Charles Thompsons and Thomsons (the newspapers tended to use the spellings interchangeably) from which to choose.
June 25, 1895 - 118 years ago, on June 25, 1895, Alexander Hilson found that sixty of his eighty chickens, all four or five weeks old, had disappeared. The chicken thieves turned out to be rats. Alexander Hilson (1859-1923) had the farm by the creamery that still is in the Hilson family today.
June 26, 1942 – Seventy years ago on June 26, 1942, the Bovina town board passed a resolution choosing the Bovina Community Hall as "an Airplane Observatory for the duration [of the Second World War]." The town agreed to furnish a "telephone and all needed appliances" unless the County agrees cover these expenses.
June 27, 1850 – 163 Years ago today, David P. Stewart acknowledged a debt to William Doig of $53.93, dating from 1848, in this document, known as a chattel mortgage. To cover the debt, he mortgaged several items from his blacksmith shop and components for a wagon being built for him by Herman Roterman, including “one running gear box and three seats of a Two Hande Plesure Wagon..” Stewart was obligated to pay the $53.93 with interest by the 1st of August. If payment wasn’t made, the items mortgaged would become Doig’s. Note that Doig also had the option to redeem the note before the due date of August 1st if he “shall at any time deem himself insecure…” In the days before credit cards, chattel mortgages were way to get a secured loan.
There are two possibilities as to who William Doig was. William Doig (1809-1872), son of Walter Doig and Elizabeth Murdock, is one candidate. The other is William S. Doig (1829-1896), son of Andrew Doig and Margaret Sanderson. There is only one Daniel Stewart that I've found, born in 1825 and died in 1877, but there is little other information about him. Herman Rotermund was a German born wagon maker who was living in Andes in the 1850s and 1860s. He appears later to have gone to California. His daughter Mary married James Coulter and is the ancestor of the Parsons family, among others.
June 28, 1851 - 162 Years Ago today on June 28, 1851 four Bovina men made statements related to their unfitness for military service. Joshua Carman, age 40, had hearing issues and a problem hip joint. Walter Hamilton, age 42, ran the hotel located where Jardines house is now. He reported a knee injury from a few years previous that continued to plague him. Homer Burgin, age 33, was a farmer on present Route 28. He was not specific about his health problems, just stating that he was ‘unfit for military duty on account of ill health…’ Thomas Seacord, age 39, had a “weak and lame leg.” All four statements were sworn before assessor Walter Stott, Jr. Two of these gentlemen, Hamilton and Seacord, would both die six years later in 1857. The other two lasted considerably longer. Carmen was 70 at his death in 1891, while Burgin was 78 when he died in 1897.
June 29, 1895 - 118 years ago today, on June 29, 1895 (as reported by the Andes Recorder) "Dr. Barnard was in town Saturday extracting teeth without pain." Whether Dr. Barnard was a local dentist or not I have not been able to determine. He certainly wasn't based in Bovina. If anyone has information on who this Dr. Barnard was, please pass them along.
June 30, 1938 – Seventy-five years ago, on June 30, 1938 (as reported in the Andes Recorder), "Rev. and Mrs. Peter McKenzie traveled to Newark to see their two daughters sail on a six week trip to Finland." The McKenzies had three daughters, Janet, Elizabeth and Margaret. Which two daughters was not stated in the newspaper, though it probably was Janet and Elizabeth.
Note: I managed to find something for most days but occasionally, a day was missed.
June 4, 1859 – Starting what I hope will be daily entries on the Bovina NY History Facebook page - This Day in Bovina - using various newspapers and other sources. 154 years ago today, in 1859, Alexander Sylvanius Bramley, son of John W. Bramley and Margaret McCune was born. He would die only 21 days later on June 25. John and Margaret had a total of eight children, five of whom made it to adulthood. Alexander was their fifth child. This is his headstone, courtesy of Ed and Dick Davidson.
June 5, 1930 – The Village Improvement Society held its monthly meeting at the old Firehouse. Fourteen members answered the roll call. “Motion made and carried that V.I.S. take charge of the opening of the new Community Hall. It was moved that the Executive appoint a head com. To have charge. A motion was also made and carried that all the money that V.I.S. has on hand, and what is made this year aside from necessary expenses to be used for equipment for Community House. Motion was also made and carried that Executive Committee appoint three committees to look after furnishings lights, curtains, and seating.”
June 6, 1904 –109 Years Ago Today - The June 10, 1904 issue of the Catskill Mountain News reported on this error filled ball game on June 6 between Margaretville and Bovina...
June 7, 1911 - Andes Recorder reported that Andrew T. Doig had ‘purchased a “Cadillac” automobile” and on June 7, 1911, broke ground “for the building in which to house it.”
June 9, 1895 - Today's Bovina History on this Day entry is brief. 118 years ago, the Andes Recorder reported in the Bovina column that on Sunday, June 9, 1895 "A number of the boys were up [to Bovina] from Delhi ... on their wheels." In this instance, 'wheels' means 'bicycles.' The 1890s were the heyday of bicycling in the United States. It was bicyclists who started the push toward better maintained roadways.
June 10, 1900 – Del Rep – Wm. T. Miller died of heart trouble at his residence in Bovina, Sunday evening, aged about 60. He leaves a wife who was a sister of John and Thomas Hastings, and one daughter, Mrs. Geo. T. Russell. Mr. Miller was one of the substantial men of Bovina, and a very worthy citizen. His funeral was held on Tuesday, the pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church officiating.
June 11, 1872 - 141 years ago today, on June 11, 1872, Michael Miller and F.C. Armstrong, Assessors and Fence Viewers for the Town of Bovina settled James Ormiston's claim concerning a lamb that was killed by dogs. Fence viewers, who adjudicated disputes about boundaries and maintenance of stone walls, also had the job of determining how sheep or lambs were killed. They looked at the lamb in question and interviewed witnesses to determine that the killing was done "by dogs and in no other manner." The viewers certified "that the amount of damages sustained by the said James G. Ormiston in consequences of the killing of said lamb as afoursaid is $6.00." There was a town fund to reimburse farmers for such killings when it could not be determined whose dog did it.
June 13, 1864 – 149 years ago, on June 13, 1864, a liquor license was issued in Delhi for P.D. Aitkin. Her tavern was located in Bovina where Jardine’s house is today. Mrs. Aitkin's full name was Pamelia Dorcas Hilton Hamilton Aitken (1823-1883). At the time of this license, she was married to her second husband, John G. Aitken. The tavern she ran had been her first husband's, Walter Hamilton. She left Bovina in the late 1860s and spent the rest of her life in Delhi. This license comes from the Town of Bovina Town Clerk files.
June 14, 1919 – Ninety four years ago today, on June 14, 1919, as reported by the Andes Recorder, “Sergeant Donald Lee, a member of the Lightning division, who served over a year in France, arrived home ….having received his discharge.” Lee was born in Bovina in 1896, the son of John Bruce Lee and Lucy A. Hall. The Lee family lived on Lee Hollow. Donald was a US Army Sargent during World War I, receiving the Purple Heart. Lee’s mother had died about two months before his discharge. Donald’s half-brother Clarence also served in World War I and was wounded in a gas attack. Clarence came home about a month before his brother and never recovered from the attack. He died in 1922 age only 29. Donald was luckier than his brother, living to see his 99th birthday. He died in Florida in May 1995 and is buried in Bovina.
June 15, 1857 – 156 Years ago today, on June 15, 1857, a liquor license was issued for Dorcas Hamilton’s tavern in Bovina Center. This is where Jardines house now stands. The June 13 FB entry on this page shows a later license when she was P.D. Aitkins. To see the 1857 license, go to this link on the Bovina NY History Flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30793716@N06/4617264926/in/set-72157624083483324
June 16, 1895 - 118 years ago today, Sunday, June 16, 1895, Bovina saw the end of a weekend of burglaries. It started the evening before when Homer Burgin's home on present day Route 28 was entered. The following morning, while the William Forrest family was at church, two burglars entered his house and took his gun and a number of other things. That evening, burglars entered Francis Coulter’s house on Coulter Brook. While rummaging through the house, they awoke Mr. Coulter and fled. Coulter found his pants dropped on the veranda. It is likely, though not definite, that all these burglaries were done by the same people. I never found any evidence that the perpetrators were caught.
June 17, 1843 - 170 Years ago today, on June 17, 1843, the commissioners of highway of the Town of Bovina received an application to alter a highway from Alexander Storie: "The undersigned resident of the said town and liable to the assessed for highway labour therein hereby makes application to you the said commissioners to alter the highway in said Town Commencing at the old road on the line between Priscilla Carman and William Jobson and running a northeasterly course through said Jobsons land to the Stamford town line (which said highway will pass through the improved lands of said William Jobson who does not consent to the laying out of the same)." Where this is located I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's the upper Pink Street area. Alexander Storie had a farm where Tom and Joan Burns now live. The Carman property may be where the John Thompson farm is located. A few days later, twelve men were brought in to hear the case for and against laying out this highway and agreed that it was necessary to do so. William Jobson's objections (whatever they were) essentially were overruled.
118 years ago, on June 19, 1894 – The Oregon Medicine company closed their show in Bovina. The company had been in Bovina for ten days. The Andes Recorder reported that "[t]hey gave good entertainments and had good success in selling their medicines. We understand that they went to Davenport.” This company likely was the Oregon Indian Medicine Company. It was founded by Thomas Augustus Edwards, who was born in Saugerties in 1832. Edwards used a number of approaches to sell his remedies, including Indians to hawk his wares on the streets and medicine shows to promote his products. Founded in 1876, Edwards was actively involved until his retirement in 1901.
112 years ago, on June 20, 1901, the Bovina 'uptown' cooperative creamery was organized. As reported in the Andes Recorder, the "creamery will be built on the Andrew T. McFarlane [McFarland] farm," now the Schumann property. Thirty farmers were to participate. The trustees elected were Andrew McFarland, George T. Russell and Alexander Burns. The Recorder went on to report that "[t]he contract for the building and apparatus has been let to F.B. Floyd for $4,350 and it is to be ready for business by September 1." This creamery was organized a couple of months before the Bovina Center Cooperative Creamery was organized. The uptown creamery building is no more, though the foundation is still identifiable.
June 21, 1919 - Ninety four years ago today, June 21, 1919, Clifton Irvine arrived home from service in the army in the Great War. The Andes Recorder reported that "He is going back to Seattle, where he was before the war, and Lloyd Irvine and Millard Blair expect to go with him." Clifton and Lloyd were brothers and the brothers of Isabell Irvine Russell (Lloyd was her twin). Millard Blair was the brother of Helen Thompson. Clifton, Lloyd and Millard all settled in Washington State.
June 22, 1864- 149 years ago today, on June 22, 1864, a vote was held in Bovina to pay a bounty of $500 to any man enlisting in the Civil War, to be credited to Bovina. There were several such votes during the war, each time for a larger amount. By the end of the war, it was up to $800. This vote was the closest of the war, passing by only one vote, with 68 for and 67 against. The two documents here show the tally sheet and the certification by the election inspectors of the result. Note that there was an initial miscalcuation in the tally sheet on the count for those against the bounty, with 77 crossed out and 67 written down instead. Also note that the tally sheet is not complete - the inspectors apparently were going to put their certification on the tally sheet, then instead put it on a separate sheet.
June 23, 1973 -Forty years ago today, June 23, 1973, Bovina residents John Behrer, Loretta Dorsett Fink, Roger Hadley, Jim Haran, John Hewitt, Diane LaFever, Ray LaFever, Marie Stromann (aka Agnes Menke), Ethel Mellott Hammond, Bob Monroe, Donna Parsons Weber, Steve Pelletier, and Connie Stewart Finkle graduated from Delaware Academy.
June 24, 1895 - Two unrelated events that both happened 118 years ago today, June 24, 1895, as reported by the Andes Recorder: "Thomas Gordon closed his school at the Butt End on Monday. He will retire from teaching we understand." (Gordon later became Bovina Town Clerk and was the father of Margaret Gordon, who taught Social Studies at DA for many years. The second event: "William Palmer and Charles Thompson made a trip on their wheels (bicycles) to Delhi and Bloomville the first of the week." William Palmer likely was the son of Charles Palmer, born in 1875. I have not identified who Charles Thompson was, since there are several Charles Thompsons and Thomsons (the newspapers tended to use the spellings interchangeably) from which to choose.
June 25, 1895 - 118 years ago, on June 25, 1895, Alexander Hilson found that sixty of his eighty chickens, all four or five weeks old, had disappeared. The chicken thieves turned out to be rats. Alexander Hilson (1859-1923) had the farm by the creamery that still is in the Hilson family today.
June 26, 1942 – Seventy years ago on June 26, 1942, the Bovina town board passed a resolution choosing the Bovina Community Hall as "an Airplane Observatory for the duration [of the Second World War]." The town agreed to furnish a "telephone and all needed appliances" unless the County agrees cover these expenses.
June 27, 1850 – 163 Years ago today, David P. Stewart acknowledged a debt to William Doig of $53.93, dating from 1848, in this document, known as a chattel mortgage. To cover the debt, he mortgaged several items from his blacksmith shop and components for a wagon being built for him by Herman Roterman, including “one running gear box and three seats of a Two Hande Plesure Wagon..” Stewart was obligated to pay the $53.93 with interest by the 1st of August. If payment wasn’t made, the items mortgaged would become Doig’s. Note that Doig also had the option to redeem the note before the due date of August 1st if he “shall at any time deem himself insecure…” In the days before credit cards, chattel mortgages were way to get a secured loan.
There are two possibilities as to who William Doig was. William Doig (1809-1872), son of Walter Doig and Elizabeth Murdock, is one candidate. The other is William S. Doig (1829-1896), son of Andrew Doig and Margaret Sanderson. There is only one Daniel Stewart that I've found, born in 1825 and died in 1877, but there is little other information about him. Herman Rotermund was a German born wagon maker who was living in Andes in the 1850s and 1860s. He appears later to have gone to California. His daughter Mary married James Coulter and is the ancestor of the Parsons family, among others.
June 28, 1851 - 162 Years Ago today on June 28, 1851 four Bovina men made statements related to their unfitness for military service. Joshua Carman, age 40, had hearing issues and a problem hip joint. Walter Hamilton, age 42, ran the hotel located where Jardines house is now. He reported a knee injury from a few years previous that continued to plague him. Homer Burgin, age 33, was a farmer on present Route 28. He was not specific about his health problems, just stating that he was ‘unfit for military duty on account of ill health…’ Thomas Seacord, age 39, had a “weak and lame leg.” All four statements were sworn before assessor Walter Stott, Jr. Two of these gentlemen, Hamilton and Seacord, would both die six years later in 1857. The other two lasted considerably longer. Carmen was 70 at his death in 1891, while Burgin was 78 when he died in 1897.
June 29, 1895 - 118 years ago today, on June 29, 1895 (as reported by the Andes Recorder) "Dr. Barnard was in town Saturday extracting teeth without pain." Whether Dr. Barnard was a local dentist or not I have not been able to determine. He certainly wasn't based in Bovina. If anyone has information on who this Dr. Barnard was, please pass them along.
June 30, 1938 – Seventy-five years ago, on June 30, 1938 (as reported in the Andes Recorder), "Rev. and Mrs. Peter McKenzie traveled to Newark to see their two daughters sail on a six week trip to Finland." The McKenzies had three daughters, Janet, Elizabeth and Margaret. Which two daughters was not stated in the newspaper, though it probably was Janet and Elizabeth.
