BOUND VOLUMES, October 4, 2012

200 YEARS AGO
Marriage Notice – In the evening of the 15th September last by the Rev. Samuel Martin, the Rev. John Smith, of Cooperstown, Otsego County, and state of New York, to Miss Polly Laird, of Chanceford township, York County, Pennsylvania. (Ed. Note: Rev. Smith served as pastor of the Cooperstown Presbyterian Church from 1812 until 1834; the wedding took place in Pennsylvania)
October 3, 1812

175 YEARS AGO
Suicide – We learn from the Ithaca Journal that a Mr. Elizur W. Shepard, of that village, committed suicide on September 22, by taking laudanum. He deliberately informed his wife of his intention, but after a severe conflict, she was obliged to desist from her efforts to defeat his design, and while absent seeking assistance, he took the fatal dose. The contents of his stomach were evacuated by means of the stomach pump, but the poison had already taken effect. He left three small children with his wife, without any adequate means of support. He was a victim of intemperance.
October 2, 1837

150 YEARS AGO
Released – Mr. Herkimer was released from Fort Lafayette last week by giving bonds for the appearance of his son, or a substitute, in case he should be drafted into the army. He was not called upon to surrender the opinion he holds, that there are some very great scamps holding office under this Republican Administration, and that the people would be benefitted by a speedy return to Democratic rule.
The 152nd Regiment (the 2nd Otsego and Herkimer) is now fully organized. L. Boyer, Colonel; Ferguson, Lieut. Colonel; Spaulding, Major; Campbell, Adjutant. Nine of the companies have been organized. Capt. Bingham’s is the ninth, Co. “I” with 83 men rank and file. There are about 825 men now mustered in. Otsego has furnished five companies. Two regiments in three months from Herkimer and Otsego! Who says the Hop District is not loyal, patriotic and wide awake!
October 3, 1862

125 YEARS AGO
Beer-Selling on the Fair Grounds – As suggestions are in order relating to the future of the Fairs by the County Agricultural Society, cannot those who refrain from being partners or participators in an association that sell dram-selling privileges, justly ask that in the future, so far as the Society as a body is concerned, they will keep the grounds clean and pure from all complicity with selling intoxicating or poisonous beverages? Counting the women and children, as well as the men who cannot consistently endorse or countenance such a custom, I am satisfied from inquiry that there are a thousand persons within a reasonable radius (say ten miles) of Cooperstown, that do not, nor ever will, attend the Fairs while the Society tolerates beer-selling.
October 7, 1887

100 YEARS AGO
Thomas McDonough was burned to death in a dwelling house fire on Lake Street, Cooperstown, on Saturday night. When the fire was discovered shortly after 11 o’clock the flames surrounded the room occupied by Mr. McDonough and it was not known whether or not he had escaped until his body was found after the flames had been extinguished. Firemen who attempted to reach the room earlier were driven back by the flames and smoke. The origin of the fire is not known. It may have started in McDonough’s sleeping room or in a room adjacent thereto. The house is owned by Mrs. D’Aren and is occupied by the family of Torrance Olendorf, who keep boarders. The fire occurred in the upper part of a story-and-a-half addition on the rear of the house. The roof and upper portion of this addition were destroyed. The fire furnished the first opportunity for the sounding of the auxiliary fire alarm – the whistle of the International Milk Products Company – and it certainly aroused the natives.
October 2,1912

75 YEARS AGO
Chesterfield, the “High School Horse” of Troop C, Sidney, has graduated into retirement. His days of jumping over automobiles are over. Captain Daniel E. Fox, Troop C commandant announced retirement of the 25-year-old horse whose performances have thrilled crowds in Canada, Madison Square Garden, the State Fair in Syracuse and at county fairs and outings from one end of this section to the other. Chesterfield has performed several times in Cooperstown. For more than 11 years Chesterfield has been doing his stuff with the Troop ‘C’ Roughriders. He stands sixteen hands high and weighs 1,100 pounds. Chesterfield was acquired by Troop ‘C’ in March, 1926 from T.J. Shanahan of Buffalo. At the time Chesterfield had already exhibited at the State Fair and was the winner of several blue ribbons. Captain Fox and Trooper William M. Mossman are grooming Omaha to take Chesterfield’s place. Omaha, two years with the troop, is about the same build as Chesterfield and is eighteen years his junior.
October 6, 1937

50 YEARS AGO
Frederick L. Rath, Jr., chairman of the Cooperstown Planning Commission, has called for public support in selling and implementing the Cooperstown Area Master Plan. Presiding at a public meeting at the elementary school on Thursday night of last week, at which the new plan was outlined, Mr. Rath pointed out that the Planning Commission did not expect everyone to accept everything proposed in the Master Plan down to the finest detail. But, he did tell the assembly that the Master Plan was a flexible guide to future development of the area. Theodore P. Feury, a Commission member, discussed a proposed Otsego Lake Control Board to protect the rights of property owners, fishermen and boaters who live along the lake and use it.
October 3, 1962

10 YEARS AGO
This weekend, firemen from New York City will return to Cooperstown for rest, relaxation and a friendly baseball game with their Cooperstown colleagues. Last fall, village residents Eric and Noelle Hage organized a special ceremony and reception at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown for firemen at Ladder 165, Engine 317, Battalion 54 in St. Alban’s, Queens, where Noelle’s brother-in-law serves. This year the firemen will return with their families to play golf and a benefit baseball game at Doubleday Field.
October 4, 2002