USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The annals of Albany, Vol. I > Part 19
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15. Mary Osborn died, aged 69; wife of Jeremiah Osborn ...... Chas. Van Ostrand died in New York, of an enlargement of the heart, aged 37; formerly a compositor in the office of the Albany Argus.
16. Ann Eliza Henderson died at Jersey city; widow of David Hen- derson, and eldest daughter of Archibald McIntyre of this city.
17. An attempt made to fire the buildings in the rear of McAufey's bakery in Grand street; it was discovered in season to prevent much damage ....... Mary Mott, formerly of Albany, died at Battle creek, Michigan.
18. The members of the Common Council, and other citizens, took passage in the Hendrik Hudson, to witness the ceremony of laying the corner stone of the Washington Monument. which took place on the 19th. ., Moses Cook died at Syracuse, aged 35; late of this city .. . Martin S. Mills died, aged 26.
19. The store of Matthew Jordan entered by burglars, corner of Broadway and Steuben street ....... Several bakers prosecuted for sell.
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ing light bread; the trial adjourned, the bakers contending that the Common Council have no right to regulate the price of bread, or its weight ....... A stated session of the United States Circuit Court opened at the City Hall, with a large amount of criminal business on the calendar. Judge Conkling presiding ....... A select committee of the House of Assembly reported a bill to tax bachelors and widowers; but the house disagreeing, it was referred to the committee of the whole ....... An omnibus commenced running from the Exchange to Newton's Corners on the Shaker road ...... Elizabeth Evertsen, widow of Evert Evert- sen, aged 88, run over by a horse and cart as she was crossing State street, and so badly injured as to cause her death.
20. The Young Men's Association numbered 1,300 members · Nicholas Brower died, aged 53.
21. Capt. Frost, a stranger, walking late at night in Quay street, was knocked down by two ruffians, and robbed, and thrown into the Basin; but was rescued, and his life saved ....... Richard Schuyler and Robert Allen, concerned in an assault and battery upon Thomas Sampson, cap. tain of a canal boat, with intent to kill, were captured and committed.
23. The trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, having purchased a lot for a new building on the corner of Hudson and Philip streets, contracted with J. R. Hays and Henry Rector for its erection, at $50,- 000. The foundations were begun ..... . Flour, $6.50; wheat, $1.40; corn, 71 cents; rye, 86 cents; barley, 80 cents. In consequence of the scarcity of vessels, and the inability of the rail road company to trans. port flour rapidly enough to meet the eastern demand, freights had ad- vanced materially.
24. A collection taken in St. Joseph's Church for the purpose of rais- ing funds to build a Cathedral in Albany ; $4,500 were received. . . Peter Bulson died, aged 78.
25. A special committee of the Common Council reported in favor of removing the dead in the Arbor Hill Burying Ground (which are fre- quently exposed by persons digging there for sand), to a suitable vault in the Albany Rural Cemetery, on the Troy road. No action was taken upon the subject ....... The store of R. Reno, in South Pearl street, was entered by burglars, and $5 in cents carried away.
26. A meeting of the elder branch of the democratic party was held at the Capitol in the evening, the younger branch holding a convention at the same time in Herkimer. These events were invested with ex- traordinary interest.
28. Aurelia McGowan died, aged 40; wife of Minos McGowan. .... Dorothy E. Brown died, wife of Stephen A. Brown.
29. Great meeting of the Barnburners at the Capitol ; Mr. Wilmot, author of the famous proviso, was present; and delivered a long speech. John Van Buren followed, and received great applause for the eloquence, wit and sarcasm of his harrangue ....... Genesee wheat $1.45.
30. Margaret Dermody died, aged 52; wife of Patrick Dermody.
31. Robert Lottridge died, aged 77 ....... Thomas L. Wilson died, aged 26 ....... The number of deaths at the Alms House for the last three months, 202; the great majority of cases being ship fever, a new epidemic. Permits granted since May 1st, 1200.
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NOVEMBER, 1847.
1. Whig rally at the Capitol; said to have been " not very large, but enthusiastic." ...... Splendid aurora borealis in the evening. ..... There were 105 sloops and schooners lying at the Pier, and the Basin was choked with all sorts of craft, making preparation for the close of navi- gation ... . Frances H. Deforest died, aged 17; wife of James P. De- forest.
2. The election resulted, as usual, in the triumph of the whigs.
3. Lucretia Johnson died, aged 68.
4. The weather extremely fine for the season ; in the language of the editor of the Troy Budget, " The golden sunshine sleeps on the russet earth as quiet as an infant's slumber !". .... Crawford Livingston died of consumption at the Mansion House in Columbia county. He opened the first express office in this city, known as Pomeroy's Express.
5. The steam tug Commerce left the Pier for New York, with a con- voy of 8 tow boats, and 12 lake boats, all heavily laden; and the North America left with 21 lakers in the same condition. This was character. ized as a big haul. An impetus was given to it by a dreadful scowl in the heavens ....... Fire in Tivoli Hollow; a large establishment in which several kinds of manufacturing operations were carried on, was burnt down; loss upwards of $20,000 ....... Wm. L. Cranston died, aged 26.
7. Townsley's store, 73 Quay street, entered by burglars, who failed to get remunerated for their labor.
9. This day was fixed upon by the Millerites for ending the functions of the Earth; but as on several other days previously appointed for the same catastrophe, the planet continued its accustomed duties, and left the deluded sect in great perplexity ....... Sarah Thomas died, aged 58.
10. There had been transported over the rail road to Boston, up to this time, ten months, 455,221 barrels of flour.
11. The number of prisoners in the Penitentiary was 100. . Flour $6.12; wheat $1.38; barley 87c.
13. Catharine Ostrander died at Tully, aged 97; widow of John Ostrander a revolutionary officer and former sheriff of Albany.
17. Warm day for the season. .... . Charlotte McCauley died, aged 42.
18. Flour $5.87; two-rowed barley 87; rye 92; corn 75c ....... John Long died, aged 26.
20. An affray between two engine companies, Nos. 5 and 6; one of No. 5's men had his jaw broken by a blow with a pipe ....... An un- suspecting person was lured up Hudson street to the new level, and there robbed of his watch and $150 ....... Martin White died, aged 64.
21. Elizabeth Baillie died, aged 74.
22. The weather at this time much resembled summer .. Thomas Waters died of apoplexv, aged 65 .. ..... Charles Van Loon, pastor of a baptist church in Poughkeepsie, died of apoplexy, aged 28. He was a native of Albany, and a young man of extraordinary talents.
23. Opening lecture before the Young Men's Association by Benjamin F. Butler, and a poem by Epes Sargent.
25. Thanksgiving day; dark and gloomy ....... A foot race at the Bull's Head ; principal competitors Steeprock and Smoke, two Indians; Smoke won the race by 50 yards, making 10 miles in 1h. 11s .; the track heavy after a rain; 500 spectators supposed to have been present .. Brilliant northern light in the evening.
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27. A forged draft presented and paid at the Exchange Bank, pur- porting to have been drawn by Tweddle & Darlington for $1805.25 .. ..... Thomas Rock died, aged 31.
28. The thermometer fell to 7º in the morning; the cold was felt severely on account of the suddenness of the change. .... James Alfred Green died, aged 25 ....... Alfred Goodwin died at Hartford, Ct. ; he was of the firm of Goodwin & Mckinney, hatters, of Albany.
29. Flour $6.12; no wheat in market; barley 75c. ; oats 48c .; among the produce which arrived in the Albany Basin since the morning of the 27th, were 47,000 barrels flour, 52,000 bushels wheat, 20,000 bushels barley, 20,000 bushels oats, 390,000 pounds cheese, and 160,000 pounds butter. The receipts of flour exceeded 20,000 barrels a day about this time ....... A slight fall of snow.
30. The mercury in the thermometer went down to zero .. .The number of arrests for criminal offences cognizable at the police office during the year ending this day, was 2,859; being about 200 less than the previous year.
DECEMBER, 1847.
1. The corner stone for a synagogue to accomodate the Jewish con- gregation of Beth Jacob was laid with appropriate ceremonies, at the corner of Lydius and Fulton streets, by Rabbi Wise ....... The amount of tolls at the canal collector's office in this city since the opening of navigation was $358,067.72; do 1846, $263,551.03; showing an increase of 94,517.69, or 35 per cent .... ... Michael Dwyer robbed Olivette Michal, a catholic priest, of $875, on the Troy Road; and was appre- hended a few days after ....... Laughlen McPherson died, aged 89. He had resided in the city about twenty years, and was janitor of the Geo- logical Rooms at the time of his death.
4. A rain storm had continued 48 hours, and showed no symptoms of a termination ....... John W. H. Canoil died, aged 47.
5. Susan Anderson died, aged 67. She was one of the 18 persons who first united to form a baptist society in this city in the year 1811.
6. The corner stone of the edifice for the use of the First Presbyterian Church was laid without special ceremony, on the corner of Hudson and Philip streets ....... T. W. Truax, one of the night police, in attempting to stop a pair of affrighted horses, received a blow which resulted in death.
7. The first popular election of chief engineer of the fire department took place, when James McQuade received 240 votes, and John Niblock 208; majority for the former 32. So great was the contest that absent- ees were brought from New York and Philadelphia, and only 44 voters were missing ....... At a meeting of the Christian Mutual Benefit Society, Lemuel Jenkins was chosen president for the ensuing year.
9. A festival held at the City Hall for the benefit of the Union Mission Sunday School.
10. Rev. Dr. Scoresby of England, lectured before the Young Men's Association, in the Third Presbyterian church, on the Telescopes of Lord Rosse.
12. The river, swollen by the heavy rains of almost two weeks' continuance, overflowed its limits and submerged the Quay and lower part of the city.
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13. A man by the name of Burns was drowned in the river at the foot of Hamilton street, by the capsizing of a boat. ..... James Manning died, aged 23; one of the reporters for the Albany Atlas.
15. Canal closed. (?) The receipts of some of the principal articles of breadstuffs at Albany and Watervliet were as follows: Flour 3,951,- 722 barrels ; wheat 3,897,576 bushels ; corn 6,021,144 bushels. The value of the property received at the above places by canal, was esti- mated at $72,365,986 ....... Mary Ridgeway died, aged 56.
16. Mr. Parsons, proprietor of the Carlton House, was knocked down and robbed of $138 in the office of that hotel, at 4 o'clock in the morn- ing ....... Phoebe Lewis died, aged 75; wife of Col. Henry Lewis ....... Store of Mr. Shoemaker in Broadway, robbed by two boys, who were apprehended.
17. Charles D. Townsend died, aged 69. He had been a practitioner - of medicine in the city nearly half a century, and acquired considerable eminence in his profession ....... Oliver Johnson died at Maderia, whither he had gone for the recovery of his health.
18. First sleighing of any note .... . William Roberts died, aged 25.
.James Radliff died, aged 62. . Elizabeth Veazie died, wife of Moses K. Veazie.
19. Catharine Irving died, aged 17.
23. The Middle Dutch Church, which had been closed several months for repairs, was opened, having undergone many improvements and decorations ....... The first communication by magnetic telegraph with St. Louis, Missouri ....... William Hale died, aged 57.
24. The Columbia steam boat arrived from New York, and was the last boat up this season.
25. Christmas-the day fine, and the sleighing of the best kind. Fire in the bakery of Stephen Paddock ; damage about $300.
26. Heman J. Whelpley died, aged 41; a legal practitioner of ex- tensive business, and an active member of the whig party ....... Mar- garet Delehanty died, aged 53; widow of the late Daniel Delehanty. . The morning train west (it being Sunday) had but about half a dozen passengers; and the four trains during the day, (two each way) carried but sixty-seven altogether. This state of things was a most powerful argument, undoubtedly, for the suspension of the Sunday trains, which was soon after effected.
30. William I. Winne died, aged 45.
31. The Housatonic train was detained by a dense fog, and did not arrive at the depot in East Albany till 10 o'clock at night ....... The trustees of the fire department disbursed $429 to indigent and disabled firemen during the year.
JANUARY, 1848.
1. New Year-the weather scarcely cold enough to require fire ....... A steam boat left New York, expecting to reach Albany, but was de- barred by the ice ....... Lieut. Griffin arrived from the seat of war in Mexico, where he had been twice wounded ....... David P. Page, first Principal of the State Normal School, died, aged 38 ....... James Con- nolly, while walking on the Quay, was assaulted by a blow, which caused his death.
2. A fire at 2 o'clock in the morning destroyed the frame building at
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the head of Van Woert street ....... The crockery store of Van Heusen & Charles in State street, robbed.
4. The legislature commenced its session under the new constitution, which limited its duration to 100 days ....... The governor's message, consisting of 12,000 words, was telegraphed to New York in 8 hours. It was transmitted to Schenectady by rail road, in 29 minutes, and from thence to Utica in 2 hours 1 minute.
7. River closed.
8. Peter Carmichael died, aged 38 ...... James Boyd died, aged 38.
11. Thermometer ranged from 15° to 18° below zero.
21. William B. Winne died, aged 90. He was 48 years penny. post. man ....... The store of T. S. Stillwell broken open and robbed.
22. A pair of horses belonging to a farmer in Nassau, while crossing the river at the Greenbush Ferry, broke through the ice and were drowned.
24. Robert Taylor died, aged 45.
26. The city was refreshed with a shower of rain.
29. Jane K. Wyckoff, wife of Rev. I. N. Wyckoff, died ... ... Willard Walker died, aged 79; long an intelligent and enterprising merchant.
30. Isaiah Breakey, physician, died, aged 50 ....... James A. Coulter died, aged 28. . Hugh Riddle, a convict in the Penitentiary, commit- ted suicide.
31. The sabbath schools in the city numbered 33, with 554 teachers, and 2,497 scholars ....... Number of criminal arrests in the city during the month, 214 ... .. .. . Alms House expenses for the month, $3,544.
FEBRUARY, 1848.
1. Annual meeting of the New York State Medical Society; Dr. Alex. H. Stevens, president; Dr. Alex. H. Thompson, vice-president; Dr. Peter Van Buren, secretary ; Dr. Peter Van OLinda, treasurer.
2. The committee of the whole in the House of Assembly, struck out the enacting clause of the bill to encourage the discovery of coal in the counties of Albany and Rensselaer .. ..... A special meeting of the Com- mon Council, on the resignation of the ward physicians, to devise means of supplying the poor with medical attendance .... .. Meeting of the Board of Trade to elect its officers; Wm. Chapman, president.
4. Jasper Hallenbake, M. D., died at New Orleans, aged 39; formerly of Albany. ..... Snow storm commenced on Friday and continued till Saturday evening; the mildness of the weather prevented its accumula- tion.
6. The store of W. & A. Kerr entered ; a bootless depredation.
7. Major-General Quitman arrived in the city from Mexico, and met with an enthusiastic reception; after which he made the tour of the town, escorted by the military.
9. Mayor's Court, Recorder Wright presiding, who announced that there were 16 persons in jail awaiting trial. The civil calendar num. bered 12 cases ....... Catharine Maher died, aged 25.
10. Elisha C. Porter died, aged 34.
11. A stranger from Poughkeepsie robbed of a watch valued at $170, at a bowling saloon in Washington street.
12. Livingston Ludlow Humphrey died, aged 23.
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Chronicle of Events in Albany.
14. Catharine Van Zandt died, aged 60; widow of John Van Zandt. . Upwards of 7,000 valentines passed through the post office.
17. The sheriff going out to Bern to sell property taken for rent, was followed by forty men on horseback, blowing horns and insulting him and his posse. No bids being made on the property, he brought away a pair of horses and a wagon.
19. William Jenkinson died, aged 81 ....... Emma Webster died, aged 21; wife of M. L. Webster ....... The Directors of the New York and Albany Rail Road decided on adopting the river line of survey, ten to two.
20. The number of convictions for state prison offences in the city during the last ten years, 335 Three persons in that time were con- victed of murder, of which number one was hung. The number of petit larceny convictions, 800.
21. Aurora borealis, which assumed such an unusual appearance, as to cause an alarm of fire.
22. The anniversary of Washington's birthday celebrated with great enthusiasm .. .. George W. Hawley died, aged 39 .. . .. John Carroll died.
23. The store of Samuel W. King on Arbor Hill, robbed of a quantity of goods and money ..... Elizabeth Davis died, aged 53. ... Jane Anderson died, aged 29.
24. Announcement of the death of John Quincy Adams. .John W. Jackson died, aged 66.
25. William Nordin died, aged 56.
26. Assault upon Mortimer J. Smith, editor of the Castigator, with slung shot. by two men disguised ....... Amy Roberts died, aged 80.
27. Navigation open as far north as Hudson ...... The store of David Van Cott, in Lydius street, robbed of $50 worth of cigars.
29. Prof. Agassiz commenced his course of lectures on Natural His- tory at the Albany Female Academy ....... Fire in Dean street, No. 3; porter house burnt ....... Lester Bucklin Brown died, aged 22 .. . . . . . Jane Frazer died, aged 77; wife of John Frazer ....... During the month there were 175 cases under medical treatment at the Alms House, of which 7 died.
MARCH, 1848.
1. A fire about 1 o'clock in the morning, at No. 83 Quay street, which communicated with about 20 brick and wooden buildings on the Dock and Broadway, below Hamilton street. Richard Gillespie, a printer, was killed by the falling of a wall, and two persons were burnt in the house where the fire originated. Loss of property estimated at $70,000.
2. Richard Van Zandt died, aged 23.
3. Benjamin Van Benthuysen died, aged 70; Laura A. Bowers died, aged 26; wife of Augustus Bowers.
4. Horace H. Gladding died, aged 20; Miss Buddington, a pupil of the Normal School, died.
5. Richard Rosier died, aged 73; Isabella Orr died, aged 57; wife of Samuel Orr.
6. Joseph Curtiss died, aged 71; Melissa Prime died, aged 34; James H. Brown died, aged 42.
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7. The house 14 Jay street robbed of the entire clothing of a lodger. . Circulation of the Albany Evening Journal, daily, weekly and semi·weekly, stated to be 14,400.
8. The store of Mr. Hadley on the Dock broken open and robbed of a bad $20 bill ....... Stephen Traver died, aged 37.
10. The grand jury presented " the rum and beer shops" of the city and county as a very serious evil, nearly all the business brought before the grand jury originating in these places; that in their opinion the great expenses incurred by the county for Alms House, Penitentiary and Jail expenditures grow out of the riots, robberies, assaults and bat- teries, and violations of the sabbath that occur or are connected with these places.
11. Thomas W. Harman, attorney, died at Schenectady, formerly a resident in Albany.
12. Alice Adaline Tallman died, aged 44; wife of Jonathan Tallman. . Ruth Ann Glovenbury died suddenly, suspected to have been murdered ....... A meteor observed about 11 o'clock in the evening, in the northwest, which burst with an intonation resembling distant thunder.
13. Among the bills reported in the Assembly was one for the remo- val of the capital to New York; one for the construction of a bridge over the Basin; and one against the construction of a bridge over the Hudson at Albany ... .. Ambrose Spencer died at Lyons, aged 83 ; he was ma- ny years chief justice of the state, and was regarded as one of the most distinguished jurists which the country has produced. He was interred at Albany ...... Lawrence L. Schuyler died, aged 49 .. ..... A house in Green street robbed of a box of jewelery valued at $100 ....... Attack upon Mortimer J. Smith, editor of the Castigator, by several persons, one of whom struck him in the face with a slung shot.
14. A meeting of citizens of Watervliet, when several thousand dol- lars were subscribed towards building a plank road from Albany to the Mohawk river, with a view to its continuance to Saratoga. ..... The managers of the Married Sociable transmitted to the treasurer of the Orphan Asylum $304.50, the avails of their ball given on the 7th in aid of the funds of that institution. ..... A lad robbed the store of Ford & Grant of $30.
15. Cold day; 3º below 0, at 5 o'clock in the morning .. ..... Philip Vanderlip died, aged 54 ...... Odd Fellows' Hall, Cooper's Building, corner Green and State street, dedicated ...... Broadway Theatre rob- bed of $91 in specie.
17. St. Patrick's day celebrated with unusual ceremonies at the Cath- olic churches, and by the Hibernian Provident Society ...... 'Thomas Lee died, aged 59 .. . .. David B. Beatson, late of Albany, died in New York, aged 40.
18. The funeral of Judge Ambrose Spencer took place from St. Pe- ters church. The procession was one of the most imposing that had been witnessed in many years ....... Capt. John Cook, of the Artillery, left the city for the army in Mexico, and was escorted to the depot by his company.
19. Chapel of the Penitentiary formally dedicated; sermon by Dr. Wyckoff on the occasion .. ..... The stores of Ainsworth & Northrup and Samuel Carey, in State street, robbed ; the booty very small .. .... Rich-
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ard Graves died .. ..... Mrs. Elizabeth Foot died, aged 44 ....... Henry Y. Lansing died, aged 29.
20. A farmer from Knox robbed of his pocket book by the ostler of Lockwood's tavern .. ..... Capt. B. S. Roberts, of the Mounted Rifles, who was the first to plant the American flag upon the national palace of Mexico, and the first to enter the halls of the Montezumas, arrived in Albany and received calls at the Mansion House ....... Sarah Bay Liv- ingston died at New York; widow of the late Edward Livingston and youngest daughter of the late Chancellor Livingston ....... Rebecca Elizabeth Mix died, aged 22 ....... John Niblock, walking in the eve- ning in Broadway, was assailed and stabbed in both arms.
21. The steam boat Columbia reached Van Wie's Point, six miles below the city.
22. 'The ice slipped away quietly, without subjecting us to the usual annoyance of high water, and the steam boat Admiral arrived during the day, and left again in the evening for New York. . .... Charles Quacken- boss died of congestion of the brain, aged 33.
23. Sarah Tompkins died, aged 38.
24. The bill authorising the construction of a bridge across the Basin at the foot of State street, of the full width of the street, and another for opening a street on the Pier to the same width, passed the Assembly.
26. The leather factory of C. Hepinstall, in Washington street, rob- bed of a quantity of leather.
27. The steam boat Isaac Newton, on her way up the Hudson, ran down and sunk a schooner ...... The first tow boat fleet of the season arrived from New York, consisting of 17 barges, conveyed by the old Commerce, and laden with spring importations for Albany merchants principally. ...... The chamberlain reported that the whole expense of medical ser- vice for the poor since May 1, 1847, was $2,832 12 ...... Amount of busi- ness done at the Justices' court, for the year ending this day, as follows: whole number of suits 2,400; amount of fees, $3 300; of which $1,189.83 remained uncollected. Each of the members of the court (three justices and one clerk) received $527 56; do. the previous year $738.87.
23. The two sections of the democratic party united in the nomina- tion of Dr. Thomas Hun for Mayor ..... The store of F. P. Malburn in Lydius street robbed of $20; that of H. Knowlton in Broadway of 75 cents; and an unsuccessful attempt made to enter that of A. B. Brown. .... Albany and Cohoes Rail Road bill passed the Senate.
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29. Nicholas Van Rensselaer, a soldier of the revolution, died, aged 94. He was with Montgomery at the storming of Quebec ; was at Ti- conderoga, Fort Miller, Fort Ann, and at Bemis's Heights, and was deputed to convey the intelligence of Burgoyne's surrender to the citi- zens of Albany .. ..... A young man of fashionable appearance arrested for passing counterfeit money.
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