John Green and Nathan Smith, Obituaries

The Cortland News, Friday, September 19, 1884.

CORTLAND AND VICINITY.

   A picture was taken to-day of the new Cortland house and workmen.

   Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show arrived in town from Binghamton last Monday evening. There was a large crowd in attendance, 6,070 tickets being sold at the gate. They gave a very fine as well as novel entertainment.

   An arrangement has been made by the chief signal officer with the postoffice department to exhibit a flag at each postoffice in the United States when a cold wave is approaching. The flag will be of white with a black square in the center. The news of the approach of a cold wave will be telegraphed by the signal officers to postoffices on telegraph lines, and they will communicate it to inferior offices.

   The Girard & Vokes Company gave a very fine entertainment at the Mammoth Rink last evening to a fair sized audience. The bicycle riding of Prof. D. J. Canary should receive special mention, as all said that he was the finest that had ever visited Cortland. His balancing was very fine, he doing some very marvelous tricks. The roller skaters were all good, especially Prof. W. E. Livesey, who done some very fancy skating. Miss Ethel Vokes, the lady bicyclist done some astonishing feats on the whirling wheel. The entertainment closed with a burlesque which was very good. There will be entertainments given at the rink next Friday and Saturday evenings which will be noticed in our next issue. Every attraction that has appeared at the Mammoth Rink has been first-class and we understand that the proprietors intend to keep up the reputation they have established of having everything connected with the rink the best to be had. Prof. M. F. Winslow, of the Hattie Harvey combination, will give an exhibition of fancy and trick skating this (Friday) evening. This exhibition is something different from what has been seen in Cortland. Don't fail to see it.

   The Cortland Foundry and Machine Company have contracted to furnish the iron work for the Beard, Wallace and Opera House blocks.

   There will be a championship race at the Orchard street rink this evening for a gold badge. This is the second of the series and promises to be very interesting. The conditions are that the one who gets the badge has to win three races. Frank Reid has taken one and promises to make a very good at-for the other two.

   The last Legislature of New York amended the penal code by holding any person guilty of a misdemeanor who shall sell, give away, exhibit or offer for sale to any minor child any book, pamphlet, magazine, newspaper or other printed paper devoted to the publication of or principally made up of criminal news, police reports or accounts of criminal deeds; or who shall exhibit on any street or highway within the view of any minor child any such publication.

Obituaries.

   John Green was born in Oil City, Pa., in January, 1805, and died at his residence on Clinton Avenue in this village on the 16th day of September, 1884, in the eightieth year of his age. Mr. Green was the son of Dr. Green, formerly of Virgil, and a brother of Page Green. His life was largely spent in Virgil which town for many years he represented on the Board of Supervisors. He was a very active business man with a peculiarly lively and vivacious turn, and no one seeing him move about and hearing his conversation would think him anywhere near his eightieth year. He had all the life of a man of fifty years. Until within a week or ten days of his death, he was about the village as usual, and though somewhat indisposed for a few days, he was not considered dangerously ill until Thursday of last week, and he died within five days thereafter. He will be greatly missed in this community, with many of whose citizens he was accustomed to deal, and who learned to esteem him as a citizen and business man. He was an attendant at the Universalist church. He was buried at Preble.

   Nathan Smith was born in Marathon on the 8th day of April, 1808—the day that Cortland County was set off from Onondaga, and died at his residence on Clinton Avenue in Cortland on the 14th day of September, 1884, in the 77th year of his age. For the most part of his life, Mr. Smith was a resident of the town of Virgil, where for many years he was a justice of the peace, and also represented his town in the Board of Supervisors. Early in life, he took much interest in military affairs and always felt a just pride in speaking of his Artillery Company, which he commanded under Gen. Roswell Randall, as the best military company in this section of the state. He early became an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was a prominent class-leader for over forty years. In all good works, he was always at the front. and the general verdict in his case is "a good man has died." That is the highest encomium which can be passed upon man. Mr. Smith moved from Virgil to this town some fourteen years ago, and retired from business. But his proverbial activity made him well known even in our bustling town. He will be missed here as well as in Virgil. He celebrated his golden wedding in 1879. He leaves his wife with whom he lived nearly fifty-four years, and his four children were about his death bed ministering to his wants in the last extremity. His memory will be fragrant to all who knew him. He was buried at Marathon.