The Cortland Democrat, Friday, May 16,
1890.
AN ASYLUM
BURNED.
THE CHENANGO
COUNTY BUILDING DESTROYED BY FIRE.
Several
Inmates Cremated—a Repetition of the Longue Pointe Horror on
a
Smaller Scale—List of the Victims.
UTICA, May 8, 1890.—The Chenango County Poor House
and Insane Asylum, located at Preston, six miles west of Norwich, were entirely
consumed last night. The fire was discovered about 11 o'clock in the north wing
of the poor house building, where the idiots are kept. There were no provisions
for extinguishing the flames, and the keepers and neighbors gave their attention
to getting out the 125 paupers and insane, and let the building burn. These
were all rescued, but 10 idiots.
The Poor House building was three stories
high, and built of wood. The Insane Asylum was also a wooden building, two
stories high and only separated from the Poor House by a drive-way. The
property was estimated to be worth $25,000, and is insured for $20,000.
The origin of the fire is unknown. Yesterday
afternoon a woman was in the idiot department smoking. She put her pipe in her
pocket and was soon enveloped in flames. She ran out into the yard and was secured.
She died from the effects about sundown. She had matches in her pocket, and
some one of the idiots is supposed to have got hold of them. Last night no lamp
was left burning in the room of the idiots as had been usual. The surmise is
that the idiot tried to light the lamp with the matches and set fire to the
building.
All the departments in the institution were
crowded, and it can well be imagined that the rescue of the poor creatures, many
of them old and very feeble and others wild with fears and terrors, which added
to their insane delusions, was by no means an easy task. The keepers and
citizens worked as best they could to carry, drive, drag and push the inmates
out, but the flames spread so rapidly that there was little time, and the great
wonder is that so many were rescued. There was little system in the conduct in
the effort to save. People went at it at haphazard, appalled by the awfulness
of the cries and moans of the inmates and the magnitude of the catastrophe. No
one of those who worked expected that so many would be saved, as it seemed that
all could not be gotten out.
The names and residences of the victims are:
Sarah Mills, Afton.
Sarah Bantey, Columbus.
Arvilla Atwood, Norwich.
Deborah Dibble, Bainbridge.
Amelia Austin, county charge.
Adelia Benedict, county charge.
Lucy Warren, county charge.
Laura Gray, Greene.
Sarah Gallagher, Norwich.
Mary Ann O'Daniels, Preston.
The bodies were entirely consumed except the
trunks.
Keeper Hall was in Norwich yesterday afternoon.
Upon returning to Preston he was eating a lunch when one of the attendants ran
in and exclaimed: "We are all on fire." Keeper Hall and the
attendants immediately set to work rescuing the inmates, some of whom assisted
in removing others. Some of the provisions or household effects were saved.
Nothing remains but the cisterns in the cellar.
The scene at the burning was indescribable and
the horrors of Longue Pointe were reenacted on a smaller scale. Demented and
terror-stricken inmates wandered around the burning piles in a hopeless manner.
The great wooden buildings lit up the hills for miles around. A bucket brigade
was formed of the citizens of Preston and about a hundred labored to save the
smaller buildings in the rear, with success. The
stables and farm buildings were saved. The large milk house was burned.
The Board of Supervisors is in special session
to-night at Norwich to take measures for prompt relief. The coroner will hold
an inquest on the disaster. It is probable that the county buildings will be re-erected
at some other place where there are railroad facilities.
ALBANY, May 8.—The lunacy commission to-night
issued an order that the 44 insane patients in the Chenango County Poor House
be transferred to temporary headquarters in the Utica asylum.
At the
[Cortland County] Alms House and Asylum.
There are at present enrolled in the Alms House
and asylum buildings of this county, the names of 98 dependent and unfortunate
mortals. An air of cleanliness pervades the entire institution, and the inmates
seem to be well provided for and are contented. In the asylum are 29 patients,
14 being females, carefully looked after by keeper James Edwards and wife. The walls
and rooms are decorated with pictures and flowering plants, and if you have
extra pictures or money to buy some, the keepers will gladly accept all offers
for the several wards of the institution.
His Body
Found in the River.
The body of Charles Baker, who disappeared
from the county Alms House, April 28th, was found
in the Tioughnioga river about a mile below the Alms House on Tuesday evening
last. He was the son of Jerome Baker, who committed suicide in Homer a few
weeks since, and was arrested on suspicion of having killed his father.
It will be remembered that they occupied a house
together and that the father was found lying dead on the
floor late in the afternoon, with his throat cut from ear to ear and his son
was in bed. An investigation satisfied a coroner's jury that the father had
committed suicide and Baker was discharged and taken to the County Alms House.
He was about 40 years of age and his mind had been destroyed by taking frequent
and liberal doses of narcotics.
Coroner Bradford was notified and held an
inquest on Wednesday morning before the following jury: William A. Bean foreman,
Edwin C. Rindge, Watts L. Bishop, Alva R. Harmon, George W. Fisher, James Bell
and William L. Welch. After viewing the body, which was in a very decomposed
state and of a bloated appearance, the left hand somewhat tightly closed and
filled with a muddy sediment from the river bottom, the following testimony was
adduced. The inquest was held in the office of the Alms House.
Elias T. Frisbie, keeper of the Alms House,
stated, that on April 5, l890, Charles F. Baker
was admitted to the institution upon an order issued by poormaster, Caleb Sherman,
of the town of Homer, giving his age as 40 years, that Baker appeared willing
to come and was very quiet and busied himself with reading and smoking a pipe,
never calling for any opium to witness' knowledge. In a few days after entering
this place he desired permission to go to Cortland on business, giving no satisfactory
answer touching the nature of his business, further than claiming he did not
know why the county should keep him there, declaring he would go and without consent,
Mr. Frisbie endeavoring to talk him out of the notion. Baker remained quiet and
despondent, apparently, until the afternoon of April 28, when Mr. Frisbie came
to Cortland about 3 o'clock, leaving Baker, as customary, in the sitting
[reading] room of the men's way; had no conversation with him. Upon returning
about 5 P. M., a man told me that Baker was missing, that he had been seen
walking in the field just north of the buildings. A thorough search was made
for a long distance along both sides of the river and of the water as far as
possible, it being high at that time, but no track or trace was found.
With the subsiding of the water a further search
was made. On the evening of the 13th inst., Randolph Gilbert informed us that a
son of Mr. Timothy Rose had discovered a human body in the river near his
father's south line fence floating near the west bank. A party at once repaired
to the place indicated and found a body which was identified as that of Charles
Baker; it was at once removed from the water wrapped in a sheet and taken to
the barn. The beard, clothing and stature compared with Baker as last seen.
Frederick H. Van Marter testified to Baker
being an inveterate smoker, but not calling for opium; though not very talkative
was obedient. At about 4:30 P. M., April 28, as I was coming from the field to the
house one of our people told me that Baker had disappeared. When he did not appear
at the ringing of the supper bell a search was made as described by Mr. Frisbie. I saw Baker
walk toward the house from the direction of the river about 4 P. M. Did not see
him again until his body was found last night.
Frank H. Green, M. D., testified to examination
of body which was in an advanced state of decomposition, mouth open, tongue
protruding and features distorted, finding no evidence of violence, sufficient to
produce death. Appearance indicated that body had been in water for about two weeks.
The jury found "that Charles F. Baker came
to his death by drowning, but whether from accidental cause or suicidal intent jury
cannot fully determine and, furthermore, we find that no one was to blame
for his death."
Suicide
at Delphi.
DELPHI, May 13.—George Peck committed suicide
this morning about 8:30 o'clock by shooting himself with a revolver. Mr. Peck
was a citizen of this village and has been very much excited of late over the
trade of farms by his daughter, Mrs. Charles Hudson. Many of the citizens of
Delphi had expressed themselves that Mr. Peck was insane and ought to be committed
to an asylum. But as is generally the case in such matters, no one desired to
take the responsibility upon himself and the result is as told above. This is
the second suicide that ever occurred in Delphi.
Locomotive
Explodes Near Buffalo.
BUFFALO, May 12, 1890.—About 2 P. M. Sunday an
engine on the Lehigh Valley road started for East Buffalo with a string of 27 cars.
The train was moving slowly and had crossed the Lake Shore tracks at the Buffalo
creek junction when the locomotive exploded. A roar was heard like the discharge
of a battery of heavy artillery, the earth trembled and the air was filled with
flying fragments of iron, steel, brass and timber, accompanied by a cloud of
mingled steam and dust. The dome and a portion of the boiler were thrown a
distance of 400 feet. The rails were torn from the ties and bent. Devastation
and ruin had been wrought in the twinkling of an eye and two lives had been
sacrificed like the snuffing of a candle, for there was no trace of either
engineer or fireman.
The body of engineer Pearl was subsequently
found in a creek 500 feet away, the head and face frightfully mutilated and the
entire abdomen torn from the trunk. The body of fireman O'Conners was taken from
between two tree stumps, at same distance, terribly mangled. Both employes had
excellent reputations.
The engine was a sixty ton consolidated Baldwin,
and had been in use about ten years. It was overhauled in the shops about three
or four months ago.
Recommended:
Consolidation
locomotives: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-8-0
Motive Power
of the Lehigh Valley R. R.: http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/lvhist.Html
Longue Pointe asylum fire:
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