Early News

Rochester, Monroe, NY
Union & Advertiser
Sun. Mar 26, 1905

LEAPS INTO THE RIVER'S TORRENT

Unidentified Man Jumps From Bridge
Swept Over The Falls
Stranger Vaults Railing of Central Avenue Bridge and Drops Into Raging Flood Below-
Disappears Over Falls in an Instant - No Clews

After walking back and forth on Central avenue bridge several time, an unknown man placed his hands on the guard rail on the bridge yesterday afternoon and vaulted over the iron bar and dropped into the surging river below. In less time than is required to tell it, he was swept over the falls, and lost to flow. His body may now be floating in Lake Ontario. Again it may be lodged whence it will never rise to the surface. That has been the fate of many who have fallen into the grasp of the Genesee river at flood side. The act was a delicate case of suicide, and was witnessed by a number of persons. It was done so quickly that few have a tangible description by which the police may be able to identify a lost or missing man in the future.

The tragedy occurred shortly after 3 o'clock. The man, who was apparently aged about 50 years, had been observed on the bridge for some time. He appeared to be one of a good many persons who have thronged the city bridges since the ice went out of the river, and who seem to take great interest in the angry waters as they dash northward to Lake Ontario.

The point selected by the man was on the north side of the bridge, between the third and fourth arches. Charles W. CHAPIN, of No. 3 Day place, a driver for the American Express Company, was driving across the bridge at the time. CHAPIN was on his way to the State street office. He saw the man spring over the railing, and drop into the torrent below. Charles MAY, of No. 63 Oakman street, was on the walk, almost opposite the wagon, and he too, saw the man take the fatal leap. Both men cried out to the stranger, who paid no attention to them.

CHAPIN and MAY had hardly time to peer over the railing before the struggling man disappeared over the bring of the falls. The water at this point is running at a speed estimated at twenty miles an hour, and with the fall of ninety-five feet it is certain that the man was insensible when he reached the lower level and drowned quickly.

Detective McDONALD stood at Central avenue and Front street when the man made his fatal leap, and he saw persons hurrying to that part of the bridge. McDONALD moved slowly up the street, and two men ran toward him, evidently recognizing him, and shouted that a man had fallen in the river. McDONALD reached the bridge after the body had been swept over the falls.

Joseph WEAVER, of No. 8 Rauber street, and Frank COLLINS, of No. 32 Jones street, were together on the bridge. They had seen the man walking to and fro, but they did not pay a great deal of attention to him, as they were intently watching the river. The young men say the stranger was clad in blue and that he wore a grayish mustache. His hair was gray. His hat floated down to the falls to the right of the body.

Chief HAYDEN detailed Patrolman INGALLS and other policemen to go to the bridge and obtain such information as they could. Coroner KLEINDIENST also went to the scene of the tragedy. Inasmuch as the man uttered but a word before or as he was about to take the plunge his identity is an enigma.

The only possible clew to the identity of the missing man is found in the report of the disappearance of one William CARBAN. He is said to be 30 years of age, and to have dark hair slightly streaked with gray. He has been missing since Thursday, and his residence was reported to police headquarters to be at No. 21 Front street. No. Persons occupy any rooms of the building at that number.
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BODY FOUND IN OATKA CREEK

Remains of Unknown Man Discovered in Pool North of Warsaw

Warsaw, March 25 - The body of an unknown man was found in the Oatka creek this afternoon on the John BROWN farm, two miles north of this village. The discovery was made by Roy FISH while hunting for muskrats. The body was much bloated and showed evidence of having been in the water for at least ten days. It is probable that it had come down from the south in the recent freshet and the subsiding of the water had left it in a shallow pool.

The man was bald-headed and had few teeth; was apparently between 50 and 60 years of age, though that is a difficult matter to determine owing to the condition of the body. A bottle of whisky and a watch were found in his pockets, but nothing which could lead to identification. He had on a pair of arctic overshoes, and his clothing was a poor quality and old.

Coroner P. S. GOODWIN, of Perry, was summoned, had the body removed to Reid's undertaking rooms, and will make a thorough investigation.
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NEW USE FOUND FOR ICEPICK

Young Man Said to Have Used One to Open Gum Machine

Brandishing an icepick of generous proportion, Charles WHITE let it descend with a force sufficient to shatter a gum machine that until last night was attached to the front of a grocery store at No. 246 State street. The machine fell to the walk, and WHITE and another young man rifled it. They started to leave the vicinity, where Patrolman McCLEESE loomed up ahead of them. They wheeled and ran, with the policeman in hot pursuit.

After a long chase McCLEESE got WHITE, but the other man got away. All along the route WHITE and his partner strewed pennies as they ran, but WHITE held on to his icepick. Man and pick were sent to police headquarters, where WHITE was locked up on a charge of malicious mischief.
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COURT NEWS IN BRIEF

Maria C. YATES has been granted a final decree of divorce from Fred ? YATES, by Justice DUNWELL. E. S. OSBORN was the plaintiff's attorney.

Motion for alimony and counsel fees was made by Attorney F. P. KIMBALL before Justice FOOTE in chambers yesterday, for Flora McDONELL GAFFNEY. In her action for divorce against A. E. K. GAFFNEY. F. S. MACOMBER opposed. Decision was reversed. The case will be tried at the April 3d equity term.

Justice FOOTE yesterday appointed Robert TENNENT, United States consular agent at Galway, a commission to take testimony at Loughrea, Ireland, in the matter of the settlement of the estate of the late Mary KILLEN, a branch of which litigation occupied the Monroe Surrogate for some time. O'BRIEN & SHORT, of Geneva, were the attorney's applying.
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DEATH OF MRS. MARY SHEFFER

Widow of Roswell Sheffer Dies in Her 88th Year

Mrs. Mary SHEFFER, widow of Roswell SHEFFER, died in the Hahnemann Hospital, Friday evening, aged 87 years.

Mrs. SHEFFER was the last of the pioneer family of SHEFFERS. Peter SHEFFER, her husband's father, is said to have been the first white settler in the Genesee valley. In 1789 Peter SHEFFER purchased of Indian ALLEN a tract of land at the mouth of Allen's creek, and added to his holdings until he was, next to the WADSWORTHS, the largest holder of the lands of fertile Genesee valley. Mrs. SHAFFER was born in Livonia, Livingston county, and was a daughter of Captain Harry HILLIARD, who served in the War of 1812. When she married Roswell SHEFFER, the youngest son of Peter SHEFFER built the cobble-stone house which now stands in a hickory grove just off the main road in the village of Scottsville, as a wedding present. Mrs. SHEFFER lived for a number of years in this home, her husband owning the farm, later known as the Budlong place. Among her early friends in Scottsville were Mrs. D. D. S. BROWN, the HANFORDS, Dr. EDISON, and others of the older prominent residents.

In the early fifties Mr. and Mrs. SHEFFER moved to the town of Hopewell, Ontario county, and before there was any Presbyterian church in that vicinity the family drove to the old Congregational church in Canandaigua. Soon, however, she and her husband, with ten others, formed the Presbyterian Society at Shortsville, the beginning of that beautiful and prosperous church, which now stands on the main street of that village. She was the last but one of the original twelve members. Her husband served as elder and superintendent of the Sunday-school of that church for many years, and up to the time of his death in 1873. A beautiful memorial window in the church commemorates his long and useful service. Both Mrs. SHEFFER and her husband were prominent in church, charitable and educational work in the village of Shortsville and its vicinity, to which Mrs. SHEFFER was greatly attached. She retained her home opposite the church until within the past few years, when, owing to feebleness, she removed to Rochester to be with her children.

Mrs. SHEFFER leaves her three sons, Ceylon H. SHEFFER and John B. SHEFFER, of Shortsville, and Allen R. SHEFFER, of Rochester, and two daughters, Mrs. J. H. HARMON, of Rochester, and Mrs. E. S. DICKEMAN, of Geneva, besides several grandchildren.
The funeral service will be held in the Presbyterian Church at Shortsville at 2 o'clock this afternoon. The interment will be in the family lot in Brookside cemetery.
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SUBWAY TO BE FINISHED SOON

Work at Genesee Valley Park Will be Resumed To-morrow

Work on the subway at Genesee Valley Park, will be resumed to-morrow by the Rochester Railway Company, and according to Engineer MATHEWS will be finished in about three weeks. The steel work of the railroad bridge and the paving are yet to be done. The steel work is incased in concrete and the whole structure will cost $20,000. The line into the park through the subway will be opened to the public on or before May 1st.

No definite news has been received regarding the proposed extension of the street railway lines through Clinton avenue south from Main street east to Court street. It is hinted, however, that an ordinance providing for the extension will be presented to the Common Council on Tuesday night.

The Franklin street extension is shrouded in mystery. It is said that Charles J. BISSELL, attorney for the Rochester Railway Company, is circulating a petition for the extension of the line. It was suggested that the Franklin street line would be connected with the Clinton avenue north line, but it was frankly admitted that such a connection would be of no benefit.

General Manager DANFORTH, who has been in Philadelphia in consultation with C. M. CLARK, the head of the street railway system, will return to-morrow or Tuesday. He will be able to give out the decision of Mr. CLARK in regard to this and other pending improvements and extensions of city lines.
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HIS SKULL NOT FRACTURED.

The condition of John POWERS, the Syracusan who was struck by a locomotive at Clyde on Thursday afternoon last, is unchanged. He is unconscious in the Homeopathic Hospital, and it is believed his days are numbered. Yesterday the surgeons operated on the skull and found no fracture. A number of blood clots were found, however, and removed. Their removal seemed to afford the patient considerable relief. Nothing has developed that would tend to establish the identity of the man, as none of his relatives has been heard from, if indeed he has any in Syracuse.
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AGED WOMAN DIES SUDDENLY

Mrs. Johanna REKAILJE died suddenly at the home of N. J. MILLER, No. 95 Lyndhurst street, early yesterday morning. She was 84 years of age. Until her death she had been considered in fairly good health for a person of her years. Her death was unexpected, and Coroner KILLIP was notified. After an investigation the Coroner issued a certificate of death from old age. Mrs. REKAILJE had lived in this city upwards (line unreadable) oldest members of St. Joseph's Church.
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TO BE SENT BACK TO OLEAN

Judge CHADSEY, in police court yesterday, told Martin DOBLEO that he had better get back to Olean as fast as he could. DOBLEO ran away from home and came to Rochester, expecting to find an uncle standing on the Four Corners waiting for him. He didn't find his uncle, and when he was arrested Friday for vagrancy the boy was so weak from hunger that he fainted at police headquarters. He will probably he sent for by his parents.
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TALK TO BOYS ON PHILIPPINES

Before the Boys' Club of the Brick Church Institute last night, W. G. PARKES gave an interesting talk on the Philippines. Mr. PARKES went to the islands in 1901 as a teacher and stayed there three years.
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RETURNS FROM NEW YORK

Mr. H. L. LYNCH, the ladies' tailor and dressmaker of ??? Chamber of Commerce building, has returned from New York after an absence of several days where he has been in the interests of his business, reviewing spring modes and selecting materials. Mr. LYNCH in a statement to the reporter last evening said the styles for this season while extensively changed are the most pleasing that have been made in several years.
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MARRIED

KEITH - SWARTZ - February 28, 1905, at St. Paul's Chapel, by Rev. Murray BARTLETT, Clifton A. KEITH and Lavine M. SWARTZ, of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. KEITH will make their future home in Denver, Col.

KEISER - PLOW - Saturday, March 18, 1905, at the Old Stone First Presbyterian Church, Cleveland, Ohio, by the pastor, Rev. A. R. MEDIUM, D. D., James Y. KEISER of Cleveland and Mary B. PLOW of Rochester, N. Y.
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DIED

LEE - On Friday morning, March 24, 1905, at the family residence, No. 165 Hague.
-Funeral on Monday morning at 8:30 o'clock from the house, and at 9 o'clock from Lady Chapel Cathedral.

VETTER - Saturday, March 25, 1905, at the family home, No. 28 Warehouse street, Rose Cecelia, infant daughter of James and Helen VETTER.
-Funeral on Monday at 10 a.m. Burial at Holy Sepulchre cemetery.

GOODWIN - At his home, No. 23 Park avenue, Herbert H. GOODWIN, aged 29 years.
-Funeral Tuesday morning from Asbury Chapel at 11 o'clock. Burial at Penfield.
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Democrat & Chronicle
Sun Mar 26, 1905

ASSIGN COUNCIL JACKSON'S PLEA

Will Make Request When Arraigned This Week
Raines Stays If Chosen
Negro Indicted for Murder of Ames Will Face Supreme Court Soon.
Has Not Ample Means, as Was Supposed Property is Mortgaged

   The Supreme Court will be asked to assign counsel for Berry G. JACKSON, when the negro is arraigned on the indictment charging him with the murder of Charles H. AMES, it was admitted yesterday at the c--sa of a conference of counsel for the (unreadable). Should George RAINES continue in the case, it was said, he will be there by assignment of the court.
   No details of this development were obtainable, officially, from either aide, but friends of the accused gave the information and it was verified by admissions of counsel. The inference is that JACKSON's means are not ample, as has been supposed. In fact, say those who stick to the defendant in his trouble, the coachman owns merely an equity, so slight as to be practically nominal, in the Frank street house he resided in, and the Gates farm building in which AMES was killed and his body buried. Mortgages consumed JACKSON's proprietorship in the realty, it is said.
   Mr. RINES confirmed the report that the Court would be asked to assign counsel, but objected to the tentative statement that the defendant would "plead as a poor person," as the common phrase runs. It is difficult to see, however, what other conclusion is to be drawn from the situation. It goes without saying that the Court will probably be also asked for the $500 counsel fees and trial expenses which the county allows to a homicide defendant without means.
   District-Attorney WARREN is silent about the date for arraignment of JACKSON, and appears a trifle miffed over the newspaper forecasts of it. The general belief in the Court House is that the arraignment, before Justice FOOTE, will take place some day this week, probably at an hour when there is reason to expect the least public attention being drawn to the proceeding. The appearance of a man charged with murder always draws to the court rooms a crowd of the morbidly curious, a type that the county officials have a particular aversion to, from the nauseating regularity with which it predominates at sensational trials.
   Although every news outlet has been plugged up in the District-Attorney's office, as regards JACKSON's case, it is admitted that there is one novel feature, interesting in view of recent developments, in that Mr. WARREN claims not to be impressed by the finding of AMES's stick. Even if it be proved beyond doubt that the steel tipped staff was what AMES carried into the house, argues the prosecutor, how does that weaken the people's case against JACKSON, since it makes it apparent that AMES, a strong and belligerent man, was fatally beaten with his own weapon? The District-Attorney's deduction from this assumed state of facts is that AMES never had a chance to do battle for his life. How AMES's stick was got from him is a collateral matter that does not affect this logic, in the opinion of the prosecutor.
   The timber with which the county officials at first believed that AMES was struck is in the office of Assistant District-Attorney WIDENER, and attracts attention from all who see it. No. one is allowed to handle the bit of lumber, which will be an important exhibit on the trial. Closer scrutiny than the authorities were at first able to make reveals that the blood and hair on the scantling may not be damaging as evidence, it is said. Just what the latest examination of the scantling disclosed is withheld from publication, but it is fair to assume, from what has leaked out, that some explanation has been found for the suspicious appearances other than the way early investigators accounted for them. It is even said to be likely that an attempt will be made to show that the blood and hair did not come from a human being.
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HER FREEDOM TO BE BRIEF

Woman Thief Soon to Leave Ohio Prison Will be Brought to Rochester.
   In April, 1902, Miss Carrie GLEASON, young and pretty, was employed at the home of Wallace MacARTHUR, who then lived at No. 30 Birch Crescent. She left the afternoon of the day she was employed, and did not return. After she had gone it was discovered that she had taken two gold watches, $30 in cash, and other things, all estimated to be worth $100. Five days later she was arrested in Dayton, O., for performing a similar trick, and after trial was sent to the state prison in Columbus. Her three-year term will expire in a few days, because of good behavior. When she emerges from the Ohio institution she will be met by a Rochester detective. A warrant for her arrest on a charge of grand larceny in the second degree was issued yesterday. She will be brought back to Rochester and tried for the MacARTHUR theft.
   (unreadable). It seems that she went direct to Front street, after robbing the MacARTHUR house and pawned the watches and other articles. When she was arrested in Dayton, five days later, the pawn tickets were found in her possession and were sent to Rochester. Chief HAYDEN, then Superintendent of Detectives, recovered the property that had been pawned. The cash, of course, was not recovered.
   It is thought that Miss GLEASON will refuse to come to Rochester without extradition proceedings. Another legal contest may come up, from the fact that the woman is wanted in other cities for various offenses.
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INNOCENT BYSTANDER ARRESTED
   Little Raymond CREED was watching two other boys shooting the fascinating game of craps yesterday afternoon, when Patrolman SELLINGER dropped in on the game. The shooters ran away. CREED stood still and the policeman took him. He is 10 years old, and was awfully scared. He lives at Allen and State streets, and after being taken to police headquarters he was sent to the Shelter. Agent KILLIP paroled the child until to-morrow. The crap shooters were busy in the rear of No. 12 Sophia street until SELLINGER showed up. Raymond had 10 cents and some dice in his pockets.
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