More on Installation of "Silent Cop" Traffic Lights and Traffic Semaphores in Pelham in the 1920s

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Pelham has had automobile traffic issues for as long as, well, as long as there have been automobiles.  Indeed, from the earliest years of the twentieth century until today, Pelham lies in the path of tens of thousands of motorists traveling to and from New York City.  In fact, in the years before completion of the Hutchinson River Parkway, I-95, and other major thoroughfares in the region, motorists used roadways such as Boston Post Road and Shore Road to travel along the eastern coastline northeast of New York City.  That meant traffic issues for little Pelham.

As I have noted before, by about the time of World War I, traffic was becoming so heavy on Boston Post Road and accidents were becoming so frequent that a traffic cop was assigned to direct traffic at Red Church Corner, known today as Four Corners (the intersection of Boston Post Road and Pelhamdale Avenue).  Pelham Manor posted John McCormack to handle the duties.  He became known as "Mack," the "Smiling Cop," who became famous and even played himself in a movie.  See Mon., Feb. 24, 2014:  Mack, the Movie Star Traffic Cop of Pelham Manor, 1916-1928.  

During the Roaring Twenties, however, traffic in Pelham exploded.  Two things quickly became clear.  First, traffic was an issue around the clock -- not just during the workday.  Second, intersections throughout all three villages were experiencing a rise in traffic and, in numerous instances, increases in the number of intersection accidents.  It was time to harness the power of "Silent Cops" as early traffic signals were known.

I have written before about installations of so-called "Silent Cops" in Pelham as early as 1922.  See Wed., Nov. 29, 2017:  Pelham Grows Up: Installation of "Silent Cop" Traffic Lights and Traffic Semaphores in the 1920s.  Such Silent Cops at the time took the form of simple traffic lights or simple traffic semaphores, examples of which are pictured below.

1925 Horni Signal Manufacturing Company Traffic Light. 

Early Traffic Semaphore.

By 1927, the use of early traffic lights and traffic semaphores was proving itself effective in Pelham.  Consequently, the community began expanding the use of such signals as traffic continued to grow.  These, however, were not modern, timed, and automated traffic lights.  Rather, they were lights and semaphore lights that were mechanically controlled by a Police Officer who managed traffic on particularly congested thoroughfares like Boston Post Road.

Thus, for example, during the summer of 1927, Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan oversaw installation of three traffic semaphore lights at two problematic Boston Post Road intersections:  Fowler Avenue and Esplanade.

By 1927, in fact, both intersections were problematic.  The Fowler Avenue intersection was particularly bad because, at the time, there was a slight jog in the roadway just to the east of the intersection that created a blind curve along Boston Post Road immediately before the intersection.  There were many accidents at the intersection caused by cars pulling out from Fowler onto Boston Post Road just as vehicles rounded the blind curve and struck them in the intersection.  Indeed, the local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, described the intersection as "a dangerous intersection, with a blind curve just east of it, [that] has been the scene of many accidents."

Esplanade was another problematic intersection.  Vehicles traveling north and south on that busy road would try to scoot across the heavily-congested Boston Post Road causing accidents as well.  In July, 1927, Police Chief Philip Gargan oversaw installation of two traffic semaphore lights at that intersection to control northbound and southbound traffic on Esplanade.  At the same time Chief Gargan oversaw installation of another traffic semaphore light at the Fowler Avenue intersection.

The effect of the three new traffic signals was immediate.  Indeed, the local newspaper seemed almost surprised that there were no accidents at the Fowler Avenue intersection during heavy weekend traffic the weekend of July 23-24 that year.  The newspaper reported:  "The heavy week end traffic was more easily managed with the assistance of the lights which are situated at Fowler avenue and the Esplanade.  There were no reports of accidents at these points which ordinarily present a hazard during heavy traffic hours."

Of course, not all motorists complied with the new signals.  Indeed, even with a police officer operating the signals, some motorists simply blew through red lights and, of course, were ticketed.  Again, as The Pelham Sun reported, "there were those who failed to comply with the code set down by the red and green lights.  Tonight in Pelham Manor police court.  Judge Anthony M. Menkel will impose penalty on several motorists who were served with summonses when they passed traffic signals set against them."

As always, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same, even in the little Town of Pelham. . . . 

*          *          *          *          *

"Boston Road Traffic Lights Prove Successful
-----
No Accidents Reported At Dangerous Intersections After Installation of Light Semaphore
-----

The three new traffic lights recently installed on the Boston road have not been without their effect.  The heavy week end traffic was more easily managed with the assistance of the lights which are situated at Fowler avenue and the Esplanade.  There were no reports of accidents at these points which ordinarily present a hazard during heavy traffic hours.

Although motorists in general observed the signals there were those who failed to comply with the code set down by the red and green lights.  Tonight in Pelham Manor police court.  Judge Anthony M. Menkel will impose penalty on several motorists who were served with summonses when they passed traffic signals set against them.

On the whole Chief of Police Philip Gargan, under whose direction the traffic lights were installed, is highly pleased with the new system.  Fowler avenue, a dangerous intersection, with a blind curve just east of it, has been the scene of many accidents.

It has been necessary to erect two lights at the Esplanade to accommodate traffic on both north and south-bound thoroughfares."

Source:  Boston Road Traffic Lights Prove Successful -- No Accidents Reported At Dangerous Intersections After Installation of Light Semaphore, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 29, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 23, p. 10, col. 2.  

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Pelhamite William T. Grant, Founder of Grant's Dime Stores, Donated Land for Our Lady of Perpetual Help - St. Catharine Parish in 1939

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

The name “William Thomas Grant, Jr.” may sound like a common name, but it once belonged to an uncommon man who lived in Pelham Manor. He was the founder and Chairman of W.T. Grant Co. 

I have written a number of times about W. T. Grant and his company.  See, e.g. William Thomas Grant Jr. and His Estate in Pelham Manor, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 33, Aug. 20, 2004, p. 6, col. 1.

For many decades W.T. Grant Co. was one of the most successful retail chains in the United States. William T. Grant’s success enabled him to build a lovely estate on the north side of Boston Post Road where Our Lady of the Perpetual Help stands today. Grant donated this 4-1/2 acre estate to St. Catharine's for construction of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  Today's Historic Pelham article provides a brief account of W.T. Grant, his company, his ties to Pelham, and the donation of his estate to St. Catharine's.

William Thomas Grant, Jr. was born on June 27, 1876 in Stevensville, Pa. His father bounced happily from failed venture to failed venture including a flour mill in Stevensville that flopped and an unsuccessful tea-store in Fall River, Massachusetts. Yet, as Grant stated in his autobiography published in 1954, his father was “always the optimist” seeing the possibility for “a great business success” in every venture. W.T. Grant’s father never found great business success, but his radiant optimism and desire to create a successful retail establishment passed to his son. 

William Thomas Grant, Jr.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

W.T. Grant had a happy childhood, but remembered in his biography that “there was never a time when the family income was sufficient to give my mother any sense of security” and that “many times” the family “had to move to a home where rent was lower.” 

As a youngster, to help his family, Grant became a hustler in the positive sense. He ran errands for neighbors and friends. He sold flower seeds. He delivered newspapers. He helped the owner of a butter-and-egg wagon. He worked at a drugstore fountain. During this time, he learned one important thing about himself. As he put it, he learned that: “I liked to sell.” 

Unfortunately, Grant liked to sell so much that he failed to focus on his education. He dropped out of high school during the second year. As he put it, he was “fascinated with selling” and his string of jobs after quitting high school reflected that fact. According to one biographer: 

“Grant became an errand boy for a group of Boston lawyers and then worked for a wholesale shoe house in that city and in a warehouse for a whetstone manufacturer in Pike’s Station, N.H. In 1895, he returned to Boston and entered retailing as a clerk in a boot and shoe company, followed by jobs selling shoes in a department store and managing a shoe store in Amesbury, Mass. As a sideline, he promoted prizefights.” 

While working as the manager of the shoe department for Almy, Bigelow and Washburn, a large department store in Salem, Massachusetts, Grant experienced an epiphany. He observed that department store customers bought twenty-five cent items on impulse. His 1954 biography, THE STORY OF W.T. GRANT AND THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BUSINESS HE FOUNDED, says: 

“One Saturday morning I had worked in the shoe department nearly an hour, trying to help a customer to come to a decision, finally making the sale after a dozen fittings. To cool my own exasperation after this chore, I took a turn through the accessories section of the store. Around the jewelry counter, covered with 25-cent items, were five or six women. I saw each one pick up a hat pin, or a brooch or bracelet and put down her quarter. No problem. No sizes. No fitting. No selling effort. Every purchase was an impulse purchase. The salesgirl had only to answer questions and make change. Suddenly I realized that this was the kind of selling I had been looking for! This was merchandise in motion!” 

Grant had observed the popularity of five and ten cent stores. He seemed to believe that there was a niche to be filled: the “25 Cent Store”. In 1906, at the age of 30, he opened his first “25 Cent Store” in Lynn, Massachusetts. By the time he died in 1972 (at the age of 96) his nationwide retailing empire included nearly 1,200 W.T. Grant Co. Stores. Grant’s Years in Pelham During the first year of the operation of his first store in Lynn, Massachusetts, Grant traveled to New York City so frequently on buying trips that he opened a tiny office in the City at 395 Broadway. That tiny office eventually grew to the behemoth national headquarters of the W.T. Grant Co. 

In the early years of his company, Grant worked long hours and opened more stores in the northeast. He handled his own buying for the stores and negotiated leases for each store that he opened.  Within ten years, he had opened thirty-six stores. By 1918 he raised the 25-cent price limit on the retail chain’s merchandise to $1. 

By about this time, W.T. Grant and his wife, Lena Blanche Brownell Grant (whom he married in 1907), were residents of Pelham Manor where they lived for many years. The couple, who adopted two children, built a lovely estate on the north side of Boston Post Road. The estate consisted of about six acres of property on which stood a large Manor House and two smaller houses. Records in the possession of the Library of Congress indicate that work on the estate continued for many years and that the beautifully landscaped grounds were designed by “Lundquist, L., landscape architect.”

W. T. Grant Home That Once Stood in Pelham Manor.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Fountain of the W. T. Grant Estate that Once

Stood in Pelham Manor.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Grant and his first wife divorced and, on September 3, 1930, he married Beth Bradshaw. The couple adopted one child in addition to Grant’s two other adopted children. Grant had homes in Pelham Manor, Cape Cod and Miami but he eventually moved to Greenwich, Connecticut where he lived until his death. 

In about 1937, St. Catharine’s Parish served Catholics throughout the entire Town of Pelham and was experiencing a “rising number of standees at all Masses.” Grant, a Protestant, offered to give his estate to the Archdiocese of New York. According to a history of the church, the initial offer was refused because the diocesan office already had arranged an option on a piece of property at Hazen Street and the Esplanade for a proposed new parish. But, “[d]uring ensuing meetings with the village board of Pelham Manor, the idea met strong opposition, zoning permission was not granted, and eventually the option was dropped.”

St. Catharine’s arranged an intermediary to approach W.T. Grant about his previously offered gift. The approach was successful and on May 27, 1939 a portion of the estate containing the Manor House and the land on which it stood was deeded for $1.00 to St. Catharine’s Parish as the gift of “Wm. T. and Beth B. Grant”. Approvals and legal technicalities required months of effort, but on December 8, 1939, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, at 11:00 a.m., worshipers celebrated the first Mass in a tiny chapel created within the Manor House. 

William and Beth Grant deeded a gift of the remainder of the estate on December 31, 1940. According to a history of the parish, the second gift included: 

“the area now used for parking near the school and two additional houses one of which remains standing today as the parish rectory . . . The second house, which for several years was occupied by [New York Supreme Court Justice Ernest E.L.] Hammer, was later razed for the parking lot.” 

The parish was established as an Out Mission for St. Catharine’s Parish. On November 22, 1954, however, all the property of the Out Mission was transferred from St. Catharine’s Parish to the recently created Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 

The parish quickly remodeled the tiny little chapel. According to a history of the parish published in 1968, the remodeled chapel “became 71 feet long, able to seat 200 people. The Manor House [was] occupied by Monsignor McCormick and his first assistants.” 

The parish expanded its physical plant rapidly. In 1955, Mr. and Mrs. Abdala Barsa gave the parish a half-block piece of property on Fowler Avenue facing Boston Post Road. This became a parking area. In 1956 the Parish purchased a nearby home from Evans Dawson to serve as a convent. In 1958, the parish completed and opened a building designed by Edward Flaegle to serve as a parochial school for children of the parish. 

Today, the Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a vibrant and successful part of the Pelham Community celebrating its fiftieth anniversary year. At least part of its success, as the parish has recognized in one of its publications, is due to “Mr. William T. Grant, a Protestant merchant prince of Scotch ancestry.” 

W.T. Grant served as President of his company until 1924. Thereafter he served as chairman of the board. After the company went public in 1928 he controlled about 25 percent of the stock. In 1966 he retired as chairman at the age of 90, but remained as honorary chairman until his death on August 6, 1972. 

Only three years later, W.T. Grant Co. declared bankruptcy – the largest retailing bankruptcy in history up to that point. According to one biographer “[t]he company, which had so successfully found a retailing niche during the early twentieth century, was unable to do so in the 1970’s. Caught between the rapidly expanding Sears and Penney chains and several new discount houses, W.T. Grant was unable to decide on a retailing focus.”

*          *          *          *          *

"Grant Property In Manor Is Accepted By Church; To Install Chapel There
-----
Consent of Majority of Adjacent Property Owners Required In New Program for Catholic Parish.
-----

The Rev. Henry F. Hammer, Administrator of St. Catherine's [sic] Church in North Pelham announced yesterday that negotiations have been completed for the transfer of the William T. Grant estate in Pelham Manor to the church.  Mr. Grant, president of the William T. Grant Stores, Inc., and former resident of Pelham Manor, has given the 4 1/2 acre piece of property on the Boston Post Road at Fowler avenue and the large colonial manor thereon, to the church.  The property which was for many years occupied by Mr. Grant, is one of the show places of Pelham Manor. 

Father Hammer intends to remodel the mansion at once into a chapel of convenience to take care of the spiritual needs of the Catholics in Pelham Manor and vicinity.  There has been a distinct need, he said, for such a chapel.  The parish church of St. Catherine's [sic] in North Pelham is taxed to capacity at the Sunday services and many of the communicants have been forced to stand in the aisle during devotions, because of the limited facilities of the present church edifice.  The Sunday attendance of the Catholics of Pelham Manor at the new chapel will ease greatly the congestion at St. Catherine's.  

Father Hammer explained that there is no intention of establishing a new parish in Pelham Manor.  The new chapel, when completed, will be operated as a mission of St. Catherine's, under his administratorship, and will be attended by the priests of St. Catherine's with such additions to the staff as may be necessary.

The site of the new chapel is in a highly restricted residential zone in Pelham Manor, but Father Hammer has been assured that there will be no opposition on the part of neighboring property owners, and that the necessary consent of two-thirds of the property owners within 1,000 feet of the property can be obtained.  Committees of women and men of the parish have already been organized to gather the signatures.

Work will begin immediately on the remodeling of the mansion and it is hoped that services will be held in the new chapel on the first Sunday in September."

Source:  Grant Property In Manor Is Accepted By Church; To Install Chapel There -- Consent of Majority of Adjacent Property Owners Required In New Program for Catholic Parish, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 2, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 9, p. 1, col. 3.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

1902 Report on Activities of The First Pelham Country Club on Fowler Avenue

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

During a meeting held on May 12, 1898, Pelham residents organized what is known today as the "First Pelham Country Club."  The club is not related either to today's Pelham Country Club or to the club that once stood along Shore Road known simply as "the Country Club."  Rather, the First Pelham Country Club eventually became today's Wykagyl Country Club in the City of New Rochelle. 

Immediately after its organization, the First Pelham Country Club constructed six holes of golf.  Within a short time the club added three additional holes for a nine-hole golf course.  The club built the course on leased land along today's Fowler Avenue.  The course extended from Colonial Avenue to Boston Post Road.  The club used a residence that stood on the land near Colonial Avenue as a clubhouse.  By 1904, the club secured land to open a larger course in New Rochelle.  The club became today's Wykagyl Country Club.

A map published in 1899 shows the golf course.  A detail from that map showing the course appears below.  According to the map, the club named each of the nine holes of the course.  The clubhouse stood near the intersection of today's Fowler Avenue and Colonial Avenue.  The first hole was named "Old Boston Post Road" and ran parallel to Colonial Avenue.  The first tee was next to the clubhouse.  There were two bunkers in the first fairway with the green adjacent to Colonial Avenue not far from the border with New Rochelle.

The second hole was named "Sycamore."  Its tee was not far from the green of the first hole near Colonial Avenue.  The fairway of the second hole proceeded from Colonial Avenue toward Boston Post Road, extending about half the distance between the two roads.  It included two bunkers across the fairway.  The third hole, named "Orchard," ran parallel to Boston Post Road with its tee box near the border with New Rochelle and its green adjacent to Boston Post Road.  There were no bunkers along the fairway of the third hole, but there were terraces near the green.  

The fourth hole, named "Turnpike," had a tee box inland next to the last third of the fairway for the third hole.  The terraces across the third hole fairway extended sufficiently inland so that the "inland" end of the terraces crossed the fairway of the fourth hole as a hazard for that hole as well.  The green for the fourth hole was adjacent to the Boston Turnpike not far from today's intersection of that roadway with Fowler Avenue.

The fifth hole was named "Glen" because it ran through a gentle valley parallel to the location of today's Fowler Avenue toward a small lake that stood about halfway between Boston Post Road and Colonial Avenue.  There was a single bunker near the green that stood just shy of the lake.  The sixth hole was named "Lake."  Its tee box was adjacent to the green of the fifth hole its fairway ran roughly parallel to the location of today's Fowler Avenue, with the lake serving as a hazard along the fairway.  There also was a bunker immediately before the sixth green that stood near the clubhouse.  Thus, the first six holes roughly followed the perimeter of the rectangular property leased by the club.  The remaining three holes formed a rough triangle within that rectangle.

The seventh hole was named "Forest."  Its tee box was near the green of the sixth hole so that a portion of the bunker in front of the sixth green extended across the fairway just in front of the seventh hole.  The fairway extended diagonally across the interior of the property roughly toward Boston Post Road at the New Rochelle border.  

The eighth hole was named  "Oaktree."  Its fairway was roughly parallel to the fairway of the second hole, extending from its tee box near the fairway of the third hole and proceeding toward Colonial Avenue.  There were two bunkers in the eighth fairway.

The ninth and final hole was named "Home."  It ran very roughly parallel to the first hole.  Its tee box was near the eighth green.  The fairway extended toward the clubhouse with two bunkers crossing the fairway as hazards.

"PELHAM COUNTRY CLUB GOLF LINKS" From Map

Published in 1899.  The Road on the Left is Boston

Post Road.  The Small Road on the Right is Colonial

Avenue.  Source:  Fairchild, John F., "Town of

Pelham Plate 22" in Atlas of the City of Mount Vernon

and the Town of Pelham, Plate 22 (Mount Vernon, NY:

John F. Fairchild, 1899).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

In 1902 the local Mount Vernon newspaper published a report on planned improvements at the Pelham Country Club including plans to widen and lengthen the course to give "better turf and greater playing distance."

The same report indicated that negotiations were then underway to lease additional property to permit construction of a "base ball field" for the "Country Club nine" and to build a "squash-court building" with accommodations for indoor ping-pong and shuffleboard.  It does not appear that any additional property was leased, nor that any such "squash-court building" was built.  

The report further announced that beginning on Decoration Day (today's Memorial Day), the club would be serving dinner to its members and their guests "on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays."

Only two years after this report, the First Pelham Country Club was unable to renew its lease for the property and began its move to New Rochelle as the Wykagyl Country Club.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of the report published in The Daily Argus of Mount Vernon.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"PELHAM COUNTRY CLUB.
-----

The management begs to announce that improvements in the links are now under way, as the result of which the course will be widened and lengthened, giving better turf and greater playing distance.

The links is in better condition today than it has ever been before at this time of year and we anticipate putting and fair greens of exceptional quality during the season.  

The schedule of handicap and scratch events is being made up and will include five-men matches with prominent local clubs.

Negotiations are pending for the lease of additional property, to be converted into a base ball field, which we hope may be the scene of many victories for the Country Club nine.

The erection of a 'squash-court' building, containing accommodations as well for 'ping-pong, shuffleboard and other indoor sports, is under consideration and will be built if sufficient interest is shown.

A club dinner will be served to members and their guests at the Club house on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, commencing Friday, May 30 (Decoration Day).

We hope to receive the cordial and hearty support of every member in our efforts to make the Club agreeable and attractive.

A new tennis court has been added to the outfit and a lot secured upon which a new club house will be erected in the fall.

E. M. Fowler, chairman house committee; A. K. Alexander, chairman greens committee."

Source:  PELHAM COUNTRY CLUB, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 5, 1902, p. 6, col. 2.  

*          *          *          *          *

I have written before about the First Pelham Country Club that became the Wykagyl Country Club.  See, e.g.:

Mon., Jan. 11, 2010:  The First Pelham Country Club's Plans for a July 4, 1898 Opening of its New Nine-Hole Golf Course Accessible by a New Trolley Line. 

Thu., Nov. 26, 2009:  The First "Pelham Country Club" Established in 1898 Built a Nine-Hole Golf Course in Pelham in 1898.  

Bell, Blake, The Early Days of Golf in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 36, Sep. 10, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Murder on Fowler Avenue in 1908

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

A brief account of a murder that occurred at the home of Paul A. Heubner of Fowler Avenue in the Village of Pelham Manor in 1908 appeared in the January 2, 1909 issue of the New Rochelle Pioneer.  The account is transcribed below.

"KIRK HELD FOR GRAND JURY
-----

White Plains, Dec. 24. -- Following the inquest which was held into the death of Dennis Lee, gardener for Paul A. Heubner, of Fowler avenue, Pelham Manor, who was found murdered in the furnace room of the stable in the rear of Mr. Heubner's residence at noon on December 7, John Kirk, the coachman for Mr. Heubner, who was locked up in the county jail at White Plains since the murder, was formally charged with homicide by Coroner Weisendanger yesterday, when the inquest was concluded, and was held to await the action of the grand jury.

When the Coroner announced his verdict, Kirk, who was sitting in the grand jury room where the inquest was held, broke down and wept.  At the other sessions of the inquest Kirk did not seem to realize the seriousness of his predicament.  At the session held last week, he seemed to be confident that the finding of the coroner would be in his favor, and on one occasion laughed heartily at some of the statements made by one of the witnesses.  Yesterday when he took his seat in the grand jury room, Kirk looked pale and haggard, his air of confidence was completely gone and he seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation.  He has lost considerable weight since he was incarcerated. 

It is now believed that the crime was premeditated.

During the various sessions of the inquest Kirk has made no statements.  Attorney Sydney A. Syme represents him.  Coroner-elect Boedecker was present at yesterday's session, noting the procedure of the inquiry."

Source:  Kirk Held for Grand Jury, New Rochelle Pioneer, Jan. 2, 1909, p. ?, col. 1 (page number not printed on newspaper page).

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.