An Infamous Brutal Assault and Murder of a Pelham Manor Schoolgirl in 1884

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During the late 1870s and early 1880s, vagrants were hopping onto trains leaving New York City and hopping off in Pelham to beg, house-to-house, from local residents.  Petty crimes involving such vagrants were a constant problem.  Occasionally, vagrants were involved in serious crimes and brutal assaults on Pelham residents.

Known at the time as "tramps," these vagrants became such a problem in Pelham Manor that the residents of that settlement formed the "Pelham Manor Protective Club," a vigilance committee that served to police the community and that served as the forerunner to village government when the settlement organized as the Village of Pelham Manor in 1891.  

One particularly brutal crime involving "tramps" occurred on June 10, 1882.  That day a German woman named Kate Folz was walking along the tracks of the New Haven Branch Line on her way, by foot, from Connecticut to New York City. She worked as a servant in Stamford and in Greenwich. She carried a carpet bag filled with clothing. 

Kate Folz finally reached a rather desolate and unpopulated area known as Pelham Woods near Pelham's border with New Rochelle between the New Haven Branch Line and the Pelham border. There, where the railroad tracks crossed Boston Post Road, she encountered a local gang of five young ruffians from New Rochelle, some of whom already had criminal records and had served jail time. The brutal encounter that followed became fodder for a host of newspaper reports throughout the region and a massive manhunt to track down the ruffians. 

The gang robbed Ms. Folz of her earrings. They tore up her carpet bag as they searched for valuables and destroyed the clothing within. They demanded money and forced the poor woman to beg for her life. They stole nearly all the money she had, a little more than seven dollars. The thugs next assaulted her repeatedly.  

Within two days the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club met and appointed one of its members to investigate what became known, euphemistically, as the "outrage."  I have written before about this brutal assault on Kate Folz.  See Tue., Feb. 21, 2017:  The June 10, 1882 "Outrage" that Enraged the Pelham Manor Protective Club.  

Barely two years later, Pelham Manor and the Pelham Manor Protective Club were faced with an even more shocking and brutal assault on the young fourteen-year-old daughter of a Pelham Manor resident.  Early on the morning of Friday, May 23, young Nora Walsh (daughter of Patrick Walsh who later moved to Pelhamwood and operated a local dairy that supplied butter, milk, and other dairy products to residents of North Pelham, Pelham Manor, and New Rochelle), left her home to walk to school from Pelham Manor to New Rochelle along Boston Post Road.  She never made it to school that day.

Patrick Walsh and his family operated a farm along Boston Post Road in Pelham Manor.  Nora Walsh left the farmhouse that morning to walk along Boston Post Road to her school, the Sisters' School at New Rochelle.

When the little girl did not return home by the early evening, a frantic search began.  Family, friends, and others searched throughout the entire evening, the night, and part of the next morning.  That following morning, searchers found little Nora Walsh in a meadow on the edge of woods located along Boston Post Road less than a quarter mile from her home and about a mile south of the border between Pelham Manor and New Rochelle.  The little girl had lain face up in the sun all day on Friday and was sunburned.  It was nearly thirty hours before searchers led by one of her cousins from Larchmont found her.

Nora's hands were tied behind her back and her feet were bound, all with ribbons torn from the little girl's hat.  When found, her mouth was still stuffed with green leaves to serve as a gag.  Though alive, she was found in an "insensible condition."  Her wrists were badly cut by the ribbons that tightly bound them behind her back.  Her face was badly swollen from being beaten.

Local authorities were notified and the poor girl was taken to her home for treatment.  Various witnesses reported seeing two young men in the area of the meadow where little Nora was found.  The men were described as young tramps.

Deputy Sheriff Malloy of New Rochelle led a law enforcement group that began searching for the pair of tramps.  Later in the day the officers observed two young men near the New Haven Main Line railroad tracks in New Rochelle.  As the officers approached, the two men split and fled in different directions.  After a brief pursuit, the officers arrested both men.

The men were German.  Though they spoke English, they spoke it  with some difficulty and with thick German accents.  The two gave their names as John Derser and Frederick Hilthouse.  They were taken to the Westchester County Jail in White Plains.  

An arraignment was scheduled on Monday, May 26, 1884.  At the appointed time, the courtroom was packed with a mob of angry citizens who were admonished by the Judge to hold their tempers and tongues during the proceeding.  Incredibly, when the proceeding began, farmer Patrick Walsh of Pelham Manor led his brutalized and badly-injured little daughter to the witness stand to testify.  The entire courtroom murmured in sympathy as she climbed to the stand with her bruised and swollen face and brutalized body.

The brave little girl testified that as she walked along Boston Post Road to school the previous Friday, while only 200 yards from her farm, she was attacked from behind by two men.  One covered her eyes and mouth with his hands while the other grabbed and lifted her.  The pair carried her over a stone fence into a meadow near woods.  They began to brutalize her.  They tore the ribbons from her hat and bound her hands and feet.  They robbed her of the forty five cents she carried in her pocket.  One of the men struck her in the face with his fist.  

Nora remembered very little else.  She remembered one important thing, however.  The men were German with thick German accents.  The men were held without bail and returned to the Westchester County Jail in White Plains.  

All of Pelham was outraged.  The Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club kicked into overdrive.  It assembled for a meeting on June 2, 1884 and took a host of actions intended to deal, once again, with the problem of tramps in Pelham Manor.  

The minutes book of the Pelham Manor Protective Club, held in the collections of the Westchester County Historical Society, reflect what happened at the Executive Committee meeting held that evening at the home of George H. Reynolds that once stood where today's Weihman Park is located on the northeast corner of Boston Post Road and Esplanade.  Executive Committee members George H. Reynolds, Robert C. Black, William E. Barnett, Thomas D. De Witt, and David M. Johnson were present.

Appropriately, the meeting began with the Committee voting to pay a local Pelham Manor resident a ten dollar reward for the arrest and subsequent conviction of a tramp named John McMahon in connection with an unrelated offense.  Then the Committee turned to the important business of the evening.  

First, the Committee levied a two dollar assessment against all members to fund additional operations.  Then, the Committee authorized publication of a pamphlet for distribution to all members that focused, among other things, on the problem of tramps.  The Committee authorized the inclusion of the following text in that pamphlet:

"“Members of this Club have in the past been more or less annoyed by tramps, but as some members have failed to make prompt reports of these annoyances to the Executive Committee and as the offences have only incidentally and long afterward come to the knowledge of the Committee, a number of the offenders have escaped with impunity. It is the earnest desire of the Committee to prosecute tramps and every criminal committing any punishable offence within the territorial jurisdiction of the Club. This end cannot be attained without the active coöperation of all the Club members. For the purpose, therefore, of securing such cooperation and making the Club efficient in accomplishing the objects for which it was organized, the Committee thinks fit and proper to offer the following suggestions: 

1. As to Tramps – They are defined by statute as “persons who rove from place to place begging” and also as “vagrants living without labor or visible means of support.” “A person who, not having visible means to maintain himself, lives without employment,” or “a person wandering abroad and begging, or who goes about from door to door or places himself in the streets, highways, passages, or other public places to beg or to receive alms,” or “a person wandering abroad and lodging in out houses, sheds, stables, barns or uninhabited buildings, or in the open air, and and [sic] not giving a good account of himself,” is a tramp or vagrant. 

Any offender coming within either of the foregoing definitions may be arrested by a private person without a warrant where the act of vagrancy has been committed in his presence. The person so making an arrest, however, should first inform the vagrant of the cause of his arrest and require him to submit, and then without unnessary [sic] delay take the offender before a Justice of the Peace or deliver him to a constable. 

Members of the Club are particularly requested not in any case to give or consent to the giving of food, clothing or money to tramps but, on the contrary, to arrest them or cause their arrest forthwith. 

2. As to reporting Crimes. – Members are requested to diligently report to this Committee any crime or misdemeanor, however trivial, committed within a mile radius of Pelham Manor Depot. If a tramp is arrested and handed over to a peace officer or taken before a magistrate report that fact. If a tramp escapes arrest report the circumstances, together with a description of him as near as may be. If any grave crime or misdemeanor is committed get word to the Committee at the earliest possible moment, whether in the day time or at any hour of the night, and whether the criminal has escaped or not. An accurate description of the person and dress of the criminal will be of the highest importance in cases of escape, and in every case the utmost care should be taken not to disturb any clues, however slight, which might by any possibility, lead to the detection of the criminal. 

In the absence of the Club member from home, let some member of his family or a servant give information as above. 

Reports may be left at the residence of either member of the Executive Committee, or with the Postmaster at Pelham Manor. 

3. As to the Prosecution of Offenders. – The Executive Committee, upon being informed of the presence of any tramp or the commission of any crime or misdemeanor within the limits above mentioned, will at once take in hand the matter of detecting, arresting and prosecuting the offender. 

4. Telephone. – A telephone connecting with New Rochelle and New York will soon be placed in Pelham Manor Depot in the name of the Protective Club, which may be used by any member for the purpose, in case of necessity, of obtaining assistance as against vagrants and other criminals, and for other purposes. 

5. As to the names and residences of the Peace Officers, etc. of the Town of Pelham. – 

The Constables are: 

William H. Sparks, Jr.       Residing at.         Pelhamville 
James Anderson.                  “ “                    City Island 
Henry Zuner.                         “ “                           “ “      
Valentine Hall.                      “ “                            “ “ 
Frederick Case.                    “ “                     Pelhamville 

And the Justices of the Peace are: 

Jerome Bell.                     Residing at           City Island 
Thomas Martin,                    “ “                             “ “ 
Michael Hogan.                    “ “                      Bartow 
Edw’d A. Peterson.              “ “                      Pelhamville” 

In the very next meeting of the Executive Committee, held on July 9, 1884, the committee members authorized payment of a bill from the Westchester Telephone Company for $20.20, likely related to installation of the telephone connection with New York City and New Rochelle that the Committee planned to have installed in the Pelham Manor Depot for the purpose "of obtaining assistance as against vagrants and other criminals, and for other purposes."  Thus, it would appear that the terrible outrage suffered by 13-year-old Nora Walsh of Pelham Manor on May 23, 1884 was directly responsible for installation of what was the first telephone (or one of the first telephones) installed in the Town of Pelham.  See, generally: 

Wed., Aug. 23, 2017:  Early History of the Telephone in the Town of Pelham.

Tue., May 03, 2016:  More on the Earliest Installations of Telephones in the Town of Pelham.

Mon., Mar. 24, 2014:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham? When and Where Was it Installed?

Mon., Dec. 21, 2009:  More on What May Have Been the First Telephone Installed in Pelham.

Tue., Mar. 29, 2005:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor?  

After little Nora Walsh testified at the arraignment of the two young tramps accused of brutalizing her, little Nora returned to her family's farmhouse where she was bedridden.  As the weeks passed, her condition worsened.  One report described her as in constant "terror" of further violence as her health deteriorated significantly, likely due to head injuries.  On Monday, August 11, fourteen-year-old Nora Walsh of Pelham Manor died of injuries she sustained during the brutal attack on May 23rd.  One report promptly noted that the two young tramps, still held in the Westchester County Jail, likely would be indicted for murder.

Dozens and dozens of articles appeared in newspapers throughout the United States about the brutal attack on little Nora Walsh in Pelham Manor.  While it would be more satisfying to know if the miscreants who murdered the little girl were convicted and justly punished, a great deal of research has yet to reveal the fate of the two men jailed as suspects.  Though time likely will reveal the answer, for now Pelhamites may only bow their heads in memory of little Pelhamite Nora Walsh who lost her life due to a brutal assault along Boston Post Road in 1884.

Detail from 1881 Bromley Map Showing Boston Post Road Area in

Pelham Manor Where Nora Walsh Was Assaulted Three Years Later.

The Map Does Not Reflect the Location of the Walsh Farm.  Source:

"Town of Pelham (With) Pelham-Manor From Actual Surveys and Official

Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers. Published by Geo.

W. & Walter S. Bromley, 1881)" in Atlas of Westchester County, New

York, From Actual Surveys and Official Records by G. W. Bromley & Co.,

Civil Engineers, pp. 56-57 (NY, NY: Geo. W. & Walter S. Bromley, 1881).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"A SCHOOL GIRL ASSAULTED.
-----

Little Nora Walsh, fourteen years old, was found gagged, and assaulted by two tramps at Pelham, last Friday morning.  The poor child lay helpless, with her face exposed to the glaring sun all day Friday, and was not found till Saturday morning.  The excited farmers in the neighborhood can be readily excused for threats of immediate vengeance.  The only proper and natural punishment for such a crime is unknown to the law, but if there is ever an excuse for summary measures, this is a case in point.  We know it is a dangerous precedent for the people to take the law into their own hands, but if the father of this child should take it upon himself to avenge her wrongs in a proper manner, we think no jury could be found of whose verdict he need be afraid."

Source:  A SCHOOL GIRL ASSAULTED, The Port Chester Journal [Port Chester, NY], May 29, 1884, Vol. XVI, No. 810, p. 3, col. 2.  

"NORA WALSH'S NARRATIVE.
-----
THE CHILD TELLS HOW THE TWO MEN BOUND, ROBBED AND ASSAULTED HER.

The two men who were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Malloy at New Rochelle on a charge of assaulting the schoolgirl Nora Walsh, of Pelham, Westchester county, on Friday morning, were arraigned yesterday before Police Justice Kene at New Rochelle.  The court room was filled with excited men, who were inclined to show hostility to the prisoners, but they were warned by the Court to keep quiet under pain of arrest.

The prisoners described themselves as John Dersrer and Frederick Felthouse.  They are rough looking Germans, speaking English imperfectly.  They told several contradictory stories as to where they belonged.

The little girl had so far recovered as to be able to appear in court.  When she was helped to the witness stand by her father, a farmer, a murmur of sympathy ran through the audience.  The right side of the child's face was badly swollen, where she said one of the men struck her with his fist.  Her wrists bore the deep discolored impression of the ribbon strings from her missing hat, which had cut into the flesh as she lay for nearly thirty hours bound hand and foot in the meadow.  In a low but clear voice she told the story -- all that she remembered -- of the assault.  She said that two men came up behind her.  One placed his hands over her eyes and mouth and the other took her by her hands and feet and bore her over the fence.  Her mouth was filled with green leaves and the ribbons were torn from her hat and used to bind her hands behind her.  Then forty-five cents in change was taken from her pocket and one of the men struck her a violent blow with his fist, which caused her mouth to bleed.  Her apron was produced, upon which were many blood spots.  After this the child said she could remember nothing.  She heard the men going away, but was too weak to see them or to attempt to rise.  Some time afterward, she did not remember how long, she recovered consciousness and tried to get up, but could not.  It was dark and she heard voices near by.  She then lost consciousness and remembered nothing more until Saturday morning, when her cousin James Neville, found her.

Mr. Neville, a young man who resides at Larchmont, testified that he found the girl on Saturday morning in the meadow near the Boston turnpike, two miles south of New Rochelle, and almost within sight of her father's house; she was bound hand and foot with the ribbons from her hat; there were at least a dozen knots in the thongs about her wrists; the child was in a semi-conscious condition and was frothing at her mouth.

Dr. Finch testified as to the child's injuries.  

Mr. L. P. Randall, Dr. A. St. John Sheppard and a boy named Keogh each testified to having seen the prisoners on Friday lurking in the vicinity of the meadow.

The men were committed without bail to await the actions of the Grand Jury."

Source:  NORA WALSH'S NARRATIVE -- THE CHILD TELLS HOW THE TWO MEN BOUND, ROBBED AND ASSAULTED HER, N.Y. Herald, May 27, 1884, p. 5, col. 5.  

"Nora Walsh, 13 years old, the daughter of Patrick Walsh, of Pelham Manor, was brutally assaulted while on her way to school in New Rochelle on Friday morning last.  As she did not return in the evening a search was made for her continuing through the night and until following morning.  She was found in an insensible condition in the edge of woods about a mile south of New Rochelle, near the Boston turnpike.  Her hands were tied behind her, and a gag made of leaves was in her mouth.  Two young tramps were committed to jail, in White Plains on suspicion of being the perpetrators of the outrage.  They have been fully identified, and the case will be presented to the Grand Jury."

Source:  [Untitled], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 30, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 767, p. 3, col. 4.  

"CRIMES AND CASUALTIES. . . .

Nora Walsh, aged 14, is dying at Pelham, from the effects of a brutal assault committed by two young tramps.  Two arrests have been made. . . ."

Source:  CRIMES AND CASUALTIES, Oswego Times and Express, May 26, 1884, Vol. 41, No. 99, p. 1, col. 4.  

“CITY AND SUBURBAN NEWS. . . 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Nora Walsh, 14 years old, the daughter of Patrick Walsh, a farmer in Pelham, was brutally assaulted while on her way to school in New-Rochelle on Friday morning. As she did not return home in the evening a search was made for her on the following morning. She was found in an insensible condition two miles south of New-Rochelle, near the Boston turnpike. Her hands were tied behind her, and a gag made of leaves was in her mouth. Two young tramps were committed to jail, in White Plains, on suspicion of being the perpetrators of the outrage.” 

CITY AND SUBURBAN NEWS. . . WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. Times, May 26, 1884, p. 8, col. 4 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"BRUTAL WORK OF TRAMPS.
-----
A Young School Girl Shockingly Treated Near New Rochelle.

NEW YORK, May 27. -- A dastardly assault was perpetrated by two unknown tramps on a defenseless school girl in the town of Pelham, Westchester county, on Friday morning last, the particulars of which have just come to light.  The victim is Nora Walsh, fourteen years old, daughter of Farmer Patrick Walsh.  She was a pupil in the Catholic parish school conducted by Rev. Father McLaughlin, near New Rochelle, and left her home on Friday morning at 8:15 o'clock for the institution.  Thirty hours later she was found gagged, bound and in an unconscious condition in a meadow about 200 yards distant from her father's residence.

No alarm was felt for the girl's safety until near evening, as she had to walk two miles going and returning along the old Boston turnpike, but upon inquiries being made of school teachers it was ascertained that she had not attended school during the day.  Inquiries were then made along the road, and searching parties were organized and scoured the country in every direction, using lanterns and torches.  The prisoners were arrested on the railroad track about a mile above New Rochelle.  When they discovered that officers were in pursuit they separated and tried to escape.  They said that they were in New York when the crime was committed, and gave the names of persons with whom they professed to have boarded, but inquiry failed to establish the truth of their story."

Source:  BRUTAL WORK OF TRAMPS -- A Young School Girl Shockingly Treated Near New Rochelle, The Glens Falls Daily Times, May 28, 1884, Vol. X, No. 110, p. 4, col. 7.  

"THE WORK OF TWO MISCREANTS.
-----
A SCHOOL GIRL VICTIM OF A BRUTAL ASSAULT DIES OF THE EFFECTS.

Nora Walsh, a school girl of Pelham, Westchester county, who was assaulted by two ruffians near New Rochelle on May 23 last, died on Saturday last from the injuries she received, and now John Derser and Frederick Hilthouse, the two tramps in the Westchester county jail who are accused of the crime, are in danger of being indicted for murder.

The girl was fourteen years of age, and started to walk to the Sisters' School of New Rochelle, distant about a mile and a half from her father's farmhouse.  About a quarter mile from home, on the open highway, she was seized from behind by two men, one of whom put his hands over her mouth and eyes while the other bore her over a stone wall into a field.  There she was gagged, bound, robbed and assaulted, and left helpless upon the ground.  The ribbons from her hat were taken off to bind her hands and feet.  She was robbed of forty-five cents in change, her mouth was stuffed with leaves to prevent her from screaming, and she was left to her fate.  

The poor child lay there all day and all night until ten o'clock the next morning, when she was found by a searching party more dead than alive.  On that day the two tramps, whose names appear above were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Malloy and identified by several witnesses as having been seen in the vicinity about the time the deed was committed.  The girl could not identify them because she did not see them, but distinctly swore that her assailants were Germans, for she heard them speak.  The prisoners are German.

Little Nora, after giving her testimony against the prisoners, who were committed to await the action of the Grand Jury on May 27, was taken home, where she began to sink from nervous exhaustion.  She was finally prostrated and confined to her bed.  After a lingering illness of about four weeks, during which she seemed to be in terror of violence, she passed away.  The prisoners' defense is an alibi."

Source:  THE WORK OF TWO MISCREANTS -- A SCHOOL GIRL VICTIM OF A BRUTAL ASSAULT DIES OF THE EFFECTS, N.Y. Herald, Aug. 12, 1884, p. 8, col. 6.

*          *          *          *          *

The following is from the official minutes book of the "Pelham Manor Protective Club" and reflects a meeting of the Executive Committee of that club held June 2, 1884, only a few days after the brutal assault on little Nora Walsh of Pelham Manor.

"[Page 71 – June 2, 1884] 

A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club, was held at the residence of G. H. Reynolds, June 2nd 1884. 

Present: Messrs. Reynolds, Black, Barnett, De Witt and Johnson. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. 

On motion, the Treasurer was authorized to pay Edward Kelley’s bill of ten dollars for the arrest and conviction of John McMahon, a tramp. 

The following resolution was offered by Mr. Black and on motion was carried. 

[Page 72 – June 2, 1884] 

Resolved: That as the Pelham Manor Protective Club require money to meet current expenses, and as the members have not been called upon for either dues or assessments during the past eighteen months, an assessment of two dollars upon each member, be made payable on or before July 1st 1884, and the Treasurer is hereby instructed to collect the same. 

Mess. [sic] Barnett and De Witt, the committee on Pamphlet of Instructions reported that they thought the pamphlet should contain, first, the Articles of Association of the Club, second the following suggestions to members. 

“Members of this Club have in the past been more or less annoyed by tramps, but as some members have failed to make prompt reports of these annoyances to the Executive Committee and as the offences have only incidentally and long afterward come to the knowledge of the Committee, a number of the offenders have escaped with impunity. It is the earnest desire of the Committee to prosecute tramps and every criminal committing any punishable offence within the territorial jurisdiction of the Club. This end cannot be attained without the active coöperation of all the Club members. For the purpose, therefore, of securing such cooperation and making the Club efficient in 

[Page 73 – June 2, 1884] 

accomplishing the objects for which it was organized, the Committee thinks fit and proper to offer the following suggestions: 

1. As to Tramps – They are defined by statute as “persons who rove from place to place begging” and also as “vagrants living without labor or visible means of support.” “A person who, not having visible means to maintain himself, lives without employment,” or “a person wandering abroad and begging, or who goes about from door to door or places himself in the streets, highways, passages, or other public places to beg or to receive alms,” or “a person wandering abroad and lodging in out houses, sheds, stables, barnes or uninhabited buildings, or in the open air, and and [sic] not giving a good account of himself,” is a tramp or vagrant. 

Any offender coming within either of the foregoing definitions may be arrested by a private person without a warrant where the act of vagrancy has been committed in his presence. The person so making an arrest, however, should first inform the vagrant of the cause of his arrest and require him to submit, and then without unnessary [sic] delay take the offender before a Justice of the Peace or deliver him to a constable. 

Members of the Club are particularly requested not in any case to give or consent to 

[Page 74 – June 2, 1884] 

the giving of food, clothing or money to tramps but, on the contrary, to arrest them or cause their arrest forthwith. 

2. As to reporting Crimes. – Members are requested to diligently report to this Committee any crime or misdemeanor, however trivial, committed within a mile radius of Pelham Manor Depot. If a tramp is arrested and handed over to a peace officer or taken before a magistrate report that fact. If a tramp escapes arrest report the circumstances, together with a description of him as near as may be. If any grave crime or misdemeanor is committed get word to the Committee at the earliest possible moment, whether in the day time or at any hour of the night, and whether the criminal has escaped or not. An accurate description of the person and dress of the criminal will be of the highest importance in cases of escape, and in every case the utmost care should be taken not to disturb any clues, however slight, which might by any possibility, lead to the detection of the criminal. 

In the absence of the Club member from home, let some member of his family or a servant give information as above. 

Reports may be left at the residence of either member of the Executive Committee, 

[Page 75 – June 2, 1884] 

or with the Postmaster at Pelham Manor. 

3. As to the Prosecution of Offenders. – The Executive Committee, upon being informed of the presence of any tramp or the commission of any crime or misdemeanor within the limits above mentioned, will at once take in hand the matter of detecting, arresting and prosecuting the offender. 

4. Telephone. – A telephone connecting with New Rochelle and New York will soon be placed in Pelham Manor Depot in the name of the Protective Club, which may be used by any member for the purpose, in case of necessity, of obtaining assistance as against vagrants and other criminals, and for other purposes. 

5. As to the names and residences of the Peace Officers, etc. of the Town of Pelham. – 

The Constables are: 

William H. Sparks, Jr.       Residing at.         Pelhamville 
James Anderson.                  “ “                    City Island 
Henry Zuner.                         “ “                           “ “      
Valentine Hall.                      “ “                            “ “ 
Frederick Case.                    “ “                     Pelhamville 

And the Justices of the Peace are: 

Jerome Bell.                     Residing at           City Island 
Thomas Martin,                    “ “                             “ “ 
Michael Hogan.                    “ “                      Bartow 
Edw’d A. Peterson.              “ “                      Pelhamville” 

[Page 76 – June 2, 1884] 

The report was accepted, and the Treasurer was instructed to have one hundred copies of the pamphlet printed. 

The Chairman and Secretary were authorized to arrange with the Westchester Telephone Company for a Telephone at Pelham Manor Depot for the use of the members of the Club. Mr. De Witt presented his resignation as a member of the Executive Committee to take effect July 1st. Accepted. 

On motion adjourned. 

D M Johnson Clerk. 

A meeting of the Executive of the Pelham Manor Protective Club, was held July 9th 1884, at the residence of W. E. Barnett. 

Present: Messrs. Black, Reynolds, Barnett and Johnson. 

On motion, the regular order of business was suspended, and the Committee balloted to fill the vacancy in the Executive Committee, occasioned by the resignation of Mr. De Witt. Wm Allen Smith was unanamously [sic] elected. Messrs. Barnett and Black were appointed a committee to wait upon 

[Page 77 – July 9, 1884]

Mr. Smith, inform him of his election, and request him to meet with us this evening. Mr. Smith came in with the committee and was present during the remainder of this session. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read and adopted. 

The Treasurer presented a bill of the Westchester Telephone Company for $20.20, which was ordered paid. 

The following persons were on motion, elected members of the Club: D. I. Carson, Jno R. Beecroft, Dr. C. F. Heywood , B. T. Kirby, E. R. Bertine , and G. Osmar Reynolds. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

D M Johnson Clerk."

Source:  RECORDS OF THE PELHAM MANOR PROTECTIVE CLUB OF PELHAM MANOR N. Y., pp. 71-77 (Handwritten leather bound volume in the collections of the Westchester County Historical Society, Dec. 15, 1881 - Jan. 8, 1891).  

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More on "The King of Pelham" -- The Most Ornery Bull Ever Kept in Pelham

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He was called "The King of Pelham."  He was big.  He was mean.  He was the most ornery Holstein bull ever kept in Pelham.  He ruled the pasture located on the property of Colonel Richard Lathers adjacent to Lathers Woods.  The property later became what we know today as Pelhamwood.  The story of The King of Pelham is a tragic one that reminds us of days of yore when large farms dotted the North Pelham countryside.

I have written before about the ornery bull called "The King of Pelham," saying:

"The Walsh family supplied butter, milk, and other dairy products to residents of North Pelham, Pelham Manor, and New Rochelle. The dairy farm included a large pasture and cattle barn. The pasture was enclosed by stone walls and, in some parts, by a wire fence. Patrick Walsh followed a daily routine. Each morning he opened his cattle barn and drove his cattle into the pasture to graze. Every afternoon he went to the pasture and drove the cattle back to the barn. The King of Pelham, however, was a different matter. He was so mean and ornery that Patrick Walsh had to keep him chained while in the pasture. Walsh often kept the old bull tethered to a forty-feet long chain for his own protection and that of his family. According to a report in the New-York Tribune published on July 14, 1900, 'the bull had a reputation in the neighborhood for being vicious' and 'it was a menace to the neighborhood.'"

Source:  Wed., May 11, 2016:  "The King of Pelham" -- Pelham's Most Ornery Bull That Chased Pelhamites and, in the End, Killed His Owner.  

Today's Historic Pelham article details more about one of the many incidents that gave The King of Pelham his ugly reputation while reminding us of a time when much of Pelham remained rural farmland marked by croplands, dairy farms, and orchards.  Though The King eventually killed his owner, dairy farmer Patrick Walsh, today's article tells the story of The King and a pair of young Belles who dared to take a shortcut across The King's pasture, thinking the bull was chained as usual.  

September 4, 1898 seemed no different in Pelham than any other day.  Miss Ethel Fairchild was vacationing for a few weeks in the Village of North Pelham.  She was staying with Frank Dodge and his wife.  Frank Dodge was a famous scenic artist of the Herald Square Theatre, a major Broadway Theater in New York City.

Each day during Ethel Fairchild's vacation, part of the glorious enjoyment of Pelham included a beautiful stroll from the Dodge Household in North Pelham to the Pelham Station on the New Haven main line, accompanying Frank Dodge as he left on his daily commute to New York City.  

The early morning of September 4, 1898 was no different.  Vacationing Ethel Fairchild accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dodge all the way to Pelham Station where the two women watched him climb aboard the New Haven Line train and recede into the distance.

Miss Fairchild and Mrs. Dodge turned toward the Dodge home in North Pelham.  As the pair started to walk toward Fifth Avenue to head home, the vacationing Miss Fairchild suggested the pair should simply cut across the dairy farm pasture ahead.  That pasture was part of the Patrick Walsh Farm leased from Colonel Richard Lathers who owned Lathers Woods, what we know today as Pelhamwood.

The pasture was a small cleared area in one corner of Lathers' Woods.  It was located very roughly where today's September 11 Memorial, Daronco Townhouse (and parking lot) now are located.  In the midst of the clearing, farmer Patrick Walsh kept The King of Pelham tethered by a fifty-feet long chain attached to a ring in the bull's nose with the other end anchored to a tree.  

As the two women made their way across the woods of today's Pelhamwood toward the pasture clearing, Ethel Fairchild was the first to notice that the bull's chain had come loose from the tree.  She let out a little scream.  

According to the account quoted in full below, The King of Pelham was in a particularly ornery mood that day due to maddening heat and pesky flies.  As the bull turned toward the women, he reportedly "caught sight of a red ribbon on Miss Fairchild's hat."  The bull started toward the intruding women at a slow trot.  

The women gathered up their skirts and began running toward the pasture fence, an eight-feet high barbed wire affair.  As they began running, so did the angry bull, chasing after them.  

The King of Pelham was fast.  In mere moments, he closed the distance of the chase to only twenty feet as the two terrified women scrambled for their lives.  Providence, however, played its hand.  The bull's chain, dragging along behind the rushing animal, snagged for a moment in a sapling.  The Holstein had to stop and free itself from the snag.  Though the women were "nearly faint from terror and loss of breath," they raced ahead.  By the time The King of Pelham freed himself from the snag, the two women were one hundred feet away and nearing the fence.

The fence, however, was no simple affair.  Given the viciousness of the bull and its previous encounters with Pelhamites who tried to cross its pasture from the Pelham Train Station, farmer Walsh had built a sturdy barb-wire fence that was so high it could not easily be scaled.  

With the bull bearing down on them again, the two women raced to a small cedar tree that farmer Walsh had used as a fence post when building the fence.  Some of its branches were low enough for the women to grab and scramble up the tree.  As they did, the bull reached the fence as well, snorting and pawing the ground below the women.

Mrs. Dodge edged onto a limb that hung over the fence on the side opposite the bellowing, angry bull and dropped to the ground.  She fell directly into a pile of rusty tin cans and debris thrown behind the barn of a Mr. Lawrence.  Cut by the cans and rubbish, Mrs. Dodge lay in the debris exhausted.  Miss Fairchild thought she had fainted and began to shout for help from the tree branches above.  

Hearing the shouts, farmer Lawrence ambled out behind his barn.  He grabbed a pitchfork, used it to drive The King of Pelham away from the fence, and rescued the two women.  He took the two women into his farmhouse where he and his wife cared for them until they recovered.

According to the news account quoted in full below, "The bull, after being captured, was taken to Walsh's barnyard, and soon will be turned into dressed beef."

Alas, the bull was NOT turned into "dressed beef."  Months later, on July 13, 1900, farmer Patrick Walsh tried to control The King of Pelham with a pitchfork.  The angry animal ignored the pitchfork that the farmer jabbed into its face and, with the speed of a train, knocked the farmer to the ground and gored him through the temple, killing him.

Within hours The King of Pelham was turned into dressed beef.
*          *          *          *           *

"BULL TREES WOMEN.

Mrs. Frank Dodge and Miss Ethel Fairchild, who are spending the summer at Pelham Manor, near Mount Vernon, N. Y., after running through the woods for nearly a mile only escaped being gored to death by a big Holstein bull by climbing into a low cedar tree, which grew near a barbed wire fence, through which they were unable to make their way.

Mrs. Dodge is the wife of the scenic artist of the Herald Square Theatre, New York city.  Miss Fairchild has been their guest for the last two weeks.  She and Mrs. Dodge, as was their custom every day, accompanied Mr. Dodge to the train at the Pelham station Monday morning.  Miss Fairchild suggested that they return home through the wood known as Winiah [sic; should be "Winyah"] Park, owned by Col. Richard Lathers.  In one corner of this wood is a small clearing, which had been leased by Col. Lathers to Patrick Walsh, a farmer.  In this clearing the vicious bull was tethered to a tree by a fifty foot chain, one end of which was attached to a ring in the bull's nose.

When Miss Fairchild and Mrs. Dodge were in the centre of the wood, within sight of the pasture, Miss Fairchild said, with a little scream:  -- 

'Oh, look at Walsh's bull!  I believe he's loose.'  

As they turned to jump over a fallen tree the animal, maddened by the heat and flies, caught sight of a red ribbon on Miss Fairchild's hat and started toward the women.  The clanking of the broken chain, mingled with the bellowing of the animal, which, with head down and tail up, was coming toward the two women at a trot, made them shake with terror.  Miss Fairchild was the first to recover herself.

'Come!' said she, gathering up her skirts.  'Let's run toward the fence.  Maybe the bull will get tangled in his chain.'

The two women scampered through the underbrush, the bull in close pursuit.  The animal was within twenty feet of the fleeing women when, as Miss Fairchild hoped, the chain caught in a sapling for a moment and gave them a chance to gain a hundred feet on the maddened bull.

Then the animal, loosening the chain, again started in pursuit.  The women were through the bushes now, and the bull was gaining on the women at every jump.  One hundred feet away was a barbed wire fence, eight feet high.  Around them were trees, which they could not climb.  It looked as if there was no escape from the animal.

The women were nearly faint from terror and loss of breath when Miss Fairchild spied a small cedar tree, which was used as a post in the barbed wire fence.  The tree's branches hung low to the ground.  The two women, their tattered skirts impeding their progress, headed for the cedar.  Just as they had climbed to the second branch of the little tree the bull reached the fence and stood pawing the earth.  The women were two much exhausted and frightened for a moment to scream for help.  In a few minutes Mrs. Dodge climbed out on a limb reaching over the side of the fence opposite the bull in the rear of a Mr. Lawrence's barn.

From here she dropped to the ground into a heap of tin cans and rubbish, which cut her about the face and hands.  She was stunned for a few moments, and Miss Fairchild, who thought she had fainted, called loudly for help.  Mr. Lawrence heard the cries, and, hurrying to the rear of the barn, rescued the young women from their predicament, driving the bull away from the fence at the point of a pitchfork.  The women were then taken to the farm house, where, under the care of Mr. Lawrence and his wife, they recovered from their fright and exhaustion.  The bull, after being captured, was taken to Walsh's barnyard, and soon will be turned into dressed beef."

Source:  BULL TREES WOMEN, Alexandria Gazette [Alexandria, VA], Sep. 7, 1898, Vol XCIX, No. 212, p. 1, col. 2.

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"The King of Pelham" -- Pelham's Most Ornery Bull That Chased Pelhamites and, in the End, Killed His Owner

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He was called "The King of Pelham."  He was big.  He was mean.  He was an ornery bull that ruled the pasture located on the property of Colonel Richard Lathers, the property known today as Pelhamwood.  The story of The King of Pelham is a tragic one that reminds us of days of yore when large farms dotted the North Pelham countryside.

During the 1890s and the earliest years of the 20th century, Colonel Richard Lathers of New Rochelle owned a 72-acre triangular tract of land in North Pelham that eventually became the development known today as Pelhamwood.  He leased a portion of the property to an Irish immigrant named Patrick Walsh who, with his sons, operated a small farm and dairy on the property.  Walsh had immigrated to America in about 1850 and, eventually, settled in North Pelham where he and his family operated his dairy farm.  

Detail from 1899 Fairchild Map Showing Undeveloped Property

of Col.Richard Lathers Known as "Winyah Park" with Pelham

Train Station at the Bottom, Adjacent to the Property.  Source:

Fairchild, John F., Atlas of the City of Mount Vernon and the Town

of Pelham, Plate 20 (Mount Vernon, NY:  John F. Fairchild, 1899).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Walsh family supplied butter, milk, and other dairy products to residents of North Pelham, Pelham Manor, and New Rochelle.  The dairy farm included a large pasture and cattle barn.  The pasture was enclosed by stone walls and, in some parts, by a wire fence.

Patrick Walsh followed a daily routine.  Each morning he opened his cattle barn and drove his cattle into the pasture to graze.  Every afternoon he went to the pasture and drove the cattle back to the barn.

The King of Pelham, however, was a different matter.  He was so mean and ornery that Patrick Walsh had to keep him chained while in the pasture.  Walsh often kept the old bull tethered to a forty-feet long chain for his own protection and that of his family.  According to a report in the New-York Tribune published on July 14, 1900, said "the bull had a reputation in the neighborhood for being vicious" and that "it was a menace to the neighborhood."

The reputation of The King of Pelham seems to have been well deserved.  For example, on September 4, 1898, Mrs. Frank Dodge of North Pelham and a friend who was visiting her, Miss Edith Fairchild (an actress from New York City) accompanied Frank Dodge to the Pelham Train Station to see him off to New York City.  After Mr. Dodge departed on the train for the city, the two women left the train station to return to the Dodge home in North Pelham.

The two women took a shortcut across Winyah Park, the property owned by Colonel Richard Lathers, and entered the pasture.  The two women had made it about halfway across the property before they realized that The King of Pelham had snapped his chain and was not tethered.  

The bull charged, dragging most of the forty-feet of chain behind him.  The women fled for their lives.  With the bull gaining on them, they reached a stone boundary wall that was so high, they could not climb it.  In a panic, the women ran along the wall with the bull chasing them.  As the bull gained on the fleeing women, providence extended its hand.  

The bull's chain snagged in bushes, slowing the fearsome charge of The King of Pelham.  With the fierce bull only "a few feet" behind them, the two women reached a wire fence.  According to one account:  "Mrs. Dodge crawled through the fence, ruining her clothing, and Miss Fairchild climbed it with equally bad results . . . in getting off the fence, [she] fell and cut her face."

The women had escaped.  Mrs. Dodge promptly fainted and had to be carried to a nearby house where she was revived.  Thereafter, she was "confined to her room from nervous prostration."

The King of Pelham certainly had reinforced his reputation as a mean critter.  His owner, Patrick Walsh, soon discovered just how mean a critter the ornery old bull actually was.

 On the morning of July 13, 1900, farmer Walsh went to his pasture to milk some of his cows.  As he neared the old bull, the animal lowered its horns and charged him.  Walsh sidestepped the mad bull and took refuge behind a nearby stone wall.

Infuriated with The King of Pelham, farmer Walsh went to the barn, grabbed a pitchfork, and returned to the pasture "to punish the bull."  The farmer and his bull began to battle with the bull wielding his horns and the farmer jabbing the animal in the face with his pitchfork.  By the time the battle was over, the bull had torn the farmer's pants and the farmer had stabbed the bull in the face with the pitchfork several times until the bull gave up and retired to a distant corner of the pasture.  This time, it was the bull who was infuriated.

Later that day, farmer Walsh boasted to neighbors that he had bested the beast in an epic battle and that he had "whipped the bull until it was as tame as a cat."  As he boasted, a storm came up and Walsh left in a hurry to get back to the pasture and drive his cattle to the barn for shelter.  When Walsh reached the pasture, The King of Pelham was waiting at the gate, angrier than ever.  "Fearing trouble," Walsh grabbed the pitchfork again and entered the pasture.  According to a rather gruesome account:

"The creature lowered its huge head and made for the farmer with the speed of a train.  The farmer tried to keep it off by jabbing it again in the face with the pitchfork, but this time the animal was so maddened that it did not seem to mind it.  It kept on coming, and, catching its victim in the back with its horns, tossed him about twenty feet.  Mr. Welch [sic] had just risen to his knees, and before he could defend himself the bull was upon him again.  There was a cry of agony, and the fight was over.  One of the animal's sharp horns had caught the man in the temple and penetrated the brain.  Mr. Welch's [sic] nose was also broken.  A man on an adjoining farm who saw the fight ran to the pasture.  The farmer was dead, and his clothing was saturated with blood."

Walsh left a widow and family.  His funeral was held at St. Catharines on July 15, 1900.  His sons reportedly killed The King of Pelham, admitting it was a menace to the neighborhood.

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I have written about The King of Pelham on two previous occasions, both of which contain the text of some of the articles referenced in today's posting.  See:  

Tue., Apr. 06, 2010:  Well-Known North Pelham Farmer Patrick Walsh Killed by a Bull in 1900.

Tue., Feb. 12, 2008:  He Fought the Bull and the Bull Won: Mad Bull Killed North Pelham Farmer in 1900.

Immediately below is the text of an article referenced above that sheds additional light on the ornery bull known as The King of Pelham.

"TWO WOMEN CHASED BY A BULL.
-----
They Got Through and Over a Wire Fence Just in Time.

MOUNT VERNON, N. Y., Sept. 5. -- Mrs. Frank Dodge of North Pelham and Miss Edith Fairchild of New York, her guest, had an exciting experience with a bull yesterday.  They had gone to the railway station to see Mr. Dodge start for New York, and, while walking home, took a short cut through the woods of Winyah Park, the property of Col. Richard Lathers.  One portion of this property is let out for pasturage, and among the animals there was the King of Pelham, the property of Patrick Walsh.  He had broken his chain.  

The two women were halfway across the park when they discovered the bull was not tethered.  The bull chased them and they fled, but on reaching the boundary found a high stone wall which they could not climb.  They fled along the wall with the bull after them.  They say the animal would have caught them had not the chain, about forty feet of which was dragging after the animal, caught in some bushes.  As it was, they reached a place where there was a wire fence, only a few feet ahead of the bull.

Mrs. Dodge crawled through the fence, ruining her clothing, and Miss Fairchild climbed it with equally bad results, but in time to escape the bull.  Mrs. Dodge fainted and was revived at a near farmhouse.  Miss Fairchild, in getting off the fence, fell and cut her face.  To-day Mrs. Dodge is confined to her room from nervous prostration."

Source:  TWO WOMEN CHASED BY A BULL -- They Got Through and Over a Wire Fence Just in Time, N.Y. Times, Sep. 6, 1898, p. 7, col. 3 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  


*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text from a number of articles about the death of Patrick Walsh in addition to those I previously quoted in earlier articles about the incident.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"THE BULL REMEMBERED 
-----
And Gored His Enemy To Death When He Got a Chance.

While attempting today to punish an angry bull, Patrick Welch [sic], a well known farmer of North Pelham in Westchester county, was gored to death says an exchange.  

This morning when Mr. Welch went to his pasture the bull made for him.  It plunged at him with its head lowered, but he avoided it by taking refuge behind a stone wall.  He then went to the barn, armed himself with a pitchfork and returned to punish the bull.  In the scrimmage that followed the farmer had his trousers torn, but he managed to jab the bull several times in the face and it finally retired to another part of the field.

Mr. Welch afterward told some of his neighbors that he had whipped the bull until it was as tame as a cat.  While he was talking a storm came up and the farmer hastened back to the pasture to drive his cows to shelter.  He found the bull waiting for him at the gate.  Its face was swollen from the wounds inflicted upon it in the morning.  When the beast saw the farmer it set up an angry bellowing.  Fearing trouble, Mr. Welch again seized the pitchfork.  His victory in the morning made him confident and he opened the gate and walked toward the big creature without hesitation.  This added to the bull's fury.

The creature lowered its huge head and made for the farmer with the speed of a train.  The farmer tried to keep it off by jabbing it again in the face with the pitchfork, but this time the animal was so maddened that it did not seem to mind it.  It kept on coming, and catching its victim in the back with its horns tossed him about 20 feet.  Mr. Welch had just risen to his knees and before he could defend himself the bull was upon him again.  There was a cry of agony and the fight was over.  One of the animal's sharp horns had caught the main in the temple and penetrated the brain.  Mr. Welch's nose was also broken.  A man on an adjoining farm who saw the fight ran to the pasture.  The farmer was dead and his clothing was saturated with blood."

Source:  THE BULL REMEMBERED -- And Gored His Enemy To Death When He Got a Chance, El Paso Herald [El Paso, TX], Jul. 19, 1900, p. 4, col. 2 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).  

"KILLED BY A BULL.
-----
North Pelham Farmer Gored to Death by an Enraged Animal Last Night.
-----

Patrick Welsh [sic], 56 [sic] years old, a farmer living at North Pelham, was gored to death by a bull in the yard [sic] of his home last night.  For some time past the bull had been very vicious and last evening while Welsh was chastising it, the brute made a dash for him.  Welsh grabbed a pitch fork and plunged it into the bull's side [sic].

The brute turned suddenly and before Welsh could get out of the way he was tossed about twenty feet into the air.  By this time the bull had become thoroughly enraged.  He made a second rush for his victim who had regained his feet.  This time the bull thrust one of his horns into Welsh's head, penetrating the brain and he died instantly."

Source:  KILLED BY A BULL -- North Pelham Farmer Gored to Death by an Enraged Animal Last Night, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jul. 13, 1900, p. 1, col. 2 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).  

"GORED TO DEATH BY A BULL.
-----
Farmer Tried To Discipline the Animal and Was Attacked.

MOUNT VERNON, N. Y., July 14. -- Patrick Welsh [sic], fifty-six years old [sic], a farmer living at North Pelham, was gored to death by a bull in the yard [sic] of his home last night.  For some time past the bull had been very vicious.  Last evening Welsh went into the field and drove the animal into the yard.  There he began to chastise it.  The brute made for Welsh.  Welsh grabbed a pitchfork near the barn door and plunged it into the bull's side [sic].  The brute turned suddenly, and before Farmer Welsh could get out of the way he tossed him about twenty feet into the air.  By this time the bull had become enraged.  He made a second rush for his victim, who had regained his feet.  This time the bull stuck one of his horns in Welsh's head, penetrating the brain.  He died instantly.  Coroner Benning of Mount Vernon was notified and took charge of the case.  Welsh leaves a widow and family."

Source:  GORED TO DEATH BY A BULL -- Farmer Tried To Discipline the Animal and Was Attacked, The Scranton Republican [Scranton, PA], Jul. 16, 1900, p. 7, col 5 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).  

"Gored to Death by a Bull.

New York, July 13. -- Patrick Welch [sic], 56 [sic] years old, a farmer living at North Pelham, was gored to death by a bull in the yard [sic] of his home last night.  For some time past the bull had been very vicious and Welch was chastising the brute when the animal stuck one of his horns in Welch's head."

Source:  Gored to Death by a Bull, Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], Jul. 14, 1900, p. 1, col. 6 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).

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