Week of September 25

September 23, 1876 – 150 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Journal

A BRILLIANT SPECTACLE

     A burning lamp on the premises of Mrs. Tallman, on Broadway, just above First Avenue, attracted considerable attention last Saturday evening. The blaze filled the whole lamp-chimney at first and then increased so much in size as to cause the glass in the framework around it to break. By this time, several groups of spectators had gathered on the opposite side of the street, all looking to see an expected explosion. Shortly the burning oil began dropping, and in a few seconds the lamppost and a stepladder which stood against it were enveloped in flames. Mr. John P. Smith and two or three boys rushed into the yard and extinguished the fire before it could do any serious damage, and the interested audience dispersed, perfectly delighted with the free exhibition.

RATHER SUSPICIOUS

     On Tuesday evening last, as the new establishment of Messrs. Long & McMahon was being closed, a large pane of glass was accidentally broken in one of the windows. Hubbell was told to keep his eye on the place, which he did, and visited it at about 11.30 P.M. He then discovered that the bay window in the rear of the store was open, having been unfastened by some one from the inside. It was at first evident that someone had secreted themselves in the place to plunder but had been disturbed by Hubbell and taken their flight through the back way without any booty.

     H. closed the door again securely, and upon making another visit at a later hour he found it again open, proving conclusively that one of the parties had remained in the store after the other had taken his flight, and disappeared after Hubbell had left. Nothing was missing from the store; the thieves probably being frightened by the vigilance of our efficient night watchman.

September 25, 1926 – 100 YEARS AGO

Rockland County Times

ATTRACTIVE EXHIBIT

     A bouquet of six exquisitely matched dahlias adorned President Wood's desk in the bank Saturday morning. Each bloom was the size of a mammoth chrysanthemum and each shaded from a light pink to a deep rose, all being so perfectly matched in size and shadings that one could have been substituted for the other without noting the difference. The flowers grew on a single stalk in Dr. Sengstacken's yard in Stony Point.

WOMAN'S BODY FOUND — BODY OF MRS. ANNA BAUTZER, WHO LEFT HOME EARLY MONDAY MORNING CLAD ONLY IN NIGHT DRESS AND COAT, FOUND THURSDAY MORNING NEAR FOWLER’S GAP

[Image: Detail of F. W. Beers Rockland County Atlas, 1891, David Rumsey Collection, Cartography Associates. Detail shows Fowler’s Brickyard. Image courtesy of BrickCollecting.com]

     The body of Mrs. Anna Bautzer, 33 years of age, who disappeared from her home at 44 Front Street early Monday morning, was found about 8:50 Thursday morning.

     John Cavanaugh and Douglas Storms were going fishing and thought they would first row about to see if they could find the woman's body. About 150 feet south of the entrance to the gap at Fowler’s brickyard, they saw her head and hand protruding above the water. They made the body fast and hastened to the Bautzer home to tell them that they had found a woman's body. The Coroner was notified and when the body was taken from the river, Mr. Bautzer identified it as that of his wife.

     Since the woman’s disappearance, a thorough search had been conducted. On account of the nearness of the Bautzer home to the river front, the fear was entertained that the woman might have wandered into the river through the dense fog. Until her body was found, hope that she would be found alive was not relinquished by her family.

     She was the wife of Mr. Isidore Bautzer and had been a resident of Haverstraw only a short time. She had recently been in a highly nervous state and suffered from fits of insomnia.

     Because of her nervous condition, Mr. Bautzer became alarmed when he awoke some time after his wife’s going and found her gone. He did not know at what time or where she had gone and immediately started an investigation. The Sheriff and his force were notified as well as the State Troopers and the Village officers.

     A search of her home, in the fear that she might have gone to the attic or some inconspicuous place and collapsed, and of the neighborhood, in the same fear, was commenced.

     The officers making the investigation found that the woman was seen sometime after three o’clock by Joseph McCauley on Van Houten Street. Hence, it was assumed that she had left her home shortly before that. About a quarter of four, Anness Benson, who is on night duty in Benson’s restaurant was in his room preparing for bed when he heard the patter of feet and looked out of his window. He saw Mrs. Bautzer on South Street but she disappeared from his view and, when he saw that a light had been turned on in the kitchen, supposed that she had gone into the house.

     In the morning, it was ascertained that the woman wore only her night dress, over which she had thrown a black coat with a sable collar. She also wore white shoes.

     When a thorough search of the neighborhood proved fruitless, it was feared that she might have been drowned and the river near her home was dragged. Later Monday, depth bombs were discharged in the hope that if the woman had been drowned, her body would come to the surface. The efforts in that direction were also fruitless.

Trooper Haviland was in charge of the search and made every effort to find the woman. He was assisted by Mr. Morgan Demarest.

     On Monday evening, a police dog known as Noma and owned by Walter Hollien of East View, N.Y., was obtained by the State Trooper and was used in trying to find the direction in which she had gone. The dog, having been given her scent, went to the new house which is being constructed at the corner of Tor and Maple Avenues and then went back to the river. The officers were not sure that it was a new scent the dog was following. The search was continued until the body was found. Every part of the village was combed.

     Fifteen boy scouts under the direction of Associate Scout Master Baldwin of Nyack looked with thoroughness through the swamp behind Fowler’s brickyard, along the State Road, both sides of the cemetery and in the quarry, lest she had wandered into some unfrequented spot and fainted there.

     When the body was found one shoe was gone and part of her flesh had been eaten by fish. It is thought that the woman fell off the bank near Fowler’s gap when she could not see thru the fog.

     Her body was sent by Undertaker Dutcher to New Haven, Conn., for burial.

     Besides her husband, she is survived by two children, Norma and Adolph.

September 24, 1976 – 50 YEARS AGO

The Journal News

BONE AND TOMBSTONE DON’T GO TOGETHER

     A bone found near a 100-year-old tombstone uncovered in downtown New City Saturday apparently does not belong with the person named on the grave marker, a preliminary analysis by the county medical examiner has shown.

     While the tombstone found at 37A N. Main St. identifies a child who died at the age of two, the bone discovered nearby the next day appears to be from an elderly person, according to the findings of Dr. Frederick Zugibe, the medical examiner.

     The bone is the lower portion of the humerus, or upper arm bone. It was evidently amputated, and signs of disease have been traced by Dr. Zugibe.

     The tombstone and bone were found by Douglas and Raymond Serra, who were doing landscape work. Clarkstown police said they will wait for a complete analysis by the medical examiner before deciding whether to search the area more thoroughly. Dr. Zugibe will pursue tests to determine the age of the bone.

This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2026 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.