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- NEWSPAPER OBITUARY - April 7, 1920 Pulaski Democrat - Pulaski, New York - Last Wednesday afternoon, at his home in Richland, occurred the death of another of our oldest inhabitants, Jesse E. Calkins, who had been troubled with heart weakness for some time. Mr. Calkins was born in this town near Richland August 26, 1837. He was the son of Russell Calkins, one of the pioneer settlers of this town. he spent the early part of his life around Richland, moving to a farm south of Sand Bank, now Altmar, fifty-three years ago. There he lived until three years ago when he came back to his native town and bought a home in the west part of the village of Richland. Mr. Calkins was twice married. By the first marriage he had four sons and one daughter, and by the second marriage to Miss Rebecca White, of Richland, he had two sons, all of whom are living, as is also the second Mrs. Calkins. The children are Mrs. Orin Potter, of Superior, Wisconsin; Walter of Paradise, Wisconsin; Pearl of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; James of Seattle, Washington; Dr. Arthur of Chadwick, Illinois; and Hoyt, a teacher in Manilla. Thus the family was so scattered that but two, Arthur and Pearl, were able to attend the funeral which was held, Sunday noon, at the home, Rev. C. A. Robinson, pastor of the Methodist church of Richland, officiating. Burial in Willis cemetery. "Uncle Hiram" is gone. We shall miss him. The Democrat's editors have had a faithful friend in him for over fifty years, as he has been a regular or occasional correspondent for the Democrat for over a half a century. He was our South Albion correspondent until he removed to Richland. He wrote for years over the name "Uncle Hiram" and that name became fixed so he was more often called "Uncle Hiram" than any other name. He was president of the Democrat's Correspondent Association and we had some grand times at the annual gatherings. When Uncle Hiram and "Aunt Jane" drove up to the picnic grounds and began taking out baskets and chicken pie pans we all knew there was going to be enough to eat. Mr. Calkins had a fond of humor and he put it to good use when he sat down to write for the Democrat. His news items read like the literary creations of A. Ward or S. Clemens. He could "fix items up" so they would be read with a relish. Mr. Calkins was a Democrat. He was nominated for member of assembly one or more times by his party. He was a man of strong convictions and he would not beat around the bush to make them known. He was fearless and outspoken. He had a heart in him bigger than the heart of an ox. Many could testify of his kindness and generosity. The last time he came to the office, in February, he came tugging into the sanctum a monstrous squash and a string of popcorn, for which exertion he paid the penalty of an almost collapse in our office. He was in town the first of March, on business, but he had a bad time getting home and was tired out so he never fully recovered. His horse got down in the snow and excited him so much it made a deep draft on his heart power. Mr. Calkins was a member of Orwell Grange and he was always very devoted to the order. He served his town as patrolman on the state road, four years ago. He will be missed, not only in his home but in the whole eastern Oswego county, where he has been a conspicuous and esteemed citizen so many years. He loved his children and was proud that out of the whole great family there is not one who caused him to blush as he spoke their names or thought of their lives.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - Wednesday, January 31, 1894 Pulaski Democrat - Pulaski, New York - South Albion - I will send you a copy of the Ulster County Gazette which may be of interest to you and the readers of the Democrat. The paper was among the effects of my father, recently deceased. It was formerly the property of my grandfather, Rufus Price, who was a colonel under Gen. Washington, and at one time his aid-de-camp. He was a pensioner of the revolution and came to Richland in 1808 and settled on the farm now owned by Isaac Price Douglass on the Port road. At the death of my grandfather the farm went to his eldest son, my uncle, Isaac Price. At his death he went to his son-in-law, Volney Douglas. At his death he went to his eldest son, the present owner, Isaac Price Douglass. Please return the paper as I value it highly.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - December 1905 Pulaski Democrat - Pulaski, New York - In Minnesota Woods - Editor Democrat - Thinking perhaps a description of my surroundings might be of interest to your many readers, I will say I am in Northern Minnesota near the Iron Range Mountains with the thermometer at 46 below. I am 38 miles from the nearest post office and 38 miles from the nearest highway. I get the good old Democrat two weeks behind time but it is always new to its many readers here and is passed around until it is worn out. Our mail reaches us by log train every day (if the train runs). The only train that carries mail and passengers is the local freight train with two cabooses. Deer are more plentiful than rabbits are in Albion, with a sprinkling of moose, elk, bear and lynx. It is solid timber for hundreds of miles to Hudson Bay. This is a lumber camp called Cloquet Lodging Camp No. 1, and they have 17 camps on this road. There are but four ladies here and they are the wives of the engineers, conductors and master machinist. There is a round house and repair shop, and 8 locomotives, a blacksmith shop, harness shop, repair shop for sleighs, freight house office, store house, boarding house, sleeping house for the woodsmen, also one for the railroad men and four dwelling houses. Now I will give the menu for one day. In the cook's shack there are 250 men to feed; it takes five men cooks. 1 1/2 barrels flour, 1 barrel sugar, 3 quarters of the finest beef, 5 sacks of potatoes, turnips, cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, 1 bushel of beans, 2 boxes of soda crackers, besides cheese and pickles, chili sauce, catsup, tea, coffee, the milk of three cows, besides condensed milk. No butter, but olives, plenty of canned goods for sauce and pies, three or four kinds of cake, three or four kinds of cookies, two or three kinds of pies, the best of homemade bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, and fried cakes; plenty of beef steak and pancakes for breakfast and on Friday about 10 bushels of frozen fresh ciscoes. So you see the men are not starved. Day before yesterday the local brought in 176 new men. They arrived about 2 o'clock p.m. without their dinner and had to be fed and lodged. Nearly every train brings from 25 to 100 men. Rush Lake is four miles long by one mile wide. It froze over in September and will stay so until June. They are filling it with pine logs and carry four or five train loads of 25 to 35 cars each to the mills at Cloquet. Every day each car contains about 10,000 feet of logs. So you see there is something doing here. There was a man shot yesterday, he was mistakes for a deer. He was carried out on the cars this morning. I will be in Deluth for Christmas and hope to again in the near future see the smiling faces of an Albion snow drift. Merry Christmas to all. J. E. Calkins, December 18, 1905
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - December 12, 1917 Pulaski Democrat - Pulaski, New York - Letter From J. E. Calkins - Editor Pulaski Democrat, Chadwick, Illinois, Dec. 7, 1917 - Thinking you might like to hear from this neck of the woods, I will say, the first friend I met on my arrival here was a copy of the Democrat, which seemed like a visit from an old friend, as it gave one all the news from home. Some of the news was sad as it chronicled the death's of several old and respected acquaintances, also much pleasant news. In regard to this section, the N. W. corner of the state, I will say, it is a great hog country, as a farmer who has not got from 40 to 200 hogs is not in the race and the beauty of it is he has the corn to fat them on. Some of the hogs run in the field and help themselves, while others are in yards, where the corn is drawn in on wagons with a box 4 or 5 feet high and dumped on the feeding floor where they help themselves at all times. The pens are small chicken coop affairs that can be easily moved from place to place, while the hog house is a well built structure, warm and high and at the breeding season is kept warm day and night, and a man is on guard at all times to see that the little fellows are not neglected by their mother. Don't for a moment think there are no fine herds of cattle here, for they are on nearly every farm, but the calves are not shipped out as at home, for they are all raised and there is plenty of young stock here and a herd of 30 to 40 head of one and two year old steer is a common sight. As to roads, on a trip of about one hundred miles, by auto yesterday I did not see a rod of our state road, that is cement road. The roads here are well graded dirt roads and kept well oiled and seem as solid and smooth as our state roads. There is no stone here for the roads. On the trip, yesterday, we passed through MT. Carrol and took in the old Indian Head Trail, suppose to run from New Orleans to San Francisco, went to Savannah on the Mississippi River and a round about way back to Chadwick. This is prairie country, but down towards the Mississippi River it is rough and hilly. At one point we saw where they were draining a lake about three or four miles wide by ten miles long and pumping the water out to reclaim the land. Much of the land that was under water, two years ago, is today some of the finest farming land in the state and worth $300 per acre. This soil is as black as a new polished stove. The farmers here are just picking their corn, rather cold work for zero weather. The corn is husked and picked on the hill and the cattle and hogs turned in to finish the job. If this finds space in the good old Democrat you may hear from me again. J. E. Calkins
Vitals - March 31, 1920 - Jesse E Calkins, age 82 years, 7 months, 5 days. Date of birth, August 26, 1837, born in Richland Township, New York. Sex, male; race, white; married; occupation, retired farmer. Name of father, Russell Calkins, born in Canada. Name of mother, Parmelia Price, born in Richland Township, New York. Informant, Eva L. Minot, Richland, New York. Cause of death, chronic valvular disease of heart. Signed by Percival D. Bailey, M.D., March 31, 1920, Richland, New York. Place of burial, Willis cemetery, April 4, 1920. Undertaker, G. W. Morton, Pulaski, New York.
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