Show W V T ta 1 W W W W 7 t W W J SOMERS VILLAGE the hamlet of harvey B ach of coopers cooper a spy and other famous characters in the early part of the last century somers village or Somers town plain as it was then called where tl tie e two loads roads to the hudson river branched off one to sing sing and the other to peekskill Peek skill was a busy place with three hotels three stores a newspaper the somers museum hat shops and other indus tries I 1 hackaliah Hac bailey built and conducted the elephant hotel a substantial three story brick structure which Is in good repair today to day in front of it stands a granite shaft on the top of which is a model of the first elephant brought to this country old bet mr bailey dailey bo the elephant of his brother who was captain of a sailing essel sec see ring a partner he put them on the tle road traveling from place to place at night and showing shoving in barns in the daytime not hearing from them in some time mr bailey started on horseback to look them up finding the elephant and man near boston and asking for an accounting he was told that the show did not dot make any money then said mr air bailey I 1 will shoot my half and aou ou can do what you line like with your half from this small beginning the menagerie business grew to large proportions under the management of the cranes baileys junes an gevenes and all residents of somers or south salem the long barn on the gerard crane farm was built to house the animals in winter enoch crosby the harvey birch of coop tr s spy married a widow near somers vil lage she was buried at mount zion beside her first husband and he at gilead luther one of the strange eccel trie characters of those early days was be 1 f lieveld to be in league with the devil the turnpike from sing sing to sodom four cor ners passing through the village was the route of the rumbling stage coach and the farmers wagons with their produce the toll gates were unpopular and frequently destroyed ably tor for a consideration finally I 1 uther luther was arraigned in court and the indictment read charging him with cutting down the turnpike gate he ile answered not guilty I 1 did not touch the gate I 1 only sawed off the post the gate hung on and walked out of court at another time a noted criminal lawyer asked him what made his face so black he ile said sly my face is not a black as your character for you put our sister in state prison in the presbyterian church near the center of the village built before the memory of any one now living dr ebenezer white was tried some 5 years ago for heresy because he re fused to accept the doctrine of election the the clerk of the presbytery was one of the judges and after reading the charges said he believed him guilty judgment before trial the pres butery found him guilty but the courts suase reversed the ecclesiastical trib tribunal |