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254

Made boxes and packed many of the things on Monday. Just as I was stopping Jansen Anderson came and told me that Mrs. Wolfer had been run over by the Wallkill Valley train and killed. She was on her way down from Kingston with her little boy in the streetcar which crossed in front of the train and was run into. She was horribly mangled her head being literally obliterated. John Wolfer and his little daughter had gone up the river and came there in the evening. Maurice had to meet him at the ferry and break the awful news to him. I was called to serve on the Coroners Jury. The inquest lasted from Wednesday until Saturday when we gave our verdict which was as follows.

[[newspaper clipping]] 
The undersigned jurors, duly appointed to investigate the cause of the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Wolfer, find that she came to her death by being run over by a train on the Wallkill Valley Railway on the afternoon of Monday, May 13th 1878, in consequence of a collision between said train and a street car at the crossing of the Horse Railroad at the Kingston Station.

In their opinion the accident would have been prevented by proper care on the part of the manager of the Horse Railroad, by the enforcement, on his part of such stringent regulations as should guard against the fatal consequences of recklessness, inefficiency or lack of judgement on the part of drivers.

The jury are profoundly impressed with the idea that a very lax estimate of the public danger has been held by the manager of the Horse Railroad as evinced in the lack of such stringent precautions and regulations; and also on the part of the Wallkill Valley Railroad Company in crossing with their trains this important thoroughfare of the city at a dangerous rate of speed, and in not employing proper and efficient safeguards against accident.

But beyond all responsibility which may attach to the several railroad companies it is our unanimous opinion, that the city authorities are principally responsible for the safety of our streets, and that to them belongs the duty of so guarding all railroad crossings within the city limits that accidents by collision will become impossible.

Michael H. Larkin, Coroner.
John McEntee, Foreman.
Jervis McEntee,
Richard Deyo
James L. Van Deusen,
S. S. Smith,
A. S. Staples,
William Hutton,
Peter Weaver,
William Winter,
William H. DeGarmo,
F. Stephan.

Narrow Escapes. 
[[/newspaper clipping]]

Nothing ever occurred in Rondout which shocked the people as this calamity. Mrs. Edward [[Ellinge?]] died while I was home and my father and Sara went to the funeral on Saturday.
 
I got all of Booths things packed and sent them on Wednesday. I returned today. The weather has been cold and we have low frost which injured the spring crops. Today on my arrival here full of anxieties I find some one has made an offer of $700 for my picture in the Academy; just