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Kingston Freeman.
June 14, 1883

MAURICE W. McENTEE.
HIS DEATH AT THE FAMILY RESIDENCE.
Sketch of His Life and Services——A Student at the Naval Academy——Soldier, Naval Officer and Journalist——A Career of Usefulness.

One of the events that brought up many memories of the past to old Rondouters this morning was the death of Maurice Wurts McEntee. The deceased was a son of the venerable James S. McEntee of this city, who is now in his 84th year, his birthday occurring on the 21st of March. The deceased was born in the [[strikethrough]] frame [[/strikethrough]] stone Mansion House building which preceded the later brick building, and then used as now as a hotel, and kept by his father. He was named in honor of Maurice Wurts, the much respected President of the Delaware & Hudson Canal, which canal, in the capacity of civil engineer, Mr. McEntee had helped to construct. He was early sent to school and after he arrived at suitable age was sent to the Clinton Institute in Oneida county.

The deceased entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., in 1851, while Congressman Gould represented this district. After remaining there for a while he became tired of the severe duties of the institution and tendered his resignation to the Secretary of the Navy, which was accepted. About this time Hon. Marius Schoonmaker of this city had become Congressman Gould's successor, and the friends of the deceased applied to have him reinstated. Mr. Schoonmaker immediately upon his arrival at Washington had an interview with President Fillmore and the Secretary of the Navy, when young McEntee was restored to his former place in the Academy, a proceeding very unusual and impossible almost, had it not been for the high esteem in which Mr. Schoonmaker was held by the administration.

Mr. McEntee did not remain at the Academy long after his reappointment, but left that institution, and soon afterwards entered the merchant service in company with William Hathaway, a former well-known resident of this place. He shipped in the merchant service on board the clipper ship Skylark, with Captain Dow. Parting with his friend Hathaway at Calcutta, India, on his return to this country, he shipped on the Henry Brigham which was also commanded by Captain Dow, as second Mate. When the war of the rebellion broke out he was anxious to serve his country in almost any capacity and went out in the Old Twentieth, of this county, one of the first regiments to enter the field, as Orderly Sergeant of Company H. He was soon appointed and served as Adjutant for the balance of the three months. When the regiment returned from its three months' service, and there was a demand for officers and seamen in the U.S. Navy, he immediately tendered his services to the Government and was commissioned an officer in the navy. Most of his service during the war was rendered in the squadron of Admiral Farragut, who participated with his fleets in all the principal battles [[of]] the Gulf, including the capture of New Orleans, the opening of the Mississippi [[in]] Vicksburgh and Port Hudson, and afterwards in the passage of the forts at Mobile, Ala., on the 5th of August, 1864, and the capture and destruction of the enemy's iron-clad fleet at that place; also the bombardment and taking of the forts at that point on the 22nd of the same month. He was attached to the steam gunboat "Katahdin" in the Mississippi campaign, and the steamer "Octorara" in the [[passage]] of the forts at Mobile. At Mobile his vessel was one of the headships of the line of fourteen, she being lashed alongside the frigate [[missing word]] "Brooklyn." The "Brooklyn" was struck [[seventy]]-seven times in this action, many of the [[navy?]] shots from the forts going through and through both vessels. At the close of the war the deceased remained in the navy for some time, during which period he made a voyage to Europe as an officer on the Augusta, which was sent as a consort to the iron-clad Miantonomah, which vessel was the first iron-clad to cross the ocean.

Upon his return from foreign waters he resigned his commission in the navy and came home. During all his service in the navy he bore an honorable record, was heroic and brave under the hottest and most galling fire, and never showed the "white feather" himself nor allowed those under his command to falter. McEntee was ever at his point of duty, and although holding a subordinate position, was the hero of many noble deeds of valor. He was a thorough sailor and a strict disciplinarian. He has now gone to meet the thousands who gave up their lives in those memorable contests, but none who have preceded him bore a more noble war record than M. W. McEntee.

The deceased was one of a family on ten children who have attained much prominence in the social and professional walks of life, and could he himself have had more of life's responsibilities than were vouchsafed to him, the probabilities are that he could have far exceeded them all. Although having never married he was a great lover of children, and in his nom de plume of "Uncle Blue Jacket" he wrote many tales of the sea which found their way into publications as St. Nicholas and Harper's Young Folks, and were delightful and interesting reading for the little ones.

Of the talents of the deceased during the time he was a local editor and the downtown reporter for the Freeman it is almost unnecessary to speak, and his work in that line was fully appreciated by its editors and its readers. His copy was a compositor's delight and was always nearly as perfect as if printed, and there was no excuse for errors. He was eminently social in all his relations in his life, and there will be many who will be prevented from gazing on his familiar features at his funeral, as it is probably on account of the illness of his aged mother that the services will have to be strictly private, and only his immediate relatives will be present.

Mr. McEntee was a great lover of his country, and its history was his delight, and from the paternal home on the Weinberg a flag would be displayed many times by his hands,on the large liberty pole, in commemoration of some event in the history of the republic of which many people were not cognizant.

The death of Mr. McEntee occurred at 9:30 o'clock this morning,and his age was 47 years.

Funeral of M. W. McEntee.

The funeral of the late M. W. McEntee was held yesterday afternoon at 5 o'clock, and was only attended by the immediate relatives of the deceased and the bearers, who were chosen from among his friends. Rev. Dr. Magee of the Rondout Presbyterian Church, who enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the deceased, made appropriate remarks at the residence and at the grave. During the services he recited a favorite poem of the deceased, and one which the family had frequently heard him repeating in his room when he supposed he had no auditors. The quiet funeral was a very impressive one to those attending.

KINGSTON, N. Y., JUNE 14, 1883.

MAURICE W. McENTEE.
Freeman

In the sudden death of Maurice W. McEntee another person is removed who has left an enduring impression upon the journalism of this city. Mr. McEntee was for a number of years connected with the Freeman in an editorial capacity, and his education and experience, especially at the Naval Academy and in the naval service, were of peculiar advantage to a paper published in a community largely made up of navigators. He was a clear, concise and ready writer, with a storehouse of facts that were certain to be useful anywhere and always. He was moreover a genial and companionable fellow-worker and a valuable assistant in nearly every department of newspaper work. Last year he made an extended visit to the far West, and his recent literary labors have included a number of sketches of his experience and observations there, contributed to different periodicals. His work was invariably welcome, not only for its literary merit, but because it was always done with an accuracy and precision that made its "handling" easy. His manuscript was a wonder for its beauty, plainness, accuracy of punctuation, and exactness of preparation in every detail for the press. The people of this city will share with his aged parents and other members of the afflicted family the sorrow that is always felt when a life so abundant in the resources of long continued usefulness is cut down in its prime.

[[note]] Troy Times 14" [[/note]]

Capt. Maurice W. McEntee died at his home in Rondout on Thursday. During last summer Mr. McEntee was connected with the engineer corps of the Northern Pacific railroad company and was stationed near Bozeman, Mont., for several months from which point, over the signature of "M. W. M.," he wrote for the Times a series of interesting letters, which ended with a description of his homeward trip by water from Duluth to Buffalo. Deceased was a talented journalist and writer; he was for several years connected with the Kingston Freeman in an editorial capacity, and his work was always appreciated by the management of that paper. He was also a frequent contributor to the Atlantic Monthly, the St. Nicholas and Harper's Young People, for which periodicals under the nom de plume of "Uncle Blue Jacket" he contributed many interesting sketches of sea life. In 1851 Mr. McEntee entered the naval academy at Annapolis, but not liking the severe duties of that institution he resigned therefrom. At the outbreak of the war of the rebellion he enlisted in the twentieth New York state militia, a portion of the enlistment he was commissioned an officer in the navy, doing duty most of the time in the squadron of Admiral Farragut, with which he participated in all the principal battles of the gulf. After the close of the war he made a voyage to Europe in the consort which accompanied the ironclad Miantonomah, which was the first vessel of the description to cross the ocean, a souvenir of which trip he possessed in a medal presented him by the czar of Russia. After this trip was ended he resigned his naval commission and became a journalist and contributor to magazines. He was a true friend and genial companion.

H. A. Skillman

Transcription Notes:
Complete, but missing several words that I wasn't sure on. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-21 14:54:25 All of the question marks are words fully or partially missing. Some can be deduced from context. Those in question marks are the ones I couldn't fill in. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-21 15:38:51 "Sho's" is actually shots, the t is partially missing, but context from other t's and the shapes show this. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-21 17:36:43 Separated the first two paragraphs Added in missing words [[of]], [[in]], [[fourteen]] Confirmed [[passage]] is the correct finishing of the visible [[?ssage]] Fourteen could have been spelled as "forteen" during the time of this document but it is impossible to confirm the spelling of the word. The r is just barely visible. A fact check confirms 14 steamships. With how much room would be between the edge of the page and "Brooklyn", there should be another word since "frigate" was not the end of the sentence, meaning "Brooklyn" should not be the start of a new sentence. Doing a fact check, the Brooklyn was found to have been struck over 70 times during repairs. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-05-05 17:04:06