The Portland daily press., 1879-06-27
A PORTLAND BRIDES UNTIMELY
DEATH.
The Drowning OF a Patterson Clergy
mans Wife

The sad tragedy at Niagara Falls on Satur-
day, recalls a somewhat similar occurrence at
the Passaic Falls which was if anything, even
more distressing in the attending circum-
stances. During the early part of the Summer
of 1872 number of the residents of Patterson
desiring to have regular preaching in the Eng
fish language, induced the Presbytery Of New
ark to accede to their wish, and the Rev. Hoop
er Cummings, Pastor of the Second Presbyte-
ry of Newark was appointed to preach for
them. He went to Patterson on Saturday,
June 20, 1929, with his young wife, to whom
he had been united only few weeks. The
lady was Sarah Emmons of this city, born and
educated in Portland-where she had resided
all her life-who was twenty-three years of age.
Her person was agreeable, her manners simple,
her mind strong and ingenious. On Sunday
Mr. Cummings preached for the people in Eng
lish in the old Dutch church of Totowa, near
fhe corner of Matlock-a quaint and venerable
building, burned down in 1927. He was the
first to use the English tongue from that pull
pit, which before that time had been occupied
exclusively by Dutch Dominies, and this fact,
combined with his undoubted eloquence, pre-
ducad marked impression on his congr0ga-
ton, which was deepened by the unfortunate
sequel to his visit. In after years it was al
eyed that as he concluded his sermon black
bird flew in at an open window and ominously
perched on the great sounding-board that IN
those days overhung the pulpit, but this was
Enthusiastically an invention of some lmaglIa-
tive chronicler, who thought thus to invest the
melancholy narrative with tinge of supersti-
tious horror. The next morning, before setting
out on their drive back to Newark, the young
couple took walk up to the falls, which in
those days presented far finer spectacle than
now, as then the cataract was almost in a state
of nature, surrounded by forests and adorned
with flowers of varied hues. After gazing
about them for some time, and looking, down
the dizzy depths INTO Which the river suddenly
plunges, Mrs Cumming grew faint, and they
withdrew short distance feom the preciplce
until she should regain her composure. After
while, as they were about leaving the vicinity,
she ventured again with her husband to the
edge of the rocks to take q farewell view of the
sublime and, to her, novel scene. The spot where
they stood is about 100 feet south or southwest
of the present chasm bridge, near the whitened
trunk of blasted pine, and just over deep
cleft in the trap-rock, spanned by board
couple of feet across. Fascinated by the wild
beauty of the spectacle, they stood entranced
for some moments, when he said: SIT is time
to return" and stepped back pace or two to
allow her to follow him across the narrow
DT1uS6. suddenly lie n0dru VIII cry, ana
turning, saw her not. She had disappeared
over the awful brink with that agoniZing
shrek which was to ring in his ears forever.
In a mad frenzy he ran to and fro along the
edge of the precipice crying, ''She is fallen!
she is fallen'' Thomas Wills, a lad of 16, hap
pened to be fishing in the basin below the falls
at the time. Rushing to the top of the rocks
he caught Mr.. Cumming just as he was on the
point of plunging over the precipice after his
wife. The two then descended to the basin,
and again the bereaved young husband at
tempted to throw himself into the water, but
was restrained by his youthful friend. Soon
the news of the shocking accident spread
through the town. and the people turned out
to recover the body, 1t was found in the basin
a few rods from where she fell in, about
o'clock the next morning, and taken to the
residence of Mr.. Samuel Colt, one of the prin-
cipal men in the new Presbyterian congrega-
ton, who then occupied a house where Mason
ic Hall now stands. The remains were con-
veyed the same day to Newark, and the funer-
al took place on Wednesday, from the Second
Presbyterian church at Newark, the sermon
being preached by the Rev. James Richards,
of the First Church. Thousands of citizens
from Newark and the surrounding towns as
sembled, and there was not dry eye in all the
congregation. The husband went insane, and
afterwards recovered his reason, married, and
was accused of plagiarism in his sermons, and
of being addicted to liquor. His congregation
stood by him, and when the Presbytery refused
to install him they withdrew and had him for
their pastor. He died in Charleston in the
39th year of his age.