The sun., 1906-01-16
CuT TRENCH THROUGH GRAVES
FOR FOL LNDATION OF STAGE OF
JEWISH THEATRE.
rof,ns Exposed and Human Bones Exhumed
in Rear Of Ola Forsyth st. Methodist
CHURCH Children Play With Bones
.Re,raled b, suicide or Young Man.


church Children Play With Bones
Rev ,ealed by suicide or Young Man.
The suicide Of young man named Will
liam Coander, apparently from totally
d;Ferent cause, brought to light last evening
,be fact that human remains had been dug
-, in the old graveyard Of the Forsyth
Street Methodist Church.
Apparcntly the young man killed himself
IN account of worry over the illness of his
mother, but gossip in the neighborhood
os Forsyth street, where he lived, had It
that his mind became unhinged through
seeing some children playing with human
bones which had been exhumed by laborers
from the old churchyard.
The story that boys had been playing
with human bones was confirmed last night
by the sexton of the church. The house
where Collander lived, together with Nos. s.
losnd 1? Forsyth street, are built on ground
,ha, was at one time the front yard of the
church The church building, the sexton
said was erected III years ago.
1t was built, he said, by former members
NJ the old John Street church The prop
erty originally extended to Chrystie street
on Delaney street and was about 200 feet
deep 1t is said that, many persons were
ments. it was said last night, were in the
early sixties
Portions of the property were sold from
time to time, and last May the board Of
trustees, of which D. Edward Leaycraft Is
treasurer, sold the remainder, lncudlnR
the church itself.
4 portion of the Forsyth street property,
including the church, has been purchased by
a company which intends to run a Hebrew
theatre The interior Of the church is to
be reconstructed and that, portion Of it
where the alter now stands will be the
front of the stage. The stage proper will
he in an addition the construction of which
was begun last week W hen gang OF Italian
laborers began digging trenches along
prescribed lines for the foundations:
This work is going on in a small space
at the north end of the church The trenches
are only about three feet deep. but the
dggers in their work have unearthed
several cotfins and tossed up with the dirt
and stones numerous bones OF former
church members.
Boys from the adjoining tenements,
climbing over the fences into the little
that remains of the church yard, picked
out bones from the heaps of earth and had
played with them. The sexton said he
caught some boys roasting jaw bone and
some other bones on Friday last. After
chasing the Youngsters he gathered the
bones and buried them.
An inspector visited the scene yesterday.
Later on the bones disappeared. In pur-
suing their work the laborers, the sexton
raid. cut through at least two coftns, leav-
ing a portion of each uneNcavated and
expose to view in the trench.
} Edgar l.eaycra.t, the treasurer of the
old church, said last night:
When the site of the church was sold
no thought was given to the possibility
that there might be bones lying beneath
the ground of persons buried years ago
in the chuchyard The church was one
Of the oldest in the city, and while there
were. | believe, some records at one time
long ago disappeared, and never in the
present generation has the place been
looked upon by those belonging to the
church "a; cemetery or sra yeyard''
With the money secured through the
sale of the church the old Germania As
sembly Rooms property on the Bowery
just north Of Houston street, which extends
through to Second avenue has been ptlr-
chased. In the course of time, the old
building there will be replaced by new
Ones which will be devoted to mission,
charitable and settlement work.
The present congregation of the old For
syth street church. Of which the Rev. VIII
liam Stonehill is the present minister, will
take up temporary quarters at I and
Second avenue about February l.
Collander was youth of 20 years. He
lived with his parents and numerous
brothers and sisters. He left no letter
accounting for his act and his family said
they could only attribute it to worry over
his mother, who is i'll with friends in Phil
adclphia.
He spoke Of his mother frequently during
the past few DAYS, and on Saturday told his
father he GUESSED he, too, was sick and
asked him 10 call in a doctor. The family
jollied HIM 4 bit, and yesterday morning he
went to work, apparently quite cheerful.
About | O'Clock people in the tenements
opposite saw him on the roof Of No. wiring
ing his hands. About 10 minutes later,
Collander landed with crash on the side,
walk. He was pickd up unconscious and
taken to Gouverneur Hospital, where he
died all hour later
Gossips in the neighborhood told two
stories as TO the reason for the suicide.
The Collander family declared one was
absolutely untrue 1t was that young
tollander had lost heavily on the recent
election. The other was the story which
referred to the old churchyard.