Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-03-30
Priceless Relics of Colonial Days Consumed
in Fire at New York's Capitol
MONETARY LOSS WILL BE $5,OOO,0OO
Books and Documents in State Library Made Fuel for
the Flames-Eectricians Attribute Fire to Cigarette
Sessions of the Legislature Held in Albany City Hall
Fire Was Still Burning Last Night.

laughed and expressed the belief that
you might as well look for a fire at the
north pole Nor has any criticism OF
the fire resisting qualities of the build
ing been heard. 1t was not the build
ing that burned, but it's contents. and
fire started were Of the most inf1am-
mabIe material-wooden shelving,
books, pamphlets and loose papers.
sseks and Papers Fed Flames.
The congestion which the new edu-
cation building was designed to relieve
has increased for several years past
until the fourth floor space in the west
wing did nearly four times the service
1t was originally intended for. Mez-
canine floors and balconies were con-
structed to hold the rapidly increasing
ffood of books. In places this part of
the building was like a rabbit warren
with the employees of the library and
the pupils of the library school work
inr In boxlike apartments surrounded
BY wooden shelves loaded with volumes
and documents. When the fire, start
ing among the papers in the assembly
library. reached this portion of the
building it swept ahead with a fury
that fused like wax, sandstone, granite
and marble.
Historic Manuscript Destroyed.
The most precious fuel the flames
found in their path were the 23 manu-
script folio volumes of the official rec
ordu of the governors OF the city OF
New Amsterdam, covering a period
from 1880 to 1874. To have these
translated the state last year appro-
priated $4,000 a year and engaged A.
J. j.. Van Laer to do the work. This
was expected to take fifteen years. Mr..
Van I.aer's partially completed trans-
lations were burned with the original
Dutch documents.
In addition to these the state lost
Clinton, hve thousand pieces in all, and
the original letters of Sir William
johnson and Gov. Daniel d. Tompkins
Other Priceless Relics.
The priceless Colonial and Washing
ton and Lincoln relics in the custody
Of the education department were in
the big safe on the ground floor and
were u6injured. These include the
ers9insi msnIssript N ssla 81 Of Washington's
coln's emancipation proclamation, all
the original copies of the state consti-.
tuition and the Major Andre papers
Among the documents lost were rec
ords dealing with the history of South
Carolina during the Revolution. At the
request of that state a bill was pend
ing in the legislature here to permit
their original possessor.
Msssasxs Of Sympathy.
The governor received kilograms to-
day expressing the sympathy of their
states from the governors of Massa-
chusetts and Maryland. Maryland Of
fered the use of her state library and
other assistance.
Attributed to Cigarette.
Electricians about the capitol scout
ed the idea that defective wiring had
started the blaze. They blamed it on
a carelessly thrown cigarette and it
was assert ed that the desk of a clerk
and the bookcase near it was observed
to be on fire when the flames were first
Night Waterman Still Missing.
Albany, N. Y, March 29-No trace
had been found tonight of Samuel ].
Abbott, the aged night watchman in
the state library, and there is little
doubt that he perished in the flames.
His son and daughter. who reside in
West Newton, Mass, have been noti-
fed.
Abbott Was q War Veteran.
Syracuse, n. Y, March 2g.-Samuel
J. Abbott. who is believed to have per-
ished in the capitol fire, was born in
Syracuse IL years ago and lived here
many years.
Mr. Abbott enlisted in the. Twelfth
New York volunteers in 1861. In 1875
he was appointed deputy overseer of
poor. Mr.. Abbott's wife died in Al
bany about three months ago.