Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-12-27

William j. roster, while at the rail-
way station in Westerly. died instantly |
of heart disease, just before o'clock, |
Sunday afternoon, while awaiting a |
train that brought sister to Wester-
ly. There was a large crowd in the |
waiting room when Mr.. Foster was |
seen to fall to the floor. There was
an immediate call for DR.. Michael H. |
Scanlon, who was in the room, and
when he reached Mr.. Foster death had
come DR.. Scanlon is the medical ex-
aminer and he gave permission for /
was born in Westerly about At years
ago, although he appeared to be much
older.
He was the only son of the late J.
Barclay Foster, who was at the head
of the defunct Pawcatuck bank, and
William was a clerk in that institution.
Later he engaged in the florist bust
ness with greenhouses on the Foster
| farm, Beach street. and continued in
that business until recently, when he
disposed of it, the plant being known
as the Riverside greenhouses.
Mr.. Foster was unmarried and is
| survived by four sisters, Miss Mary
Foster, with whom he resided, Miss
Eva Foster of Concord, N. H, and Mrs.
Helen Willerts and Mrs. Alice Pen
mock of Philadelphia He was a mem
| Der of the Society of Friends and be-
| longed to no other organization. Be-
|
| relatives. some of whom reside in
| Westerly.
Thomas D. Main, who resided in an
| Isolated house in the woods a mile
| and a half from the village of Hopkin-
| ten, was burned to death and his
| house was completely destroyed by fire,
presumably Thursday night, and the
charred remains of Main were found
| in the ruins Friday afternoon. Friends
! - Toi, hD1; fAJ1 TN1o
and that Main was robbed and muir
| dered and then the house was fired.
| 1t is said that Main had received nu-
| merous threatening letters and that no
, trace could be found of the money, of
| which he was known to have a con-
| siderable sum, both in silver and in
i bills, when the ashes near the remains
were raked over. There was no trace
of the silver coin, but there were two
/ old pocket coins found near the char
red bones. Mr.. Main had a shotgun
and rifle. The barrel of the shotgun
was found in the ashes, but there was
no trace of any part of the rifle, al
though a most careful search was
made.
Mr.. Main had told friends of recefv-
ing threatening letters within the past
two years, and in response to one of
the letters he placed some money I'M
der a stone at night and that it was
gone the next morning. On the advice
to the threatening letters. The dis
covery of the house being burned was
| by Hadley c. Kenyon, who was on his
| way to a sawmiH for a load of saw
dust, late Friday afternoon. George
| Kenyon, who lives half a mile distant,
| says that he noticed a light on Thurs
day night from the direction of where
the Main house was located, but did
| not attribute it to the burning of the
house at the time.
a tbnrnI1ph Of oil
that remained of the house, was made
under the direction of DR.. Asa S.
Briggs, medical examiner, and the
burned ashes of Mr.. Main were found
: i'll the cellar under that part of the
| house that Mr.. Main used as a kitch-
en-. The medical examiner is making a
| thorough examination of the case and
2 hopes to solve the mystery.
William Howard Doane, the noted
hymn writer, one of the best known
cottage owners at Watch Hill, and a
legal resident of the town of Wester-
ly, although he maintained a winter
home in Cincinnati. and spent occa-
Thursday night at the home of his
daughter, Mrs. George w. Doane, in
South Orange. n. ]. He spent last
summer at his home in Watch Hill, but
was in very weakened condition, and
early in the fall started for the south,
but he became so feeble that he did
not go any farther than South Orange
) and to the home of his daughter, where
) he died. Mr.. Doane was born in Pres
| ton City SO years ago and in early life
was engaged in manufacturing bust.
ness in the vicinity of Norwich.
| He engaged in business in Cincinnati
and was the president of the ], A. Fay
& company,resigning when it amalgam-
{ ated with another concern. He was
. an inventor of woodworking machin-
= cry, in which he acquired great
wealth. Throughout his long life he
was interested in church work, and is
the author of many of the standard
hymns. For many years he aided
, position as the blind hymn writer
: One of the latest compositions of Mr..
Doane. who kept at work to the very
end, was music for the late Fanny
Shall Be Light, which she wrote
shortly before her death. He COM
! posed hundreds of Sunday school
! songs and hymns. two of the best
known compositions being Safe in the
> Arms of Jesus and Draw Me Nearer.
Denison university of Granville, O.,
gave him the degree of doctor of
music.
Mr.. Doane made a trip around the
world, studying the music of each ma
ton, and returning with a rare coIlec-
p ton of musical instruments which he
! gave to the Cincinnati Art museum
He was at one time president of the
a Baptist Publication society, president
|. of the Baptist Ministers Aid society,"
: and was acknowledged leader in Bap-
fist UNCONVENTIONAL affairs. He was a
member of the Sons of the American
, Revolution. the Mayhower society and
: the Society of Colonial Wars. He is
+ survived by his wife and two daugh-
ters, Mrs. George w. Doane of South
= Orange and Miss Ida F. Doane OF
Watch Hill. Burial will be in Cincin-
natl.
Sabbath morning the following
Christmas exercises were held in the
PaWcatuck Seventh Day Baptist
church: Organ voluntary. March Sol
onnelle, Lemiagre; opening sentences
Lords prayer, Psalm XIII in unison
scripture lessons, Isaiah tx: 2; hymn
No. ISL; Adeste Fideles;' prayer and
reSpOpSe: OffeEtnrN. violin Snln N