Year: 1872



 Our village and neighborhDod has been ,,xsr-heImed by the sudden stroke which lee taken from our midst prominent h-s;ness man, kind reighbor and cher ;sbed friend. The heavy presence of grief tbaf eould not be suppressed has now for . week. imprinted itself on every face, and laft its visible maFkswhereyer1the current cf husiness, or social union, has allowed an interchange of thought. Its sudden DeHs. the deep sanSei of loss; the effort to sl,Ink if d troubled dream which we shall soon rise from our pillow to brush away, followed by the quick conviction that it ;s after ali, too true-make the death of o1r friend specially mysterious and in scrutable aflictiOn.

 And yet MT. Wells had not long been a resident here. It is only small segment Inf his life that was linked with Amenia. Four wears ago he could be called stran- ger to our people; and to-day his death has caused such sorrow as we do not re- member to have seen equalled here in a lifetime. His manly worth; chivalrous honor delicate even to a sensitive degree; his uniform courtesy and refinement; his ready. out-reaching sympathy for every good cause, and his willingness to help Tn Kindly, human way the least worthy mor- tai of all-if he stood Tn need-endeared him to every heart Some of this bene- ficence was so sincerely and quietly done that only his death has drawn 1t forth from the secrecy in which he meant it to be hidden.

 In alertness of mind, and quickness of perception he was almost without peer. Ton saw this in his work, and felt it in his cordial, magnetic manner. No self-absorp- ton of thought could cause him to be ob- livious to your presence, or to forget the warm courtesy which he would feel 1t an offense if he were to omit. We confess to having been often and long detained, by the invitation in his eye and on his lips, and by his ready fund of inspiring talk, when our errand over his counter was done.

 Mir. Wells was born in Litchfeld. Con- necticut, December 20th, 1923, and was consequently 48 years old. His early days were spent in that town, and there his father and two sisters still live. For a while he did business there as merchant. In 1850 he went to Brattleboro, Vt, and for fifteen years was cashier of the Bank of Brettleboro-an important position, which he filled as we learn with eminent satisfaction. In 1865 he went to New York, and was for time with Jordan, Marsh < Goa dry-goods Armand af- forwards was employed in clerical way in the brokers office of Fisk & Belden, in Broad street-which was then the head quarters of Daniel Drew. On the first of January, 1868, he came to Amenia: and from that date until his death was the faithful and trusted guardian of the finan- cial interests of the First National Bank. The hours he was absent from his post in all the business period here were very few: though often urged by his friends and the directors, to give himself occasional leis- ure and recreation. To this persistent fdelity-the feeling winch put duty para mount to everything-we owe his untime- ly loss.

 In hls illness no amount ofmedical skill or care could avail. He had all that the prOmptings of alarm and sympathy could suggest. Vain was it all. The tide had gone far for human means to avert His stricken family, in their bitter bereave- ment, feel the throb of kindness that has beaten on their behalf, and we are only expressing their warm desire by recogniz- ing it here.

 We shall sadly miss our friend as the weeks roll on. A familiar figure will be lost in the streets and to our greeting. When we push for entrance at the massive doors which open where he was wont to stand, we shall think tenderly of him who has passed the returnless door of Death, The desk now vacant, the pen and other tokens of his toil will go to other hands; but the mutely speaking TOW of flowers the fresh ivy which he trained, and which still climbs on the western window tow ard the sunshine and Heaven-sweetly re- call his memory, and point to the purity in which he dwells. It seems no exagger- atiOn to say that the generation which knew him must pass, before the fragrance of his life here will be forgotten.

 At meeting of the Board of Directors of the First National Bank, held at their Banking house in this place, yesterday. the following Resolutions were passed by a unanimous vote:

 Whereas, It has pleased our Heavenly Father. Tn His wisdom, to remove from us by death our late associate and friend, Philip Wells, Director and Cashier of this Bank.

 ResOlrcd, That by this sad event this Institution has lost faithful and invalua- ble officer the community, a helpful and public spirited citizen; and his family more than earth can replace

 ReSOtred, That we tender to the widow and children of our departed friend, our earnest and heartfelt sympathy in this hour ot trial and bereavement, and our sincere desire, that Gods presence and blessing may tighten their burden and di- rect their steps

 ResOtred, That these resolutions be pub lshed in the Armenia Times, and a copy of them be forwarded by the acting Cashier to the family of the deceased.