Sunday's Obituary - Anders Bennett Hansen

Andy Hansen

Last week I posted the obituary of Andy's mother, Alice Hansen.  It is only appropriate that I follow up with Andy's obituary. 

A year before his death Andy was interviewed by Ithaca College Gerontology student Peter Reilly.  Peter visited Andy twice a week and then wrote up a paper describing their conversations. But in the course of that assignment, Peter and Andy became good friends. When Peter arrived at Andy's house located on the highest hill in Newfield, he found a 78 year old disabled man who had just lost his wife to cancer, was homebound during cold weather, and who had to have an aide come in twice a week to bath him. But what Peter learned through his assignment was that Andy Hansen had a love of life, animals, God and people. And that is exactly the person we came to know and love.  We miss you, Andy.

Obituary for Anders Bennett Hansen

Newfield – Anders Bennett Hansen, a resident of Newfield for almost seventy years (sic) [Andy was 79], died peacefully on Feb. 20, 2001 at his home on Barnes Hill Road. He was born in Edgewater, NJ on November 9, 1921, son of the late Jens J. and Harriett Alice Hardman Hansen. He lived with them and his brother, Harold on Seeley Hill for many years and graduated form Newfield Central School.

He married Natalie Elaine Bonfilio on March 12, 1966 and lived with her on Barnes Hill Road until her death in November 1998. He worked in many farming and lumbering jobs as a young man, also for the Tompkins County Highway Department for more than twenty years, and later for private employers.

He wrote for local newspapers during his long life in Tompkins County, first as the Mule Skinner and more recently, a column called “Looking Back” in the Newfield News. He was writing an article and preparing another at the time of his death.

A memorial service and burial will be announced in the spring. Bangs Funeral Home will be in charge of arrangements.

Source: http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20010224/obituaries/309103.html

Sunday's Obituary - Mrs. Alice Hansen

I didn’t know Alice Hansen.  But the reason this obituary is meaningful to me is that I did have the honor of knowing, for just a bit, her son Anders. 

I met him in his later years because his late in life marriage prompted him to convert to Catholicism, and that is when we ran into him at church.  Andy and his wife Natalie lived in the sparsely populated hills of Newfield, NY.  We visited them on occasion, and then him a little more often after Natalie passed away.  He proudly showed us the variety of vegetables and berries growing in his garden, and always insisted we take something home with us.

Andy had some disabilities that I suspect provided him many challenges in his life.  We enjoyed the company of this kind intelligent person; a person who didn’t let his disabilities deter him from enjoying life.

It is interesting how these distant memories are invoked by reading an obituary of a person I never knew. 

Obituary of Mrs. Alice Hansen

Mrs. Alice Hansen, 61, of Seely Hill, Newfield, died unexpectedly Saturday, Jan 24, 1953 at Tioga General Hospital, Waverly.  She is survived by her husband, Jens Hansen of Newfield: two sons, Anders and Harold Hanson, both of Newfield; two sisters, Mrs. Corine Brennan and Mrs. Muriel Curry of Sebastopol, Calif; two brothers Louis and Fulton Hardmann of New York City; a half sister, Miss Everetta Waters of Montreal, Quebec, and 4 nieces. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Allen Funeral Chapel, Newfield, with John C. Booth, Jehovah’s Witnesses, officiating. Burial will be in Jehovah’s Witnesses Cemetery, Lansing Road.

Bearers were Andrew Patana, John Goodwin, Wesley Crance, Waino Knuutila, George Ruuspakka and William Brashear.

Workday Wednesday - Mail Carrier Everett V. Noble

Sometimes I am distracted while working on genealogy projects when I come across interesting items. This particular article from a 1953 Ithaca Journal caught my eye as I worked on an obituary project for the Tompkins County Rootsweb site.  I hope readers will enjoy the bit of history and dedication of this mail carrier from Ludlowville, NY.

The mail man who covers more mileage each day than any other in New York State has begun his 41^st year as a post office employee.

He is Everett V. Nobles of Ludlowville, who treks 63 miles daily, except Sunday, over the roads of Lansing township to deliver the mail. Last Friday, May 15, Nobles observed his 40^th anniversary as a rural mail carrier.  

The Ludlowville carrier began work in 1913 by using a horse and buggy over a 20-mile route. In the summer of 1914 he purchased his first car, and used that except during the days of winter when traveling was difficult. Then he relied on his dependable horse. It was not until 15 or 20 years ago that conditions of all the roads he covered became such that he could travel a year around by car.

When William Minturn, the other Ludlowville rural carrier died in 1936, the U.S. Post Office Department consolidated the two routes, with Nobles taking over. His route now includes two houses in Cayuga County.

Nobles was eligible for retirement last Friday, but he plans to keep on with his work for a while.

He was born in Swartwood, but has lived in Ludlowville since he was 5 years old. Mr. and Mrs. Nobles have a son and two daughters, Maj. Lloyd Nobles, San Diego, CA; Mrs. Hubert Quay, Altamont; and Mrs. William Bishop, Ludlowville. 

Ladies Monday Club of Newfield, New York

Laundry and housework had to be finished before a Newfield lady felt comfortable attending the 3:00 p.m. Monday Club gathering.  The incentive was a lovely social time where the ladies of the community discussed books, visited, and enjoyed light refreshments.

The Monday Club started in 1893, originally for educational purposes.  The program committee suggested discussion topics and books to read. Speakers were often local teachers who presented on various subjects. As the years went by, the ladies of the club became more civic minded and are credited for saving the historic Newfield Covered Bridge when it was in disrepair.

Ladies Monday Club - 1919
Photo Credit: Newfield News, April 13-19, 1977
Article by Roberta Sperling

The Ladies Monday Club meetings ended in the mid-1960s as more women worked outside the home. But for half a century, the Ladies Monday Club was a social and educational gathering time for the women of Newfield, New York. 

Sunday's Obituary - Bessie Runner

The invitations were sent. The family was busy preparing to celebrate her high school graduation, and then she contracted measles. 


As we well know, sometimes our research brings us to unfortunate and sad events. While doing a little more research on the family of Olin and Martha Eva (Hardenbrook) Runner, I came across this obituary of their daughter, Bethulia (Bessie) Runner, who died just before her high school graduation.

Measles Followed by Pneumonia Proved Fatal

Death of Miss Bessie Runner, a Member of the Graduating Class of the Hammondsport High School

Hammondsport, April 18 – The funeral of Miss Bessie Runner was held yesterday afternoon at the North Urbana Church. Rev. D.I. Pitts of the Methodist Church of Hammondsport, officiating. The deceased was the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Olin Runner of North Urbana, and would have been 19 years of age if she had lived until today.

Several weeks ago she was taken ill with measles and this was followed by an attack of pneumonia from which she could not rally. Miss Runner was an exceptionally bright girl, a great favorite among her young friends, and greatly beloved. She was a member of the graduating class of 1904 of Hammondsport High School and would have also graduated from the class this year. She is survived by her parents and two brothers. 

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Tuesday, April 19, 1904 p. 3, col 2