Pg. 84………………STEUBEN COUNTY POOR-HOUSE.   1868. Consists of a series of buildings – some of brick and some of wood – standing about two miles from the village of Bath. No classification of the inmates is possible. The sexes are locked up in separate apartments at night, but in the day-time they mingle unrestrained in the buildings and yards. Among those under care were twenty-one children and thirty insane. The insane occupy a two-story brick building, planned with cells ranging along central halls, imperfectly warmed, poor ventilation, and without bathing facilities. Four were in close restraint, and nearly all were violent, noisy, and filthy in their persons. No attendants are employed, except paupers. The children attend school on the premises.   1878. Upon the opening of the Willard Asylum in 1869, this county removed most of its chronic insane to that institution The building heretofore occupied by this class was then set apart for epileptic, idiotic, feeble-minded and infirm persons. This building was destroyed by fire April 6, 1878, and fifteen of the inmates perished in the flames. The building has since been rebuilt on the old foundations, and a frame dwelling has been erected for the keeper. These expenditures have been made upon the original plan of the buildings, and the evils arising from lack of classification and the mingling of the sexes are perpetuated.   Pg. 177 - 191…………..REPORT ON THE STEUBEN COUNTY POOR HOUSE. By William P. Letchworth, Commissioner.   REPORT. To the State Board of Charities: In conformity with the request of the Board, this report on the Steuben County Poor-House is submitted. The task of its preparation has not been an agreeable one, in view of the unhappy incidents connected with its history, and the necessity for criticism, while discharging a conscientious duty. The attempt to do this, and to place no greater weight of blame in any quarter than the circumstances warranted, has made it the more delicate and difficult. The buildings provided by this county for its pauper class, have long been inadequate, and are so arranged as not to effect a separation of the sexes, nor the classification of the inmates. A system, which comprehended that thorough and complete supervision necessary to a wholesome moral tone required for such institutions, was also lacking. These serious defects are a matter of the greater surprise, in view of the known intelligence of the leading citizens of the county and its agricultural wealth; the assessed valuation of the real and personal property, being in 1877, $19,674, 645. One of the unhappy consequences growing out of this condition, has been the frequency of disastrous fires at the county poor-house, resulting, in each instance, in the destruction of property and the loss of life. The first of these fires of which we have record took place on the night of January 2d, 1839, and was caused, whether accidental or intentional is not known, by an insane pauper, Elias Williams, who was burned to death. The second occurred in August, 1859, at which time two old men, aged respectively eighty and ninety years, three insane men, and one idiot woman, were burned to death. A recent and still more disastrous fire took place April 7th, 1878, at which time sixteen persons were burned to death. As the circumstances attending this catastrophe demonstrate faults in poor-house construction and management, apparent in many other like institutions and making them subject at any time to a like visitation, it is thought proper to enter more fully into its details than otherwise would be necessary. The building last burned had during the past six years twice caught fire. These fires having occurred during the day-time were extinguished without material loss. This structure was of brick, shingle roofed and two storied, thirty by forty-four feet in size, and located about one hundred feet distant from the main building. It was originally constructed for the keeping of the insane paupers, and its windows were secured by strong, iron grates, which prevented all egress except at the doors. Its interior on the first floor was partitioned into fourteen small rooms, ranged on either side of a main hall, intersected by a narrow transverse hall. These rooms contained single and double beds. The dimensions of the rooms containing single beds were about five by eight feet, and of those containing double beds, six by eight feet. The second floor was partitioned into six small rooms on one side of the main hall, and two large apartments on the opposite side. Of these six rooms, the dimensions were as follows: one, five by eight feet; four, seven by eight feet; and one, eight by eight feet. The two rooms on the opposite side contained four beds each. The entrance to the first story was at the south end of the building, and that to the second floor at the northeast corner, at the bottom of an enclosed flight of stairs, three feet six inches wide, with no communication between the two floors. The partitions were of pitch-pine plank, one and one-half inches in thickness, and not plastered. The floors were of pitch-pine also. The building was warmed by wood-burning stoves, one each, in the Upper and lower halls. The inmates were allowed the use of candles for light in the halls. The building had no water supply, nor any appliances for the extinguishment of fires. At the time of the accident, forty-three persons occupied the building, eighteen of whom were males, being on the first floor, for the most part aged, feeble and infirm, comprising two who were blind, two crippled, and one an insane epileptic. Twenty-five women and children occupied the second floor. These were mostly aged and infirm, of whom, one was blind and crippled and two idiotic. Of the children, three were boys and five girls. The fire was discovered about midnight, and originated on the lower floor, in a room occupied by L. C. Ford, an epileptic, who at intervals of from one to two months was subject to periods of excitement. At such times he was usually very troublesome, and had once attacked his keeper with a club. During this period, he was noisy, boisterous and quarrelsome. Ordinarily he occupied quarters in another department of the poor-house, but when excited, was confined in this building under the care of a pauper inmate, sixty-five years of age, infirm and with eyesight greatly defective, who had charge of the men's department of the building. This pauper had in his possession the key to Ford's cell, and up to the discovery of the fire it had not been opened in three days. His food was passed through an aperture-in the door of about nine by ten inches. Ford had been an inmate of the poor-house about two years and was partially supported by a relative, who contributed one hundred dollars a year. The propriety of removing him to the Willard Asylum had been considered, but no action taken in this direction. It appears from the testimony of Dr. John R. Selover, a physician and surgeon residing in Bath, and formerly physician at the poor-house, that he was one of a commission appointed in July, 1876, to inquire into Ford's sanity. He testifies that a report was made to the superintendents, which was left at the county house; that the commission decided that Ford was so far insane that he was an unfit person to remain there; that he told Mr. Carrington, and it is his impression, the superintendent also, that Ford would kill some one yet, or that he would burn them up if he was not cared for. On the night in question, Ford was greatly excited up to nearly the time of the fire. He had torn his bed in pieces, and scattered the straw about on the floor. It appears from the testimony of the keeper that it was customary for him, by direction of the superintendents to furnish the inmates with tobacco and pipes, and they were allowed to smoke at pleasure during the day-time, but not after nine o'clock at night. The sane portion of the inmates were permitted to have matches. Ford had been known to carry them upon his person and they had occasionally been given him, two or three at a time, when he was considered rational. He was not searched for matches previous to his last incarceration. The fire spread rapidly, and as heretofore stated, no means being at hand for subduing it, was almost immediately beyond control before the keeper could be awakened and arrive at the spot. The outer door of the first floor was not fastened, but the exit door from the second floor was locked, which accounts for the greater loss of life among the females. The screams of the women, it is reported, aroused the paramour of one of the females, and he, rushing to the scene, broke in one of the door panels and rescued the object of his regard from the flames. Soon after, the keeper and his assistants, with a piece of timber, broke in the door, the key of which, in his haste, had been forgotten and left in the house, and such of the inmates as were at hand, were rescued. The smoke and flames, however, prevented him from ascending the stairs or making any farther attempt to save the lives of the inmates. A horrid sight was presented in the case of the man Ford, who, soon after the outbreak of the fire, was seen with his head thrust between the stout iron gratings of his window, jumping up and down in his agony, while trying to withdraw his head. His hair was burned off by the flames which poured out of the windows about him; meanwhile, in the words of a witness, he was yelling "murder!" "let me out!" The total number of persons burned in the building was fifteen, and one man, named Hudson, a paralytic, who had crept from the burning building on his hands and knees, with his clothes on fire, died on the next day from the injuries he had received. The following is a complete list of the victims: L. C. Ford, insane epileptic, aged 48 years. David Curtis, a cripple, using crutches, aged 79 years. John Messinger, very deaf, aged 84 years. John Allivan, a cripple, having lost one leg by a railroad accident, aged 58 years. Buell M. Page, demented, subject to epileptic fits, aged 49 years. Edward Hudson, paralytic, aged 56 years. Betsy Smith, blind and idiotic, had been an inmate over 20 years, aged 63 years. Chloe Mudge, idiotic, an inmate for 20 years, aged 38 years. Rosa Welch, crippled and idiotic, an inmate 10 years, aged 20 years. Abigail Shultz, partially insane, aged 63 years. Julia Davis, idiotic, aged 38 years. Achsah Ranger, idiot, aged 27 years. Catherine Sullivan, insane, aged 71 years. Sarah Stone, colored, idiotic, aged 26 years. Jennie Mills, aged 4 years. Mary Hewitt, aged 14 months. The little girl, Jennie Mills, was a very bright, intelligent child. At the time of her admission, when about being consigned by the keeper to the care of one of the pauper women, she clung to him crying and begging that she might remain with him. Young as she was, she realized the uncongenial associations and her forlorn situation. The woman to whom she was given abandoned her to the flames, but saved her own child. The woman having charge of the other little girl, Mary Hewitt, likewise saved her own child, and left the little one in her care to its fate. The other buildings through great exertion were saved, the loss being confined to the structure burned, the destruction of which was complete. The bodies of the victims were charred beyond recognition, and only fragmentary portions of the whole number could be found. It is customary for a committee of the board of supervisors to visit and inspect the poor-house, and report its condition to the Board annually. This was done the previous fall. A committee of six was appointed for the purpose, who reported November 16th, 1877, that the average expense per week for each pauper was found to be ninety-five cents. It was further reported by the committee, that: "The different departments connected with the poor-house we find in good condition. The different apartments are clean and well kept, the food for the paupers appearing good and sufficient; the buildings in good repair and fences in good condition, and from all appearances the poor-house is under good management." The report was adopted, and the committee discharged. Appraisers were also appointed to make an appraisal of the real and personal property belonging to the poor-house establishment and farm, who submitted to the Board January 15th, 1878, an inventory of all the property at the poor-house and on the farm, including household goods and the minutest articles in use of every description, in each department. The Board was thus informed of the means in the hands of the keeper to carry out their wishes. Notwithstanding the commendatory report of the committee, it appears that other county officials were aware of the true condition of affairs at the county house, and also cognizant of the insufficient provision made for the county poor. Alonzo Deyo, a supervisor, testifies, in substance, before the coroner, as follows: That he had been three years a supervisor; that he was a committee appointed by the board of supervisors to investigate the-county house affairs; that he was instructed to investigate the management of the superintendents, and the general condition of affairs at the county house, and that two other supervisors assisted him. The investigation began in January, 1878, and continued steadily for three weeks; and it was found that there were no well-defined rules and regulations for the government of the inmates of the institution; that it was over-crowded; that more was put upon the superintendents than would admit of being properly performed; that the superintendents had never made any complaints to the board of supervisors, to his knowledge; that he considered the buildings totally inadequate to the requirements of the inmates; that Mr. Carrington's help was totally insufficient for the duties of his office, and he saw but one man whom he considered competent to properly assist Mr. Carrington, whom he understood to be the hired man; that some of the beds were so worn out that the straw protruded; that they were in very poor condition, hardly worthy of the name of beds; and that in one of the poorly-ventilated buildings there were double the number of persons that could properly occupy them; that he was unable to find any room that he considered suitable for a sick-room or hospital; that he did not discover any sewerage or drainage from any of the buildings; that the barns were in good condition, large and roomy; and in his opinion sufficient for the convenience and care of the farm stock, and that they were far better in proportion than the provision made for the care of the paupers. Mr. James S. McKay, chairman of the board of superintendents of the poor, testified before the coroner substantially as follows: That he was in the habit of meeting the other superintendents at the county house once in each month; that he did not know the nature of epilepsy, and he was not familiar with the treatment of the insane in insane asylums; that the superintendents of the poor had consulted with Mr. Carrington as to the desirability of having the buildings arranged so as to keep the men and women apart, but as there was no provision made by the board of supervisors, they could not do it; that there were none of the buildings at the county house adequate to their uses—to use his precise language, "fit to keep human beings in;" that the board of superintendents had enacted all the rules and regulations "that the facilities they had would allow;" that there was not sufficient help to take care of the paupers, but that he supposed they had employed all the assistants that they were empowered to do. Another of the superintendents of the poor, Mr. George S. Braisted, testified substantially as follows: That, as a member of the board of superintendents, they never adopted any rules or regulations for the government of the inmates of the county house; that while he supposed rules had been made he had never seen any that were printed. He states: "That when a new member of the board comes into office, there are always two who have been in before him, and he has little to say or do in regard to the government of the concern, and the rules that were governing the institution were rules that had been made before. I knew nothing of rules made before I came in, or nothing of who made them. I did endeavor to have rules established when my term commenced." He further testifies: That he was at the county house when the board of supervisors sent their committee there at their last annual meeting, and that he directed their attention to the overcrowded condition of the buildings, and that he considered that the board of superintendents had done all they could in the way of ventilating the buildings and in proper management under the circumstances; that he believed that the superintendents transcended their power in putting up any buildings however trivial; and that the superintendents had been governed by the rules and customs of their predecessors; or, to use his own language, "when I came into office, I found the machine running in a certain way and, except with occasional change, it has been running in the same way ever since." The keeper avers that he has frequently called the attention of the superintendents of the poor to what he deemed to be the unsafe condition of the buildings, and the inadequate means at his disposal to properly supervise and care for the inmates under his charge. Upon the 24th day of April last, seventeen days after the fire, I visited the county poor-house accompanied by the Secretary of this Board. A careful inspection was then made of the premises. Inquiry was also made into the circumstances attending the fire, and the facts noted. It was found that an inquest already referred to had been held by the coroner, and a large amount of testimony taken in relation to the event. Upon examination of the testimony, and from conversations held with reliable citizens of the county, it appeared that the essential facts had been elicited. The verdict of the coroner's jury will be found appended to this report. . The following information, gathered at the time of this visitation, is herewith presented, as serving to illustrate the administration of the poor department in Steuben County at that time. The total number of inmates at the time of the visitation was 97 of whom 64 were males, and 33 were females. A large number of these were aged persons—twenty-seven men and fifteen women being over sixty years old. There were two insane women and one insane man; two male and two female epileptics, one male paralytic, three male idiots, five middle aged vagrant men, and six middle-aged vagrant women; also four children under three years of age, and four over three years. These, it was stated, were soon to be sent to asylums at Rochester, which has since been done. As showing the helpless character of the inmates, the keeper said "only one-third could be trusted to take care of themselves." The yearly average number of paupers during the keeper's administration of six years, he states to be 125. A distinction exists in this county between town and county paupers. The number of county paupers was thirty-nine; chargeable to towns, fifty-eight. The main building of the poor-house is two stories high. The first story is of stone and the upper of brick. This building was built about forty-four years ago, is greatly dilapidated, the walls having fissures and the material loose in many places, giving to the whole structure an appearance of insecurity. The apartments are inconveniently arranged, the ceilings only eight feet three inches high, the stairs narrow and steep, and the house has no means of ventilation. The doors are misshapen through age and use, and the panels in some cases split and broken. The plastering is cracked and uneven from frequent patchings; there are no clothes-presses in the rooms, and more or less garments are hung upon the walls, thereby increasing the danger of fire from the candles in use. The general appearance of the interior was depressing and gloomy. This building is occupied by the keeper and his family, and gives shelter to most of the female paupers. The men are scattered in the various detached buildings, which also contain some of the aged women. The buildings throughout are warmed by stoves; the water is brought through pipes from a spring for drinking and cooking purposes, and from the creek for washing and scrubbing. No classification of the inmates exists. The sexes mingle unrestricted during the day. They are locked up at night as far as practicable, but a separation of the sexes cannot be wholly effected. Since the term of the present keeper, six years, it is stated that three illegitimate children have been born in the house from illicit intercourse with pauper inmates, and an examination of the institution makes it a matter of surprise that the number is not greater. During the time of this visitation, young women were passing to and fro in the yard and in and out of the buildings occupied by the men, and there seemed to be no means to prevent this association. Two of these attracted attention by their wanton manner; one was the mother of two children, born in the house, and the other was said to be afflicted with a loathsome disease. They were continually passing in and out of the men's quarters, and no check could be put upon their movements, except by locking them in their rooms. The keeper complained that he was annoyed, in the evenings of pleasant summer weather and on Sundays, by disreputable prowlers about the premises, who effected stolen interviews with certain of the debased female inmates. It should be remarked that back of the poorhouse, and not far distant, are wooded hills. The officers and employees charged with the sole care of ninety-seven inmates, mostly sick, infirm and enfeebled, and also responsible for the proper husbandry of the farm of two hundred acres, are the keeper and his wife, a hired man, a hired woman for the family of the keeper, and one hired woman to superintend the cooking for the inmates. No night watch is employed, nor any person to attend the sick. The wife of the keeper bestows upon them such attention as her other manifold duties will permit. The physician to the county house is paid the sum of $45.50 per year; is engaged to visit the sick once a week, and from the small sum received is required to furnish all the medicines used. It appears that, at one time, the keeper set apart a room for a hospital ward, but afterwards the building became so crowded that he was obliged to use it for other purposes. On the occasion of this visit an interview was had with the supervisor of the town of Bath, one of the superintendents of the poor, and the keeper of the poor-house, and the services of the board was tendered to the county officials in case they should be desired, to aid in perfecting any plans for new buildings for the county house. The board of supervisors were then soon to convene, and it was expected that an appropriation would be made for this object. On the 6th day of May last a request was made by telegraph to the Secretary by the superintendents of the poor to meet them at Bath and confer upon this subject, the board of supervisors having convened. As the request immediately preceded an important meeting of the executive committee, it was impracticable for the Secretary to leave. In order, however, that the disinterested intentions of the board might be fully understood, a letter was addressed by the president to the chairman of the board of supervisors, after learning that an appropriation of $3,000 had been made for building purposes, again offering gratuitously the services of the Board, and the use of plans in the office and the attendance of its officers in Steuben county, on due notice being made by the county officials. No application was made to this office in response to this offer. On the 7th day of October, a second visit was made by the undersigned to the poor-house of Steuben County, and the following notes were then taken: "A new brick building has been erected on the site of the one burned in April last. It was expected to make the old foundations available, and this immaterial consideration it seems had some weight in determining its location; but upon proceeding to build, they found it to be of little use. The building, which is intended solely for the use of men, is fifty feet in length, and of the same width as the old building, two stories high with a slate roof. The ceilings of the lower rooms are ten feet, and the upper rooms nine. The building is sufficiently lighted at the ends; but its east and west sides show but six openings in a distance of fifty feet, three on either floor to each side. These are small, the light-space being only two feet four inches by four feet ten inches. No provision has been made for ventilation, excepting the man-hole to the attic in the upper ceiling. It was stated that it is not intended to carry the water by pipes into the building. The apartments will be warmed by stoves. Below, the space is partitioned into a large sitting-room, occupying the entire front, in rear of which is a hall; on each side is a bed-room for old men too feeble to go up stairs, adjoining which, on each side, is a secure-room or cell for refractory cases, and lunatics, temporarily detained. There is, also, a small wash-room. The upper floor may be reached by an inside stairway and an outside flight of steps. It is used for a single dormitory. It is intended to furnish it with new bedsteads. "There has also been constructed a two-story frame cottage, the general dimensions of which are forty by forty feet; underneath is a good cellar designed to be used as a meat store-room. The building is planned to accommodate the keeper's family, and furnish an office for the superintendents of the poor. It seems to be well adapted to its purpose. Upon the removal of the keeper to his new quarters, the main building is intended to be used solely by women. "Notwithstanding the expenditures made for the new structures, unfortunately their location is such that the promiscuous commingling of the inmates is not corrected. On the contrary, the reprehensible features of the old system are perpetuated. During the visit they were, as heretofore, so strikingly apparent as to make the inspection of the institution a painful duty. In the wash-house building were men and women; some of the latter had become mothers or were about to become so. One woman, with a jaunty-looking cap perched on her head, was sitting on a table entertaining, in a pert manner, several men about her. One stout woman was engaged in stirring with a stick the boiling clothes in two large, steaming caldrons near the center of the room, while others, of both sexes, were sitting or standing listlessly around. "In consequence of the fire, although the number of the more helpless inmates had been reduced by this catastrophe, all the buildings were greatly crowded with beds, as was the attic of the wood-shed, where thirteen women slept; and in one department of the meat and corn house were seven beds. One of the buildings is called "the old toll-gate," from having been removed from the turnpike some twelve years ago, after serving its original purpose. The incongruous appropriation of this to its present use, for which it is ill adapted, seems to have been done in pursuance of a rigid policy of false economy. A particular description of this building would be necessary to make, apparent its utter unfitness for the uses to which it has been appropriated in connection with the county poor-house. It is forty-two feet long, and only sixteen and a half feet wide with low ceilings. It is literally packed with inmates. The lower front end is partitioned into rooms for old men and women. The back part is used by men. "One of the inmates here was a congenital idiot, dressed in a long, brown-cotton gown. This was his sole covering, with the exception of a cotton undergarment. The upper part of this building is partitioned into two sleeping- rooms; one of these, occupied by old men, is twenty seven and a half feet long, with the ceiling shaped to the roof, only three feet eight inches high in the center It has no ventilation whatever, and only one small-sized window at one end. The plastering was patched and cracked. Here were eight old rickety and literally worthless bedsteads and bunks. The sheets were greatly soiled, the beds unmade, the straw in places protruding from the ticks; much of the bed covering was ragged and brown with long use. On these miserable beds were stretched three feeble old men, whose emaciated faces, in their ghastly paleness, contrasted strongly with the dark shadows of the dimly lighted room. "The keeper stated he was obliged to sleep thirteen persons in this confined space. Seemingly cobwebs festooned every angle of the room, while the innumerable blood spots on the wall showed that vermin had invincibly taken possession of the apartment. The scene here presented was one of such utter and woeful wretchedness as to render a full description impossible. It was stated by the keeper that it was the intention of the superintendents to remove the inmates from this building to the new brick structure, when the latter was completed." Upon whom rest the responsibility of the recent disaster, and the ills that afflict this community, opinions will differ. It has been shown that the keeper of the poor-house at different times had brought the attention of the superintendents of the poor to his lack of means for the proper discharge of his duty, and it appears, as already stated, that one of the superintendents of the poor took pains to show to the committee of the board of supervisors, at the time of their visit, the overcrowded condition of the buildings, while the view of the board of supervisors is indicated in the acceptance of the report of their committee. The local press, at various times, has directed public attention to the evils and abuses of their county-house system, and it would seem, on the whole, that the citizens of the county must generally be acquainted with the condition of the charity. As to how this long-standing wrong against humanity can be corrected, is a subject worthy of the serious consideration of the philanthropist and the legislator. Respectfully submitted. WILLIAM P. LETCHWORTH, Commissioner. Dated at Albany, N. Y., December 10, 1878. APPENDIX. VERDICT OF THE CORONER'S JURY. The Verdict. State Op New York Steuben County At an inquest indented and taken the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th days of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, for the people of the State of New York, in the town of Bath, in said county, before Charles H. Bennett, one of the coroners of said county, on view of the body of Edward Hudson, then and there lying dead, upon the oaths of Theodore Silsbee, Byron A. Todd, Orson Higgins, Joseph C. Dudley, James Parks, S. Dimmick LeGro and Watts Bushnell, good lawful men of said county, who, being sworn and charged to inquire how and after what manner the said Edward Hudson came to his death, do say, upon oath aforesaid, that he came to his death, April 8th, 1878, by burns and bruises received in and while trying to escape from the brick building known as the new brick building, built and known as the building for the insane and other paupers in Steuben county, while on fire April 7th, 1878. From evidence furnished, we find the fire to have originated in the cell occupied by L. C. Ford, and supposed to have been kindled by him while laboring under a fit of lunacy, to which he had been subject. We find that L. C. Ford, Edward Hudson, David Curtis, John Messenger, John Alivan, Bud M. Page, Betsey Smith, Chloe Mudge, Julia Davis, Rosa Welsh, Abigail Shults, Jennie Mills, Axy Ranger, Catherine Sullivan, Mary Hewitt, Sady Stone came to their deaths in an accidental manner as the evidence shows. We find that the keeper of the county house has used all due precaution to guard against fires, and at the burning of the building known as new brick, in which the persons above mentioned came to their death, brought into use all available means that he had at his command to rescue those who could be reached, and save as many lives as he could, and prevent the destruction of property. We think the first place to lay the responsibility of this great calamity is at the door of the citizens and tax-payers of the county for not directing their supervisors to make ample appropriations for safe and commodious accommodations for the inmates of our poor-house. Second, to the board of supervisors for not insisting on better care, and a more careful inspection as to the affairs of the county buildings and surroundings. Also, to the superintendents for not providing better facilities for quenching fires, and more and better means of egress from the sleeping apartments, knowing the helplessness of the class of persons that, from want of better accommodations, are obliged to room there, and for not persisting in the removal of L. C. Ford, after receiving information that he was not a proper person to remain at the poor-house. We recommend that our board of supervisors immediately make an ample appropriation for suitable buildings, to be better ventilated and guarded against fires. The building that has just been burned was considered the best on the farm that was used by paupers, and, if the evidence of thirty witnesses is to be relied on, was poor enough; and by our superintendents promptly removing all such persons as L. C. Ford, and placing an outside flight of stairs as a means of egress from the building used for sleeping rooms, such a calamity as we have just had may be averted. Theodore A. Silsbee, Foreman. Orson Hi&gins, Byron A. Todd, Joseph C. Dudley, James Parks, S. Dimmick Legro, Watts Bushnell, C. H. Bennett, Coroner. ml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /> At an inquest indented and taken the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th days of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, for the people of the State of New York, in the town of Bath, in said county, before Charles H. Bennett, one of the coroners of said county, on view of the body of Edward Hudson, then and there lying dead, upon the oath of John Hassett, a good and lawful man of said county, who, being sworn and charged to inquire how and after what manner the said Edward Hudson came to his death, does say, upon oath aforesaid, that he came to his death by burns and bruises received in, and while trying to escape from, the brick building known as the new brick, built and known as the building for the insane and other paupers in Steuben county, while on fire, April 7th, 1878,I find from the evidence produced that Edward Hudson, L. C. Ford, David Curtis, John Messenger, John Alivan, Bud M. Page, Betsey Smith, Chloe Mudge, Julia Davis, Rosa Welsh, Abigail Shults, Jennie Mills, Achsah Ranger, Catherine Sullivan, Mary Hewitt and Sady Stone came to their death through the gross negligence of the board of supervisors in not providing suitable buildings for the accommodation and protection of the paupers kept at the county poor-house, and I find the board of supervisors, and each member of that board, guilty of manslaughter in the fourth degree. JOHN HASSETT. 3. H. Bennett, Coroner.