THIS DAY IN 1918 IN THERECORD

Sunday, Aug. 4, 1918. News of the death of former Troy mayor Elias P. Mann today “brought forth on every side expressions of regret and sympathy even in these days when the world is torn by tragedy,” The Record reports. Aged 65, Mann had been in declining health since February. He dies at his home in Williamstown MA at approximately 2 a.m. A Troy native, Mann was the son of Francis N. Mann, who was mayor of Troy from 1847-50. He graduated from R.P.I. in 1872 and was deeply involved in civil life as a volunteer fireman and a member of the Troy Citizens’ Corps. He represented the Second Ward in the common council from 1880-82 and was elected Rensselaer County treasurer in 1899. In 1905, Mann became the first Republican to win a Troy mayoral election in thirty years. He served three two-year terms and was nominated for a fourth before losing to the current mayor, Cornelius F. Burns, in 1911. “His administration was strikingly free from scandal or the suspicion of it,” our reporter writes. “Few men could boast of a wider acquaintance, and the many honors bestowed upon him by his fellow citizens never affected these ties. Elias P. Mann was big enough to be a leader or a Trojan in the ranks.” Collopy Dies in Action in France As our writer noted, the world is torn by the tragedy of war. News reaches Watervliet today of the first combat death in France of one of its sons. Joseph A. Collopy, the son of longtime Watervliet police captain John W. Collopy, was killed in action on July 18, according to a telegram received tonight. Despite receiving an honorable discharge for physical disability, the younger Collopy was determined to return to service and fight for his country. After several tries, he was accepted in July 1917 and arrived in France the following September. The Record recently published excerpts from a letter in which Collopy “described [his] activities graphically.” Lieut. Bromley of Troy Reported Dead Closer to home still, a veteran Troy soldier has succumbed to disease at the army base in Newport News VA. Thomas Bromley of Mill Street receives confirmation tonight that his brother, Lieutenant Charles Bromley, passed away earlier today. Bromley enlisted in 1898, at the time of the SpanishAmerican War. He served during the Philippine Insurrection a few years later, and was later posted to Alaska, Hawaii and Cuba. During the current conflict he was in charge of troops guarding the Newport News waterfront. He last visited Troy “several weeks ago” and at the time appeared “in the best of health.”