Sunday, May 13. 1917

Herman Lincoln Waterbury, “for many years a leader in the varied activities of this city,” dies this morning at his Franklin Street residence at the age of 72.

Waterbury’s leadership can be measured by the length of his obituary, which takes up nearly two columns of tomorrow’s Saratogian. His major achievement was his tenure since 1883 as the business manager of the Western Union office in Saratoga Springs.

‘Mr. Waterbury was one of the best know telegraph officials in the United States,” according to the obituary, “He had spent his entire life in the business, starting as a messenger boy in the Saratoga Springs office in 1861 when he was but fifteen years of age.

“Being ambitious, he learned telegraphy in his odd moments, and so completely mastered his profession that in 1864 he was transferred to the force of telegraph operators in the Albany office. There he remained during the winters, but for years was sent to the local office as chief operator during the summer rush.

“The Saratoga Springs office is an important one, particularly in summer, and during his long years of service he had secured the friendship of hundreds of well know summer visitors, and particularly of newspaper men.”

The obituary includes a long list of Waterbury’s attainments in Masonry and public service. A former president of the board of education and the local Business Men’s Association, he served on the city civil service commission at the time of his death. He served for eight years in the Saratoga Citizens’ Corps, the precursor to 1917’s Company L and “a conspicuous part [of] social and military life here.”

Waterbury “was known as a highly competent employee, and the interests of the company were always his own. He was kindly and genial and a fluent speaker [who] was frequently called out to deliver addresses at public and fraternal affairs.”

A Saratoga Springs native, Waterbury had been ill for the past several months. His last social appearance was in February, when he presented gold watches at an Elks function.

Local baseball

The Catholic Union nine of Saratoga Springs remains unbeaten after a 6-2 victory over the Glens Falls Shamrocks this afternoon.

“The game was well played in all but one inning when the Glens Falls players by wild throws and fumbles let in four runs,” a Saratogian sportswriter reports.

The Shamrocks led 1-0 in the third inning when their defense lost control of the game.

Dorsey, the Union pitcher, strikes out ten in a complete-game effort, while “the Unions infield was like a stone wall, making many sensational plays.”