100 years ago in The Saratogian
Saturday, July 14, 1917
A Saratoga Springs man is “suffering greatly from shock” after getting thrown from a braking trolley car tonight, The Saratogian reports.
Henry F. Forthmiller is resting at his Caroline Street home after being treated by Hudson Valley Railway physician Dr. R. H. McCarty. Forthmiller was knocked unconscious for an hour by the accident, and has been “in a dazed and half-conscious condition” since then.
The accident takes place “but a block or two distant” from his home, near the Fifth Avenue crossing on East Avenue. “The accident happened so quickly that witnesses are at a loss to explain all the details,” a reporter writes.
“Mr. Forthmiller asked the conductor to stop at Caroline street, and that when the car passed that street without stopping, he stood up to attract the attention of the conductor, who was then in the front of the car.
“The conductor gave a signal to the motorman and the car came to a stop, but it was while the car was slowing down that Mr. Forthmiller pitched out on his head, the sudden change in momentum probably causing him to lose his balance.”
Many streetcar companies operate “open cars” without windows during the summer so passengers can enjoy the breeze as they travel.
MOTHER FAINTS AS SHE LOSES CHILDREN
A child custody hearing in the City Hall courtroom ends with a former Corinth woman fainting after the judge rules against her.
“The case presents many unusual and some pathetic circumstances,” The Saratogian reports. Annie Johnson’s estranged husband, Irving U. Johnson, sought custody of their two minor children, claiming that Annie was an unfit mother.
The Johnsons have been married for 25 years and have an adult son. Two younger sons drowned in the Hudson River “two or three years ago.” Annie Johnson left her husband last March, taking 13 year old Aymer and 11 year old Florence with her to Glens Falls. Rumors of her conduct since then, left vague by a reticent reporter, drove Irving Johnson to sue for divorce last month.
While Justice C. C. Van Kirk awards custody to Irving, the children will remain with Mr. and Mrs. Ira Mallery of Corinth until the divorce proceedings are concluded.
“One of the children, Florence, clung to her mother and refused to be separated,” a reporter observes, “Attorneys and officers of the court guided the mother and child to the hall, where the mother recovered.”
Once the children are taken away in an automobile, Annie faints again. She’s treated at the nearby Ledlie’s Drug Store before returning to Glens Falls. She will retain visitation rights after the divorce.