Vandalism at Fremont.
Without doubt the most uncalled for and devilish act ever perpetrated in Steuben county was done at Fremont in this county last Thursday night, when some one entered the cemetery just south of the village and defaced and overturned nearly fifty tomb stones, which marked the graves of the following persons:
Amos Wilcox 1873, Elnora Trecarten 1870, Lucia Trecarten 1870, Conrad Rowe 1843, infant son of E. H. Drake, Samuel Goodfellow 1838, two children of W. and L. Cullen 1864 and 1866, son of J. Sheffer 1854, Eliza Newman 1886, Viola Chapin 1880, Annie Chapin 1870, Mary Douglass 1870, Sarah Eckert 1863, William H. Weaver 1850, James Heller 1862, Smiley Goodfellow 1870, George Hall 1849, Margaret Miller 1855, Ina Wade 1856, Osman Goff 1868, Catharine Fitting 1860, Susana Zarger 1859, Eunice Wilcox 1887, William I Balch 1905, Callie Pierce 1872, Ralph Callen 1902, Ettie Chapin 1879, Elizabeth Crater 1861, Matthias Crater 1871, George Weaver 1854, Daniel Heller 1892, Lucinda Schaeffer 1875, Frederick 1893, and Catharine Straw 1871, Effa M. Wade 1880, Willie B. Wade 1874, Mary E. Wade 1850, Sydney Fitting 1861, Benjamin Fitting 1859, Clarissa Victoria Fitting 1904, Ray Caswell 1880. The Frederick Straw monument is badly damaged.
Other property about the depot was damaged, a switch light being battered out of shape and thrown away, a straw stack belonging to D.J. Tillotson, thirty rods east of the cemetery, was burned, a window in the ticket office broken in, etc. As these acts were all probably done before midnight, it does seem that the guilty parties can be found out.
There are no further news articles about this deed that I can find, nor information about what happened to the individuals involved.
I find it interesting that in one article, Frederick Straw’s monument is called “imposing”, while the other article calls it “pretentious”. I am sure there is a story that we may never know of. 