Person Page - 4534

Jottings About Town.
     Oscar Sackett, who says that he owns the clipper ship Andrew J. Lawson, was committed by Justice Mansfold, yesterday, because he would not agree to support a woman with four children, who claims to be his wife.

—New York Herald, New York, New York, 15 Jul 1869, p 1

City Items.
     Abandonment.—Fanny Sackett, of Smith, near Church street, complained of her husband, Oscar Sackett. He has abandoned her, leaving her without any support, and neglects to provide for her according to his means. He was arrested and held to await examination before Judge Delmar on the 31st of December.

—The Brooklyn Daily Times, Brooklyn, New York, 24 Dec 1869, p 3

List of Letters—Remaining in the Hartford Post Office, Saturday, Sept. 3, 1870.
Gentlemen's List.
S—... Capt Oscar Sackett...

—Hartford Courant, Hartford, Connecticut, 3 Sep 1870, p 3

Sixth Gun from Oak Bluffs.
Neptune V...ry Club of Norwalk, CT.
This club is comprised of some forty-... of good ... standing, and make several excursions to prominent ... and ... places on the New England coast. [... text blurred]. They are duly organised, and take this sensible way of spending their vacations, by engaging a suitable vessel to transport them to such places as they wish to visit. They are spending the week at Oak Bluffs, on their sixth annual excursion, in the fine schooner Hannah T. Brown, Capt. Oscar Sackett. They gave a splendid reception to their friends on board their vessel on Monday afternoon, when over a hundred ladies and gentlemen partook of their generous hospitality. ...

—The Fitchburg Sentinel, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 21 Aug 1875, p 2

Suit for a Wife's Board.
     The suit of Mrs Mary Bruce against Oscar Sackett was tried before Judge Van Brant and jury, in Part III of the Supreme Court, yesterday. The plaintiff in the case was a boarding-house keeper, and sued to recover $290 for 29 weeks' board and lodging furnished to Sackett's wife in 1874. He is a sea Captain, and said that his wife refused to keep house, and that he furnished her with $80 for housekeeping expenses, and also gave her $150 additional, when she was at Mrs. Bruce's. He refused to give his wife any more money because, as he said, when he went to see her he found in her room a man clothed only in a shirt and trousers. The Captain's wife, strangely enough, was called as a witness in the suit, and said the man in her room was a Doctor, and that, on the occasion referred to, her husband conversed with him. She said her husband had treated her cruelly. An ancient-looking boarding-house keeper testified that he would not charge more than $4 per week for board and lodging at his place, which is on Varick-street. He did not know, however, what board and lodgings such as Mrs. Sackett had would be worth. His testimony was rejected. The jury gave the plaintiff a verdict for the full amount claimed.

—The New York Times, New York, New York, 21 Apr 1877, p 3

Summary of Law Cases.
     Mary Bruce obtained a judgment in Supreme Court, Circuit, Part 3, yesterday, against Oscar Sackett for $327. The claim was for the board of defendant's wife, who was separated from him. Defendant refused to pay on the ground that his wife refused to live with him, and that he had given her money sufficient for her support. She denied this, and said that he would only live with her "off and on."

—New York Daily Herald, New York, New York, 21 Apr 1877, p 8

Civil Notes.
     The suit of Mary Bruce against Oscar Sackett, tried yesterday before Judge Van Brunt, in Supreme Court, Circuit, was for 29 weeks' board of the defendant's wife at $10 a week. He excused himself on the ground that she would not keep house for him, and he gave her $80 to set up housekeeping and $150 for herself, and that coming to visit her one day he found a man in his wife's room with his coat off, which he did not like. It was explained by several witnesses, including the wife, that this was a doctor, then attending Mrs. Sackett. The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff.

—New-York Tribune, New York, New York, 21 Apr 1877, p 5

Capt. Oscar Sackett died in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 22d, aged 57 years. The funeral was held at the Second Congregational Church here, Tuesday afternoon. Capt. Sackett was the son of the late John Sackett, who formerly owned the land south of, and where the Railroad Station now stands, and was born and passed his boyhood here.

—The Port Chester Journal, Port Chester, New York, 26 Sep 1889, p 4

Personal.
     Capt. Oscar Sackett, of schooner Anpie E. Moore, died at New York Sunday. Deceased was well known here having been running for the Millstone quarry all summer.

—The Day, New London, Connecticut, 1 Oct 1889, p 1

Town Topics.
Re-union of the 17th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers Association.
Old Soldiers Gather at Pleasure Beach.
     The 38th annual re-union of the 17th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers Association was held at Pleasure Beach, Bridgeport, on August 28, 1900. About 78 veterans with their wives and friends assembled at the railroad station in Bridgeport in time to take the 10 a.m. boat for Pleasure Beach, where they arrived about 10.30 a.m. The members of the association assembled in the Pavilion at 12 o'clock when the business meeting was held.
... A recess was then taken for dinner ... .
     After dinner the association reassembled and proceeded to elect the officers for the ensuing year. ... The following named comrades were elected vice presidents: ...
     Co. I. Whitman Sackett.

—The Newtown Bee, Newtown, Connecticut, 31 Aug 1900, p 2

Home and Vicinity
     Whitman Sackett, an old veteran of the civil war and an honored member of Charles Lawrence Post No. 378, G.A.R., is lying quite low at his residence in Greenwich, Conn.

—The Port Chester Journal, Port Chester, New York, 8 Oct 1908, p 3

Obituary Notes.
     Whitman S. Sackett died in Greenwich, Conn., on Tuesday, following a six years' illness. He was 76 years old and leaves a widow.

—The New York Times, New York, New York, 22 Oct 1908, p 9

A Fight at a Church Supper.
     Bayville, L. I., Oct. 19.—During an oyster supper which was given in the Methodist church in this place last night a disturbance suddenly arose between William Henry Smith and Captain John Sackett, brothers-in-law and old residents of the village. Words were followed by blows and a general free fight ensued which was participated in by about a hundred people. Ten men were injured, among them the clergyman, Rev. William Taft, who was seriously beaten while trying to restore peace. Smith was so badly used up by Sackett that he had to be carried home on a stretcher. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of all the men known to have taken part in the affray.

—The Morning Journal-Courier, New Haven, Connecticut, 20 Oct 1883, p 3

A Fight In A Church.
Captain Sackett and Captain Smith, of Locust Valley, Break up a Fair in the Methodist Church.
     Last Thursday night there was a fair in the Methodist Church in the Village of Locust Valley. The object of the fair was to obtain money to supply the church with fuel during the Winter. At 11 o'clock the fair was at its height, The attendance at that hour was confined to the young people. John Sackett, a sea faring man, sat in a front pew in deep meditation. He is captain of a brick schooner. Captain William H. Smith, who owns a schooner, was in another part of the church. Captain Smith's wife is Captain Sackett's sister. Smith walked leisurely up to where Sackett was sitting, leaned over the pew and spoke to him. Neither party is willing to repeat what was said. While Smith leaned over the pew Sackett made a motion to get up, and Smith seized hold of him. Sackett got up, however, and had in his hand a heavy picce of wood with which he struck Smith several blows on the head in rapid succession. The men fell on the floor, and Sackett lost his weapon. They got up and dealt each other several blows in the face, causing the blood to run, and finally fell over on a candy stand and smashed it.
The Minister Interferes.
     The Rev. Wm. Taft, pastor of the church, interfered at this point and tried to separate the combatants, but the men continued to strike at each other over the minister's head and many of the blows took effect. At this juncture the men who were present were more interested in saving the minister's head from being knocked off by the fierce blows than in quelling the disturbance, and many persons were struck but not injured. The fight was carried on all the way up the aisle, the sluggers and the peacemakers getting down on the floor and rolling over each other in a mad sort of way. At last the men were got into the street and separated. Smith's face was badly bruised and cut, one of his eyes was closed and his head was cut in two places. Captain Sackett's injurles were not severe. It appears that when Smith was on his way to the church a man jumped out from behind a well and knocked him senseless with a club. When he recovered consciousness he went to the church and accused Sackett of having committed the assault. Both men say that the fight was the result of a family quarrel, the nature of which they will not disclose. Warrants will probably be issued to-day.

—Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, 20 Oct 1883, p 1

A Fight Under The Altar.
Capt. Sackett and Capt. Smith in a Long Struggle.
Striking and Tugging at Each Other all up the Aisle—What Marred the Harmony of a Church Oyster Supper in Bayville.
Locust Valley, Oct. 19.—Bayville, which is between Locust Valley and Oyster Bay Harbor, raises the finest asparagus on Long Island. An old resident said to-day that the people there were so very quiet and peaceable that the least thing would raise a tremendous row. On Thursday night the Methodist Church gave an oyster supper. It began at 8 o'clock and nothing occurred to mar the harmony of the occasion until 11. John Sackett, the Captain of a brick schooner, sat in the front pew, close to a candy stand which stood against the altar rail. He was alone in his pew, and in the aisle a number of children were playing. Couples were walking up and down, and many people were in the pews.
     Capt. William Henry Smith, who owns a schooner, and whose sister is Sackett's wife, walked down the aisle to the pew in which Sackett sat, leaned, and spoke to him. He had said only a few words when both clinched, and Sackett took a saw handle from under his coat or from the pew and struck Smith several violent blows with it. They struggled, fell on the floor, got up again, dealt numerous and heavy blows on each other's faces, and finally fell over on the candy stand and smashed it.
     Women and children screamed and ran from the church to the street, while others ran to see the fracas. The Rev. William Taft and six or seven of his parishioners ran down the aisle to the two fighters and did their best to separate them. Smith and Sackett struck at each other over the minister's head, and some of the other peacemakers were actually struck by the enraged combatants and they still bear marks of the blows.
     Capt. Smith and Capt. Sackett fought and rolled over and tugged at each other all up the aisle, while women screamed and children cried. At last they reached the street, and were there separated by force of numbers.
     Smith's face was badly bruised and cut, and one of his eyes was nearly closed. His head was cut deeply in two places. Both men were taken home by their friends. Captain Sackett's injuries were less severe, though he also bore marks of the fray. Pastor Taft was indignant at what had occurred, and several women became hysterical.
     All the residents of Bayville agreed yesterday that Smith had been worsted but they could not agree as to who had struck the first blow. Captain Sackett and his friends say he acted simply in self-defence, and that Smith struck him without provocation. The assault, they say, grew out of an old family quarrel.
     "About 9 o'clock on Thursday night," Capt. Smith said yesterday to a reporter, "as I was on my way to church and was passing the street well, almost opposite the church, a man, who was crouching on the ground, struck me on the head with a club, and I fell to the ground unconscious. I lay there a long time, and when I came to and went into the church to see Sackett, he, without warning, pulled the saw handle from under his coat and struck me with it. Then I struck him, and the fight began. It was an old family quarrel revived and I knew he was the man who struck me at the well. I did not intend to strike him in the church. I was going to ask him to come outside to speak with me.
     "I shall probably get out a warrant for his arrest, and he may do the same for me. I am right in the matter. The cause of the old quarrel I can't explain. It is a private family matter."

—The Sun, New York City, October 20, 1883

Capt. Sackett has Capt. Smith Arrested.
     Capt. William H. Smith, who fought with Capt. John Sackett at the church festival in Bayville. L. I. on Thursday night, was arrested yesterday, and will have an examination on Monday.

—The Sun, New York, New York, 21 Oct 1883, p 5

Long Island.
     Justice Frost, of Glen Cove, issued a warrant yesterday for the arrest of William H. Smith, who assaulted Capt. John Sackett at the church festival at Bayville on Thursday night, Smith was arrested by Officer Sheridan, and will have an examination on Monday.

—The New York Times, New York, New York, 21 Oct 1883, p 7

The Battle of Bayville.
     Bayville, Long Island, is a quiet and picturesque village, inhabited by Captains engaged in the oyster, blue-fish, and Summerboarder industries, and by the families of Captains with incidental cows and other live stock. Among the public buildings of Bayville is a Methodist meeting-house, and thither all Bayville flocked the other night to engage in solemn oyster-service, with a view to repainting the partially sacred edifice. The service was conducted with much skill and in a most gratifying way by the Pastor and the young ladies who sold stewed oysters, and it was affording a beautiful illustration of the truth that brethren should eat oysters together in unity when suddenly Capt. William Henry Smith fell upon Capt. Sackett.
     The difficulty between Capt. Smith and Capt. Sackett created an immense excitement among the other Captains and their families The friends of each of the combatants threw themselves into the fight with great ardor, and the minister and the friends of peace rushed among the combatants and were impartially beaten by the Smithites and the Sackettarians. The air was filled with the torn garments and strong language of scores of valiant Captains, and when the lights were accidentally put out every Captain fell upon his nearest neighbor, regardless of party or sex. It took nearly half an hour for the infuriated Captains to exhaust themselves, and when at the end of this period they had paused for breath, and the lamps were relighted, Capt. Sackett drew weapon, variously described as a "saw-handle," a "saw-horse," and a "buck-saw," and with it smote Capt. Smith over the head, compelling him to give up the fight. Raw beefsteak was then applied to the minister's eyes, and the wearied Captains, in various stages of dilapidation, limped homeward with their demoralized families.
     There are two theories as to the cause of the original disagreement between Capt. Smith and Capt. Sackett. It is said that Capt. Smith found an oyster in his stew, and that Capt. Sackett set up an unwarranted claim to it. This, however, is improbable. Sixty-three Captains are prepared to swear that two dozen oysters were used to make the oyster stews for the supper service, and where there was such an unprecedented number of prizes Capt. Sackett would hardly bave forgotten himself so far as to claim another Captain's oyster. The other theory, to the effect that the oyster stew made with two dozen oysters was so stimulating that it intoxicated men previously accustomed only to the usual sort of religious stew, is much more probable. Suppose that Capt. Smith was overcome by finding three oysters in his stew; that under the influence of excitement he struck Capt. Sackett, and that the other Captains, with their brains heated by the excessive strength of their stew, recklessly joined the fight, and we have a full and broad explanation of the great Bayville battle.

—The New York Times, New York, 21 Oct 1883, p 8

Captain John Sackett.
     Captain John Sackett, of Long Island City, died suddenly yesterday while at Roslyn, L. I., on business. Captain Sackett was the owner of a sandyard in New-York, and was interested in a line of sloops that ply along the Atlantic Coast. He was forty-nine years old.

—New-York Tribune, New York, New York, 27 Mar 1893, p 7