Granville Finger was surprised last night and again this morning. The first occasion of mental disturbance was the little matter of a bodily transition from the enjoyable environments of St. Cloud hotel to the more damp and uncongenial ones below the court house.
Deputy Sheriff Hubert E. Dorchester at 7:30 o'clock last evening, exhibited an authority in the form of a warrant on a body execution to arrest Mr. Finger, and consequently there was no resistance. Instead of reposing on a downy couch at the hotel Mr. Finger passed a sleepless night in a court house cell.
The surprise this morning was the information that if he did not pay up a judgement of $352.76 recovered against him by the Bowler Fertilizer company shortly he would be lodged in the penitentiary. At once he requested the jailer to ring up a messenger today and he sent a message to E. G. Lawrence, Kingston, N. Y., asking what could be done to help him out of his dilemma. It seems that the judgment was recovered December 24, 1904, against Finger and another, Cornelius O. Merritt, in the Supreme court sitting in Oneida county.
Repeated efforts have been made by the plaintiff's attorneys, Davies & Johnson of Camden, N. Y., to collect on the judgment. Finger has avoided service of the papers upon him by being absent from the state in Pennsylvania. He came here a day or so ago from Wilkesbarre to establish an agency for a publishing house. The plaintiff's attorneys got wind of his location and secured a body execution yesterday which bears Justice Scripture's signature and presented it to the sheriff of this county. Deputy Dorchester did the rest. - The Evening Telegram January 4, 1899
In reference to the above, the 1888 Kingston Directory lists
Cornelius O. Merritt and
Granville Finger as owners of the business 'Merritt & Finger' also known as 'Red Store' 107 N. Front Street Kingston, selling 'groceries and provisions'.
Granville Finger is in a more hopeful mood today as assurances of assistance is conveyed to him in his court house cell over the telegraph wires. As his creditors show no idea of relenting he has communicated with different parties in an effort to raise money enough to pay up the judgment held against him by the Bowker Fertilizer company. -
The Evening Telegram January 6, 1899 page 5.
Wesley Finger of 17 South Wall street has received word of the death of his brother,
Granville, at Detroit, Michigan, on March 4, in his 72nd year. Granville Finger was a former resident of Kingston and at one time was in business here. -
The Kingston Daily Freeman March 8, 1918.
Found him on the 1850 Woodstock, Ulster, New York census (img 29) as
Granville Finger, age 5.
Found him on the 1860 Woodstock, Ulster, New York census age 14, living with
Henry P and
Rachel Shultis.
Found him on the 1880 Kingston, Ulster, New York census (dist 34 img 9) age 33, dry goods clerk. Also in his household is
Hannah Kidd, age 15, servant
Henry Ingram, age 24, boarder, reporter and
Ijeick Ingram, age 67, boarder, carpenter.