Penn Yan, June 7 — Cars driven by
George Crosby, 45, of 213 East Elm street, and
Ross Finger, 56 of Bluff Point, were in collision Saturday night on West Lake road near the Gordon Allen cottage. Finger received lacerations about the head and face when he was thrown against the windshield. Report to Trooper Fred Ouyle was that Crosby was preparing to go down to the lake to fish and had parked his car, and Finger crashed into the Crosby car head-on. Crosby was out of his car taking some fishing equipment from it and escaped injury. -
Geneva Daily Times June 7, 1937 page 3
Found him on the 1900 Benton, Yates, New York census (dist 133 img 23) age 19, single. He is a servant in the household of
James Fallon.
Found him on the 1910 Benton, Yates, New York census (dist 173 img 8) as
Ross H. Fingar age 29, farm labor.
Found him on the Yates County NY 1917 Militia Enrollment Index.
Found him on the 1920 Jerusalem, Yates, New York census (dist 176 img 22) as
Roswell Finger age 40. On this census his father-in-law
Warner Babbit age 57 (b.c. 1863) is living in his household. He is living next to his uncle
Elwin Finger age 62.
Found him on the 1930 Jerusalem, Yates, New York census (dist 11 img 8) as
Ross Finger age 48, widower, farmer. Also living with him is his son
Cole R. Finger age 13,
Mabel W. Cole age 41, sister-in-law, and her 2 children
Velma age 18 and
Jesse E. age 12.
Found him on the 1940 Jerusalem, Yates, New York census (dist 62-14 img 10) as
Ross Finger age 59, widower, a lodger in the household of his cousin
Robert Finger.
PENN YAN —
Ross Finger, 75, former Bluff Point vineyardist, died in a fire which destroyed his farm home on the Fenton Ball Rd., off the Guyanoga Rd., Penn Yan RD 5 about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
The fire was discovered by
Keith Champlin a neighbor, living about a quarter mile distant, who told police he saw smoke rising from the Fingar property. The victim was alone at the time, his brother,
George, who made his home with him, being in Penn Yan. It first was thought that both brothers had died in the fire which completely destroyed their one and one-half story frame dwelling and contents.
Sheriff Jay Fitzwater and Deputy William Leach investigated and deduced that Fingar was smoking in bed and that the bedding caught fire with the fatal results. His brother told police that Ross had the habit of smoking in bed.
Branchport fire department responded with two trucks and 80 firemen in charge of Chief Paul Sutherland but the fire was out of control and the roof had fallen in when the firemen arrived.
The Fingar dwelling set in a valley and was not visible for any distance. Mr. Fingar was born in Yates County and formerly operated vineyards on Bluff Point. He moved to the Guyanoga property about seven years ago.
Dr. Glenn Hatch, coroner, indicated he would issue a certificate of accidental death. -
The Geneva Times June 4, 1956