(April 8, 1872-July 30, 1943)

Mrs. Ellen M. Peggs, for more than fifty years a resident of this village, and a former business woman on Main street, now retired for some time, died suddenly at her home, Buck Street, at about 4:30 Friday morning, of what was pronounced by the physician called, Dr. Ernest H. Stretton, a heart attack. Mrs. Peggs made her home with her nephew and niece, Walter and Mary Lake. Members of the household heard her in a second floor hall just before her death, fall down a flight of stairs. They came to her assistance at once but she was apparently dead when they reached her. The physician was called, who gave it as his opinion that she died as the result of the heart attack, not from the effects of the fall.

Funeral was conducted yesterday morning, with a requiem mass at St. Mary’s Church where she had been a devoted member for all her mature life. Interment was made at St. Mary’s Cemetery, near this village on the Morley road.

Ellen O’Brien Peggs was born at Norwood on April 8, 1872, a daughter of David and Bridget Quinn O’Brien. She was educated in the Norwood schools and Potsdam State Normal School. She taught school at Tupper Lake for a number of years. Over fifty years ago the family removed to Canton. Her father, the late David O’Brien, had been for a number of years engaged on lumber and river jobs. He used to recall that he worked with in those years the late Congressman William H. Flack of Malone. He recalled Flack very well as an old friend.

David O’Brien was for many years the mail messenger of this village, post office to the railway station, and was known by every traveling man that ever came into northern New York in those years, and by every trainman, conductor or engineer. He was a man of rare friendliness and wit and everybody knew David. A Democrat, he was elected on a number of occasions tax collector of this village, defeating the Republican opponent in a warm contest.

Mrs. Peggs, shortly after coming to Canton, took a clerkship in the Cleland Austin dry goods store on Main street, and here was the head clerk of the woman’s department for many years. She married Thomas R. Peggs, prominent businessman of this village, in 1916. Mr. Peggs died in February, 1918, two years after this union.

Mrs. Peggs later on established her own business on Main street, a women’s wear shop. This she conducted for a number of years. Since her retirement she lived at her old home, Buck Street, and later has made her home with her nephew and niece, Mr. Lake and Miss Lake.

Mrs. Peggs was a devout member of St. Mary’s Church, and was a member of the church societies and a worker in those societies during her years of health. For a number of years a favorite nephew and niece, Paul O’Brien and Miss Anna O’Brien, the latter now Mrs. Edwin A. Martin, made their home with her. And both during this period attended and graduated from St. Lawrence University.

Mrs. Peggs leaves two brothers, William O’Brien, retired state forestry and conservation department man, now of Canton, and John O’Brien of Utica. There are the nephew, Walter Lake, a member of the Canton Post office city carrier staff, and Miss Mary Lake, for many years a member of the business administration staff of the State Agricultural and Technical Institute of Canton. There are through marriage a niece and two nephews, Mrs. Chas. (Eleanor) Gregor of Cape Vincent; William Peggs of Watertown and Richard C. Peggs of Canton.

(From the Tuesday, August 8, 1943 edition of the Canton Commercial Advertiser, courtesy of the Northern New York Library Network @ news.nnyln.net).