Born: December 1848 in Germany
Died: September 8, 1916
Married: Valentine Eppe
Children: Anne Eppe Shea (Mrs. John "Jack" Shea), one child had died by 1900
Mary Eppe apparently was the wife of Valentine Eppe, proprietor of the Elk Inn on Algonquin Avenue. A liquor license was held by a Mary Eppe in 1905 and 1907; Valentine Eppe pleaded guilty to selling liquor on a Sunday in 1905. Mrs. Eppe was hit by a train in 1916 in Utica. Mary and Valentine Eppe are buried in Pine Ridge Cemetery under stones marked "Mother" and "Father".
Saranac Lake News, September 14, 1916
Killed by [illegible] was Mrs. [illegible]
Aged Pair Become Separated in Utica and She Wandered in Front of D.L.&W. Engine
Lay unidentified for several days
Chief Weir Accompanied Husband Down Tuesday and They Brought Home Body Yesterday — Accident Occurred Friday
The body of Mrs. Mary Eppe, 69 years old, wife of Valentine Eppe of Algonquin Ave., which had lain four days unidentified in an undertaker's rooms at Utica, was brought to Saranac Lake Wednesday morning by the husband and Chief of Police Weir and was buried today after services at St. Bernard's Church.
Mrs. Eppe was killed at Utica on Friday night when she accidentally wandered in front of a Lackawana engine near the yard-office of that railroad on St. Joseph's Street. That her death was entirely accidental was the testimony of two witnesses before Coroner S.A. Mahady, both of whom saw the engine strike her. One of these was Engineer E. Bryant, who testified that he first saw the woman walking on an adjoining track, quite a distance from the street crossing. Suddenly she looked around, saw his engine, became confused or fell directly in front of it. The train was traveling about ten miles and hour. Mrs. Eppe was instantly killed, her body being severed at the waist, but it was not badly mangled otherwise and was easily recognizable from the features as well as the clothing.
Mr. and Mrs. Eppe started for New York city Friday to visit her daughter, and in changing cars in that city became separated. Mr. Eppe spent some time trying to find his wife but as he is old, somewhat deaf and speaks broken English he did not [illegible] and finally returned to Saranac Lake expecting the she would do likewise. He waited until Tuesday before he reported her disappearance to the police here, expecting that she would come home or that he would hear from her in Utica or possibly from New York. Chief of Police Weir telegraphed a query down the line and before long got a reply from the Utica police which gave a complete description of the woman found there and left little doubt that it was Mrs. Eppe. The Chief and the husband went down on the next train.
Mr. Eppe's story as told to Chief Weir was rather a rambling one and had many divergences of detail from other accounts given by him.
For a number of years, Mr. Eppe owned and managed a hotel on Algonquin Ave. which is now known as the Elk Inn. He retired about 3 years ago.
Lake Placid News, September 22, 1916
SARANAC LAKE
The body of the woman killed in the railway yards at Utica was identified as that of Mrs. Valentine Eppe of Saranac Lake, who was lost from her husband while the two were en-route to New York; and Mrs. Eppe's daughter, Mrs. John Shea of New York and her husband, who came to Saranac Lake for the funeral, were of the opinion that the woman was deliberately deserted by her husband, his claim being that she was insane and wandered off.
Marie Leis Pearce, Henry P. Leis: The Man from Saranac Lake, Chapter VI, pp. 5, 6
"The triangular piece of land to the south of the school house lot was owned by Mary Eppe in my childhood. There was a large house and barn built towards the back of this piece of property. I'm not sure who built this but I believe that Mary was perhaps a widow when we were growing up. I believe there had also been a bowling alley coming out towards the street. This was no longer used in my day but a small wing was attached to this which contained a "Mom &, Pop" type neighborhood grocery store. It stocked staples and some other items such as bread, lunch meats and dairy products.
