Person Page - 4534

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.