BOLD BURGLARS IDENTIFIED,
UNABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTION.
A FATHER'S GRIEF THAT HIS SONS, SHOULD GO ASTRAY-WERE THEY KILLED?

The bodies of the t w o burglars who were killed at White Plains on Thursday night-have been identified as those of John and Thomas Tristram, of this city. They are sons of James Tristram, a wire cloth and sieve, maker living in a tenement-house.at No. 130 1/2 Monroe st, this city. Until last Tuesday they were employed by their brothers, Richard and James Tristram, jr ., who are engaged in the manufacture of sieves on the third loft-of the building No. 195 Water-st. The family, composed of the father and mother and five brothers, is in moderate circumstances- and lives comfortably. The younger brothers, Thomas, ago nineteen; John, "age sixteen, and William, age fifteen, and the father were ostensibly in- the employ of the two elder brothers, James, Jr., and Richard and business was done under the firm name of Tristram Brothers, although it was understood by those who know that all had an interest in the profits.

Early Thursday morning Thomas, John and William left their home, giving their parents and brothers the impression that that they were going to their workshop. They wore not seen again during the day and thelr absence caused much worriment. On Thursday evening at 9:30 o'clock, William, the youngest brother, returned to his home and said that he had been to Coney Island and .that he had been sent home by his brothers, who intended to return by a later train. The parents, realizing that there was little to attract people to Coney Island at this season of the year, questioned their son closely, "but were unable to elicit any more definite information from him. Late on Friday evening Mr. Tristram read a description of the young men who had been killed at White Plains. It tallied so closely with the general appearance of his missing sons that he was impelled to send James and Richard to White Plains yesterday morning. As soon as they saw the bodies of the dead men they recognized them as their brothers.

Mr. Tristram, who is past sixty years of age, was found in the afternoon at the. loft, where he assists his sons. When a reporter entered the room he sat on a pile of boxes, swaying to and fro and sobbing like a child. He seemed to be nearly beside himself with grief and it was with difficulty he told of the disappearance of his sons.

"Tom and John," he said •”were good boys and never went around with the gangs which infest the' neighborhood in which we live. They were seldom out of the house and then only with my permission to go to the theatre, ' of which they were very fond. They worked steadily, never drank and never had any firearms in their possession. What possessed them to run away and to buy revolvers and knives I am wholly at a loss to comprehend. They could always obtain enough money to meet their wants and although they worked hard, they never seemed to be dissatisfied with their condition, if they were guilty of the murder with which they are charged the only way I can account for it is that- they were insane, and as for their shooting themselves, 1 regard that as a preposterous assertion made to cloak the deeds of those who shot them down In cold blood. They were innocent, surely innocent"

The announcement that John and Thomas Tristram were the so-called desperadoes was received -with much surprise by those who had known the young men.. In the neighborhoods where they lived and worked they were generally regarded- as being young men of exceptionally good morals and character. The loft In which they worked has been rented for the last; seven years from George L. Squires, who occupies the' ground floor and who has seen thorn almost daily for that length of time.

“I looked upon those two boys," he said, "as model young men. They were always quiet and modest in their demeanor and seemed never to have a disposition to engage in boyish amusements or pranks of any kind. Their education had been necessarily limited and they were obliged to work before they had reached their teens. This tended to make them old before their time. It is apparent from the firearms they carried that they had been .reading dime novels and witnessing blood and thunder dramas, had been imbued with, the• spirit of adventure and- were going West to fight Indians.. They knew little of the geography of the country and probably thought White Plains was the place- where Indians abounded."

Mrs. Tristram, a matronly looking woman of fifty-five or thereabouts, was found at her homo last evening in the midst of-a group of women who had come in to console her. At her side was her youngest son, William, who said that he and his brothers went from: their home Thursday direct to the Grand Central Station, where they purchased tickets to Patterson,-a station on the Harlem Railroad sixty miles from this city, and went there on the train starting at 10:30 am. Upon arriving at Patterson the three alighted and walked about the village for a time and then along the railroad track to Towner's, two mile south. Here they boarded a New York and Northern train and rode to White Plains. William was told to go home at once. John and Thomas had only 40 cents between them. William: reached his home at 9:30 p. m.

Mrs. Tristram said that her son John had been sick with intermittent fever for three weeks. "Neither of the boys was-over bright." she continued, “and they certainly must have .been crazy when they killed that poor man Mead. An uncle of theirs lives at White Plain. I never will believe that my boys would steal. Sooner than do that they would kill themselves."

The two elder; brothers, James and Richard, returned to the city last evening. Like their parents, they believe that John and Thomas wore insane with fright when they killed themselves, and. not being accustomed to the use of firearms, did not realize what they were doing when they fired at William Mead. They will go again to White Plains to-morrow to attend the inquest, which has been adjourned at the request of District- Attorney Baker.

The funeral of William Mead the murdered man, will take place at the Memorial Methodist' Church In. White Plains at 2 o'clock to-day.

Section C, Row 19, Plot 112. His son, James, was later buried here as well. James, listed as a Widower, died from Lobar Pneumonia.

BOLD BURGLARS IDENTIFIED,
UNABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTION.
A FATHER'S GRIEF THAT HIS SONS, SHOULD GO ASTRAY-WERE THEY KILLED?

The bodies of the t w o burglars who were killed at White Plains on Thursday night-have been identified as those of John and Thomas Tristram, of this city. They are sons of James Tristram, a wire cloth and sieve, maker living in a tenement-house.at No. 130 1/2 Monroe st, this city. Until last Tuesday they were employed by their brothers, Richard and James Tristram, jr ., who are engaged in the manufacture of sieves on the third loft-of the building No. 195 Water-st. The family, composed of the father and mother and five brothers, is in moderate circumstances- and lives comfortably. The younger brothers, Thomas, ago nineteen; John, "age sixteen, and William, age fifteen, and the father were ostensibly in- the employ of the two elder brothers, James, Jr., and Richard and business was done under the firm name of Tristram Brothers, although it was understood by those who know that all had an interest in the profits.

Early Thursday morning Thomas, John and William left their home, giving their parents and brothers the impression that that they were going to their workshop. They wore not seen again during the day and thelr absence caused much worriment. On Thursday evening at 9:30 o'clock, William, the youngest brother, returned to his home and said that he had been to Coney Island and .that he had been sent home by his brothers, who intended to return by a later train. The parents, realizing that there was little to attract people to Coney Island at this season of the year, questioned their son closely, "but were unable to elicit any more definite information from him. Late on Friday evening Mr. Tristram read a description of the young men who had been killed at White Plains. It tallied so closely with the general appearance of his missing sons that he was impelled to send James and Richard to White Plains yesterday morning. As soon as they saw the bodies of the dead men they recognized them as their brothers.

Mr. Tristram, who is past sixty years of age, was found in the afternoon at the. loft, where he assists his sons. When a reporter entered the room he sat on a pile of boxes, swaying to and fro and sobbing like a child. He seemed to be nearly beside himself with grief and it was with difficulty he told of the disappearance of his sons.

"Tom and John," he said •”were good boys and never went around with the gangs which infest the' neighborhood in which we live. They were seldom out of the house and then only with my permission to go to the theatre, ' of which they were very fond. They worked steadily, never drank and never had any firearms in their possession. What possessed them to run away and to buy revolvers and knives I am wholly at a loss to comprehend. They could always obtain enough money to meet their wants and although they worked hard, they never seemed to be dissatisfied with their condition, if they were guilty of the murder with which they are charged the only way I can account for it is that- they were insane, and as for their shooting themselves, 1 regard that as a preposterous assertion made to cloak the deeds of those who shot them down In cold blood. They were innocent, surely innocent"

The announcement that John and Thomas Tristram were the so-called desperadoes was received -with much surprise by those who had known the young men.. In the neighborhoods where they lived and worked they were generally regarded- as being young men of exceptionally good morals and character. The loft In which they worked has been rented for the last; seven years from George L. Squires, who occupies the' ground floor and who has seen thorn almost daily for that length of time.

“I looked upon those two boys," he said, "as model young men. They were always quiet and modest in their demeanor and seemed never to have a disposition to engage in boyish amusements or pranks of any kind. Their education had been necessarily limited and they were obliged to work before they had reached their teens. This tended to make them old before their time. It is apparent from the firearms they carried that they had been .reading dime novels and witnessing blood and thunder dramas, had been imbued with, the• spirit of adventure and- were going West to fight Indians.. They knew little of the geography of the country and probably thought White Plains was the place- where Indians abounded."

Mrs. Tristram, a matronly looking woman of fifty-five or thereabouts, was found at her homo last evening in the midst of-a group of women who had come in to console her. At her side was her youngest son, William, who said that he and his brothers went from: their home Thursday direct to the Grand Central Station, where they purchased tickets to Patterson,-a station on the Harlem Railroad sixty miles from this city, and went there on the train starting at 10:30 am. Upon arriving at Patterson the three alighted and walked about the village for a time and then along the railroad track to Towner's, two mile south. Here they boarded a New York and Northern train and rode to White Plains. William was told to go home at once. John and Thomas had only 40 cents between them. William: reached his home at 9:30 p. m.

Mrs. Tristram said that her son John had been sick with intermittent fever for three weeks. "Neither of the boys was-over bright." she continued, “and they certainly must have .been crazy when they killed that poor man Mead. An uncle of theirs lives at White Plain. I never will believe that my boys would steal. Sooner than do that they would kill themselves."

The two elder; brothers, James and Richard, returned to the city last evening. Like their parents, they believe that John and Thomas wore insane with fright when they killed themselves, and. not being accustomed to the use of firearms, did not realize what they were doing when they fired at William Mead. They will go again to White Plains to-morrow to attend the inquest, which has been adjourned at the request of District- Attorney Baker.

The funeral of William Mead the murdered man, will take place at the Memorial Methodist' Church In. White Plains at 2 o'clock to-day.

Plot: C, Range 19, Grave 112, the same grave as his father, James.

NY Times

FRATRICIDE IN EAST BROADWAY; The Family Seek to Conceal Their Knowledge of the Crime. Coroner Wildey Adroitly Brings the Truth to Light. RUM, AS USUAL, AT THE BOTTOM. THE MURDERER CONSIGNED TO THE TOMBS.

Published: August 6, 1865

We are again called upon to record another tragedy on the East Side. As ever, gin was the author of the crime, but not as usual, the murderer and the murdered are brothers, and the homicide was committed in their own bedchamber, in presence of a third person, and under their mother's roof. The family of TRISTRAM, consisting of Mrs. REBECCA TRISTRAM, the mother, a woman of not unpleasant appearance, and of about 50 years of age; JOHN TRISTRAM, a wire-weaver, of about 30; Mrs. CATHARINE TRISTRAM, a rather handsome woman of about 25, wife of JOHN; RICHARD TRISTRAM, also a wire-weaver, aged 22; THOMAS TRISTRAM, likewise a wire-weaver, aged 31 years, and SAMUEL TRISTRAM, a youth, of about 13 years, son of a deceased daughter of Mrs. TRISTRAM, occupied the second floor of No. 34 East Broadway. They appear to have lived in harmony, and were respected by their neighbors, who knew the sons as thriving mechanics that had joined in supporting their mother and nephew in the best of the few modern dwellings which are left in the southern-most blocks of East Broadway. They are quiet people who have generally attended strictly to their own business.

But on Friday evening the sons THOMAS and JOHN went to a liquor saloon in Division-street, and there drowned their intellects in the fearful beverages which are peddled over so many counters between the Battery and Harlem, and at length they quarreled, fought, and separated in anger. Both brothers reached home at a seasonable hour -- one, however, so thoroughly intoxicated that it was deemed prudent to bundle him off to bed without delay. The other, it appears, remained up awhile, drank his beer at home, and then retired.

RICHARD, however, holding open-air walking to be the best antidote for drunkenness, again went abroad, and on his return, at about midnight, visited a lager-bier saloon under his domicil, to imbibe his night-cap, triumphantly exhibited a fine silver-plated Colt army revolver, which the family had purchased as a present for a brother in California. This magnificent present for the absent brother, we dare say, RICHARD TRISTRAM now wishes in the bottom of the sea; for it drew from the German landlord the remark that it was too heavy for ordinary use, and that he would prefer a lighter weapon; and to this remark RICHARD replied that he had a smaller pistol, and in proof drew a small pistol, which is now a vital witness against him.

RICHARD TRISTRAM went straightway from the German's saloon to his bedchamber, wherein in brother THOMAS and nephew, SAMUEL, lay, and there took up the quarrel, threatening the brother's life, as will appear in the following testimony, which was taken before Coroner WILDEY, yesterday, at the Seventh Ward Police-station:
Frederick Eickhoff, of No. 36 East Broadway, sworn -I keep a lager-bier saloon on the first floor of the building Nos. 34 and 36 East Broadway; I closed about one o'clock this morning; I had been about one hour abed when I heard a voice saying: "Say, Tommy, get up, you son of a b_____, you told my brother that you wanted to kill him:" the mother said; "No, he did not;" the mother then told Samuel to go out for a policeman; the same voice repeated: "Get up; I'll shoot you; I'll have your blood;" a voice said: "No, I won't;" about five minutes after this I again heard the voice repeating this language; the mother's voice again saying that life had not been threatened; I heard and recognized Richard's voice previous to the shooting; early in the evening I saw Richard with the pistol here shown in his hands, in my saloon, at about midnight.
The testimony of Mr. Eickhoff was given without reserve, and impressed the jury and spectators, as did that of Samuel Tristram, a small nephew of one of the brothers, who, having been sworn, said: I live with my grandmother; I was out playing in the street until about nine o'clock; my uncle Thomas, the deceased, slept in the back kitchen with me; the report of a pistol awoke me; my uncle Richard asked me where there was a doctor; nobody but uncle Richard and Thomas were with me, and uncle Thomas lay dead with his feet toward the door; uncle Richard and myself went for a doctor; we stepped over the body of uncle Thomas; Dr. Harrison, of No. 46 East Broadway, uncle Richard and myself went back to the house together; the doctor, on seeing uncle Thomas, said that he was dead; I do not know who shot uncle Thomas.

But the rambling, incoherent, and utterly ill-advised chatter of the following named witness was regarded by the jury as manifestly false; and after the witness had battled the skill of the coroner in questioning, he set her aside. We give only the gist of the woman's remarks, as follows:

Mrs. Rebecca Tristram, of No. 34 East Broadway, sworn -- I am mother of John, Richard, and Thomas Tristram; we occupy a second floor; John and his wife Catharine slept in the bedroom adjoining the front room: Thomas Tristram, the deceased, slept in the kitchen last night; John Tristram came home tipsy at about eleven o'clock; his face was disfigured, and I understood that he had been in a row in a liquor saloon; I sent for lager-bier; Thomas was in bed in the kitchen; I gave him beer, but do not know whether he was drunk or sober: I went to bed shortly after eleven o'clock when all but Richard were in bed; I had been abed I do not know how long when the noise as of the falling of a candle awoke me; I rose, lighted a candle, and the first that I saw was Thomas lying dead; I ran into Kate's room and told her that Thomas was dead; Kate came out of her room end returned to wake John; the small pistol here shown (the one with which the murder was committed) belonged to Thomas; Richard and Thomas were always friends.
We publish the following testimony without comment:

Mrs. Emily Seaman, of No. 34 East Broadway, sworn -- At about three o'clock this morning I heard a noise in the room adjoining my apartments, as of persons wrestling; I rose and looked through a side window into the prisoners' room, which was then lighted; I heard the voice of one of the prisoners, saying, "I will have your blood;" the light was next extinguished, and immediately I heard the report of a pistol; I then saw two gentlemen go down stairs, and supposed that they had gone to summon a physician; when they returned a police officer accompanied them. Mrs. Tristram, the mother of the deceased, appeared in the entry when the policeman came into the house, and I inquired what had occurred, but she made no reply.

Catharine Tristram, wife of John Tristram, sworn. -- I live with my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and little Samuel; I was out last evening and reached home between ten and eleven o'clock; when Thomas came home he said he had been in a row; I put my husband to bed and went for beer; we gave Thomas a drink; I do not know at what time Richard came home; early in the evening I saw the pistol here shown in his possession; I heard the pistol shot at about 3 o'clock, and about three minutes thereafter my mother-in-law came to my room and told me that Thomas was dying.
Dr. Wooster Beach, Jr., sworn -- I made a post-mortem examination on the body of deceased, and found a pistol-shot wound of the left breast; on opening the body it was discovered that the ball had passed through the lungs, and severed several large blood-vessels; it passed through the body and lodged in the spinal column; death must have been instantaneous.

After further testimony, none of which, however, established any new facts, the case was given to the jury, consisting of Messrs. S.W. Baldwin, Samuel Martin, Daniel Ferris, Bernard McCloskey, Bernard Helles, George J. Walker, Louis Mohakes, William Sohrader and C. Dobler, and three minutes thereafter they returned the following verdict:
"We find that THOMAS TRISTRAM came to his death by a pistol-shot wound at the hand of RICHARD TRISTRAM, on the 5th day of August, 1865, at No. 34 East Broadway."
RICHARD TRISTRAM was now called and interrogated; but he declined to make other reply than that he did not kill his brother, and thereupon Coroner WILDEY delivered him to an officer, to be confined in the Tombs, and JOHN TRISTRAM, SAMUEL TRISTRAM, Mrs. REBECCA TRISTRAM and Mrs. CATHARINE TRISTRAM were required to find bail in $1,000, respectively.
The Tristram family emigrated from Ireland many years ago, and their fortunes appear to have been varied, as one of the sons served in the war upon Mexico, and another, the deceased, was a private in the late great and honored volunteer army of the United States.

The Coroner, the jury and the press are indebted to Capt. WILLIAM JAMESON, of the Metropolitan Police, for courtesies extended.

The Tristram family are said to be well-to-do in the world, being largely engaged in the wire-working business at No. 354 Pearl-street, near Franklin-square. The accused, RICHARD, was in California, and came home in January, with JOHN and his wife. The police found on the premises a silver-plated revolver and gold-plated revolver, of large size, which the prisoner was about to send to California, as a present to another brother. A large navy pistol was also found. The pistol with which the fatal shot was fired is a pocket-revolver, of medium size, with six-inch barrel, break-body pattern. It is now in the possession of the Coroner.

in Section 5, Range 11, Plot CC, Grave 4 with John, John and 1 unknown. Grave purchased by John on November 29, 1863.

in Section 5, Range 11, Plot CC, Grave 4 with John (presumed father), John and 1 unknown. Grave purchased by John on November 29, 1863.

in Section 5, Range 11, Plot CC, Grave 4 with John (presumed father), John and 1 unknown. Grave purchased by John on November 29, 1863.

BOLD BURGLARS IDENTIFIED,
UNABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTION.
A FATHER'S GRIEF THAT HIS SONS, SHOULD GO ASTRAY-WERE THEY KILLED?

The bodies of the t w o burglars who were killed at White Plains on Thursday night-have been identified as those of John and Thomas Tristram, of this city. They are sons of James Tristram, a wire cloth and sieve, maker living in a tenement-house.at No. 130 1/2 Monroe st, this city. Until last Tuesday they were employed by their brothers, Richard and James Tristram, jr ., who are engaged in the manufacture of sieves on the third loft-of the building No. 195 Water-st. The family, composed of the father and mother and five brothers, is in moderate circumstances- and lives comfortably. The younger brothers, Thomas, ago nineteen; John, "age sixteen, and William, age fifteen, and the father were ostensibly in- the employ of the two elder brothers, James, Jr., and Richard and business was done under the firm name of Tristram Brothers, although it was understood by those who know that all had an interest in the profits.

Early Thursday morning Thomas, John and William left their home, giving their parents and brothers the impression that that they were going to their workshop. They wore not seen again during the day and thelr absence caused much worriment. On Thursday evening at 9:30 o'clock, William, the youngest brother, returned to his home and said that he had been to Coney Island and .that he had been sent home by his brothers, who intended to return by a later train. The parents, realizing that there was little to attract people to Coney Island at this season of the year, questioned their son closely, "but were unable to elicit any more definite information from him. Late on Friday evening Mr. Tristram read a description of the young men who had been killed at White Plains. It tallied so closely with the general appearance of his missing sons that he was impelled to send James and Richard to White Plains yesterday morning. As soon as they saw the bodies of the dead men they recognized them as their brothers.

Mr. Tristram, who is past sixty years of age, was found in the afternoon at the. loft, where he assists his sons. When a reporter entered the room he sat on a pile of boxes, swaying to and fro and sobbing like a child. He seemed to be nearly beside himself with grief and it was with difficulty he told of the disappearance of his sons.

"Tom and John," he said •”were good boys and never went around with the gangs which infest the' neighborhood in which we live. They were seldom out of the house and then only with my permission to go to the theatre, ' of which they were very fond. They worked steadily, never drank and never had any firearms in their possession. What possessed them to run away and to buy revolvers and knives I am wholly at a loss to comprehend. They could always obtain enough money to meet their wants and although they worked hard, they never seemed to be dissatisfied with their condition, if they were guilty of the murder with which they are charged the only way I can account for it is that- they were insane, and as for their shooting themselves, 1 regard that as a preposterous assertion made to cloak the deeds of those who shot them down In cold blood. They were innocent, surely innocent"

The announcement that John and Thomas Tristram were the so-called desperadoes was received -with much surprise by those who had known the young men.. In the neighborhoods where they lived and worked they were generally regarded- as being young men of exceptionally good morals and character. The loft In which they worked has been rented for the last; seven years from George L. Squires, who occupies the' ground floor and who has seen thorn almost daily for that length of time.

“I looked upon those two boys," he said, "as model young men. They were always quiet and modest in their demeanor and seemed never to have a disposition to engage in boyish amusements or pranks of any kind. Their education had been necessarily limited and they were obliged to work before they had reached their teens. This tended to make them old before their time. It is apparent from the firearms they carried that they had been .reading dime novels and witnessing blood and thunder dramas, had been imbued with, the• spirit of adventure and- were going West to fight Indians.. They knew little of the geography of the country and probably thought White Plains was the place- where Indians abounded."

Mrs. Tristram, a matronly looking woman of fifty-five or thereabouts, was found at her homo last evening in the midst of-a group of women who had come in to console her. At her side was her youngest son, William, who said that he and his brothers went from: their home Thursday direct to the Grand Central Station, where they purchased tickets to Patterson,-a station on the Harlem Railroad sixty miles from this city, and went there on the train starting at 10:30 am. Upon arriving at Patterson the three alighted and walked about the village for a time and then along the railroad track to Towner's, two mile south. Here they boarded a New York and Northern train and rode to White Plains. William was told to go home at once. John and Thomas had only 40 cents between them. William: reached his home at 9:30 p. m.

Mrs. Tristram said that her son John had been sick with intermittent fever for three weeks. "Neither of the boys was-over bright." she continued, “and they certainly must have .been crazy when they killed that poor man Mead. An uncle of theirs lives at White Plain. I never will believe that my boys would steal. Sooner than do that they would kill themselves."

The two elder; brothers, James and Richard, returned to the city last evening. Like their parents, they believe that John and Thomas wore insane with fright when they killed themselves, and. not being accustomed to the use of firearms, did not realize what they were doing when they fired at William Mead. They will go again to White Plains to-morrow to attend the inquest, which has been adjourned at the request of District- Attorney Baker.

The funeral of William Mead the murdered man, will take place at the Memorial Methodist' Church In. White Plains at 2 o'clock to-day.

Body of William E Mead, who came to his death Jan 20 1887 in the store of George H Mead, his father, in the town of White Plains, casued by a pistol ball wound thru the heart, from a pistol in the hands of oe of those names said to be Thomas and John Tristam, now lying at the undertakers, while the said parties were trying to rob the store.

An article on the same page lists the murderers as Thomas 17 and John 19 Tristam, who later committed suicide. They resided with their parents, 3 brothers and a sister in NY.
The elder brother said, I am a wire sieve maker in NY and all my brothers worked for me' They have not worked since Tuesday. Last Thursday, Thomas, John, and William went away together for what purpose we have no idea. When William returned alone, mother asked where his brothers were and he said they had gotten off the train in White Plains.
This morning we read the account of the tragedy, and the descriptions of the two lads and their clothing , we grew fearful they belonged to us, and came up to see . I Don't know where they got the pistols and daggers, they never had any such thing at home and they are not in a gang. The coroners inquest was closed, verdict that the John and Thomas Tristam committed suicide. The bodies of the two brothers were removed to the county alms on Saturday for interment in the pauper cemetery, but by order of their father, they were held until Monday and taken to NY to the Cemetery of the Evergreens, where they were buried in unconsecrated ground.

Also buried with Josephine are her daughter, Margarita and son, Robert.

Samuel and Melvina are added to Maria as they are almost certainly not offspring of any of the Tristram brothers and so far nothing more is known about any other Tristram sisters.
Interestingly, Melvina’s obituary lists Samuel and Maria Downing as her parents and the Downing children as her siblings however, in neither Samuel’s nor the Downing children’s obituaries is Melvina even mentioned.

Fletcher--Downing--April 12, Mrs. M. Downing of Auburn, to Henry Fletcher of Brooklyn.