Published in Watertown, Jefferson County, the New York Reformer, like newspapers of any era, reported accounts of the unusual, macabre, tragic and infamous - in short,  the sensational stories of its day.  Richard Hungerford has compiled a selection of extracts, the subjects of which had their origins sometimes in New York, sometimes not.  As illustrations of what 'made the news' in the 1850's, please visit the Facts and Fun page. 

Sensational Stories...  is the third in Mr. Hungerford's series.  Marriages in the New York Reformer, 1850-1861 and Deaths in the New York Reformer, 1850-1861 are the first two.  They contain definitive data on events in an eight county-wide area along the northern New York border.