Elijah Van Rensselaer Day 1811-1898

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The Niagara River was not just a boundary—it was an opportunity.

In 1865, as the Civil War had just ended and enforcement struggled to reassert control, smuggling flourished along the water between Canada and Western New York. Whiskey, goods, and contraband crossed quietly at night, often landing on Grand Island before being hauled into the city.

One of the names that surfaced repeatedly in court records was Elijah V. Day.

According to contemporary newspaper accounts, Day was arraigned before Justice Albro on charges far more serious than smuggling alone. He stood accused of feloniously assaulting and shooting Emanuel Hensler, a deputy customs officer, with a pistol loaded with gunpowder and lead—with intent to kill.

The shooting allegedly occurred on Grand Island on July 10, 1865.

Day waived examination and was committed for trial.

At the same time, federal authorities pursued him for a related offense: resisting a deputy collector in the discharge of his duties during a smuggling operation. Earlier reports described customs officers seizing men, boats, wagons, and ten kegs of whiskey, confiscating everything involved in the illegal crossing.

The case was temporarily resolved when Day was held to bail for appearance before the United States Court in Buffalo. Lawyers argued, officials deferred judgment, and the newspapers declined to speculate—leaving the ultimate outcome to history.

Standing here, more than a century later, we are left with fragments:
a gunshot, a river crossing, a seized boat, and a man who lived on the dangerous edge between law and lawlessness.

This grave marks not just a person, but a moment when Tonawanda’s quiet shoreline was part of a violent underground economy—one enforced at gunpoint.

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