Roll of Honor
Incident
Constable Henry Phelps drowned in the Erie Canal while returning from Lenox Basin after serving court papers.
While riding back to Canastota, Constable Phelps' horse became frightened and jumped into the canal. Constable Phelps, who was wearing heavy clothing and did not know how to swim, drowned.
Constable Phelps had served as a constable for 15 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, brother, and three sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-385EABA5- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Constable Phelps gave the Lenox Constable's Office 15 years.
Thank you for your service to the Lenox community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Constable Phelps.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Constable Henry Phelps is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry Phelps's cause is highlighted.
How Henry Phelps Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Henry Phelps is highlighted in Oct.