St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-05-01
PAUPERs BURNED TIC DEATH.
Fourteen Lives Lost in the Burning
of a Michigan PoJgs House.

KALAMAZOO, Mich, April 30.-The county
house of Van Buren county, located near
Hartford, thirty miles west of here, was
burned to the ground at o'clock this morn
ing, and IA inmates perished in the flames.
The names of the patients burned arg as fol-
lows:
James johnson, an old sailor SO years old.
Henry Baker, balf mute aged 40.
Benj- Bogardus, aged 46.
An old man named Sawyer, insane, lately
removed from Kalamazoo
A man named Sargent, ever 70 years old.
Fred Echenberger, epileptic, aged II.
A man named Myers, over 20.
Peter Baden.
Deborah Gravatt, over 70.
Mrs. Curtis, insane.
A woman named Caroline Shearer, aged
35.
Caroline Long, aged 80.
Mrs. Wilson and her daughter, aged 10.
The building was of frame and burned
very rapidly. The above were all in one
wing, and most of them were smothered in
their beds, but several were found together
Only one body was found recognizable, and
all that could be found of the others was put
into one box, the size of an ordinary coffin
box. The first known of the fire was the
cries of the paupers, and that wing was then
on flames. The building contained forty-tive
| paupers, and the remaining thirty-one all es-
capped, and all the hired help. Loss SIS, 600.
Insured.
The county farm lies midway between the
| villages of Hartford and Lawrence, three
miles from each, and beyond fire assistance,
but when the flames were discovered, the
buildings were already so involved that help
would have been useless. The buildings
were comprised Of a large two story frame
upright, with wing extending east and a two
story addition projecting south from the rear
Of the main building. The latter was occu-
pied by superintendent, Mr.. Cash, his family
and hired help One of the latter, named
Halsey, was aroused by the cries of the in
mates. Going down the hall, he opened a
| door to the two story addition, when he was
almost overpowered by the volume of flame
and smoke that burst out. He had barely
| time to give the alarm in the superintend-
| ent's quarters. The paupers in the addition
| were already past help. The occupants of the
front building only escaped with their lives,
nothing else being saved but two or three
articles of furniture.
| The addition contained sleeping accom-
modations for about 90 The only ones who
escaped were boy named Parker, who
jumped from the second story, and two little
boys of Mrs. Wilson. Their mother and sis
| ter perished in the flames. The remainder
Of the inmates were in detached building,
known as ''the Jail" They comprised the
1diotic, violently insane, etc. Between that
and the main structure was another detached
building, the intervals separating being per-
haps forty feet, which delayed the progress
of the fire, till the inmates Of 'sthe jair'
could be saved. One Of the occupants of the
superintendent's quarters was his daughter,
just recovering from illness. She was saved.
The inmates who were lost comprised the
better class Of paupers, those in a comfort
able condition, and able to assist about the
premises. The county authorities have made
provisions in the neighborhood for the tenn
porary care of the remaining inmates. There
were about sixty occupants of the burned
buildings.