The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-03-01
STRANGE FATALITY.
Tho Extraordinary Series of MIshaps
Which Befell = Pennsylvania Family.

Tho Extraordinary Series of Mlshaps
Which Befell Pennsylvania Family.
A gentleman Of undisputed truthful
ness and veracity gave the following
interesting bit of family history, and at
his request we will not give the name,
but the facts contained in the recital of
the following can be verified at this
office at any time. The gentleman said:
.'Of the family, besides mother and
father, there were nine CHI ldren, six
boys and three girls. Father was a
blacksmith by trade, a skilled work
man, and lived an upright, consistent
Christian life. He was passionately
fond Of his home and children, and
worked hard for their interests. At
the proper age all of the boys learned
trades, as follows: George, the oldest
boy, became a blacksmith; Charles, a
candy manufacturer, and later he
learned the locomotive engineers trade;
Frank. carpenter; Richard, printer;
Henry. professor in a business college.
William was studying chemistry when
he met with sudden and violent death
from lockjaw. caused by cutting his
foot while in bathing in the river. You
can call it series of strange fatalities
if you wish, or by any other term, and
yet l dare say there is no family OF the
same number of ours that has passed
through an experience in any way sim
liar.
''The father was twice confined to
the house with severe illness, once with
smallpox and another time with typhoid
fever in its most malignant form.
when deputy sheriff of the county
he was sunstruck while out on official
business, and fell from the sulky on to
the horse, which caused it to run away,
horribly mutilating father and laying
him up for several months. A year or
two later he fell from a church steeple,
where he had been repairing light
ming rod, distance OF forty-nine feet,
but from this he received no percepti-
BILE injuries. A few years later he slip
ped and broke his leg while getting off
a passenger train, and last summer he
died suddenly from heart complaint
while standing on the porch at the back
door of the house.
THE mother died as suddenly of the
same complaint in 1876. Charles, the
engineer, died violent death, almost
instantly, by being injured by the cars
in 1872. In 1869 George, the black
smith, while working at his trade had
his nose accidentally broken by steel
hammer, which slipped from the handle
and hitting him in the face. l think it
was in 1860 or 1861 that sister Kate
broke her arm while jumping rope.
Frank, the carpenter, broke his leg
while skating in the year 1872. Will,
the brother who died of lock-jaw, broke
his arm in 1874, while picking cherries,
by falling from the tree to the ground.
A few hours later on the very same day
the bandages were removed, he again
broke the same limb by slipping and
falling, the break being but two inches
above the former one In 1885 Henry.
the school teacher. while visiting
friends in the country. had his leg
broken by being thrown from the car
riage attached to runaway horse. In
1886 Anna, the eldest of the children,
slipped and fell downstairs, breaking
her arm.
while this story may seem almost
incredible to others, it is nevertheless
true, every word of it. and the only
thing ] can't understand about it is,
why should one family more than an
other have such an experience. You
can't answer that question, neither can
any one else. oil City Derrick.