Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-02
Thirty-Three Persons, Whose Identity
Could Not Be Learned, Buried
by the Coroner
DURING THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS.
Full Description of the Bodies, Clothing
and Effects Are Registered
in the Office.
EVERYTHING FOUND ON THEM is KEPT
The Records Help Friends to Recover Relatives Long
Since Missing.

The inquest into the death OF the three
men killed at the Elba Iron Works
Wednesday morning was continued yes
terday until next Wednesday, owing to the
illness of Coroner Mcdowell Of the three
bodies, two have been claimed by friends,
but the third is unidentified. 1t has been
inferred in the corner of Belleview Cemetery,
where are buried the remains of the ''un-
known" This man, whosoever he was,
or wheresoever he came from, is the third
unknown person whose death was inquired
into by the Coroner within the last four
days. He may have been one of the army
| of hundreds who come from no one knows
where, and disappear-when not killed
no one knows whittier. Every city con-
tains them; men doomed to a nomadic ex-
lstence, travelling around the country and
working where they may. The papers fire.
quently contain, sometimes but in line OF
two, an account of man missing from some
where, or reported as so to the police.
LONG LIST OF UNKNOwNS.
This last unknown was one of SO persons
accidentally killed in Allegheny county
! during the last seven months, concerning
whose identity or antecedents nothing could
be ascertained. They were all unknown"
and each of them occupies a few feet of
ground in the Belleview Cemetery. The
last chapter in their checkered career was
duly chronicled in the police press, and the
reading public would infer that with their
| interment all interest in them ceased, and
all clews to identity were disposed of. But
an examination of the records in County
Coroner Heber McDowell's office show that
the unknown" though buriei are not lost
sight of.
Since the advent of Mr.. Med DWELL to the
Office, in January, 1887, a system of registry
of these unfortunates has been introduced
of such completeness as to leave undone
nothing which might in after years afford
clew to the identity of the 10S unknown
persons brought within the ken of the
Coroner during that time. Several large
books, neatly and intelligently kept, con-
tain the records appertaining to each case.
Should person have reason to believe that
a relative may have been buried as ''un-
known" five minutes will suffice to furnish
in detail all the information that was OBJ
tainable about the supposed relative.
DoCKETs THAT TELL TALES.
There is a docket devoted to the Gun
known" alone; the witness docket contains
the names of the persons testifying to the
particular accident; another docket has the
details of the coronial inquiry, and another
list of the effects of the deceased. In ad-
dition full description of the body and the
evidence in the case is filed away-a file to
each month-and can be looked up at a mo-
ment's notice. This system was introduced
by Coroner Mcdowell, and has proved of
great use in more than one case where rela-
tives claimed bodies inferred as unknown.
When such body has been prepared for
burial a FORM Description of an
unknown body is filled out as follows:
Sex, color, where found, date found age,
height, weight, complexion, color and
length of hair; whiskers or mustache, color
and length; marks on head, face and neck
or body; on arms or hands, on legs and feet;
description of clothing, hat or cap, color,
coat, pants, vest, boots or shoes; shirts,
collars, ETC.; underclothes and stockings;
marks on clothing, quality, and remarks.
From this it will be seen that nothing
which might lead to after identification is
omitted. Coroner Mcdowell also intro
duced the practice of photographing the
face, and this, it should be mentioned, he
does at his own expense, because there is no
provision for it under the law. He does it
full. The body is prepared for burial, as
other bodies are, and even in the worst ac-
cidents as much care and attention is be-
slowed on the body as if full payment for
the services were forthcoming, which they
are not. The law allows IS for the burial of
each body and 81 for the ground.
ALL PERSONAL EFFECTS PRESERVED.
The personal effects of the deceased are
always preserved. These are placed in large
and strong envelops, with a list of the con-
tents appended. Each is numbered to cor
respond with the number of the unknown
and the folio of the docket relating thereto
These are stored away in pigeonholes in the
vault of the Coroner's Office. Some of the
inscriptions read curiously, and show what
an anomalous collection of odd and ends
finds its way into the pocket of the average
man.
One mans effects consisted of cents
button and rusty key: another's envelope
contained SIG 25 penknife, pipe and to-
bacco, some dried flowers, a hymn book,
railroad ticket, theater ticket, a comb and
toothpick Others had more or less money
in them, and miscellaneous property, from
a revolver to piece of chewing gum.
The effects of people who pass into the
Coroner's hands are only given to relatives
on production of proof of relationship, or
for, the receipts being pasted into the docket
containing list of the effects
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS.
An instance of how Coroner McDoweIl's
system of registry operates Was furnished a
short time ago. An unknown man was
killed on the 9TH of June on the Baltimore
and Ohio Railway, near McKeesport, and,
after the usual inquiry, the body was in
tered. Due publication of the occurrence
and description OF the man was made in
the papers Some time afterward James
Earthrope, an iron worker, of Chicago,
called on Coroner Mcdowell, and, produc-
ing copy of THE DISPATCH, said that
from the description of the man he
believed it was his brother-in-law, George
Cook. The more detailed description from
the dockets convinced Easthrope that the
man was his relative, and on his making
affidavit to that effect the Coroner author
lied the exhuming of the body. Easthrope
identified it as that of George Cook.
This system Of recording the unknown
dead is believed to excel others in cities of
more pretension. 1t is somewhat better
than the practice In vogue in Beaver
county, where an unknown is buried gener-
ally wherever he is found and that ends
him.