Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-23
A FAMILY CREMATED.
Henry Danehouer, His Wife and
Their Only Child the Victims.
RUMORS OF MURDER DISPROvED.
A Hot-House Furnace the Cause Of the
Terrible Disaster.
PARENTS DIE TRYING TO slvRL CHILD

Hiram Danehower, his wife and Swear
old daughter were cremated in their little
dwelling in Pleasant Valley, 'Hara town.
ship, early yesterday morning. After the
fire had been extingaished the three charred
bodies were gathered together and placed
in one small casket which they did not fill
A rumor gained circulation that they had
been murdered and the house fired to cover
the deed, but the Coroner's investigation
disproved the rumor The jury returned q
verdict of death by suffocation and crema-
tion by fire, the exact cause of which was
unknown. The Coroner is satisfied as to
the cause, but the jury made its verdict ac-
cording to sworn evidence only.
The fire was discovered at 2 o'clock by
Charles Grubbs. The Danenower house
was situated on a steep hillside about 200
feet above Grubbs' house, which fronts on
the old Kittanning road. When he first
saw it the flames were confined to q small
hothouse in the rear of Danehower's dwell
ing and adjoining it. By the time Grubbs
had hastily dressed and started for the scene
the whole building was ablaze, and as he
reached it the flames had made such prog
Hiram Whitehead, mother of Mrs. Dane
hover, living in the nearest house, was
awakened by her daughter calling to her.
She and her two sons were the first to reach
the scene, but although only one end of the
little house was then burning on the out
side the upper floor where the family slept
was full of fire and they could not enter.
One of the Whitehead boys says he heard
Danehower moaning, but at the time sup
posed the family had escaped. He put a
ladder up to the bedroom and broke in the
window, but the flames and smoke poured
out and drove him away.
The house was two-storv of four rooms,
built of boards, lined only with heavy
paper, which accounts for its quick destruc-
tion. Danehower was a genius and pas
sionately fond of flowers. Recently he
built small hothouse about 10 feet square
against his dwelling. On Monday he built
q furnace against the foundation of the
house and carried the heat from it through
pipes to his little conservatory. 1t is sup
posed from the evidence taken that the
furnace got too hot and set fire to the hot
house, whence the flames were communi-
Gated to the second-story of the dwelling.
il is the Coroner's belief that Mr.. and Mrs
Danehower had got up and started out
when she called to her mother. Then they
remembered the little girl and went back to
save her and were suffocated before they
could escape. When the bodies were found,
that of the little girl was lying across the |
mother as if she had been clasped in her |
arms. 1t was not until the bodies were |
seen in the ruins that it was positively |
known Danehower and his family had not |
escaped.
Danehower was an industrious mechanic /
employed by Scott & Co., in the manufac-
ture of iron mill lamps. He was 80 years /
of age, had lived in Sharpsburg tor u years
and was steady, sober man. Bis wife was
Sc years of age and had lived in Pleasant |
Valley nearly all her life. The Sharps-
burg department answered a call to the |
fire, but the house had been consumed be- |
fore they could get to it. The funeral will |
take place from Hiram Whitehead's resi- |
dence to-day or tomorrow.