Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-11-23
Madison. Nov. Il.

Madison. Nov. Il.
Little Frances Hennebery, of Chi
cage, is dead. She passed away at the
St. Regina convent at $50 o'clock last
evening. This is the third victim of
the terrible fire at EdgewOod Thursday
night. The mother and uncle, Rev.
Father Hennebery, of Chicago, arrived
in time to see the little innocent ex-
| pire. The remains will be taken to
! Chicago for burial this morning. The
| father of Frances is dead. He was a
member Of the firm of DOnOhue 4
Hennebery, printers. The mother has
two small children Heft. She is in
rather poor circumstances.
The coroner's jury met in Justice
: c. L. Wakeley's Office at 2:20 O'clock
! yesterday afternoon to listen to tes-
| timOny concerning the disastrous fire
at Edgewood academy Thursday and
| the death of Margery Rice, of Stevens
Point, and Margaret Stack, of Chicago.
pupils in the academy, Oh the night Of
November 16.
DR.. .. NJ. TWitchell, of Madison, WIS
the first witness to testify. He was
called, as a physician, to the Edge
wood academy Thursday night to see
the two deceased children about ,
| o'clock. The roof of the main build
ing had fallen in when he arrived. He
was the first physician to arrive. DR..
TwitcheH stated that he found two
children who were to all appearances
dead. He made a futile effort to re-
store them to life Another child and
q Dominican sister We're i'll. The child,
| he said, was recovering and babe fai.'
to continue to improve. This was lit
i tie Miss Hennebery. The doctor CON,
| tinued his observation Of the children.
| off andon. for two hours. He attrib-
uted the cause Of death to inhalation
| of sm0ke-suffOcatiOn The bodies
were not burned. The destruction of
the building was so far advanced that
| he could not distinguish the room in
which the children slept. He said that
| it would have taken but a short time
| in a dense smoke to cause death.
| DR.. Philip Fox, of Madison, was then
| sworn and testified that he was
| called to Edgewood seminary Thurs
| day night and arrived about 9 o'clock.
He found two children dead, apparent
ly from sutfocatiOn- There was no
| mark on one, but Oh the other there
was Il brulSe OH an arm and on the
forehead, apparently caused by Il fall
or by coming into contact with some
hard substance. 1t would take from
| five, to ten minutes to cause death by
! SutfOca ton. A sister told him of her
| efforts to rescue the children. The doc
tor said that the case is so clear that
there is really nothing to say in a
| coroner's examination. He stated that
the injured sisters are nearly fully re-
covered and that little Miss Henne-
berry, whose recovery was not looked
for, is better. At noon he said he had
no hopes of her recovery, but he heard
shortly before coming to the cOrOner's
that she had regained consciousness.
Sister Mary Bertha, the sister who
was in the room with the children who
were killed, was the next witness
She resided at Edgewood and held the
position of sindica, and did the buy
ing for the academy and looked after
things in general She was the first to
reach the fire, she believes. The fire
, was on the third floor, of the main
building in q closed closet in the hall,
as near as she could make out. The
,, fire was at distance of at least six
feet from the door of the room where
40 Sister
that as soon as she found where the
fire was she went Immediately to the
chiIdren'S room. She CROPPED along to
the first bed and got little Miss SWeeny
| out, but had to drop her when she got
to the hall and crawl down the stairs
! to get fresh air to breathe. AS soon
us she was sufficiently revived she went
! back and picked another child up in
her arms, she does not know which OF
| the three remaining children. She re-
members picking up this child and
J then SwOoning and sinking to the
! floor. The next thing she knew she
was out in the air and being carried to
! the cottage.
! Sister Mary Mercelline was next
, Edgewood villa and had charge of the
! girls refectory dining room) and also
| took care Of the sick girls. She thought
| the fire was discovered about $50
! O'Clock, surely after o'clock. She To-
Gated the fire the same as did Sister
| Bertha, in a closet in the third story
/ hall The children were taken out be-
/ fore the fire reached the fatal room.
/ There were fifteen sisters residents OF
j the academy, but two were absent the
night Of the fire. There We're twenty
eight pupils in the academy, but two
! were away at their homes Thursday.
i She said that as she was carrying
water toward the burning closet she
heard some one say that the children
were in the room, as well as Sister
: Bertha. She made three attempts to
/ get into the room but had to give up
| and 60 down to the second floor for
air. She went back and got body
which she supposed was Sister Ber-
tha's, but it proved to be the body
i of the child Sister Bertha had first
gotten out of the room. Again she