Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-11-24
THE THIRD DEATH
LITTLE FRANCES HI1NNEBERY'S
SUFFERING ENDED.
VICTIM OF THE EDGEwoOD
ACADEMY FIRE
The Poor Child Died at $50 O'Clock
Last Evening-Her Mother Reaches
Her Before Dearh-Coroner's Jury's
Verdict - Interesting Testimony.
Latest Particulars About the Fire.
Madison. Nov. II.

Madison, Nov. II.
Little Frances Hennebery, of Chi.
cago, 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 i
member Of the firm of Donohue &
Hennebery, printers. The mother has
two small children heft. She is in
rather poor circumstances.
The coroner's jury met in Justice
G. L. Wakeley's office at 2:2O O'Clock
yesterday afternoon to listen to tes-
timOny concerning the disastrous fire
at EdgewOod academy Thursday and
the death of AIargery Rice, of Stevens
Point, and Margaret Stack, of Chicago.
pupils in the academy, OH the night of
November L..
DR.. 0. NJ. Twitchell, of Madison, was
the first witness to testify. He was
called, us a physician, to the Edge
wood academy Thursday night to sec
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..
TWitchelI stated that he found two
children who were to all appearances
dead. He made q futile effort to re-
store them to life. Another child and
Il Dominican sister were ill. The child,
he said, was recovering and babe fai.'
to continue to improve. This was lit
tie Miss Hennebery. The doctor eon-
tinued his observation of the children,
off andon. for two hours, He attrib-
uted the ceuse of death TO inhalation
of smoke-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 Il short time
in q dense smoke TO cause death.
Dr.. Philip Fox, of Madison, Yves then
sWOxn and testified that he was
called to Edgewood seminary Thurs
day might and arrived about 8 o'clock.
He found two children dead, apparent
ly from SutfOcatiOn- There was no
mark on one, but ON the other there
was q brhse OFT an arm and on the
forehead, apparently caused by a fail
OF by coming into contact with SOSae
hard substance. 1t would take from
five to ten minutes to cause death by
suffoca 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 i'll IA
cOroner'S eXamina ton. 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 d closed closet IN the hall,
as near as she could make out. The
fire was, at q distance Of at least six
feet from the door of the room where
the children were. Sister Bertha said
that as soon as she found where the
fire was she went Immediately to the
childremS room. She groged 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
as she was sufficiently revived she went
back snd 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
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
questioned. She was q resident OF
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 s o'clock. She 10
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 We're fifteen sisters residents of
the academy, but two We're absent the
night Of the fire. There were twenty
eight pupils in the academy, but two
were away at their homes Thursday.
She said that as she was carrying
water toward the burning closet she
heard some one say that the children
We're in the room, as we'll as Sister
Bertha. She made three attempts to
get into the room but had to give up
and go down to the second floor for
air. She went back and got a body
which she supposed was Sister Ber-
tha's, but it proved to be the body
of the child Sister Bertha had first
gotten out of the room. Again she
went into the room, this time covering