The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-10-26
Am AWFUL DEATH
Was that Which Came to Sister
Mary stanislaus, who
FELL FRQlN FoURTH FLOOR
or the Convent Building on Eoh
Street Late Tuesday Night = Her
Body, Cold in Death and Crushed
aud Broken, was Found Wednesday
Morning The Tragedy was DopIor-
ed on all Sides Yesterday.


The shocking discovery was made
yesterday morning OF the death OF Sis
ter satnlplaus. of st. Joseph's convent,
and the sad circumstances surrounding
the death, which. was the outcome of a
fatal accident, were peculiarly distress
Ing. The 1evered sister lost her lie on
Tuesday night by fall, Of which there
was no knowledge until her llfeless
form was discovered yesterday morn
ing, lying amid a pile of brick and
building debris, at the new convent
academy, on Eofr street, near the Ca
thedral.
This new building, which is in course
OF erection, adjolns the convent, and 1t
is so designed that doors from the corr
rIdors in the old building will open into
the new, on each OF the three stories.
The doorways were kept nailed up UNI
til the completion OF the academy, but
the barriers were removed on the third
floor Tuesday by the carpenters owing
to necessary arrangements, and they
were not replaced, unfortunately.
To Sister stanlslaus for years has
been intrusted the business manage
ment of the convent. One OF her duties
every night before retiring was to see
that all the doors were locked, gas Jets
turned of, and other precautions
against FIRE. This round Of the build
ing was made every night at o'clock,
and Sister stanlslaus was always the
last Of the inmates to retire.
AS the sisters occupy separate cells
at night, her absence was not noted
until the breakfast hour, and no alarm
was really felt until somewhat later,
when search Instituted by the Mother
Superior revealed the fact that Sister
stanislaus was not in her room, and
hadn't occupied 1t the previous night,
as was evident from the undisturbed
bed clothes. The janItor's assistance
was secured, and after he looked
through the basement Of the new build
ing, he saw the dead sister lying near
the wall of the old building. Her body
was in a cramped position, and life had
been extinct for several hours.
The body was removed to a room in
the convent and DR.. Charles NJ. Fris-
sell, who was summoned Immediately,
found that death was caused by an in
jury over the right temple. the result
of the fall. The right arm was also
fractured. AS the body was found d.
rectly beneath the open doorway, 1t is
presumed Sister stanIslaus uncon-
sclously stepped over the threshold. AS
there are no floors yet in the new build
ing there was nothing to break the
force of the fall.
The deceased sisters family name
was Mary Holman. and she was born
in Wheeling. She was an aunt Of ex-
City Clerk Thomas Thoner. She was
ffty-elght years of age and was given
the habit and protested by the late
Bishop whelan. at the Wheeling hospI-
tai, in 1854 There was profound sor-
row over her sad death, the sisters in
the convent being particularly grief
Bishop Donahue will conduct the
funeral obseQuies.
The funeral will take place this
morning at 0 o'clock. There Will be
requiem high mass at the Cathedral at
this hour. and friends are invited to at
tend. The interment will be at Mount
Calvary.