The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-03-24
A DEATH DEALING CYCLONE
WIPES OUT A WHOLE FAMILY IN
ALABAMA.
TEN OUT OF ELEVEN WERE KILLED
Dwellings Demolished and Trees Pulled
UP by Roots-Enormous Dam
age Wrought.

A terrific cyclone struck Cleburne
county, Ala, near Edwardsville, at z
o'clock Saturday night and there was
loss of life and great damage to prop
erty.
The storm had wide path and was
of great force. Trees were pulled out
by the roots, fences blown for miles
and houses picked up like feathers
and smashed to pieces.
The home of Lewis Coffee was lit
orally blown to splinters and ten out
of eleven in the family killed. The
list is as follows:
Lewis Coffee, aged fiftyfive, tax as
SCISSOR of Cleburne county; Mrs. Cof-
fee, aged forty-six; Leila, aged twenty
two; James, aged twenty; Lula, aged
eighteen; Jacob, aged thirteen; De-
vereo, aged eight; Dollie, aged ten;
Grover, aged six; John, aged four.
Bessie Coffee, aged twelve, the only
remaining member of the family, will
die.
The home of Coffee stood on little
hill. He, with eleven members of his
family, including his wife, were with
in and their awful feelings as death
came can only be surmised. The large
log house was picked up bodily and
dashed to pieces, while the inmates
We're dashed up and down until life
was extinct, finally to land at least 200
yards away. When help came all but
one were dead, Bessie, the daughter,
aged twelve, who was fatally hurt.
Buried In One Grave.
Sunday morning arrangements were
made for the funerals. 1t was decided
to lay them all side by side in one
grave and the grave digger was given
his order. The excavation was six
feet deep and was eight feet long and
ar---..-- - feAi u,;5 no,u- IN the after
AS4h ana thousand people were nras..
The old home, torn and tattereo'
.oonIIed the fact only that it had once
been the abiding place OF the oo.e.s; ,
than whom none in the county s'o0N
fmmediately after demolishing the
Coffee family and home the storm
s,rnck the residence of j. w. Wlioer.
r. wos completely destroyed, but ne
nor anv of his family were at home "'
the time. ,t aowr
Andrew Stiepan's home went aowl
,ort Mrs, Stiepan and her little ba
t,1 wore courht beneath logs and bott
seriously injured. =. ,o,
The cyclone at this point brok
ooo;nst q mountain, and went towar
Mnskadine, eight miles east Edward.
v;,le where Hooper's big grist hi
was blown down.
wa" go, oll that can be learned the Q.
io r;n;noted at Iron City, ana 7"
od S,omds forming the funnel-shaped on
| cot together just ahead Oh ooAe0
house. ,ono Ii
: Tn addition to the dead long Il
q of ;niured has been compiled. -,
Those who saw the cyclone say .h
besides an immense tunne'-shnp
cloud il bounded along like ruoc
holl. rising at intervals ana le"pt
to snr several hundred yards without
;u. onv damage. Then when IL
a scended it would pick up houses Il
ly crush them to pieces, uproo' 49,
ty tw;st them off level with the gro"
PIN and sweep oil before 1t. r,
he Naar Heflin a white woman VIII WI,
ior ,,o,,e could not be learned, was XII
nj and five persons III the SAM e,,t t 6
tn, hurt. 1t is estimated that aDou.
hmiI huildings we've destroyed, betw
re. twenty and twenty-five persons pfsoa
,ed ;mred, in addition to those killed
nvor a score of farms devastated.
0'T The path of the cyclone ,I:sSan presSen
..;i,lo scene Of havoc. Ilmoer
wrecked houses are scattered III .
lave S;rection. Some were carried
on. into the air and others were or
son- NV ~ INTO the ground or through
the ueep MANY head of cattle were
the prt for the fact that the cou
Ie to e". ,,,;cb the stormed passe
FIJI sparsely settled, the loss OF rhop ,,,e ="
have been much greater. Ihere
from h",o ,oorvelous escapes.
past h""' -.------------- uo