Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-26
.DEATHOF WMC0BB
Fell From g. Telephone Pole
 This Morning
DEATH WAS INSTANTANEOUS;
It IS supposed That the Man Took
 Hold of a Live Wire-His Neck Was Broken By the Fall-Resided on
 ScOvill Street-He Leaves a Wife.

ScOvill Street-He Leaves a Wife.
 The veracity of the passage from Scripture saying that "Death comes like thief in the night,'' etc, was amply testified this morning when
 William Cobb of 32 Scovill street, an employe of the Southern New England Telephone company, met with q sud- den and almost instanteous death.
 About o'clock this morning no healthier man in the city existed than
 William Cobb. At 9:15 he laid cold ana stiff i'll the rear of Burpee'S phar-
 macy on South Main street. Life was
 extinct. Such is life.
 Mir Cobb was an employe of the
 Southern New England Telephone
 company. As such he was engaged i'll repairing some wire on Washington avenue near South Main street. To
 do so he had to climb a pole. On the same pole, but on different tiers, are electric light and telephone wires. 1t
 is believed that MT Cobb took hold of
 one of the former for tine latter, that
 he received q severe shock, from the force Of Which he was pitched head- long to the street beneath, a distance
 of about fifty feet. He landed on his
 head and received a deep gash over
 the right temple about one and one
 half inches long. The pole is situated. on Washington avenue, opposite the
 rear of tie Buckle shop, just at the
 north end of the lower Washington
 avenue bridge. The man was work
 ing on the wires alone, no fellow
 laborerS assisting. He was first seen
 after the fall by d milk boy, but Daniel
 Murphy, an ~employe of the Buckle
 shop, was soon on the scene.
 The unfortunate man was. car-
 ried into Burpee's pharmacy and pr HungerfOrd summoned,
 but before his arrival life was extinct.
 Death had been almost instantaneous. Acting Medical Examiner Dr Graves was then summoned and he was soon on hand. He viewed the body and gave a permit to Undertaken TOmlin- son to take care of the remains. Dr Graves found that MT Cobb had re- ceived a deep scalp wound over the right temple as mentioned above; that the palm of his left hand had been severely burned from it's contact with the live wire. His neck had also been broken by the fall. He could not say whether his death resulted from the shock or from the fall. Either might have been sufficient to cause death. Walter N. Sperry, division manager | of the Southern New England Tele- phone company was informed of the | fatal accident and was early on the scene, doing what could be done under | the circumstances. He stated to 8 Democrat reporter that the deceased
 had been employed by the telephone l company for about fourteen months, | that he was q man of good habits and | a fine workman. He had been sent out this morning to adjust the telephone | wires on Washington avenue, there be 1 ing some trouble with them. He was i alone. The next he heard of him he was dead.
 MT Cobb was q man of about thirty 1 years of age. He was married ana | lived with his wife at 32 Scovil street. | He had no children. He came to Was
 terbury about fourteen months age and has been employed with the Southern New England Telephone
 company ever since. He was man OF l good habits and a steady and in. | dustrious workman. Of quiet but | friendly nature he made many friends,
 all of whom will regret his sad demise. | His remains were removed to the un-
 dertaking establishment of Tomllnson and later removed to his home.