Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-10-30
Doubt of Identity of Remains
May Affect Insurance Poll
cy Payment
COULD NOT IDENTIFY BODY
Relatives and Friends Refuse to Be-
ieve That the Remains Sent From
Asylum at independence We're Those
of w. f. Rosers-Further lnvestisa-
tons Will Be Made.

Sioux City, Oct. 30.-4Altho the rela
| rot believe the body sent here from
/ the asylum at Independence for buria
was held yesterday anyway. The Rog
ers case is not likely to end with hi
burial, however, as the doubt cast up
on the identity of the remains is likel,
to affect the payment of an insuranc,
policy which he carried, the amour
| being $4,000.
| A c. Moore, a friend Of the Ferguson
and Rogers families, communicated b,
long distance telephone with DR.. Oil.
| mather, the house physician ut the In
dependence insane hospital at 8 O'Clock
by DR.. Ohlmather that then. was No
possible chance for an error in the
matter of the body being the tight one
He said there was not another death
at the hospital on that day. altho a
man had lied a few days previously al
the hospital.
DR.. Ohlmather said that an autopsy
was held on Rogers and that the back
of his head and abdomen had been
opened by the hospital physicians for q
scientific investigation last Sunday
night The marks on the body received
here confirmed this story.
Notwiths tanding this fact Mrs. Fer
guson, OF Chicago, mother-in law Of
Mr.. Rogers. is very much puzzled and
is very much in doubt about the iden-
tity of the. man.
"Of course l expected to find him
emaciated." she said. "but that fact is
just what makes other facts still more
apparent that the body is not that OF
my son-in-lAw. For instance his ema-
citation would not make the bridge of
his nose high when he naturally had
nose that was small; and his forehead
would not get smaller and turn in at
the bottom. Mr.. Rogers has a large,
round forehead.
AT least fifty persons who saw him
at the undertaking rooms said 1t was
not Mr.. Rogers. Yet with Ill OF this
we might be mistaken. because per-
son changes SO when sick SO long He
viii go OH with the funeral anyway
Yesterday Mrs. Ferguson left for In
dependence, where she Will Investigate
the matter more fully. She expects To
visit the sick wards OF the hospital to
see if she can locate Mr. Rogers.
The telegram which she received in
Chicago from the hospital notifying
her of Mr.. Rogers death read:
William is dead. Instruct as to
body
Mrs. Ferguson thinks its strange that
Rogers was not used in the place of
although his first name is
Mr.. Rogers carried $4,000 insurance,
made out to his only child, William
Rogers. who is named for mis- father.
It will be necessary to settle the ques-
ton OF identity before this will be paid.
The boy Is living at the Ferguson home
Doctor Nonplused.
Physicians, relatives and friends OF
". f. Rogers who was formerly we'll
Known Sioux Cityan, who We're called
Upon to identify him, could not do so.
DR.. j. NJ. Knott was called to see the
body because he had treated a cut on
he hand of Mr.. Rogers In Sioux City
shortly before he was sent away TO the
insane hospital. DR.. Knott could not
ind any trace OF this cut.
DIR. Knott said Wednesday afternoon
hat he knew Rogers we'll in his life
ime and had been his family physician.
lie could not recognize any Of the fea-
ures of the body shipped here as those
# Mr. Rogers. He did not believe II
vas the body. 1t is declared that the
height of the body Is about the same
Is that of Rogers, but this Isl about the
,nly recognizable feature.
DIR. S. G. Hatch. a dentist In the Toy |
building, also called in to examine the |
eeth of the corpse, he having treated |
DR.. Rogers teeth before the tatter's de-
,arture few years ago. DR.. Hatch |
aid that the teeth We're so badly dis |
olored that he could not tell whether /
hey were the same teeth which he
lad treated or not.
Friends who had known rogers init
nately in his lifetime We're called in
nd they declared after an examination
hat they did not believe that the body /
vas the same. These were Mrs. John
yebbar, Mr. Curry and others.
w. F.. Rogers formerly WAS brake
nan in Sioux City and was well known
ere. For the last few years he has
cen an invalid, and his death resulted
rom paralysis.