St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1908-05-13
FATAL FIRE.
Four Persons Burned to Death
in the Weeks Tenement
Four Firemen Injured
Property Loss
Small.

almost incredible, yet this is just what
happened Friday morning in the fire in
the Weeks block on Prospect avenue.
The dead are
Mrs. John Henry Wilson, aged 25
years.
Beatrice Wilson, her two-year-old
daughter.
Gladys Wilson, her four-year-old
daughter.
Nellie Lee, aged Is, Mrs. Wilson's
sister.
The FIRE started in the rooms occupied
by the Wilson family situated in the
northwest corner of the building and in
the second story. Mrs. Wilson had
cooked her husbands breakfast that
morning on the gas stove, and not feel
ing we'll had gone back to bed and her
youngest child was with her No one is
living to tell how the fire started, but it
is supposed that it caught while Miss
Lee was lighting the stove. From the
fact that no one of the four who perished
ever uttered a sound after the fire start
ed or appeared at any of the windows
some of which were hardly 20 #. from the
ground, it seems as if an explosion must
have taken place which stunned Miss
Lee and her niece, Gladys Wilson With
ten families living in the block there was
much confusion at the beginning of the
fire and before the fremen arrived some
of the occupants of the block insisted
that the Wilson family were in the holo-
caIst. The boys from the CALIFORNIAN
Office were among the first to try to
reach the tenement, but the flames came
rushing down the stairway and drove
them and the rest of the volunteers back
When the hremen arrived they could not
enter the rooms where the hre roared
like molten furnace until the tenement
had been flooded with water.
Then came the sad rescue OF the dead
and their bodies were brought out before
hundreds of saddened faces and bleeding
hearts. The 6remen entered through the
north windows and found first the body
of Mrs. Wilson and the youngest child
together. The mother had evidently
struggled out of bed and been sutfocated
in vain attempt to reach the hall
which was cut off from the first by the
encroachng flames. Their bodies were
taken to the St Johnsbury Hospital
where Mr.. Wilson soon arrived from the
scale foundry He was greatly prostrat-
ed as he learned of the fatality at the
Hospital but bore his grief with a
wonderful display of christianity. In
the loss of his entire family as well as
everything in his home he has the SYM
pathy of everyone IN this community.
In the meantime the hremen continued
their search for the rest of the family and
found the body of Gladys Wilson under a
small table in the kitchen and that of
Miss Lee in a foot of water near the
kitchen stove. Both bodies were consid-
erably burned and were taken to Under
taker Calderwood's rooms for prepara-
tion for burial.
Within an hour the hremen had the fire
completely under control, having con-
fined it to the Wilson tenement. During
the progress of the fire four OF the FIRE
men were injured, Edward Moffett,
Jacob E. Heath and Birney Hall by
broken glass and Edward Mccullough,
who was overcome by the smoke.
The building was owned by Gordon {.
Weeks and was insured through Craw
ford Ranneys agency for $4,000. Of this
amount $500 was carried in the Traders
and Mechanics of Lowell, Mass, and
$2500 in the Vermont Mutual of Mont
pelier. The property loss to the block
will not exceed $1,000.
There were nearly a dozen tenants in
the block and their loss was confined to
injuries to furniture incident to hasty
moving of the goods.
Mrs. Wilson was a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Lee, former residents of this
village, but now residing in North Dan-
vile. They have been married five
years and had an ideal home. She was
a faithful member of Grace Methodist
church and a splendid christian
woman.
Nellie Lee had been student in the
Summer street Schools attending the
seventh grade, though she had not been
in school this term. She was visiting |
her sister and helping about the house. |
Miss Lee was most promising young |
lady, member of the Junior League in
Grace Methodist church and very |
capable.
The funeral service was held in the
chapel of Grace Methodist church Satur-
day afternoon though the attendance
was so large that many sat in the audi
torium of the church. The floral display |
was very profuse, and Apollo Lodge, |
Knights of Pythias, of which Mr.. Wilson
is member, ATTENDED in body. The SER
vice was in charge of Rev. ]. M. Frost,
assisted by Revs. F. w. Lewis, J. A.
Thompson and A. F. Walch. After a
brief prayer by Mr.. Frost the scriptures
were read by Mr.. Lewis. Rev. Mr..
Thompson spoke on the great mysteries
of life. and Rev. Mr. Waleh upon Gods |
love and human love- The service |
closed with the prayer and benediction
by Mr.. Frost. Music was furnished by
the church quartet. A sight never seen
before in this village was three hearses,
in the funeral cortege on the way to Mt.
Pleasant cemetery. At the burial service
there was brief prayer by Mr.. Frost |
and the henedictiou nv Mr. Wa1ch