The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-02-01
Peter Peterson Meets Horrible
Death When His House Was
Destroyed Sunday
Morning.
AN EFFORT TO ESCAPE
The Body Was Found in the Ash
es and Shows That the Aged
Man Had Tried to Get
Out Of the House.

Between the hours of l and 9
O'Clock Sunday morning. the residence
OF Peter Peterson at Twentieth and
orleans street, burned down and Mr.
PETERSON, who occupied the house
alone, was burned with his home.
HIS body was found in the embers
and ashes of his little home by the
hremen when they arrived.
Mr.. Peterson was eighty-seven years
of age and was troubled with rherma.
tism. He lived alone in the house,
but his daughter, Mrs. Sunblaw. lived
In the house adjoining and he was not
considered alone, for the daughter
and members of her family were often
in the house and watched over the old
gentleman
Mrs. Sunday left him Saturday
evening at $50 o'clock after fixing
his fire and seeing him safe in bed.
Although living next door, she did not
know of the fire until the house was
half burned down and by that time her
father was dead.
The cause of the fire will never be
known and it was probably caused
from the stove; although Mr.. Peter
son had a habit of awakening in the
night and smoking his pipe, as aged
people often do. 1t may be that he
got up during the night and got out
his pipe, the ashes of which caused
the fatal blaze, or he fixed the fire.
He was cautioned by his daughter
when she left him, not to do anything
about the stove during the night.
When his body was found it was
evident that he had made a gallant
effort to get out of the house. for the
body was found at the rear of the
house. where the kitchen had been,
showing that be had gotten out of the
bed and tried to make his way to
safety.
The residence was small frame
house, owned by Mr.. Peterson and oc-
cupied by him for many years
Mrs. Sunblaw was over during the
evening and made everything comfort
able for the night Then she return
ed to her own home next door. She
did not awaken during the fire until
the house was half consumed and then
1t was too late to sa-e her father.
The body was brought down to the
E. E. Hawkes. undertaking establish
ment during the morning and the cor
oner notified of the sad case. He en-
panneled a jury composed of E. ".
Monague, Ed G. Vaughn. Jas Carss,
and the inquest was set for O'Clock
this afternoon.
Although a number o people in the
vicinity saw the fire. the alarm was
not turned in. the house being SO far
out and rather isolated, it probably
being thought that the department
could have done no good by respond
Ing.
Even had an alarm been turned in.
the life of Mr. Peterson could not
have been saved for the little frame
house burned like finder and was a
mass OF flames in a short time.
House Entirely Destroyed.
The fire had entirely destroyed the
house when the department arrived.
About O'Clock one of Tho telep one
girls sent ord to the station that
there was blaze in the upper end of
the Cit some place, but that no alarm
had beer turned in.
At 2:20 o'clock hackman drove up
to the engine house and reported
blaze some place at the edge of
town. beyond the park and chief An
derson called UP the Patterson home
just opposite the park and asked
about the fire.
He was told that small barn