Middletown transcript., 1910-02-05
FOUR CHILDREN persisted N FLAMES
AFonised Mother Looked Oh and Fireneh
Worked IN Vain

DovER, Del, Feb. 3d.-Penned in the
third.story; or attic, of burning farm
house like rats 10 trap. four children o.
Mrs. Sarah Tatum were burned to death
tonight at the home OF Ezekiel Hackettr
their grandfather, at "The Corners" be-
tween Camden and Wyoming. The az
cident was the most horrible which has
occurred in this section for many years.
The dead are:
Mamie Tatum, aged fourteen years.
Lewis Tatum, aged sixteen years.
Stanford Tatnm, aged five years.
Daisey Tatum, aged three years.
The children, with their mother. Mrs.
Sarah Tatum, lived with Ezekiel Hackett
their grandfather, the father of Mrs.
Tatum. The building was threes-tory
frame structure. though the top, or third
story, was merely an attic. There was
no outlet to it except one window and
the stairway leading from the second floor.
According to their usual custom, the
children had retired early and had gone
to their beds in the attic described. With
them they took small oil lamp for the
purpose of lighting them to bed. They
had retired, but whether the lamp was
left burning to light the room during the
night and accidentally set fire to some
thing, or was not properly extinguished
and later ignited something in the room
will never be known.
About 10 o'clock Mr.. HaCkett fixed his
fire in the kitchen for the night, and
about the same time his daughter, Mrs.
Tatum, the mother of the children, said
good night to him and started for her
bedroom on the second floor.
On reaching the second floor the mother
was startled to hear the noise of cracking
timbers and to smell smoke, Her frst
thought was of her children, and she
rushed for the stairway, only tn find il in
flames. It was simply impossible to reach
the room above.
The screams of the mother attracted
Mr.. Hackett, and telephone messages
were at once sent to Camden and Wyom-
ing for help.
BY the time that the fremen from Cam
den and Wyoming had reached the place
the situation was hopeless. The entire
upper portion of the building was in
flames, and it was impossible to- get into
the one window of the room from which
the flames we're belching forth. They
made q number of efforts, but each
time that the ladders were raised and
some brave man moved toward the win
dow be was driven back. Time after
time the attempt was made, and time
after time the result was the same.
While the fremen worked the mother
was almost crazed by grief. She i'm
agined that she heard the cries of her
helpless children as they perished in the !
flames, but no one else could hear
sound and were under the impression
that the children bad been suffocsted al
most at the start. The grief-stricken |
mother, however, was compelled to look |
helplessly on while strong men battled |
with the FIRE and were then compelled |
to give up in despair.
The bodies OF the four children were
found in their bedroom in the attic. |
The interior ofthe room had been burned |
ont and whether they had been snffocsted |
while they lay in bed and bad died q |
painless death or had met death while
trying to get out the single window could !
not be told. The bodies were terribly |
charred, but it was possible to identity |
each of them.