Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-10-04
AGED WOMEN ARE
BURNED TO DEATH
IN THEIR HOME
Charred Bodies of Mrs. Mar
garet Keogh and Sister Stun
bIed Upon by Firemen.
EXPLOSION OF LAMP Is
SUPPOSED TO BE CAUSE
Evidence Indicates the Women
Fought the Flames Until
They Were Overcome.

Mrs. Margaret Keogh, eighty years
old, widow of Edward Keogh, one
time wealthy contractor OF TINS
city. and her sister Miss Susan lit
tie, aged seventy, We're burned TO
death at their home, % Newton
street, early yesterday. The fire Is
supposed to have been started by the
explosion of kerosene lamp Three
other families were endangered and
a property loss of $4,000 was entailed
Miss Susan Little, of Paterson, a
niece of the fire victims, went 10
Mullins morgue today and arranged
to have the bodies removed to an
undertaking establishment, Where
they will be prepared for burial
Funeral services will be conducted
tomorrow morning at st. Joseph $
Church, when there will be a solemn
high mass of requiem. The interment
will be. in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery,
Paterson.
The elder woman, Mrs. keogh, was
an invalid, and her sister had peeh
acting as nurse. The lamp had been
left burning all night and Is sup
posed to have exploded shortly aftef
3 o'clock in the morning. Miss Little,
who slept on a couch in the dining
room, is believed to have attempted
to combat the flames alone until Mrs.
keogh, although ill, came to her aia.
Both succumbed when their night
clothing caught fire
Seen by Trolleymen.
How the flames gained such rapid
headway before being discovered by
someone in the street is puzzling the
authorities. The fire was shooting
over three-story brick building at
Newton and Cabinet streets betore II
was seen from Warren street, block
away, by the crew of a passing trol-
lev car of the Bank street line Inc
firemen of Engine Company No. Z, at
Wallace place, nearby, were aroused
/ Lieutenant John Fox, who is acting
captain in the absence OF captain
Cornelius smith, who is on vacation,
had his men ready to respond when
Police Sergeant Neene, OF the flrsl
nrecinct. alighted from car ana
turned in an alarm.
Flames were pouring from the
front door of the INeogh home, the
entire rear was ablaze and the names
had communicated to the house at
"a Newton street when the hremeh
arrived minute later
Thomas Walsh, who lives at the
latter number, was bringing menDerS
of his family to safety when the ilfe-
men arrived. His sister, Mrs. Mar
oaret Walsh, a widow and her TWO
Children. Florence, eighteen. ana
Helen. nine. we're among the rescued
Having gotten members of has own
family out In safety, Mr.. Walsh ran
into the burning building and res
oued Miss Katherine ConroY. VINO
lives on the second floor of "a MI
walsh is an employe of the pullman
Company. He was to leave on ms
train for Chicago over the Pennsgi-
vania railroad yesterday morning az
s o'clock. He was to arise at o. aha
was aroused shortly after O'CLOCK
nv the sound of breaking glass re
found the flames eating their way
into his bedroom from the house next
door.
There is large bay window IN the
room occupied by Mr.. Walsh, ana
this extended almost to the keogh
house. Both buildings are separated
only by q three-foot areaway Inc
W aISneS
effects. and went to the street clad
in their night clothes. They found
refuge with William Jacobus, at AZ
Fairmount avenue, and MI Walsh
Cancelled his run to Chicago.
Unexpected Discovery.
Apparently all hope of saving the
inmates of the Keough home nad
gone before an alarm was sent M
Lieutenant Fox got through WIN
dow on the first floor. In groplng ms
way to the rear rooms to get at the
seat of the blaze he stumbled over
form in the dining-room. BY the
glare from his lantern he discerned
two figures. One of the aged women
Law dead half across a couch. The
other had fallen beneath the dining
room table, which had been partly
tipped over.
At the time Lieutenant Fox found
the bodies, it was supposed everybody
had been gotten out of the house
safely. He and Lieutenant John Sut-
phen, of the Salvage Corps, came
upon the bodies at about the same
time. After the fire was under con-
troll an examination showed that the
water in the kitchen sink in the
Keough apartment was running, and
the charred condition of the hands of
the two victims indicates they had
tried to fight the fire without calling
for aid.
Escape of Vanderhoofs.
Mr.. and Mrs. Josiah NJ. Wander
hoof, who lived on the second floor
of the Keogh residence. had q narrow
escape from being burned to DEATH
but got out by their back kitchen door,
which opens onto steps leading to
the yard. Mrs. Vanderhoof in de-
scribing her experiences today, said:
"Five minutes more and we would
have been smothered and burned to
death. I just woke up and felt as
If I had a sore throat | could hear
a slight groaning sound, and thought
it came from the house next door and
that one of the Walsh children was
i'll. My husband also woke up and /
told him that one of the children next
door must have a toothache.
Then / looked out of the window
and saw that Both houses were burn
ing, and learned it was Mrs. Keogh
who was moaning. Miss Little always
roomed on the upper floor, and think
ing she must still be in her room, [
ran into the hall and pounded on the
stairs, in the meantime calling to her
to come down. / guess, however, that
Mrs. Keogh must have been i'll during
the night and called her. Mrs. Keogh
had poor circulation and had consid-
cradle trouble with her limbs.
"I know that Miss Little must have
been in her own room before the fire,
because I heard her go upstairs at
about 9:15 O'Clock. After | had called
Miss Little, and the smoke was get
ting so dense / knew we couldn't stay
any longer. my husband told me not
to wait another minute. ! stopped