The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-01-14
TRAGIC DEATH
MRS. COLEMAN
LAST NIGHT
BODY ENVElOPEO IN FLAMES
FROM EXPLOSION OF GASOLINE
WAS CONSCIOUS SUFFICIENTLY
LONG TO MAKE REQUESTS.

Among the saddest duties ever
thrust upon The Ardmoreite is the
of the tragic death of
Mrs. T. n. Coleman. which occurred
at her home on North Washington
street. this city, this morning at
O'clock
At about the hour of o'clock yes
tcrday afternoon Mrs. Coleman was
alone in the kitchen of her home and
was using some gasoline, when an
explosion occurred. She ran into
room where her husband was, with
her clothing a solid sheet of flame,
ana with her body completely en-,
veloped. MIR. Coleman who Is at home
struggling with chronic disease that
has weakened him almost past walk.
ing, threw the flaming body across
the bed, wrapped her in the bed cloth
ing and smothered the flames, but she
was burned from her feet to her hair
The body was so horribly burned
that il was almost charred, and II
was quickly seen that she was too
seriously burned to survive. Mrs. Cole
man realized her situation and made
up her mind that she had to go and she
made the request that she be given
chlOroform and allowed to die as east
ly' as possible, Before the request
was made for the chloroform, she
made two other requests, and they
were concerning her two daughters,
Jerry and Nelse She asked that Or.
Thomas s. Booth take Jerry, the older
daughter, and that her mother, Mrs. l..
l.. Blake take her younger daughter,
Nelse. After consciousness was lost,
she knew no more until death came
this morning about 4 o'clock.
Just how the tragedy occurred that
cost the woman her life, will never be
known. There was sharp explosion,
which Mr. Coleman thought was the
dropping of something in the KITCHEN,
but he realized afterward that the
noise he heard was the explosion of
the gasoline or benzine which Mrs.
Coleman was using. The flames de.
stroyed the gas without setting fire to
anything except the clothing worn by
the woman. The opinion is held that
the gas was in a bottle, and that
when the explosion occurred the full
contents burst out upon the clothing
This theory seems probable, because
the flames destroyed nothing else in
the room.
Jerry was in the house when the
accident occurred. and Nelse was
across the street at the home of a
neighbor
Mrs. l.. l.. Blake mother of the de-
ceased, was the guest of her daugh-
ter, Mrs. Hal Buchanan, in Memphis,
Tenn, when the news came to her She
left Immediately, and is now on her
way to Ardmore.
30 Blake, brother who resides in
Love county, arrived at midnight last
night. Fayette Blake, another brother
who is with the fuel oil department
of the Santa Fe located at Oil City,
arrived here at o'clock, two hours
after the death of his sister Mrs
Jodie Adams, sister, residing at
Brownsville, Texas, has been notified
by wire, but has not made reply. Mrs.
Hal Buchanan, in Memphis, another
sister, has been notified, but il is not
known whether she will come or not.
Mr.. Coleman has a sister in Denison
who will arrive here today.
The funeral will be held sometime
tomorrow, and the remains will be laid
to rest in Rose Hill cemetery.
The tragedy is made sadder by the
invalidism of the husband, T. n. Cole
man. He has been fighting for life
for several months, and has been in
southwest Texas and in Colorado and