The Adair County News,
January 8, 1941
Ben
Jeffries Instantly Killed In Huntington Elevator Mishap
_______
Superintendent
of Mails In Huntington Suffers Crushed Head In Tragic Post Office
Accident.
_______
FORMERLY
LIVED IN COUNTY
Mr. O.B. Jeffries, 59, was killed
instantly last Thursday when his head was crushed between the
floor of a freight elevator and girder at the Huntington, W. Va.,
postoffice, where he was superintendent of mails.
The Huntington Advisor gave
the following account of the accident:
"Mr. Jeffries' head was caught
between the floor of the elevator and a girder supporting the main
floor of the building he had gone to the basement stock room for
office supplies.
Dr. F.X. Schuller, Cabell County
coroner, said his investigation indicated death was accidental and
that "evidently Mr. Jeffries had suffered a heart attack or had
fainted after entering the elevator."
Fellow employees at the post office
informed Dr. Schuller that Mr. Jeffries was subject to "dizzy
spells" and said he was known to have had high blood pressure.
Dr. Schuller said Mr. Jeffries had
suffered a fractured neck, a cut across the back of his head and a
crushed lower jaw.
The elevator, hydraulic powered and
with a lifting power of 2,000 pounds, was jammed just below the
first floor.
The body was discovered by Wilbur C.
Coslett, of 210 West Seventh avenue, employed as a fireman at the
post office building.
Mr. Coslett said neither he nor any
other employee in the basement had heard anything at the time of
the accident and that his first knowledge of what had happened
came when he went to go to the first floor in the elevator. Mr.
Coslett said he noticed a stain when he first thought was red ink
on the bar which Mr. Jeffries had placed across the shaft opening
when he started the elevator. Upon looking up he saw Mr. Jeffries'
head pinned between the elevator and the girder and immediately
summoned help.
The only explanation that could be
offered for the accident, Dr. Schuller said, was the supposition
that Mr. Jeffries had fainted or collapsed after starting the
elevator in motion. His head extended just far enough past the
floor of the elevator to catch the girder as the elevator
approached the first floor.
Mr. Jeffries was born in Missouri
but was really a native of Adair, as his parents spent only a
short time in the neighboring State. He was a son of the late A.C.
Jeffries and Mrs. Omeria Jeffries, who survives and lives in
Center Hill, Fla. The family have long been prominent in this
county and he had a wide connection here. He was educated in the
schools of Adair County and Columbia and was an outstanding
scholar and athlete. He taught in the schools of this county for a
number of years and was said by his pupils to have been a very
fine educator. He frequently visited relatives here and news of
his death was a great shock to all.
He began his career as postal
employee on February 17, 1914 as a railway mail clerk and was
transferred to the Huntington postoffice November 1, 1916. He was
made superintendent of mails August 16, 1934. He was an active and
faithful member of the Johnson Memorial Methodist Church,
conducted by the pastor and Bishop U.V.W. Darlington. Interment
was in Huntington.
Mr. Jeffries is survived by his
wife, Mrs. Margurerite Paull Jeffries, two daughters, Miss Pauline
Jeffries and Mrs. C.H. Fabir, of Clifton Forge, Va., one
granddaughter, Sandra Paul Faber ; his mother, Mrs. Omeria
Jeffries; five brothers, Sam L. and Frank Jeffries, of Iowa City,
Iowa, Judge C.GG. Jeffries and John Jeffries, of Columbia,
and J. Beckham Jeffries, of San Diego, Calif., and the three
sisters, Mrs. George Maddox and Mrs. T.H. Beacham, of Florida, and
Mrs. Laura Nickels, of California.
Adair County News,
February 12, 1941
NEGRO
KILLED BY HALF-BROTHER
_______
Paul
Taylor Held Without Bond For Murder of Ben Taylor Thursday Night.
Ben Taylor, 46, Negro, died at his
home in the Ozark community at 10:10 Thursday night as the result
of shotgun wounds inflicted by his half-brother, Paul Taylor, 35,
between 5 and 6 o'clock the same evening. The two men lived
together and the shoot was said to have resulted from a quarrel
over the ownership of a hog.
Paul Taylor gave himself up to
local authorities the night the tragedy occurred and is held
without bond in the Adair County jail. His examining trial has
been set for Saturday.
February 26, 1941 (excerpt)
Circuit Court Convenes Monday
Paul Taylor, Negro, will be tried
for the murder of his half-brother, Ben Taylor, on February 26.
Sam Russell and Wallace Jones, Negroes, held under charges of
murdering Allen Johnson, Negro, in a scrape "on the Pike,"
November 30, will possibly be reindicted and tried at this term of
court.
March 12, 1941 (excerpt)
Court Adjourned Tuesday Night
Adair Circuit Court adjourned last
night at the conclusion of the trial of Paul Taylor, negro, charge
with the murder of his half-brother. he was found guilty of
voluntary manslaughter and given 12 years in the penitentiary.
Sam Jones, negro, was tried for the
murder of Allen Johnson, negro, was sentenced to 21 years in the
pen. The case against Wallace and Russell Jones, brothers of Sam,
who were held on the same charge, was continued to the July term.
Adair County News,
September 10, 1941
Negro Cleared Of
Killing Son-In-Law
_______
"Snowball" Vaughn Said To Have Been Shot By Wes Johnson In Self
Defense.
The case against Wes Johnson,
negro, of Cane Valley, charge with killing his son-in-law, Frank
(Snowball) Johnson, was dismissed when the examining trial was
held Tuesday morning.
The examination disclosed that
Vaughn, who was apparently drunk, followed his wife, who had been
forced to leave home, to the residence of her father, Wes Johnson,
at an early hour Sunday morning. Armed, he broke down a couple of
doors and threatened to kill the entire household, before Johnson
shot him to protect himself and other [sic] in the house.
Adair
County News, November 26,
1941
Two Adair Youths
Burned To Death
_______
Mr.
and Mrs. D.C. Bryant Escape From Burning Dwelling In Their Night
Clothes.
_______
Buried
Sunday Afternoon
Clifton Bryant, 17, and Chester
Bryant, 15, were burned to death when the home of their parents,
Mr. and Mrs. D.C. Bryant, of near Ella, was completely destroyed
by fire Saturday night.
Mr. and Mrs. Bryant and a son,
Edward Bryant, who were sleeping on the lower floor of the frame
dwelling, were awakened at 9:30 by the intense heat and crackling
of the flames. They found the entire structure afire and barely
managed to escape in their night clothes. They could not arouse
the boys, who were sleeping in the same bed upstairs even after
Mr. Bryant placed a ladder under the window of their room and
climbed up and broke the panes. he was forced down by the heat.
The young men evidently suffocated
before the older people awakened. The bodies were almost
completely destroyed. The origin of the fire is not known.
They are survived by two sisters,
Misses Mabel Bryant, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Miss Mildred
Bryant, of Ella; three brothers, Edward Bryant, of Ella, Leonard
Bryant, of Neatsville, and Willie Bryant, of Nevada, and their
grandmother, Mrs. Ann Bryant.
Funeral services were held at New
hope Christian Church Sunday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Otis
Wolford. Interment was in Goodin Cemetery. The pallbearers were:
rev. Edgar Giles, Owen Streeval, Delmar Smith and Curtis McGaha.
Adair County News,
February 25, 1942
Native Of County
Killed In Wreck
Word was received here on Sunday
that Joe Bennett, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Sel Bennett, had
been killed in a train wreck earlier that day. Mr. Bennett was an
engineer and lived in Charleston, Ill.
The deceased had lived in Illinois
for many years. He leaves a brother, Alva Bennett, of near
Columbia, who left immediately accompanied by his daughter, Miss
Beulah Bennett, to attend the funeral. He is also survived by a
number of other brothers and sisters.
March 4, 1942
Joseph H.
Bennett Buried In Charleston
The following death notice of Joseph
Henry Bennett, who was killed in a train wreck on Sunday, February
22, was taken from the Charleston Daily Courier:
The body of Mr. Bennett was removed
to his home, 314 Division Street, Charleston, Ill., by Fred M.
Miller Monday afternoon, where friends called. The funeral
services were held at the residence at 2 o'clock Tuesday
afternoon... Burial was in Mound Cemetery.
Joseph Henry Bennett, son of the
late Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Bennett, was born in Adair County,
Kentucky, January 15, 1893. He engaged in railroad work, accepting
employment in the engine service of the Nickel Plate in 1910,
since which time he has made Charleston his home. He was married
to Miss Ella Toops, of Charleston, May 16, 1928. There were no
children born to their union.
Mr. Bennett, known to his friends as
"Jakey,"...had been listed as an engineer on the Nickel Plate
since 1922. He was a member of the Charleston division of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and was a member of the
Charleston Lodge of Masons.
He leaves his wife and nine brothers
and a sister, namely: A.D. Bennett, of Columbia, Ky.; M.H.
Bennett, of Manly, Iowa; Robert Bennett, of Atlanta, Ill.; John R.
Bennett, of Charleston, Ill.; J.W. Bennett, of Charleston, South
Carolina; Creel Bennett, of Bardstown, Ky.; Olie Bennett, Chicago,
Ill.; Buford Bennett, of Rittman, Ohio; Paul Bennett, of
Bardstown, Ky, and Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Basham, of Louisville, Ky.
The funeral was attended by all with
the exception of M.H. Bennett and J.W. Bennett, who were unable to
come. Two nieces attended the funeral, namely: Beulah Bennett and
Betty Bennett.
Adair County News,
March 11, 1942
MARION SMITH
MEETS DEATH NEAR CHICAGO
_______
Gradyville
Man Is Killed When His Car Is Hit By Train Saturday Morning.
Mr. Marion Smith, 38, of Chicago,
Ill., formerly of Gradyville, was fatally injured Saturday morning
at Oak Park, Ill., when the car in which he was riding was struck
by a train. He died shortly after the accident of chest injuries.
Mr. Smith left Adair County about
one year ago... He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Smith,
prominent Gradyville residents.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs
Stella Clark Smith; his parents, three sons, Buford, Lowell, [and]
Charles Edward Smith; a small daughter, and a sister, Mrs. Emma
Clark.
The body was brought to Gradyville
on Monday, where funeral services were held at the Methodist
Church at 10 o'clock Tuesday morning, conducted by Rev. J.W.
Rayburn. Interment was in the family cemetery.
Adair
County News, June 17,
1942
MULE DRAGS FARMER TO DEATH
_______
Frightened
Mule Throws Rider Whose Foot Became Entangled In Trace Chain.
_______
Services
Held On Sunday
Walter Shirley, 49, well-known
farmer of the Milltown section, died from shock early Saturday
afternoon at the office of Dr. N.A. Mercer, where he had been
taken for treatment. His death was the result of a frightful
accident which occurred shortly before noon at his home.
Mr. Shirley was riding a mule from
the fields, where he had been working preparatory to eating his
mid-day meal when he stopped at a creek to let the animal drink. A
breeze blew Shirley's hat from his head which caused him to throw
his rider. Mr. Shirley's foot became entangled in a trace chain
and he was dragged through the creek and nearby fields for a mile
or more before a neighbor who witnessed the accident was able to
stop the mule.
Mr. Shirley was born and reared in
the community where he lived and was a popular and respected
citizen. He was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Shirley. He is
survived by his wife; three sons, Robert, Harry and John Mack
Shirley; four daughters, Mrs. Mary Lou Pruitt, , Misses Frances,
Sallie, and Bonnie Sue Shirley; three brothers, George Shirley, of
Indiana, Harry and Ralph Shirley, of Adair County, and three
sisters, Mrs. Bertha Montgomery, Mrs. Hattie Mitchell, of Texas,
and Mrs. Polly Stults. He was a member of the Baptist Church.
Funeral services were held at
Tarter's Chapel at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon, conducted by Rev.
S.B. Rowe. Burial was at the Tarter's Chapel Cemetery.
Adair County News,
July 15, 1942
PELLYTON MAN TAKES OWN LIFE
_______
Hugh
Alec Giles Commits Suicide By Taking Poison Before Appearing For
Trial.
_______
Funeral
Held On Friday
Hugh Alec Giles, 62, was found dead
in bed early last Thursday morning at his home in the Pellyton
section by a daughter, Mrs. Joe Taylor. An inquest was held by
Coroner Arbie Sparks and the verdict was death by self
administered poison.
Giles had been summoned to appear
for trial in the Adair Circuit Court on Friday charged with the
malicious shooting of his son, Jimmy Giles. The shooting occurred
late in the winter and the boy recovered after being under
treatment at the Glasgow Hospital for some time.
The deceased is survived by eight
children, two daughters, Mrs. Taylor, of Pellyton, and Mrs. Claude
Beard, of Eunice, and six sons, Clyde, Charlie, and Jimmy Giles,
of Pellyton, Pvt. Dewey Giles, of Ft. Knox, Vivian and Robert
Giles, of Indiana. His wife [Laura B. Giles] died six months ago.
Funeral services and burial were
conducted on Friday.
Adair
County News, August 12,
1942
Jack Butler Shot By Sam
Smith
_______
Shot
In Arm And Stomach, Butler Is Reported In Critical Condition At
Glasgow Hospital.
_______
ARRESTED
SATURDAY NIGHT
Sam smith was arrested at 8:30
Saturday night at his home in the White City section [of
Columbia], charged with the shooting of jack Butler, also of this
place. He was lodged in the County Jail where he is being held
without bond pending the recovery or death of the wounded man.
The arrest was made by City
Policeman George Brockman and Deputies David Heskamp and E.G.
Hardwick shortly after the shooting occurred.
Butler was shot in his side and in
the arm. One bullet is said to have pierced his intestines and he
is reported critically ill at the Glasgow Hospital, where he was
rushed for treatment. Until recently he operated a grocery store
in the edge of Columbia on the Burkesville Highway.
Smith was fined $225 and costs at
the last term of the Adair Circuit Court, being convicted on four
charges which included "shooting on the highway" and "resisting an
officer." He was released from jail a week ago. He is also under
indictment in Federal Court for violation of the liquor laws. He
was released by the Federal authorities several weeks ago under
$500 bond.
August 19, 1942
WOUNDS ARE FATAL TO
JOHN C. BUTLER
_______
Man
Shot By Sam Smith Dies At Glasgow Hospital On Friday Evening.
_______
Smith
Held Without Bond
Jack C. Butler, 40, died at the
Community Hospital, in Glasgow, at 6 p.m. Friday as the result of
a gunshot wound in the abdomen inflicted the previous Saturday
night at the home of Sam Smith in the White City section of
Columbia. Smith, who was charged with the shooting, is now being
held in the County Jail without bond for wilful murder.
Butler, a native of this county, is
a son of Mr. and Mrs. John Butler. He is survived by his parents;
wife, Mrs. Mattie Bennett Butler, and three small children, Doris
and Louise Butler and Donald Butler; three sisters, Mrs. Allen
Karnes and Mrs. William Page, of Adair County; and Mrs. L.G.
Willis, of Akron, Ohio, and three brothers, Goebel Butler, of
Akron, Owen and Oris Butler, of this county.
Funeral services were held at 2:00
o'clock Sunday afternoon at the home of his parents, conducted by
Rev. L.R. Fugit. Interment was in the Smith Cemetery.
[Other records indicate he was buried in the Cane Valley
Cemetery.]
November 11, 1942 (excerpt)
Circuit Court Draws To Close
_______
Sam
Smith Now On Trial
The trial of Sam Smith, well known
local underworld character, charged with the wilful murder of Jack
Butler last August, holds the spotlight as the November term of
Adair Circuit Court draws to a close. Attorneys Ralph Hurt and M.
Rey Yarberry are defending Smith...
(A followup article in the November
18 edition stated Smith was convicted on a voluntary manslaughter
charged and sentenced to six years in the State penitentiary.)
Adair
County News, Janaury 6,
1943
Woman Held On Murder Charge
Dollie Estes, 28, was arrested
Saturday night at Gradyville by Coroner Arbie Sparks and lodged in
the County Jail where she is being held without bond charged with
wilful murder and also with concealing the birth of a bastard
child.
The arrest followed the discovery
Saturday afternoon of the body of a baby girl buried in a shallow
grave near Gradyville. The child weighed 7¼ pounds and was fully
developed. Coroner Sparks, who ws called to investigate the
matter, said that the child had been dead approximately thirty-six
hours and died as the result of a crushed skull, the injury
evidently being inflicted by a heavy blow.
The Estes woman, who is from Green
County, had worked as a servant in the Gradyville community for
several years.
Examining trial has been set for
Monday.
[The examining trial was postponed
until Monday, Janaury 18, at which time Dollie Estes "was held to
the Grand Jury released under $200 bond which she made and was
released." A followup article in the July 14, 1943 edition stated
that Dollie Estes was sentenced to one year in a reformatory on
the charge of concealing the birth of an infant, and that
"Rendition of judgment was postponed on her good behavior."]
Adair County News,
June 9, 1943
Adair Negro Killed In Accident
Sunday
Sam Lee Jones, 28, negro, was killed
Sunday morning when he fell thirty feet from a steel tower at the
Louisville Gas and Electric Company's Beargrass Plant, on the
River Road. He suffered internal injuries and a skull fracture.
He was working with a construction
crew at the plant. He had been employed by the Louisville Gas and
Electric Company since August.
The body was brought home and later
taken to the home of his father, Arthur Jones, at Montpelier, for
funeral and burial on Tuesday.
Adair County
News, March 15, 1944
Cortez Sanders Killed
By Plane At Staniford Field
_______
Former
Sheriff of Adair County Is Decapitated In Accident Late Yesterday.
_______
EMPLOYEE AT VULTEE
PLANT
Struck by the whirling propeller of
a four-motored Liberator bomber, Cortez Sanders, 60, well-known
Adair citizen, who was employed as a guard at the Consolidated
Vultee Aircraft Corporation modification plant, was killed at 7:30
o'clock Tuesday night.
Sanders was guiding the pilot of the
ship, which had just landed after a test run, onto the flight
apron of the airport when the accident occurred, the public
relations office of the center reported.
The plane was being taxied in at an
angle and at slow speed when Sanders was hit, plant officials
said.
Coroner J.J. Connolly, of
Louisville, said Sanders was decapitated. The coroner said a guard
reported sanders walked into the blades. He gave a verdict of
accidental death.
Plant officials said safety rules
required that guards stay at the tip of the wing of any plane
while directing it into the apron where the modification work is
done.
Mr. Sanders had been employed at the
Vultee plant since May, 1943. He is a former Sheriff of Adair
County and was cashier of the Farmers Bank at Cane Valley for a
number of years. Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Bertha Sanders,
Columbia; a daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Kinnaird, of Randolph, Ky., and
a son, Capt. William B. Sanders, of Taft [Field], Calif.
The remains will be brought here
today to the Grissom Funeral Home. Arrangements for funeral
services and burial have not been completed.
March 22, 1944 (excerpt)
Cortez Sanders Buried Saturday
...Burial was in the city
cemetery... Mr. Sanders was born and reared in the Joppa community
of Adair County, and was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. W.F.
Sanders...
He is survived by his wife, Mrs.
Bertha Breeding Sanders; a daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Kinnaird, of
Randolph, Ky.; a son, Captain William Sanders, of Taft Field,
Calif.; two sisters, Miss Effie Sanders and Mrs. Patria Hammonds,
of West Virginia, and three brothers, Charles Sanders of Oregon,
Eldridge Sanders, of Joppa, and L.M. Sanders, of Coburg.
Captain Sanders, who was coming by
plane to the funeral, was grounded in Texas on account
of bad weather and did not reach
Columbia until after the funeral.
Adair County News,
April 7, 1944
MAN KILLS WIFE AND HANGS SELF
_______
Parents Of Six Children
Principals In Lurid Tragedy Which Took Place Thursday.
Tom B. Duncan, 61, farmer, shot his
wife in the face with a shotgun and then hanged himself from a
tree with his own shirt at their home between Glensfork and Crocus
at an early hour Thursday morning.
Mrs. Duncan, 38, was found dead in
bed by her six children when they awakened. The father's body was
discovered hanging from a tree about 400 yards from the house. The
fact that his hands were tied behind him at first caused some
speculation concerning the lurid tragedy, but a coroner's jury,
called together by coroner Paul Marshall, after an inquest decided
that Duncan had murdered his wife and then committed suicide.
According to reports there had been domestic trouble.
They resided on a farm owned by
Raymond Duncan, of Ann Arbor, Mich., son of the dead man by a
former marriage. The couple left six children: Opal, 15; Herman,
16; Veston, 14; Faye, 12; Alvin, 10, and Doris, 6.
Mrs. Duncan was the former Lillian
Pearl York, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mathy York, Bryan, Russell
County. Funeral services were held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, conducted
by Rev. Buford Helm, with interment in the York family cemetery.
Duncan, who was a native of Russell
County, was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Pete Duncan. His
funeral and burial was held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, at Freedom
Church, conducted by Rev. Carl Reese.
Adair County News,
April 19, 1944
ADAIR WOMAN SLAIN IN CITY
_______
Funeral Services Held At Milltown On Monday For Victim Of Sordid
Affair.
_______
COMPANION SHOOTS SELF
Funeral services were held at 10:00
Monday morning at the Milltown Church for Mrs. Alice Leftwich, 28,
who was shot and killed at an early hour Saturday morning in a
Louisville rooming house. The funeral was conducted by Rev. H.J.
Conover and interment was in the Milltown Cemetery.
She is survived by a ten year old
son, Cassius Leftwich, Jr.; father, William Butler, of Adair
County, and three brothers, Richard Butler, of Louisville, Feese
Butler, of Columbia, and Willard Butler, now in the U.S. Navy.
The following account of the slaying
appeared in The Louisville Times on Saturday afternoon:
Near death at the General Hospital
today, a bullet wound through his head, was Robert P. Chambers,
44, of 904 Sixth, charged with attempted suicide and the gun
murder of Mrs. Alice Leftwich, 28, same address, at the rooming
house last night.
"I'm glad I did it," Chambers told
police before losing consciousness, but he did not disclose why he
turned the .38 revolver on the dark-haired divorcee and then on
himself. Both worked at the Indiana Ordnance Works, Charlestown.
When other roomers heard three shots
at 9:00 p.m. Norris Buchannan, landlord, entered Mrs. Leftwich's
first-floor room and found the two unclothed on the bed. The woman
was shot in the chest and the right side while Chambers was
wounded in the left temple, the bullet emerging at the right side
of his head and burying itself in the bed's footboard.
Cassius Leftwich, Sr., the victim's
former husband, said they were divorced two years ago after being
married ten years. They have a son, Cassius, Jr., who lived
alternately with both parents.
Leftwich said he knew his former
wife had been keeping company with Chambers, who came here from
Oldham County.
Adair County News,
June 7, 1944
SON OF ADAIR MAN BEATEN TO DEATH
_______
Funeral Services Held On Tuesday For Courier-Journal Carrier Slain
By Customer.
Herman G. Antle, 16, a carrier for
the Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times, was beaten to death
Saturday night in Louisville in an argument with a customer, John
Reuben Thomas, Jr., 27, over discontinuance of the customer's
newspaper.
Antle was a son of Mr. and Mrs.
Herman G. Antle, of 4903 Southern Parkway, and a grandson of the
late Mr. and Mrs. U.L. Antle, of Columbia. He waw well-known here
as he had been a frequent visitor in the home of his grandparents.
His father is a native of Adair County.
Thomas, a sub-contractor at the
Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Works, is being held under $7,500
bond on a murder charge in the Jefferson County Jail.
Antle died of a cerebral hemorrhage
due to blows on the head according to a coroner's verdict. The
beating occurred near Thomas' home and is believed to have
resulted when the youth threatened to discontinue Thomas'
newspaper unless he paid his bill promptly. Witnesses said Thomas
knocked Antle down with his fist and then struck him [a]gain when
the boy got up. He was a junior at the Louisville Male High School
and a member of the Baptist Church.
The youth is survived by his parents
and one sister, Sandra Lee Antle. Funeral services were held from
the residence and from Hazelwood Baptist Church at 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday. Interment was in the Resthaven Cemetery.
November 15, 1944
SLAYER OF HERMAN ANTLE GIVEN 10 YEAR
SENTENCE
John R. Thomas, 27, was sentenced to
ten years in the penitentiary on Tuesday in Louisville for fatally
beating Herman Antle, Jr. 16, Courier-Journal and Times carrier.
The boy's father is a native of Adair County.
Adair County News,
September 6, 1944
COLORED WOMAN KILLED BY CAR
_______
Charles Young, Cumberland County, Arrested For Reckless Driving
And Manslaughter.
Aunt Sallie Hunter, well-known older
colored woman, died en route to the Glasgow hospital late Thursday
afternoon as a result of injuries received when she was struck by
a car on the Burkesville Highway.
The driver of the car, Charlie
Young, of Cumberland County, was arrested, charged with reckless
driving and manslaughter immediately after the accident. He was
released on $1,000 bond with the [examining] trial set for
September 14.
Aunt Sallie was the widow of Henry
Hunter, better known as "Daniel Banker," who worked as janitor at
the News Office for many years. Funeral services and burial were
held on Monday.
(A followup article in the March 14,
1945 edition stated "C.D. Young, Cumberland County, was assessed
damage of $100.00 and costs in the death of Sallie Cooper,
of color, who was fatally injured when struck by the car of Young
last fall.")
Adair County News,
September 20, 1944
BOY
ACCIDENTALLY KILLS COMPANION
_______
Son
Of Daniel Isaac McQueary Meets Death While Squirrel Hunting
Saturday Afternoon.
Clifford Isaac McQueary, 14 year old
son of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Isaac McQueary, of Ella, was instantly
killed late Saturday afternoon when was accidentally shot in the
back of the head by a companion, Alvin Stargel.
The two boys had been squirrel
hunting and were returning home through some woods near Webb's
Cross Roads when the fatal accident occurred. According to
information received here, the Stargel boy was following McQueary
when his shotgun ws accidentally discharged, the full load of shot
entering the back of his companion's head when they were only a
few feet apart.
McQueary is survived by his parents,
four sisters, Mrs. Cecil Nall, of Pensacola, Fla.; Misses Imogene,
Margaret and Vada McQueary, and four brothers, J.W., Robert,
Joseph and David McQueary.
Funeral services were held at the
New Hope Church at 4:00 Sunday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Willie
Patton. Interment was in the New Hope Cemetery.
Adair County News,
Janaury 31, 1945
George B.
Yates Killed In Crash
_______
Funeral services Were Held At The Bullittsburg Baptist Church.
Mr. George B. Yates, Jr., son of Mr.
and Mrs. G.B. Yates, of Burlington, Boone County, Ky., and husband
of Mary Christine Yates, of Springfield, Mo., was killed in an
airplane crash January 11, near Springfield, Mo.
Mr. Yates owned the airfield at
Porterville, Mo., and was a flying instructor. A flying student
was in the plane with Yates when the crash occurred which was
fatal to both of them.
Mr. Yates was born near Columbia,
Ky., but moved with his family to Boone County when he was five
years old. He graduated from Georgetown College, did graduate work
at the University of Illinois and post graduate work at the
University of Minnesota. He was a member of the Baptist Church and
was a leader in all the Young Peoples Organizations.
He is survived by his wife, parents,
Mr. G.B. Yates and Margaret Holladay Yates, and [a] sister, Miss
Mary Yates, who is with the WAVES in San Francisco.
He taught Physics at Drury College
[Springfield, Missouri] from June, 1941 to June 1944.
He is a nephew of Mrs. E.G. Flowers
and Mrs. Maggie Nell and a great nephew of T.E. Waggener.
Mrs. Flowers and a daughter, Miss
Elizabeth Flowers, attended the funeral services, which were held
in the Bullittsburg Baptist Church Janaury 15. Burial was in the
Bullittsburg Cemetery. [This possibly was the Bullittsburg
Baptist Church and cemetery in Boone County KY.]
Adair County News,
August 15, 1945
W.H.
CRAWHORN IS FATALLY INJURED
_______
Man
Injured In Accident At Local Stave Mill Dies In Glasgow Hospital.
William Henry Crawhorn, 25 years
old, died at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Glasgow Hospital where he
had been a patient since Wednesday.
Death was the result of internal
injuries suffered when he was struck in the abdomen by a piece of
wood in an accident at Gilbert Hill's Stave Mill.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs.
Ovalene Mann Crawhorn; father, Harrison Crawhorn, and two
children, Billy and Opal Crawhorn. He was a member of the Baptist
Church.
Funeral services were held Monday
afternoon at the residence, conducted by Rev. Houston Lanier.
Interment was in the City Cemetery.
Adair County News,
September 12, 1945
Columbia Woman Killed By Train
Funeral services for Mrs. Dorothy
Pearl Loy, 23, who was killed when struck by a train in Hansdale,
Ill., on Friday, were held at the Columbia Methodist Church at
2:30 p.m. Monday, conducted by the pastor, Rev. John W. Lewis.
Interment was in the City cemetery...
Mrs. Loy, wife of Alfred Loy, of
this city, and daughter-in-law of Noah Loy, former superintendent
of the Adair County Schools, met her death while visiting friends
in Hansdale. They had been there only a few days when the tragic
accident occurred. The body was brought to Columbia on Sunday.
She was born and reared in Russell
County and ws the daughter of the late Wallace and Bertha Walters
Franklin. She was a member of the Methodist Church.
Surviving are her husband; three
small children, Mary Elizabeth, Dorothy Marie and Robert Garnett
Loy; two sisters, Mrs. Virginia Janes, of Columbia, and Miss Betty
Jean Franklin, of Chicago, and four brothers, Leonard, Ralph, and
Robert Franklin and Wallace Franklin, Jr.
(A brief article in another paper
stated Mrs. Loy was struck by a train.)
The Adair County News,
August 14, 1946
Adair Sailor Found Dead
_______
Funeral Services Held
Monday Afternoon At Tabor Church For Buel H. Frankum.
Funeral services for Buel H.
Frankum, 22, Coxwain in the U.S. Navy, were held at 2 p.m. Monday
at the Tabor Church, conducted by Rev. Clifford Spurlock.
Interment was in the Loy Cemetery.
Frankum, who had served in the Navy
for three and one-half years, was found dead of a bullet wound
aboard the station ship, Reina Mercedes, which housed enlisted
personnel at Annapolis, Md., on Thursday, August 8. Circumstances
regarding his death will not be made public until findings of a
board of investigation, which met at the Naval Academy immediately
after his death, are reviewed by the Navy Department.
He recently visited his family while
on leave after reenlisting in the Navy.
He is survived by his mother, Mrs.
Mary Ethel Frankum, of Gadberry; five brothers, Paul, Oris,
Delphus, and Elbert Frankum, and three sisters, Misses Doris,
Helen and Ethel Lena Frankum...
Adair County News,
October 30, 1946
Carbon
Monoxide Gas Kills Child
Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Brockman, their
three year old daughter, and a niece, Gladys Rooks, of
Indianapolis, were found overcome by carbon monoxide gas in a
parked car 2½ miles from Greensburg on the Hodgensville Highway
early Saturday morning.
The family was en route to Adair
County to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Brockman, having
left Indianapolis Friday night. When revived Brockman said that he
parked on the side of the highway at 4:00 a.m. on account of dense
fog which made further driving dangerous. He left the motor
running in order to warm the interior of the car.
When daylight came a farmer living
nearby and a passing motorist found the four unconscious and
summoned aid. They were taken to Greensburg and later to Columbia
after Chief of Police George Brockman, an uncle of Forrest
Brockman, was notified. All were revived and are now improving but
the Brockman's little daughter, who was taken to the Community
Hospital, in Glasgow, where she died Saturday night of carbon
monoxide poisoning.
Funeral services were held at 2:30
Monday afternoon at Free Union, conducted by Rev. Otis Wolford.
Burial was in the Free Union Cemetery.
[Curiously, no death certificate was
issued. An entry in
Cemeteries of Adair County, Kentucky, Volume Three, page 18
(Free Union Cemetery), provides this information: Mildred Brockman
2-29-1944 - 10-26-1946.]
Adair County News,
February 5, 1947
Adair County Boy Missing
_______
High
School Student Left School At Noon Jan. 30, And As Yet Has Not
Been Located.
Norman Aaron, 16 year old son of Mr.
and Mrs. Ed Aaron, of Glensfork, and a member of the Junior Class
at the Columbia High School, disappeared on Thursday of last week
and no word of his whereabouts has been received yet by any member
of the family or friends.
The youth, said by his companions to
be quiet and well-liked, attended school Thursday morning and
contrary to his usual custom of lunching at the school building is
reported as having gone to town. Hi failed to return for afternoon
classes and when his brother, Alfred Aaron, also a high school
student, and others living in the Glensfork section, left for home
late in the afternoon, Norman could not be found. Up until the
present time his disappearance is entirely unexplained.
He was not seen leaving Columbia and
reports from all bus drivers indicate that he did not depart by
bus.
His parents contracted local
authorities for aid in helping locate the youth and word of his
mysterious disappearance was sent to all surrounding towns and
cities. It has also been broadcast from a Louisville radio
station.
Mrs. Aaron said that an
investigation of her son's clothing revealed he must have been
wearing two shirts and two pairs of pants when he left home on the
morning of January 30. The parents also said he had only a small
amount of money in his possession.
February 12, 1947
Missing Youth Found In Northern
Illinois
Adair County officers were notified
Thursday that Norman Aaron, Columbia High School Junior, who had
been missing for ten days, had been located in Waukegan, Ill., a
town north of Chicago.
The youth's father, Ed Aaron, of
Glensfork, left immediately for Waukegan and returned here with
his son Saturday. Norman returned to school on Monday.
Adair County News,
March 3, 1948
Cane
Valley Man Accidentally Killed At Trapshoot Saturday
_______
Funeral Services and Burial Held Monday Afternoon At Cane Valley
Christian Church.
Elza Hare, 33, respected young
business man of Cane Valley, was killed at a trapshoot near his
home at 3:00 o'clock Saturday afternoon.
Hare was shot in the chest and died
instantly when a gun in the hands of R.T. Cave, of the Mt. Carmel
section, was accidentally discharged while being unloaded.
The deceased was a son of the late
James T. and Fibbie Massie Hare. He was a member of the Cane
Valley Christian Church and popular young man, whose death is felt
as a loss to the county. He was a veteran of World War Two, having
served in the Armed Forces for 27 months.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs.
Myrtle Watson Hare; two small daughters, Janice Rose, 5, and
Brenda Fay, 1; a sister, Mrs. Delma Noe, and four brothers, Cleve,
Lacy, Russell and Harlan Hare.
Funeral services were held at 2:00
p.m. Monday at the Cane Valley Christian Church, conducted by Rev.
H.J. Conover, assisted by Rev. C.H. Pittman.
The pallbearers were Dave Smith,
Willis Smith, Nathan Hopkins, Herman Wesley, Albert Woodrum and
Henry J. Cundiff.
Adair County News,
March 23, 1949
MAN DROWNED IN RUSSELL
CREEK
_______
Body
of Ned Patton, Who Is Said To Have Drowned Saturday Night, Is
Still Missing.
Groups
of men have been dragging Russell Creek for three days searching
for the body of Ned Patton, 24, who is supposed to have drowned
Saturday night near the Bailey Bridge* on Highway 55 in the edge
of Columbia. As yet the body has not been found and no coherent
story as to how Patton happened to be in the water has been told
though authorities have interviewed more than 50 people while
investigating the matter.
Ted Harper, local barber, reported
that he heard someone groaning as if in pain as he neared Russell
Creek about 9:30 Saturday night when returning to his home in
Russell Heights. Investigating the sounds he said he discovered
Fred Patton, twin brother of the missing man, running along the
creek bank. When questioned he told Harper his brother was in the
water and he was trying to rescue him. A passing motorist summoned
local officers but sounds from the water ceased before they
arrived and the man could not be located.
Patton was employed by the Henry
Sandusky Mill. Besides his twin brother he has a mother and
several brothers and sisters, who live here.
A large sum of money is being made
up among local business men for a reward to the person who finds
the body of the missing man.
(* A temporary bridge across Russell
Creek on Highway 55 just north of the Public Square.)
*****
March 30, 1949
NED PATTON'S BODY FOUND WEDNESDAY
_______
Funeral Services
And Burial For Russell Creek Victim Held Friday In Casey County
The body of Ned West Patton, 24, who
drowned in Russell Creek Sunday night, March 20, was
recovered Wednesday afternoon [March 23.] Patton's body was found
just below what is known as Big Rock Hole about one-half mile down
stream from where he was last seen near the bridge on Highway 55
in the edge of Columbia.
A search for the body had been under
way since 10:00 Saturday night nigh when it was discovered by W.B.
Gilbert, Cordell Ford, Lozier Bernard and James Hare. The four
received a reward of $125 made up by Columbia business men, part
of which they returned to the family of the deceased man to aid
with funeral expenses.
As local authorities have been
unable to ascertain how Patton drowned, in spite of the fact that
they made a thorough investigation, Coroner Paul Marshall
requested that an autopsy be performed. This was done by Dr. N.
Allan Mercer and Dr. James Salato, who reported that they found no
indication of foul play and said Patton died of drowning.
Patton, a native of Casey County,
had lived here for several years and was employed as a truck
driver at the Henry Sandusky Mill. He was a son of Mrs. Sarah Jane
Patton, who resides in Columbia, and the late Robert Patton.
He is survived by his mother; five
brothers, Fred and Addison Patton, of Columbia, Frank Patton, of
Columbus, Ind., Jack Patton, of Goodin's Cross Roads, and John
Patton, of Edmonton, and four sisters, Misses Eva and Minnie Bell
Patton and Mrs. Dora Cowan, of Columbia, and Mrs. Mabel Scott, of
Louisville.
Funeral services were held Friday
morning at the Salem Baptist Church at Rheber, Casey County,
conducted by Rev. Otis Upchurch. Interment was in the Salem
Cemetery.