Henderson County Genealogy Trails

News Articles

New Albany Legend Standard 9 Nov 1872 p4 c2:

Wrapped in Flames—A Mother Sacrifices Her Own Life to Save Child—The Evansville Courier of Friday gives the following particulars of a most shocking and fatal accident, which ocurred at Henderson, Ky., on Wednesday night. While Mrs. W. H. Lewis, a most estimable lady, and the wife of a heavy shoe merchant of that town, was sitting quietly at home, after supper, with her little ones gathered around the family fire circle, her little baby by some means, managed to turn the contents of a lighted lamp over itself. The cloting of the child immediately caught fire, and the frantic mother seized it, and in her wild excitement, not knowning where to go, rushed down the stairway to ward the street. Her piercing screams attracted the attention of Mr. Jos. Merryman, a tender-hearted and gallant Irishman, who was passing the house at the time. He met Mrs. Lewis at the bottom of the stairs, her own clothing had caught from the burning garments of her darling baby, he quickly seized and by a very strong extraction wrested the child from her arms. overcome by his superior strength she let go the child and fled into the street screaming in a most heart-rendering manner. Some one else about this time ran up and taking hold of Mrs. Lewis threw her to the ground and rolled her over to suppress the flames. Sad to say, however, the dreadful element had done its destructive work and the unfortunate lady was carried back into the house fatally injured. She lingered in great pain until one o'clock Thursday morning, when her spirit took [Submitted via website February 2011]

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The Daily Independent, Monroe, Wisconsin, Jan. 22, 1889.  

A KENTUCKY HORROR
A Railway Bridge over the Green River Falls – Twelve Person Drowned and Seven Others Injured.
Evansville, Ind. – Jan. 22 – Details have been received in this city of a railroad bridge accident at Spottsville, Ky., on Green River, in which four people lost their lives. The bridge, which has just been completed for the new Louisville, St. Louis & Texas railway was of the draw pattern. Owing to some difficulty between the railroad company and the contractors the latter secured an injunction prohibiting the railroad from using the bridge, and proceeded to remove all of the latter’s rails, ties and other property from the bridge, which it is claimed weakened it to such an extent that it caved in Sunday about 1 o’clock. There were about twenty-five people on the bridge at the time. It is definitely known that four of them were precipitated into the water and drowned. The names of the killed are not obtainable and all particulars are very meager.
Later reports indicate that twelve men were killed and seven fatally injured. [Transcribed by Linda Rodriguez; April 2011]

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