4 members of Thielen family killed by food poisoning (1927)

THIELEN, THIELAN, HERBST, DOUGHERTY, BLAKEMORE, SIRING, SHERVA, KORFHAGE, OCARROL, LACK, ROCQUE, CREMER, SCHUMAKER, COLL, KOLES, LARCUS, WILES, ETTLES, HOCKET, SCHUMACHER

Posted By: Ken Akers (email)
Date: 9/28/2011 at 21:59:46

Audubon County Journal (IA)
Thusday, Oct. 27, 1927, pg. 1
THREE IN FAMILY
DIE OF POISONING

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Ptomaine Poisoning Proves
Fatal To Wife and Two
Children

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Relatives in this vicinity received
the sad news Tuesday of the death
of the wife and two children of Wm.
Thielen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Pete
Thielen of Templeton, and a nephew
of Wm. Thielen and wife of Atlantic.
The deaths occurred at the family
home at Plevena(Plevna), Montana, as the re-
sult of ptomaine poisoning from eat-
ing canned corn. Mrs. Thielen died
Monday morning, a little son on Mon-
day afternoon and a daughter Tues-
day. Two other daughters are very
ill and it is doubtful whether or not
they recover.

Mrs. Pete Thielen and son of Temp-
leton left Tuesday night for Montana
to attend the funeral of their loved
ones and to help in caring for the sick
children. Because of the condition of
Pete Thielen, Sr., he was unable to
make the trip and it has not been
thought advisable to tell him of the
tragedy.

Mr. Thielen was raised near Exira
and has numerous relatives in this
vicinity to whom the sad news was a
severe shock. It is a terrible thing
when a single tragic death a(o)ccurs in
a family and when it is three-fold it is
almost unbearable. The entire com-
munity here extends its sympathy to
the bereaved husband and the grief
stricken relatives.

Audubon County Journal (IA)
Thursday, Nov. 3, 1927, pg. 5

LOCAL ITEMS

Word came from Wm. Thielen of
Plevena (Plevna), Montana, who lost his wife
and two children a week ago from
eating home canned corn, that an-
other daughter had passed away also.
This has been a terrible loss to Mr.
Thielen but he has two children left
to comfort him.

http://fallon.mtgenweb.org/obituaries/names/Thielan_Catherine_Herbst.htm
Source: Fallon County Times (MT)
Paper Date: 27 Oct 1927
Tragedy Stalks the Thielan Family
Mother and Three Children are Victims of Deadly Poison

The family of William Thielan nine miles south-west of Plevna was deeply stricken this week when four of the seven members died, poisoned by bacillus botulinus in home canned corn. The corn, canned by Mrs. Thielan and daughter, was eaten Thursday. Symptoms of poisoning developed Friday and became more acute Saturday.

Doctors Dougherty and Blakemore of Baker were called in but the poison was too deadly in its work. Dr. Blakemore was in attendance continually Sunday afternoon and Monday, Mrs. Siring and Miss Sherva were also working on the case.

William Thielan Jr., four year old and only son, was the first to die and passed away Sunday, the mother and youngest daughter died Monday and the other daughter Tuesday evening.

A peculiar odor found in cans of corn opened by the physicians traced the poisoning, at first thought to be ptomaine, to the little known and extremely virulent bacillus botulinus.

Erline, the oldest daughter, and Mr. Thielan were not at home during the week and ate none of the canned corn. The girl was living in Plevna while attending school and the father was working for a neighbor in a hayfield several miles away. Elizabeth, nine years old, herself affected by the poisoning was the only one able to care for the stricken members of the family.

One daughter who was at home did not care for corn and did not eat any, thus escaping. The hired man said he ate a little but was not affected and it is thought that the portion he ate came out of a different can from that which the others ate.

Poisoning caused by bacillus botulinus is declared by physicians to be virtually impossible to combat. It is usually found in canned goods and can be detected by the odor of a gas created by the deadly bacteria. The bacteria were first observed in Germany in 1896 and have caused numerous epidemics.

Mr. Thielan is almost prostrate by his loss and it is an awful shock to the whole community as well as to the relatives of the unfortunate ones.

Seldom has this community been so shaken and shocked as it was this week when word was passed around of the fatal events at the Thielan home. A happy family circle to be broken up suddenly and with no fore-warning has filled every other family with sorrow and sympathy.

The funeral service was held this morning at 10 o'clock in St. Anthony's Church at Plevna with Father Korfhage celebrating a Solemn Requiem High Mass, Father O'Carrol of Miles City officiated as Deacon, Father Lack of Golva, N.D. as Subdeacon and Father Rocque of Great Falls as Master of ceremonies. The choir led by Mrs. C.A. Cremer chanted the Solemn Requiem completing the most beautiful consoling rites of the Roman Church. Father O'Carol, first pastor of St. Anthony's church delivered the sermon which was exuberant with sympathy and consolation as well as instruction to the faithful in general.

This was one of the saddest funerals in the history of the country. The mother and her three children were laid to their final resting place in the Plevna cemetery. A vast crowd assembled for the final rites and many beautiful flowers decked the caskets and grave.

Out of town relatives who were called by this calamity and arrived the first of the week are the bereaved husband's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Thielan Sr.; Mr. and Mrs. Joe Thielan and Joe Schumaker of Templeton, Iowa; A. J. Coll of Ipswich, S.D.; John Herbst of Omaha, Neb.; E. Herbst of Stanton, Neb., Mrs. Koles and Mrs. Henry Larcus of Earling, Ia. Ed Herbst of Baker and Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Herbst of Plevna.

State Chemist Here

As Dr. Blakemore stepped into the telephone office at Plevna Tuesday to wire in to Helena for a state chemist to check up on the Thielan case, he found waiting for him G.D. Wiles, the state drug and food expert chemist. Both gentlemen drove out to the Thielan home again Wednesday to get further data in the matter and have a number of cans of the infected corn which will be taken into Helena for analysis. The bacillus botulinus poisoning cases are extremely rare in the United States, only 12 cases having occurred during the year of 1926. It was five years ago yesterday that state officers were called down by the death of a school teacher near Ismay due to the same cause, home canned corn that had developed bacillus botulinus which is declared by doctors to be a little known bacteria which can be detected in canned foods by a peculiar odor. It is extremely virulent. The victims of this form of poisoning do not suffer much but gradually become paralyzed, both nerves and muscles refusing to function and death comes as a relief.

Source: Baker Sentinel (MT)
Paper Date: 27 Oct 1927
Botulinus Poison Claims Four Members of William Thielan Family
Funeral Services Thursday Morning at 10 O'Clock

Mrs. Wm. Thielan (Catherine Herbst), Marie age 11, William, age 4 and Gualda, age 12 died the first of the week from bacillus botulinus poisoning, which they got from eating canned corn.

The corn was eaten for the noon meal last Thursday and slight symptoms of the poisoning were apparent Friday. On Saturday the symptoms of poisoning were more pronounced and on Sunday four members of the family became violently ill. Wm, the four year old son died Sunday afternoon, and Mrs. Thielan and Marie passed away Monday afternoon about 2:30, both the mother and daughter crossing the great divide at about the same time. Geralda died on Tuesday.

Mr. Thielan and the oldest daughter were absent the meal that the corn was eaten, and a very small child also escaped the poisoning.

Thielans live on the Chauncey Ettles place several miles south of Plevna. They have been residents of Fallon County since 1911.

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Thielan Jr. and Mrs. Peter Thielan, Sr., Mr. Hocket and Joe Schumacher of Templeton, Iowa, arrived Tuesday noon. They left Templeton Monday noon and made the 825 miles in 23 hours by car. Mr. Hocket and Mr. Schumacher are friends of the Peter Thielan family and drove them out here. The Peter Thielans had been informed of the illness and wanted to reach Plevna before death called their relatives, but were too late.

The funerals were held at Plevna at 10 o'clock Thursday.
State Specialist Tells of Bacillus Botulinus

Glenn D. Wiles of Helena, who is Director of the Food and Drug Division of the State Board of Health visited Baker this week in regards to the case of bacillus botulinus, which caused the death of four members of the Wm. Thielan family of Plevna.

In an interview, Mr. Wiles gave some interesting and valuable information about the botulinus poisoning, which it seems, is about the most deadly poison known.

The botulinus poison is not commonly found and a specialist is sent to investigate every case that appears to be botulinus poisoning. Mr. Wiles sent some samples of canned corn and other canned food from the Thielan home to Helena for investigation.

The botulinus bacteria grow in the soil, and develop into poison only in the absence of air. No botulinus poison has been found in fruits or poisoned [part of article is missing] food do not recover. This is the second case in eastern Montana as a teacher at Ismay died of this poisoning 5 years ago.

"Once botulinus poisoning has developed the doctors can do very little" Mr. Wiles said, and in making plain just how dangerous the poison is, Mr. Wiles said that 1-1000 of a drop of the poison will kill a rabbit.

Mr. Wiles told of a case of botulinus poisoning in California about a year ago. A woman made sandwiches of canned sardines, and three people ate sandwiches and died from the poisoning. One man took a bite of a sandwich and not liking the taste of it, spit it out, but retained enough of the botulinus poison to kill him.

"There is no reason to be afraid of factory-canned goods" Mr. Wiles stated. All factories are under the supervision of both the state and National health departments and all their canned products have to be [rest of article is missing]
Card of Thanks

We wish to thank those who were so kind during our recent bereavement and to especially those who sent the beautiful floral offerings.
William Thielan,
Earline Theilan,
Elizabeth Thielan,
Thielan families,
Herbst families.