Charles Vanscoy (1861 - 1888)

VANSCOY, MESSENGER

Posted By: Barry Mateer (email)
Date: 8/13/2024 at 13:39:22

December 29, 1887
Osceola Weekly Sentinel, page 3
Osceola, Iowa

Last Sunday evening the home of Mr. Charles Vanscoy, a son of John Vanscoy of this place, was the scene of a sad accident. Mr. Charles Vanscoy was getting ready for church, and while before the glass in the act of knotting his necktie with both arms up, a revolver in the hands of his 15 year old brother-in-law was discharged and the ball crashed into his right side just below the arm pit and lodged in the lung. The revolver was an old one which had laid about the house for some time and the boy was carelessly engaged in cocking, and snapping it near by Mr. Vanscoy. The day previous, however, it had been loaded for the purpose of killing a beef, the boy not knowing it.

Mr. John Vanscoy and family were summoned immediately and at this writing are still with the unfortunate victim. Dr. Roberts, the attending physician, seem to have but little hope for his recovery. This is a deplorable accident indeed. A man twenty five years old, in the vigor of health, the father of three children, called so suddenly to what in all probability will be his death bed, and all from the careless handling of what was thought to be an unloaded revolver.
St. Charles Reporter.
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December 29, 1887
Osceola Weekly Sentinel, page 2
Osceola, Iowa

Charley Vanscoy, who makes his home with his father-in-law, Mr. E. Messenger, a few miles north of here, was accidently shot a few evenings ago by one of Mr. M’s boys. Mr. Vanscoy was dressing for church, his little boy being in the room with him, when the brother-in-law, thinking to frighten the child, took a revolver from a trunk in the room and snapped it not knowing it was loaded. The pistol was discharged, the fall striking Mr. Vanscoy in the right arm pit penetrating the lung. Dr. Roberts of St. Charles was called, but failed to extract the bullet. The wound is a bad one and the chances are that Mr. Vanscoy cannot recover. It does seem strange with so many sad accidents happening all about us by the careless handling of fire arms, that people won’t be more careful about permitting boys to handle guns. Yet it goes right along and we much expect that this week’s paper will contain about the usual number of casualties of this kind.
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December 29, 1887
Advocate Tribune
Indianola, Iowa

A bad accident occurred to Charley Vanscoy, brother of our merchant, Cull Vanscoy of this place. Charley is living with his father-in-law, a Mr. Messenger, about two miles southwest of Madora. On Sunday evening about half past six he went upstairs to get ready for church. His brother-in-law, a young lad of 12 or 14 years and Mr. Vanscoy’s little boy were in the room with him. In an old trunk lay an old revolver of 22 caliber, which had not been loaded for some time; but recently some one of the family had loaded it unknown to young Messenger, who playfully picked up the revolver and snapped it at the little boy to scare him. Mr. Vanscoy was in range and the thing went off and struck him under the right arm penetrating his right lung, and lodging somewhere in his body.

At last account the doctors had not located the ball, and think the chances of his recovery are doubtful. It is another plain case of “I didn’t know it was loaded.”
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