Barker, Hiram died 1885

BARKER, HAMILTON

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 7/9/2022 at 10:48:13

Elkader Register, 03 Dec. 1885.

Last Friday night, between eleven and twelve o'clock the slaughter house of John Goedert, located near McGregor was the scene of a fatal accident.

Mr. G., had received a new boiler from the Iowa Iron Works, Dubuque, and set it up that day. In the evening two employees, Henry Schlarb and Edwin Chamberlain went up to fire it up and cut up some meat. Before firing up a leak was discovered in the hand hole, (located near the bottom of the boiler, which is used to draw off the water and clean out the boiler.) Chamberlain fitted a wooden plug into the hole, and a fire started. Being suspicious as to whether the wooden plug would do, Schlarb and Chamberlain retired to another room, and while out there were joined by Hiram Barker whose parents live near town. Steam rose until the gauge indicated a pressure of twenty pounds, which was sufficient to run the engine, and thinking all was safe they stepped into the engine room and were about to start the engine when the plug blew out, and filled the room with scalding water and steam. Schlarb was near a window, and instantly jumped through it, but the others could not find their way out for several minutes, and not until they had inhaled enough of the hot steam to prove fatal, Chamberlain dying at 11 o'clock Saturday morning, and Mr. Barker about five Saturday afternoon. Schlarb was somewhat scalded, but will recover.

Hiram Barker was a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Hamilton, of this place, and they were summoned to McGregor, Sunday to attend the funeral.

Chamberlain was a stranger at McGregor, and had been there but a short time. His parents live at Omaha.

Coroner Cain went to McGregor on Sunday, and held an inquest which developed the foregoing facts. The jury was composed of Isaac Matthews, T. Farrington, and W. C. Austin, returned the following verdict:

An inquisition holden in Mendon township, Clayton county, on the 29th of November, A.D. 1885, before J. W. Cain, Coroner of said county, upon the bodies of Edwin Chamberlain and Hiram Barker, there lying dead, by the jurors whose names are hereto subscribed, the said jurors upon their oaths do say that said persons came to their death by scalding with water and steam escaping from a hand hole of a boiler, which was temporarily plugged by Chamberlain with wooden plugs; and by investigating the matter we find the accident was caused by the carelessness of the employees in charge of the slaughter house at the time.

Signed by the jurors.

--- ---

Elkader Register, 10 Dec. 1885.

The (McGregor ??) Times (undated) says: S. P. Chamberlain, of Omaha, father of young Chamberlain, scalded to death in the boiler explosion last Friday evening, was in the city yesterday. He came to learn the particulars of the sad affair, - to him a most sorrowful mission.

Messages In This Thread

• Barker, Hiram died 1885 (views: 103)
  BARKER, HAMILTON
  Reid R. Johnson -- 7/9/2022 at 10:48:13