Henry J. Fox 1866-1948

FOX, CHURCHILL

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 11/16/2014 at 23:34:06

Armstrong Man, 81, Perishes in Fire
His Clothing Catches Fire; Home Burns
Henry Fox is Victim of Tragedy
Henry Fox, 81, burned to death at 8:15 a.m. yesterday when fire destroyed his home four miles southwest of Armstrong.

The aged man apparently was starting a fire in a small heater when his clothing caught fire and set the house ablaze.

A motorist, driving near the house, saw the smoke and stopped to give assistance. He was unable to enter the house and hurried to summon neighbors.

They were unable to rescue Fox who died in the blaze.

Mr. Fox’s sister, Mrs. Isabelle Churchill of Armstrong, said that by the time neighbors had notified her, the house had been destroyed.

Fox, a bachelor, had lived on the same farm for more than 60 years and rented the land to other farmers.

Ernest Smith of Estherville, former township assessor, recalls that Fox used to ride his bicycle 18 miles to Estherville every year to pay his taxes.

He said Fox was suspicious of strangers and for the past few years had lived almost as a hermit.

Fox was born near Newton in Jasper county [per census records, Ireland] Nov. 11, 1866, and is survived by Mrs. Churchill and a brother, John Fox, of Pine River, Minn.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Slaba funeral home at Armstrong. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, February 6, 1948)

Henry Fox Dies of Burns At Home Near Armstrong
Henry Fox, who resided three miles south and one mile east of Armstrong, burned to death in his farm home. Henry was a bachelor and lived alone for several years and rented his farm.

Apparently from the reports available, Henry started a fire in the morning and his clothing caught fire. A man driving past the place noticed smoke and went to assist Fox. It was too late to get into the house and he summoned neighbors but to no avail.

Fox has lived alone and seemed to be afraid of about everyone and made no friends. He was rather peculiar and had been for years. He seemed to have a desire to live and be alone.

Mr. Fog [Fox] gained publicity some ten years ago when we gave him some publicity on riding his bicycle to pay his taxes. He was then 70 years of age. He came to this city on his bike. We induced him to have his picture taken and he posed for the picture in front of the iron rail at the entrance of the former Kepler Café.

Henry seemed friendly and talked to us for a long time. He seemed to appreciate the picture. We still have two enlarged copies of Henry and his bike. Mr. Fox has resided on the same farm for more than sixty years. He told us what he paid for it but we remember it was but little per acre.

Mr. Fox was born near Newton November 11, 1866 and is survived by a sister and one brother. The funeral services were held from the Slaba Funeral Home on Saturday. (Estherville Enterprise, Estherville, IA, February 12, 1948)