Wormley Boy 1886 - 1891

WORMLEY

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 12/21/2014 at 10:55:25

Iowa Plain Dealer May 7, 1891, P5 C2

A fatal case of poisoning occurred in New Oregon township, on Saturday last. A man by the name of Perkins was plowing in the field, and a boy named Wormley, about five years old, was with him, following along the furrow. The plow turned up a root which they took for artichoke, and both eat of it, but it proved to be wild parsnip, and both died of its effects, scarcely living to get to the house. It is strange with the repeated occurrences of that character, that people of mature age, will persist in repeating the sad experiment of testing the properties of roots of whose nature they are entirely ignorant. Mr. Perkins came from Illinois we think something over a year since, and purchased of Mr. Berg the farm where he died.