Beckham, Sam – d. 1909

BECKHAM

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 7/13/2021 at 21:35:38

The Tragic Ending
Sam Beckham, a miner, and who has been a resident of Colfax for several years, was found dead early this morning a mile and half northeast of town, on the Newton and Northwestern tracks, by Roy James who was going out to work on the Meckley farm. The body was frozen stiff, his rubber boots filled with water and his clothes below the waist also soaked and frozen. Mr. Beckham worked at the mines until noon yesterday and at 1:30 o’clock took his gun and started out on a duck hunt. He walked up the street with Clarence Clark and stopped in the barber shop for a few minutes. This was the last he was seen by anyone here. Coroner Hill of Newton is holding an inquest over the body this afternoon. The general belief is that the man froze to death. His gun was found 100 feet away, the barrels empty, and covered with ice, having perhaps been dropped in the water when he became chilled and exhausted. He leaves a wife to whom he had been married about 9 years, parents and a brother. He was 35 years old.
Source: The Colfax (IA) Clipper; Thursday, November 18, 1909, page 1