GILLILAND, Junior 1921 – 1927

GILLILAND, MCCONNELL

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 2/28/2011 at 16:35:36

“The Fairfield (Ia.) Daily Ledger”
Friday, June 17, 1927

BOY FALLS OFF MONUMENT HERE; FATALLY HURT

Junior GILLILAND, 6 Years Old, Climbed Up Shaft In Evergreen Cemetery

Junior GILLILAND, the 6-year-old son of Mrs. Harold McCONNELL, 503 North B street, was fatally hurt this afternoon at 2:30 oclock when he fell from a monument at Evergreen cemetery and was struck by the carved urn that fell with him and crushed his skull.

The lad had gone to the cemetery with some other boys of his age and the others had dispersed, before he climbed the monument. They returned in a little while, however, and found him lying at the foot of the tombstone with blood flowing from the wound in his head.

Help was summoned and he was taken to his home and a physician called. He then was rushed to the Jefferson County hospital where but little hope was given of his recoveryq (sic).

The monument is about seven feet high and it was evident that the boy had climbed to the top and was sitting with his legs about the carved top when it gave way with him.

--

“The Fairfield Ledger”
Saturday, June 18, 1927
Page 1, Column 3

Junior GILLILAND died in fall from a 10 ft. blue monument in Evergreen. The monument was that of Thomas Hughes born July 14 1816; died June 28 1879. It stands on the eastward slope of the old cemetery near the B St. entrance and not far from Stone St. An evergreen tree has grown tall just to the north of it and overshadows the monument.

Note: Per his death record, Junior was 6 years, 3 months and 28 days at the time of death. He was the son of George and Julia CRAFT GILLILAND. He was buried in an Ottumwa cemetery, but the specific one was not indicated in the note I received with the newspaper clipping of the obituary. Although it’s noted that the monument Junior fell from was in Evergreen Cemetery, this is another case of Evergreen being confused with the adjacent Old Fairfield City Cemetery. There is no fence to separate the two cemeteries and at one time they were considered to be as one; they are separate entities. The Hughes monument is in Old Fairfield Cemetery, on the West Half of Lot 195.