Thomas Norton

NORTON, LACEY

Posted By: Beverly Gerdts (email)
Date: 2/2/2022 at 09:29:36

Columbus Gazette, Columbus Junction, IA
Wednesday, April 6, 1904
page 1

Monday morning the dead body of Thomas Norton was found half submerged in water in the sand pit just east of Fredonia. His skull was broken and the circumstances showed that he had probably jumped or fallen from a west bound freight sometime Sunday night. He was little known here; had been helping Al Russell, the horse man, about two months, but had given people, and all efforts to locate any of his relatives had failed entirely. No coroner's inquest was held, as none was thought necessary by the authorities. The remains of the unfortunate man were taken to the Harris undertaking rooms and from there were buried by the Odd Fellows on Wednesday afternoon, as he had tattooed on his person an emblem of that order, though none of the members here knew that he was affiliated with them. Otherwise his body would have been turned over to some medical school. He was supposed to be between thirty and thirty-five years of age, and a very sad thought is that somewhere a mother or wife or sister or other near friends may be awaiting his home coming, with a heavy heart.

Columbus Gazette, Columbus Junction, IA
Wednesday, April 27, 1904
page 5

Thomas Norton Indentified. Unertaker Harris has at last traced up the relatives of Thomas Norton, who was killed near Fredonia three weeks ago. By the use of an old envelope found in his pocket, he reached a sister in Ireland and heard from her Monday in two communications. Her name is Mrs. Mary Lacey and she and her father who lives with her are the only members of the family of which Mr. Norton was a member. He left Ireland eighteen years ago and had not been heard from in over two years. He was then with a priest in Clinton, Iowa. From another source it is learned that he was not a married man as reported, but was engaged to be married to a young lady near Eldora. This information was communicated by the lady herself in a letter received since his death.