Delier, Hubert P. 1855-1914

DELIER, LETILLIER

Posted By: Doris Hoffman, Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/24/2015 at 20:04:13

Note: His wife's maiden name was Letillier. Family sources have year of birth at 1855.

Meets Death from Gas Fumes

H. P. Delier, who resided in Akron several years and followed the carpenters' trade, met a tragic death in Sioux City Sunday morning by being overcome with illuminating gas. The Monday morning Journal gives the following details of the death of Mr. Delier and a companion:

"Two men were killed by gas early yesterday morning in a room at the Mitchell Hotel, 708 Fourth Street. One of the vicitms has been identified as Herbert Delier, 55 years old, of Sioux City. The other body is undentified.

"Delier and his unknown companion were found at 8 o'clock yesterday morning by a chambermaid. Gas fumes attracted the attention of the maid, who was in a room across the hall from the room occupied by the two men. She worked for half an hour before she traced the smell to the room, which was locked and closed in by a transom. A house key was used to open the door. On a bed in the room the forms of the two men, attired in night clothing, were found. A gas jet was open.

"It looks as though one of the men got up to turn off the electric switch and mistook the gas tap for the switch, said the coroner. "Delier evidently fell against the corner of the bed in clinmbing in."

"The coroner will gran certificates of accidental asphyxiation."

"Delier and his companion went to the hotel at 2 o'clock yesterday morning and engaged a room on the second floor. They were ushered to their bed by a clerk, who entered the room and switched on the electric light. The clerk declared the men were acting strangely he left them sitting on the edge of the bed. The gas was turned off he declared. An electric bulb lighted the room.

"The room used by the men was interior and had no windows. A closed transom shut off ventilation and the men died shortly after tey went to bed, in the opinion of the coroner.

"Delier was identified by a bill book in his pocket showing he had worked for Joseph Payette, of the Payette Construction company. Mr. Payette was called to the hotel to establish the idetification. Delier was a carpenter who had worked at odd jobs about the city for a number of years. he was the father of Arthur Delier, proprietor of the Ewing hotel, Fourth street, and is survived by a widow and other relatives living in Sioux City.

"Efforts to identify the body of the second man were futile. The body appeared to be that of a man about 32 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, smoothly shaven, with dark, curly hair. Several persons thought they knew the man, but their identifications afterward proved false.

"Funeral services for Delier will be held from St. Jean Baptiste church at 9 o'clock Tuesday morning, Father Plante officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Calvary cemetery."

Akron Register Tribune
Thursday, September 10, 1914
Akron, Iowa