Burrill, William Wesley 1867-1935

BURRILL, AUSTIN

Posted By: Viv Reeves (email)
Date: 1/21/2006 at 14:35:48

From the LeMars Sentinel, Tuesday, August 20, 1935, Page 1, Column 5 and Page 4, Columns 4-5:

Wesley Burrill Fatally Injured In Auto Crash
Dies in Hospital Three Days After Suffering Terrible Injuries In Accident
Body is Badly Crushed
Was Prominent Merchant In Akron For Forty Years

Wesley Burrill, well known Akron business man, and a resident of Plymouth county since boyhood, died at the hospital in Akron, Sunday afternoon, from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident, Thursday afternoon, when two cars crashed together.

Mr. Burrill was hurt internally and several bones were broken. An eye was torn loose from its socket and had to be removed by surgeons, Thursday evening. At that time the attending physicians held out no hopes for his recovery, as he was internally injured and his chest, crushed against the steering wheel. According to reports the cars met in headlong collision, the driver of the car which collided with that driven by Mr. Burrill, being on the wrong side of the road as the two autos met on the brow of a hill.

Others Are Injured

The Akron Register Tribune gives the following account of the accident:

Two Akron men, W. W. Burrill and Wm. Hamilton, and three Union county men, C. A. Hamilton, John Hamilton, and Ole Jamptgard, were the participants in a serious auto accident Thursday afternoon on the Nora road. All five of them were injured to some extent, but Mr. Burrill and Wm. Hamilton the more seriously. Mr. Burrill, driving his new Chrysler sedan, with C. A. Hamilton in the front seat and Wm. Hamilton in the rear, were riding along the country road at a moderate speed and conversing, and as they reached the crest of a hill they suddenly met another car, a Buick sedan, driven by John Hamilton, son of C. A., who was accompanied by Ole Jamptgard. At close distance, both drivers tried to turn to the right to avoid a collision, but the cars crashed sideways and were badly demolished.

Taken to Hospital

Dr. Geo. Mattison motored to the scene of the accident and brought the injured men to the Akron hospital for medical attention. Mr. Burrill was found to be the most seriously injured, the steering wheel having crushed his chest and apparently broken several ribs, his left collar bone broken and his left eye punctured so that its removal may be necessary. It is also feared he may have suffered a fracture of his left leg above the knee and numerous cuts and bruises. C. A. Hamilton was thrown against the front of the car and his forehead badly cut, and he was otherwise cut and bruised. He was able to return home from the hospital. Mr. Jamptgard received cuts about the head and face. John Hamilton escaped with only slight bruises.

Came Here When Boy

William Wesley Burrill was a son of George W. Burrill and Martha Austin, early settlers in Dubuque county, and was born there June 16, 1867. He came with his parents to LeMars in 1883, and they settled in Johnson township, where they farmed, later making LeMars their home.

Wesley Burrill assisted his parents on the farm. When a young man he worked for the pioneer firm of Burg & Hentges, in LeMars. With Jos. Beck, another employe of the firm, he embarked in the clothing business at Akron, and became a successful merchant, the firm gaining an enviable reputation in northwestern Iowa business circles.

Mr. Beck retired from the business some years ago, and Mr. Burrill and his son Lowell conducted the business of late years.

Mr. Burrill was married to Miss Ella Stinton, member of another well known Plymouth county family, in 1892 (error--1893). His wife survives him and two sons, Lowell L. Burrill, of Akron, and Stanley S. Burrill, living in California.

His son, Stanley, informed of the accident, came Saturday by airplane, and was in time to see his father before the end came.

There are three grandchildren. Mr. Burrill was a member of a family of eleven children. Four brothers and two sisters preceded him in death. He leaves four sisters, Mrs. Marie (sic--Mary) Urie, of Pocatello, Idaho; Mrs. Sadie Brown, Aberdeen, S. D.; Mrs. Agnes Hinde, Forestburg, S. D., and Mrs. Emma Alderson, of LeMars.

Funeral Services Wednesday

The funeral services will be held Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. from the home in Akron, with Masonic honors. Mr. Burrill was a member of the Masonic Order, a Knight Templar and Shriner.

He was a leading member of the community and active and spirited leader in civic enterprises in the county where he was esteemed as a good citizen and loyal neighbor.