Newlen, Child/Son (d. 1877)

NEWLEN

Posted By: Becke Dawson (email)
Date: 9/25/2003 at 13:25:31

THE IOWA STATE LEADER, Des Moines, Iowa Wednesday, May 2, 1877

Another child was drowned in the Des Moines River yesterday evening, a little son of Mr. Newlen,a brother of the East Side furniture dealer. He was about seven years of age and unable to swim. He was catching drift wood in the eddy just at the end of the dam on the East Side all afternoon, with two other boys only a little larger than himself. The boys were with him when he fell in but were so scared last night that they could not tell anything about it. They immediately gave the alarm, and a half dozen boats were soon engaged in the search for the body. The drowning occurred about 5:30 and the body was not found until nearly dark. The river, of course, was high and the current strong, but the projecting abutment of the dam makes quite an eddy, which kept the body from being swept away. Boys at that age should be driven away from the water by any passer-by.