Duffy, Joseph M. 1877-1911

DUFFY, BOLEN, DORAN

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 12/23/2011 at 13:47:05

Newspaper article dated July 11, 1911

JOSEPH DUFFY DIES IN RIVER
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Tragedy Interrupts Pleasant Sunday Gathering of Sheridan Farmers at Iowa River.
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WAS BROTHER-IN-LAW OF C.C. DORAN OF THIS CITY
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Death Believed Due to a Sudden Stroke--Ed Bolen Narrowly Escapes Drowning.
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Joseph Duffy, one of Sheridan's best known young farmers, in the flower of his strength and youth, met his death on Sunday afternoon in the Iowa river. Ed Bolen, another member of the party, who lives north of Malcom, was very near death's door by drowning, but was brought back to life after he had been worked over for some time.

It was a sad ending to the pleasant outing which a number of Sheridan people had been enjoying by the river bank.

Details of the sad event are hard to obtain. It is reported that Duffy was in shallow water when he went down and that his death was not from drowning but from heart failure or some such sudden seizure. He was an expert swimmer but had swum across the river and back during the afternoon. The body was not in the water long, but life was extinct when it was recovered.

Bolen was not a strong swimmer and got beyond his depth. His friends got him out in the nick of time. Possibly the excitement of Bolen's danger and of the rescue precipitated the disaster.

The deceased was a brother-in-law of C.C. Doran, of this city, and lived on the old Doran homestead in Sheridan. His wife and four children survive him.

The funeral was held today, the procession leaving the house at 8 o'clock this morning. Interment was in Tama City.

Transcriber Note: Joseph M. Duffy, b 06 Mar 1877-d 09 Jul 1911. Buried Tama Catholic cemetery. Source: WPA Records, Tama Co. Iowa