Peter Feeney

FEENEY

Posted By: Rebecca Foster (email)
Date: 7/6/2014 at 20:20:14

HOW PETER FEENEY DIED

Returning to the office this morning, after an absence of several days in Chicago Mayor Rose found this letter on his desk:

CORONER'S OFFICE, St. Louis, Aug. 20, 1880.
To the Mayor of Davenport:- In behalf of humanity, simply, I write to ask your aid in discovering the identity of a man who died suddenly at 513 Biddle street in this city, about 5 o'clock A.M. on August 18. He arrived here on the afternoon previous, and from statements made by him to parties at the boarding house, it was gleaned that he was employed, up to 4 p.m. on Monday last, on some government work at Rock Island, either a bridge or arsenal work; that he was very well acquainted with Davenport, where he probably has a family, and that he came to St. Louis to look for easier work than he was doing.

Description: Evidently a laborer, about 45 or 50 years old; 5 feet 4 inches high; weight 130 pounds; brown hair; sandy chin whiskers mixed with gray; on right forearm the letters "P.F." tatooed in India ink. He wore a brown striped gingham shirt, old gray jeans pants, a suit of blue overalls, and a pair of buckle shoes.

Very respectfully,
Hugo, Auler, Coroner

Inquiry secured the information that this man who died so suddenly in St. Louis, was Peter Feeney, whose home was No. 815 East Front street. He was employed as a sweeper on the Government bridge- and last Monday he placed his son at work and went away without telling his family where he was going. The next day the son made inquiries and learned that a man answering the description of his father had purchased a ticket for St. Louis- and that was the last information received concerning him until they were informed of his death this morning. The deceased came to Davenport twenty years ago, and has worked as a laborer ever since. When the Government bridge was building, he was employed upon it, and one day fell from the lower deck to the ice below and fractured his right hip badly. After his recovery Colonel Flagler gave him the place of sweeper, the work being easy. He was a widower, but leaves a mother and three children who were dependent upon him for support. He was forty-eight years of age.

Source: The Davenport Democrat, Davenport, Iowa, 23 Aug 1880.