Dunham, John E. 1881-1925

DUNHAM, HARDINGER

Posted By: Paul Van Dyke-Volunteer
Date: 2/9/2012 at 16:16:47

ASPHYXIATION CAUSES DEATH
John E. Dunham Found Dead In Bed In Minneapolis
Family Does Not Accept Suicide Theory but Think Death Was Purely Accidental

Word was received here Sunday of the death of John E. Dunham which occurred that morning at his home in Minneapolis. He was alone at home when his lifeless body was found in bed about 8 o’clock Sunday morning by a neighbor. Four gas burner in the kitchen near the bedroom were found turned on and his death was due to asphyxiation. While the circumstances surrounding his death indicated a possible case of suicide, none of his relatives or intimate friends is ready to believe that he took his own life and feel certain that it was purely accidental. The neighbors who discovered his body and Mr. Dunham’s brother-in-law were both with him until about midnight Saturday and declared that he was in the best of sprits when they left him. The train dispatcher for the railroad by which he was employed and several of his co-workers who knew him intimately also declared that there was not the slightest reason for believing that he was despondent. His wife and son had left only Saturday morning for a visit with relatives at Eldora, Iowa, and were terribly shocked when they were advised of his death and hastened home immediately. A.D. Horton, who is visiting in Minneapolis at present, has investigated the circumstances surrounding his death and is satisfied that it was a case of accidental asphyxiation. Funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon in Minneapolis and interment was made there.

John E. Dunham was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Thos H. Dunham, pioneer Sioux County residents, who passed away many years ago. He was born Nov. 4, 1881, so was not yet 44 years of age. He grew to young manhood on the old Dunham farm, one miles south of Hawarden, and will be remembered by all of the older residents of Hawarden, although he had not visited in Hawarden for ten or twelve years. He attended the Hawarden schools but nearly twenty-five years ago took up railroad work in Minneapolis. He worked for various railway companies which center in that city and at the timer of his death was a conductor for the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway Co.

He is survived by his wife and three year old son. He also leaves one brother and three sisters, H.L. Dunham of Hawarden , Mrs. M.A. Peak of Rock Island , Ill., Mrs. O.P. Nowlin of Long Beach, California and Mrs. A.H. Pratt of Clayton, Mich. H.L. Dunham and Mrs. Peak attended the funeral in Minneapolis

Source:Hawarden Independent(Jul 2, 1925)