Wallace, Thomas died 1899

WALLACE

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 2/16/2012 at 09:35:27

From the Alton Democrat of Nov 18, 1899
Hawarden correspondence.
Unknown Man Killed.
Threw himself before the train at Hawarden.
An unknown man was run over just south of town and horribly mangled by a northbound Milwaukee freight Friday afternoon. The body was gathered up in pails, washbasins, etc., and brought to town and the coroner notified. At the inquest held Saturday no marks of identification could be found. The train men assert that the man was walking near the fence by the side of the track and as the train approached he ran and threw himself on the rails just in front of the engine.
The man wore comfortable clothing and appeared to be of about middle age. In his pockets were found pair of mittens with the price mark J. P. Lind & Son on them, but that firm could not identify the suicide in any manner. The remains were buried in Grace Hill cemetery Sunday.
Monday's Sioux City Journal says :
The city authorities have today been in communication with the authorities at Hawarden and from what information can be obtained it is believed that the unknown man killed at Hawarden
Friday was Thomas Wallace, postoffice robber who was released from the Sioux Falls penitentiary a few weeks ago. Wallace was one of the three postoffice robbers alleged to have sent a quantity of stolen stamps to Joe Kirby, who is now under federal indictment for having the stamps in his possession, the case having become famous in the criminal annals of the northwest."

Also the incident was recorded in the Hawarden Independent of Nov 16, 1899.
In this account it was mentioned that the only two identification marks were the word 'jail' on two different grarments, with some chaff on them suggesting he may have slept in some straw. He was estimated to be middle age about 35 years, 5' 9or 10" in height. Other details of him are in the account.

(Of course, there are so many Thomas Wallace's in data bases, it was impossible to ID him further.)