McGuire, P. F. died 1906

MCGUIRE

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 1/10/2014 at 14:29:27

Alton, Democrat of March 31, 1906
P. F. McGuire who formerly owned and operated Hotel Maplewood in Alton and a man named E. M Van Horsen were burned to death Sunday. of the horrible occurrence the St. Paul Dispatch says: Two men and eight horses and a cow were roasted to death in a freight car near Gardner station twenty miles north of Fargo North Dakota Sunday.

The men were in route from their homes in Ayrshire Iowa to Williams county North Dakota where on of the party name of P. F. Mc Guire had bought a farm last fall. Owing to the inclement weather the doors of the car had been kept closed and a light was obtained from a lantern suspended from the ceiling of the car. In some manner the lantern became unfastened and falling to the floor exploded. Instantly the hay on the floor of the car caught fire and the car was transposed into a roaring furnace. The two men made an effort to open the side doors of the car but without avail. The son of P. F. McGuire fought his way through the flames to the end door and escaped seriously injured. He gave the alarm and the car was cut out of the train. Efforts of the train crew to extinguish the flames were unavailing. Great difficulty was experienced in opening the car doors and when the bodies were finally taken out they were burned almost beyond recognition. The car was burned until only the iron was left. The bodies and the injured boy were taken to St. Paul and thence to Ayrshire for burial this Saturday. The boy who escaped was clerk in the hotel here for a while.

(Not positive but this may have been Patrick Mc Guire born Jan 1862 IA living in Ayrshire, Palo Alton IA in 1900, wife was Susie M. m. 1888 childen - Charles 11, Katie 7, William 6, Irene 3, and Mary 1.)