Mr. and Mrs. Charles Coppersmith (?-1909)

COPPERSMITH, SCHOENHUT

Posted By: Alan Nicholson
Date: 4/26/2010 at 21:26:52

Roland Record
2 September 1909

Two Killed, 1 Hurt

In Bad Auto Smash, Three Miles West of Newton
Down 30-Foot Embankment

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Coppersmith of Newton, Instantly Killed While on Their Way to State Fair in an Automobile

Newton, Ia., Aug. 31 - Charles Coppersmith and his wife were instantly killed three miles west of Newton when their auto rolled down a 30-foot embankment. Mr. Coppersmith's neck was broken. Mrs. Coppersmith's head was crushed and her body badly mangled. Mrs. Howard Snider, the third person in the automobile, was slightly scratched on the knee and badly bruised but not seriously hurt.

Mr. and Mrs. Coppersmith were on their way to Des Moines to attend the state fair.

Mr. Coppersmith was a member of the firm of Bergman and Coppersmith, implement dealers. He was one of the leading businessmen of the city and a prominent member of the Elks order. Mrs. Coppersmith was prominent in church and society. The bodies are in the hands of the undertaker at Newton.

Roy Coppersmith, aged 17 years, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Coppersmith, was at the state fair grounds when the accident occurred, having come to the city on an early train.

The accident happened just beyond the Rock Island crossing west of the city. Mr. Coppersmith had stopped his auto to wait for passenger No. 17 to pass. He started his machine up slowly and just across the tracks met James Manning with a team coming to town. Coppersmith turned his auto out to pass the wagon. He turned a trifle too far and the machine, a brand new one, slipped over the embankment. Down the grade it rolled, turning over completely three times before it reached the bottom. Manning and Bert Baker who saw the accident rushed to the assistance of the stricken people. Coppersmith was lying under the machine with his neck broken. Mrs. Coppersmith's head had been caught beneath part of the framework and crushed to a pulp.

The Coppersmiths are one of the most prominent families in the county. The accident has come as a terrible shock to the community. Mrs. Fannie Schoenhut of Marshalltown, a sister of Mr. Coppersmith, is engaged at the state fair grounds as judge of fine arts.