W. J. Bridgeman -1901

BRIDGEMAN, MONTGOMERY

Posted By: Linda H Meyers (email)
Date: 6/13/2009 at 09:47:07

A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT

W. J. Bridgeman Meets an Awful Death in a Runaway at the Marshall Montgomery Farm, Seven Miles Noretheast of Ames, Friday a.m.

Friday at about nine o'clock in the forenoon another untimely death was added to the long list of fatalities chronicled in this vicinity recently. The facts as we have them from a relative of the deceased were as follows: About a week before Mr. W. J. Bridgeman and family came from their home in Chicago to visit and spend a vacation at the Montgomery home, Mrs. Montgomery being an aunt of Mrs. Bridgeman.

Friday morning one of the boys wanted to go to Nevada and Mr. Bridgeman said he would be delighted to take his place driving the hay rake, so arrangements were made and the story of the accident as told by the witnesses was to the effect the line undoubtedly caught and he stepped out on the tongue, which was a divided one, and the horses became frightened and started to run, he holding onto the tongue for about a quarter of a mile, but finally fell and his foot caught in the opening in the tongue and he was dragged possibly a mile in this condition. When found his skull was found to be fractured and his body terribly lacerated and bruised. Death had already ensued.

Mr. Bridgeman was a bridge builder in Chicago and this was the first vacation he had taken in six years. He was twenty eight years of age, a native of England, where his parents now reside, and leaves a wife and two small children to mourn his sad and untimely death. He was a member of the Maccabee lodge. The funeral was held at the Montgomery home Sunday at 9 a.m. and the remains interred to the Nevada cemetery.

---from a local newpaper found in scrap book