Arnold Fenton (1821-1905)

FENTON

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 1/6/2012 at 16:10:14

From Story County Watchman April 21, 1905

KILLED--By th fast mail trian at 9:48 a. m. Wednesday, April 19, Arnold Fenton, an aged resident of this city, on the Linn street crossing of the Northwestern railway, just east of the depot. The train was passing west going at the rate of possibly 20 miles an hour as shown by the coroner's jury (probably at least 50). He was crossing the track diagonally facing the approaching train when he apparently became bewildered by the surrounding rush, hesitated and was struck by the pilot of the passing engine. The day operator, Mr. Kempes, witnessed the accident, saw him stop, the engine strike, the body thrown against the boiler head, then drop, and when the train had passed the mass of mangled flesh and bones lay but a few feet from him in front of the ticket office window. The head and face, body and limbs, were all badly mangled one of the hands being merely a pulp. The remains were cared for and placed in proper recepticles and carried to the undertaker sho soon fixed them up in as presentable shape as possible under the direction of Coroner Connor, who held an inquest in the afternoon. After some evidence was taken the jury adjourned until the next morning when it returned a verdict in effect that the train men were not responsible for the accident. The train men evidently did not know of the accident as they passed right through on their run.

Mr. Fenton was a native of New York and was eighty-four years of age. He came to this county something over forty years ago and has made this locality his home for that length of time. Only recently he retired from his farm coming into town proposing to take the rest of his days easy allowing some one else to take charge of his farm. He always stood high with his neighbors and was one of the best men in his neighborhood and all his neighbors are sad when they think of the tragic ending.