Geo. L. Cresap d. 1905

CRESAP, RILEY

Posted By: Volunteer - Rich Lowe
Date: 10/18/2001 at 18:12:18

BROTHER IS ALSO KILLED.

Geo. Cresap Also Meets Death
two day Previous.

Last week the Bee reported the sad death of Jeff Cresap, of Selma, formerly of Bonaparte, and later developments reveal the fact that the tragic death of this young man was but the sequel to another and equally it lamentable it occurrence, the death of Geo. L. Cresap.

By some strange fatality, Geo., the older son of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Cresap, was killed by the cars at Billings, Mont., just forty-eight hours prior to the death of the younger brother, Jeff, by the same agency, and a double tragedy in the family has prostrated the parents.

While the body of Jeff was lying at the home of the grief-stricken parents at Selma, a western newspaper conveyed the intelligence that Geo. had also met the same fate on the 18, two days, almost to the minute before, but the fact was kept from the parents who already were loaded with more grief than it was seemingly possible to bear, and, too, there was a bare possibility that a coincidence in names might show some other than the son was the victim. The word was later received which verified the report, and the parents were made cognizance of the sad ending of the boy.

Through kindness of a friend we are enabled to give the full particulars, taken from the Daily Tribune of Great Falls, Mont.

Billings, July 18. --Reubin Riley and Geo. L. Cresap were instantly killed by a Northern Pacific switch engine in this city at 2:30 this morning at the Twenty-seventh street crossing in the heart of the city. The men evidently started to cross the tracks just as passenger train No. 3 was passing the crossing. They were on the east side of the street, and were coming from the south, and stopped in the middle of side track No. 1 to wait until the train passed. Riley and Cresap were, no doubt, watching the passenger train go by and paid no heed to the switch engine which came from the west side at a rapid rate of speed.

The switch engine was backing up and struck both of the men. The bodies were dragged about 25 feet and were picked up after the engine had passed over them. Cresap was cut squarely in two across the middle of the body and was terribly mangled.

[Note: year not given but position in scrapbook would suggest 1905]

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Source: Entler Scrapbook Collection, vol 3, Iowa Historical Library, Iowa City, IA Historical Library, Iowa City, IA