Iowa Old Press
Western College Advocate
Western College, Linn County, Iowa
July 1, 1860
Mr. John Newton, late a resident of this place, met with an
accident near Vinton, on the 16th of May, 1860, which resulted in
his death on the 23rd. He, in the company of Mr. A. Stephenson of
this place, and another young man by the name of Ludlow, started
on that day from the residence of Ludlow in Benton County for
Pike’s Peak. About two o’clock p.m. when within about a
mile of Vinton, Newton attempted to take his gun from the wagon,
grasping it by the muzzle, when it accidentally discharged,
lodging its contents (a ball) in his person. He was carried into
Vinton where he lingered until the 23rd, when he died peacefully
and in hope. A post mortem showed that the fatal missile had
passed between the sixth and seventh ribs, lacerated the lower
portion of the right lung, and the upper portion of the liver,
and had lodged in the muscles of the back, near the spinal
column. He leaves a wife and two children, who were unconscious
of the sad disaster, spending the time with their relatives in
Illinois.
[transcribed by K.W., July 2009]