Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 200, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1916 — Details of the Drowning Of Miss Sarah Hemphill. [ARTICLE]

Details of the Drowning Of Miss Sarah Hemphill.

An account of the death, of Miss Sarah Hemphill, niece of Mrs. E. Pi Honan, was published in The Republican recently. Miss Hemphill is the daughter of J. F. Hemphill, former resident of Rensselaer. A more extended acount of her death has been secured from the Broken Arrow, Okla., Ledger: “Last Sunday afternoon about 3:46 a telephone message from the Plummer farm announced the by drowning of Miss Sar:vh Hemphill. It seems that the Plummer family decided to spend the uay at the farm which lies on the banks of the Arkansas river south of the Wliite church and about seven miles southeast of town. T-sey invited H. H. Houston and R. S. Jarrell, of Bixby, to spend the day with them. On the way they met Miss Hemphill, and she was invited to join them. After a picnic the girls were anxious to go bathing. About eighty rods cast of the farm a crock empties into vhe Arkansas river and about one hundi‘( d yards below tliis tiie strong current had formed an eddy and washed a deep hole some six or eight feet deep. After wading about in the shallow water for some time the bathers decided to swim with the current around the eddy. They had been in the water about an hour. Miss Hemphill went down almost as soon as she started in. Mr. Plummer saw her go down, and immediately plunged in to rescue her. He made a desperate effort but—the current carried him down stream, and had to be party. Banker Houston managed to by another member of the get hold of trie giri after about a half hour. Everything possible was done to resusticate the girl, but all effoits failed. Miss Hemphill was born at Danville, 111., June 11, 1897, and died August 18, 1916, pged nineteen years, two mouths and two days. She came to Broken Arrow about eighteen months ago. She was a beautiful girl possessed of a most lovely character, and her ways had won l±gr a place in the hearts of all that knew i'.er.”