Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1899 — RECORD OF THE WEEK [ARTICLE]

RECORD OF THE WEEK

INDIANA INCIDENTS TERSELY TOLD. i Double Tragedy at Clark*burg—Fatal Bow at ths Breakfaat Table—Convict* Escape from Reformatory— Crushed Between Cara. The village of Clarksburg was the scene of a double tragedy the other day. During a family quarrel Wesley Bockover was fatally shot by his stepson, William Frondolph, aged 18 years, who afterward committed suicide by shooting himself. Bockover was shot below the left shoulder and died two hours later, bleeding internally. Frondolph shot himself in the right temple, the ball passing entirely through hjs head. Death came almost instantly. Frequent family quarrels have existed. Look* Like a Murder. The coroner's inquest held at Brazil developed facts which lead to the belief that Robert Currie, who was found on the Vandalia road, had been murdered and robbed and his body placed on the track to hide the crime. No blood was found on the track or on the ground where the remains lay. indicating that circulation had ceased some time before the body was run over. Quarrel End* Fatally. Joseph Bagwell fatally shot Joseph Robinson at Point township. They became involved in an altercation at the breakfast table. Angry words were exchanged, until Robinson drew his revolver and tired at Bagwell, the bullet missing its mark. Bagwell returned the fire twice, one bullet striking Robinson in the breast and causing his death soon after. Convict* Make Their Escape. William Otterbach and Albert Spall, convicts confined in the Jeffersonville reformatory, escaped recently. The prisoners were employed on the prison farm and took advantage of Keeper Kin kefs absence during dinner hour. Otterbach and Spall were sent from Jackson County for burglary and had but a few days to serve. Railroad Clerk Crushed by Cars. Charles Jossick, assistant in the clerical department of the Lake Shore freight offices at Mishawaka, was instantly killed. Jossick was passing between two freight cars while switching was in progress. The bumpers caught him, crushing his body above the hips. W ithin Our Border*. Howard County lias a big apple crop. Kokomo automobile works will be enlarged. Shelby County will have rural mail delivery within two months. The gypsy pest has again broken out in the vicinity of Terre Haute. Lightning badly damaged a barn and killed three horses for John Miller, near Scottsburg. Chesterton Council has passed a bicycle ordinance, with a 50-cents-a-year and lamp-bell attachments. South Bend labor unions have raised $7,000 for the labor day celebration and are still after more. High school building, Crothersville, struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Loss $13,000. ) At Bicknell. William PinkstaflTs livery stable was destroyed by fire and horses cremated. No insurance. James Fisher’s threshing machine. Richland, was destroyed by a stick of dynamite hid in a sheaf of wheat. Rev. Joseph Samuel Coffman, known to Mennhnites throughout the United States, is dead at Elkhart, aged 51 years. James E. M. O’Hair, Greencastle, is dead, aged 95 years. He was the father of twelve children, all of whom are living. At Logansport, William Stevens and Elmer Garver were struck by lightning and instantly killed. Abraham Downman was fatally shocked. Business men in the northern part of the State are kicking on some Chicago salesmen who are supplying their customers with clothing and provisions. Miss Stella Fonts, New Washington, will soon be married to Will Brown, Manson. lowa, the result of answering an advertisement. Her people are wealthy. Lightning struck the farm residence of John Martinsen, near Tracy, and destroyed the building, with all its contents. Loss $5,000, insured for $3,600. John Heaton, Delaware County, had Benjamin Reese arrested for cutting wheat on Sunday. Heaton was acquitted, as the work was regarded as necessary. Engine I, that runs on the C., 1. & E., between Matthews and Swayzee, was buried several months in the sand at the Johnstown flood, and was dug out and refitted. In bankruptcy proceedings against A. I. Friend, One of the leading clothing merchants of Fort Wayne and Muncie, Judge Baker has restrained the Fort Wayne Trust Company, trustee, from disposing of any of the stock until after the hearing. A wagon loaded with sixty gallons of nitroglycerin was driven into Van Buren. The driver dismounted to transact some business. The horses became frightened and ran down the principal street of the town, causing a panic. The horses broke loose from the wagon and left it standing in the street. John Wools, aged 52 years, was found dead hanging at the end of a halter strap in his barn in Jackson township. He had committed suicide by tieing one end of the rope to a pole running across the barn ten feet from the floor. Mr. Wools was one of the wealthiest farmers in the county. The cause of the act is a mystery. William Richards while swimming at Robinson Park, Fort Wayne, was seized with cramps and drowned almost within reach of his companions. Fire destroyed the large farm residence of W. C. Fisher, about four miles northeast of Franklin. It is supposed the house was set on fire while the family wa* attending church. One hundred and fifty men in the tin plate trust’s plant in Anderson and sev-enty-five at Middletown went out on a strike. The, trust refused to change from two twelve-hcui to three eight-hour shifts.