Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 April 1905 — FRANK HAWKINS KILLED. [ARTICLE]

FRANK HAWKINS KILLED.

Former Rensselaer Resident Scalded to Death in Tinplate Mill at Anderson.

Frank Hawkins, who was well known here, where he formerly resided, met with a terrible fate at the tinplate factory at Anderson last Saturday by being scalded to death in a boiler which he was cleaning. Deceased was h brother of Vermont and Ross Hawkins, also well known here, and was married only three days before bis tragic death to a young lady of Anderson. Following is a dispatch from Anderson to an Indianapolis paper regarding the deplorable accident: The funeral of Frank W. Hawkins, who was scalded to death in a steam boiler in North Anderson Saturday last, took place this afternoon from the First M. E. church, where the late Mr. Hawkins and Miss Ethel Vinyard, both of this city, were married Wednesday last by the Rev. C. C. Cissel, who also conducted the funeral this afternoon. Coroner Trueblood will probably not conclude his inquest to-day, for numerous witnesses are being examined in an endeavor to fix the responsibility of the accident that cost the life of Mr. Hawkins at the

plant of the American Sheet and Tinplate Company. C. V. Erdmann, general superintendent of the plant, stated that he was advised that Hawkins was working under direction of John Conden, as a boiler cleaner, and that Conden states Hawking bad told him a few minutes before that he had completed his work inside of a boiler and would leave it. Two boilers are connected with one blow-off pipe, and Conden was letting out some of the steam and water of a boiler in use, when the steam passed through an open valve into the empty boiler in which Hawkins was working, Although his body was parboiled, Hawkins emerged from the boiler, and running to the office of the plant, begged that his sufferings be quickly relieved. He expired ten minutes later without being able to make any statement concerning the accident. He had worked only a week at the tinplate plant, and, prior to his marriage last week, had provided a home for himself and bride. He was twenty-six years old, and served in the Spanish-American war with credit.