Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1899 — An Awful Tragedy In Kansas [ARTICLE]

An Awful Tragedy In Kansas

A Former Jasuer County Woman And Her Daughter Shot Dead Ry Accident. A most terrible accident in voting former well known Jasper Co. people, took place in Pratt county Kans., aboutltwo miles from Coats, Wednesday., July sth. It was also a most singular and unusual occurrence. Mrs. Melissa M. Porter, wife of Wm. M. Porter, was sitting holding her three old girl Ellen in her lap. Her nine year old boy Willie found a revolver in the hired man’s room and playfully pointed it at little Ellen and saying “I’ll shoot you” he pulled the trigger. The weapon was discharged and the bullet passed through the little girl’s brain and through the mother’s heart, killing both, instantly. The news was telegraphed at once to Walter V Porter, the wellknown farmer and stock raiser of Jordan tp., who is a brother of the afflicted husband and father, and he left for Coats early Thursday morning. Mrs. Porter, the mother whose life is thus so suddenly and so terribly terminated, was one of the Gillam township Mitchells, and a daughter of Montgomery P. Mitchell. She was a sister of C. P| Mitchell, once superintendent of the Rensselaer schools, and now a ■p banker at Monroeville, this state. She herself was a successful and well known teacher, and taught for four years in different schools in this, Marion township. Her age was 38 years. She was married Sept. 17, 1889. Her husband and two children survive her. Also her aged parents, who still live in Gillam.