Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1905 — AGED WOMAN’S SAD FATE. [ARTICLE]

AGED WOMAN’S SAD FATE.

Mrs. Sarah Marion Wandered Away [Friday and Died Saturday From the Exposure. About 11:30 o’clock, last Saturday forenoon, Cooney Kellner and George Platt noticed a pair of women's shoes lyingon the ground, near his ice house, south of Granville Moody’s residence. Seeing the shoes, caused them to look around the vicinity, and a short distance away, they saw au old woman lying ou the ground in Mr. Moody’s pasture. • They feared she might be insane j and not desiring to approach her (without assistance, one of them watched her, and the other went to Mr. Moody’s house, and telephoned to Officer Christie Vick, who at once repaired to the place. She was at once recognized as Mrs. Sarah Marion the widowed mother of I. B. Marion, who lives in the east part of town. Her shoes were off and lay quite a distance away, and her cape also was 20 or 30 feet away. She'was shivering with the cold a id moaning but did not speak nor se3in conscious. One of her legs was badly cut and scratched near the knee, and also one of her hands, and from these she had bled considerably. There is a wire fence all around the pasture, and no doubt she was hurt in passing through this fence. Mr. Vick and the others placed her on her cape and covered her with his overcoat, and in the meantime Joe Jackson’s buss was telephoned for. Word had also been sent to Mr. Britt Marion’s residence. The unfortunate woman was placed in the hack and driven to her son's home. Arriving there it was found that they had hurried down to Mrs. Minerva Hopkins’ house, on south Weston street, where the old lady had been lodging in rooms for some time.

The hack started back to the same place, and when near the corner of Division and Washington streets Mrs. Marion gasped convulsively and again when near S. M. Laßue’s house, on Weston street, and this was the last sign of life given and when Mrs. Hopkins’ house was reached, she was dead.

The old lady, who was 77 years, recovered from fa sickness a few weeks ago, at her son’s home, and preferring to be by herself, went into rooms in Mrs. Hopkins’ house. She left there Friday morning, but Mrs. Hopkins, who is a deaf mute, thought nothing strange of her absence thinking she had gone to her son's or to Charles Platt’s place, on Van Rensselaer street, with whom she had formerly lived. She was there some of the time Friday, bnt about four o’clock p. m., she appeared at S. P. Thompson’s residence and enquired the way to her sons's and also to Mr. Platt’s place. From that time on she seemed to have wandered in a bewildered condition until she fell exhausted where she was found. How long she may have lain there, there is no way of knowing. A physician was called, but did not reach her until she was dead’ He believes her death resulted from exposure and exhaustion-