Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1909 — Christened and Baptised At Funeral of Father. [ARTICLE]

Christened and Baptised At Funeral of Father.

The funeral of Prof. W. O. Hiatt, who committed suicide at Frankfort last Thursday morning, was held at the home last Saturday. The faculty of the Frankfort schools attended In a body. An unusual incident took place at the close of the -services .when Oscar Paul Hiatt, the 17-months-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Hiatt was christened and baptised by the side of the casket in which his dead father lay. Prof. Hiatt was a firm believer in infant baptism, but had failed to have the rite performed and Mrs. Hiatt decided to comply with his wishes by having the services in connection with the funeral. The rite was conferred 1' by the Rev. J. M. Meliar. - The general opinion is that continual worry over matters in connection with the schools and the fear of possible adverse criticism concerning his management of the schools led Mr. Hiatt to commit suicide. The tragic death of Mr. Hiatt did not delay the opening of the public schools on Monday, the school board having placed Mrs. Russell, private secretary to the late Mr. Hiatt, In charge, pending the selectioh of a man for the position. There are already numerous applications for the position, but the board has announced that it will be in no hurry to make an appointment. Asserting that the Big Four Railroad company confiscated some of his land when recent improvements were made along the right-of-way, Benjamin Simpson, of Clay county, has filed a $150,000 damage suit against the railroad company in the Hendricks county circuit court. W. S. Blatchley, state geologist, has returned to Indianapolis from a week’s stay at Cambridge, Mass., where he did some special investigation in the museum of Harvard university. He was gathering data for a paper on the Jjleontology and the insects for the state for use in his annual report. If there were no loafers in this old world, the police courts wouldn’t have much to do.