Saturday, August 14, 2010

Aged Couple Fatally Burned - Noah And Lydia Sweigart Runyan

This may be new news to a few Runyan/Runyon researchers out there. In the 15 years I've been doing research on the Indiana Runyans I have not once seen this story circulated. I found this clipping searching the newspaper archives at Footnote.

The Fort Wayne Evening Sentinel. 
Tuesday, April 25, 1905.

AGED COUPLE IS FATALLY BURNED
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Noah Runyan Blistered Trying to Save Wife---Both of Them Will Die
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     Muncie, Ind. April 25 - Mrs. Noah Runyan, 73 years old, was fataly burned, her husband perhaps fatally injured and their granddaughter, Miss Hazel Lamb, painfully injured in a fire today as the result of Mrs. Runyan's apron catching fire from a natural gas stove while she was preparing breakfast at her home, eight miles south of this city.
    Seeing his wife's clothing aflame, the aged husband did his best to put out the fire, and finally succeeded but not until she had been burned beyond recovery. In his effort to save his wife Runyan was so seriously burned that it is doubtful if he can recover. Miss Lamb was seriously burned trying to save her grandparents.
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Noah died over a year after this accident. Lydia was Noah's second wife. Noah was a great grandson of Benjamin and Rebecca Barton Runyan, my 5th great grandparents. Noah, Lydia and Noah's first wife Ann Hewitt Runyan are all buried in the Batson Cemetery, Liberty Township, Henry Co., Indiana.

8 comments:

  1. Lisa, this is quite a find! Sad though.
    I noticed that you have the name Hewitt in your labels, but I don't see it in the post. I am also researching Hewitt, so I am curious as to what your connection is. My great great grandmother was Mary Ann Hewitt (1827-1892), coincidentally also fatally burned from her skirt catching on fire. She was born in New York, lived in Gallatin, IL and died in Sidney, Iowa.
    CeCe

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  2. Hi CeCe! Hewitt was the name of Noah Runyan's first wife. She was Ann Hewitt (also sometimes spelled Hewett) and she is mentioned in the last paragraph, last sentence of the post. Let me know if you'd like more information on her!

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  3. Sorry, now I see it! Does she trace back to the Hewitts of New London, CT in the mid-late 1600s? My line is - Capt. Thomas, Benjamin, Henry, Increase...etc.
    Thanks!

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  4. Ann was born in Ireland according to the 1860 census. She was born 1833 and died 1864. Sounds like your Hewitts were in the U.S. much sooner!

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  5. What a heart-wrenching story! We tend to forget today how much our ancestors suffered and the tragedies that befell their families quite frequently! You're right, Lisa, our news article discoveries the last couple days are over-the-top. Must be something in the (genealogy) air.

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  6. LOL Becky! I had forgotten this one was pretty severe too! I actually was referring to the post I did today over at my other blog "Old Stones Undeciphered"! That one's pretty gory!

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  7. Weren't you lucky, I should try it there.

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  8. What a tragic story and wonderful find on your part.

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