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This obituary was published in The Steubenville Weekly Gazette, Thursday, September 20, 1917.
Fall Off Furnace Fatal To WorkmanJacob I. Meinzen, 24, well known young man of this city, met instant death when he fell from the top of a furnace in the blast furnace department of the La Belle Iron Works at 3:30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. He dropped a distance of over 100 feet and was horribly crushed. The remains were removed to the Lindsey funeral parlor and later to the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Meinzen, at 306 South Third street.
Mr. Meinzen was employed at the La Belle Iron Works as a pipe fitter and was engaged in various parts of the mill. On Wednesday afternoon he was engaged in pipe fitting on the top of one of the giant furnaces when he was seen suddenly to fall from his position on a ladder and descend to the ground with terrific speed. Fellow workmen were unable to save him. When picked up, a few seconds after his fearful descent, he was dead, every bone in his body being broken.
Mr. Meinzen was well known here, having spent all his life in this city. He was born in Steubenville in December, 1892. He married Miss Sudie Coss just one year ago and leaves his wife and one daughter, Elizabeth, aged two months. He leaves his parents and the following brothers and sisters: Henry Meinzen, of Youngstown; Robert Meinzen, of Warren, Ohio; Mrs. Belle Hashman, Mrs. Lulu Sticker, Mrs. Minnie Harris, Mrs. Betty Henderson and Mrs. Russell Rhome, all of Steubenville. He was a member of the Third Presbyterian church. He was a Maccabee.
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Notes and Additional InformationJacob married Sudie Coss on September 4, 1916. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was born on May 29, 1917.
Jacob's death was the second family death at LaBelle Iron Works.
I'm guessing these all happened before there were workers' compensation laws ... :) Very interesting though, particularly how much detail about the death actually goes into the article. You don't see that nowadays.
ReplyDeleteSo tragic! Such a young man and with a wife and newborn. His wife must have been devastated. His was obviously very hazardous work, but still. I send my belated condolences.
ReplyDeleteSad take it is true : but you have to wonder slightly about the journalistic hyperbole of "every bone in his body being broken"
ReplyDeleteOh, I agree with Alan! It sounds like something my mother (who is given to bouts of hyperbole) would say. One of her favourite comments after watching a particularly violent newscast or a t.v. show is, "He was RIDDLED with bullets!". Seriously.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to detract from this horrible tragedy.
Kat
Jenny, Alan, and Kat - I think in those days dramatic events might have been a newspapers' mainstay and the public's "television" of the times. Yes, "every bone" is undoubtedly an exaggeration, yet it's hard to imagine the state of a man who fell the equivalent of approximately 13 stories.
ReplyDeleteChristine, thanks for the condolances. It's probably hard to believe but I mourn for some of my ancestors, especially those whose deaths were so tragic.