Includes name, date of death, township, and cause of death.
 

Name Township Date Official Cause

Robert PICKENS Centre 10-28-1841 Cut His Own Throat

James PORTER Washington 03-18-1844 Visit From God

David PAYNE Mt. Pleasant 06-04-1844 Fell In Buck Creek

Levi BISHOP Centre 05-29-1845 Hung Himself

Watson RATHFORD Mt. Pleasant 09-28-1859 Hit By Train
Father was Adam RATHFORD

Samuel WILLIAMS Centre 11-18-1859 Hit By Train

Eli BANEIGH Liberty 05-12-1861 Drowned (Smithfield)

Elijah FRANKLIN Centre 03-13-1867 Fall

Elizabeth MOORE Washington 03-29-1869 Suicide

Patrick KEALY Centre 05-28-1870 Hit By Train

Charles MERRILL Monroe 08-30-1870 Shot By Simon BATES

Henry HEINLINE Hamilton 04-15-1872 Shot Himself (65yrs)

Henry KAPLINGER Centre 06-22-1872 Drowned

George W. BEETH Centre 10-26-1872 No Cause Given

Dan LEE No TWP Given 11-25-1874 Killed

George WILSON Centre 06-29-1875 Hit By Train (Boy)

John HARRINGTON Mt. Pleasant 07-31-1875 Drowned

Jane GROSS Centre 08-03-1875 Drowned

Garrett HOPPER Salem 08-02-1875 Hung Himself

Infants FORTMANS Washington 11-20-1875 Murdered (Twins)

Infant Union 11-16-1875

Nathan FISHER Perry 03-05-1875 Hung Himself

Francis SHAFFER Centre 09-01-1877 Killed Himself

S.R. PURDUE Centre 10-11-1877 Boiler Explosion

Johnny WAITE Centre 11-17-1877 Accedently Shot By Charles BUSH

George VANMETER Centre 02-13-1878 Hit By Train

Daniel MEDSKAR Centre 08-08-1879 O.D. On Morphine

William UPDIKE Centre 09-16-1880 O.D. On Morphine

Frederick STOVER No TWP Given 07-17-1881 Broken Back

Charles RHODS No TWP Given 04-17-1883 No Cause Given

John M. HILL Perry 08-20-1883 No Cause Given

Morton HILL Liberty 08-30-1883 Gun Shot

John YATES No TWP Given 11-??-1883 Hit By Train

John HILL No TWP Given 08-18-1883 Gun Shot

William HERMAN Salem 05-01-1884 Asphyxia

Magdaline BROCKNER NO TWP 04-??-1885 No Cause Given

Death of Samuel WILLIAMS

(Reports located at Ball State University Archives)

Inquest held over the body of one Samuel WILLIAMS who was found Dead upon the rail road track on the 18th of November 1859 Near Kilgore Station on the Indianapolis Pittsburg & Cleveland Rail Road and supposed to have come to his death by Violence of Casualty.

Joseph ATKINSON appeared and was sworn and testified as follows: I found the deceased on Friday morning about 8 o'clock or perhaps a bit before 8- lying upon the rail road track of the Indianapolis Pittsburgh & Cleveland Rail Road near the near the Kilgore Station in Mt. Pleasant TWP in Delaware County, IN. Deceased was badly mangled and torn to pieces when I found him I found the place where the cars had first struck deceased, and had been dragged some twenty yards from that place. I suppose from all the circumstances he had been killed by the cars I proceeded to gather the parts of the body as well as I could together and put it on board of one of the flat cars and took it to Chesterfield. My occupation is that of an Engineer on the Wood Train on the Indianapolis Pittsburg & Cleveland Rail Road.

David KEEN was sworn and testified as follows: the defendant deceased and myself were together at Yorktown on Thursday afternoon. It was a little after dusk when I saw him last, in company with one of Mr. BENNETT's girls, going west on the rail road track; I thought him some what intoxicated, but not as much so as I had seen him before. He was about one fourth of a mile west of the depot at Yorktown, when I saw him last, he said he was going to Mr. BENNETT's.

Milton HARDWICK was sworn and testified as follows: On Thursday evening I was on the Rail Road going west, and about one half mile west of Yorktown, I found the deceased, Samuel WILLIAMS, near the Brannen Crossing, west of Yorktown. He was a little to one side of the Rail Road. He was in the act of trying to get upon his feet. I suppose he would have got upon his feet without thought, I took hold of his hand and assisted him in getting up. He stated to me that he had been taking a little whiskey and was pretty drunk. He staggered around considerably and fell down once. I would help him up the second time but he would not let me and he got up himself. He stated that he would not go to Mr. BENNETT's, he had started to go there and intended to go. I took him by the hand and we started down the road west toward Mr. BENNETT's. I went with him a half mile or more. I had hold of him and a part of the time, he went without my help. Before I left him, we met a train of cars running east. He was not disposed to get off the track. I took hold of him and took him off the track and held him till the train had passed. When we parted I told him he had better be careful of the cars or they would hurt him. He told me would be careful. I told him to hurry on then and get off the road where he was going to before the train came. He said he would do so, but said if the train did kill him, he could not die in a better way or a better time. I don't remember which he spoke in a joke as I thought at the time. I thought he was getting sober enough to keep out of danger. As we were going along, he pulled out some silver money and shook it in his hand, looked to me to be half dollars, looked as though there might have been some five or six pieces. I watched him some hundred yards. He seemed to be getting along very well...... I heard him hollow some two or three times after I left. He seemed as though he did not care about getting out of the way of the cars.

Barbery BENNETT was sworn and testified as follows: I saw him on Thursday evening. The last I saw of him was west of Yorktown some half mile at the Brannen Crossing. When I saw him last he was lying down. He had fallen down. I thought he felt his liquor right smart. I went with him from Mr. SWIFT's in Yorktown down to the first Crossing. I don't think he had any liquor with him but I saw him drink near the Crossing at the saw mill west of Town. Mr. KEER's had the liquor. He took a pretty smart drink, I thought. I took the deceased off the track near the Crossing spoke of above and I left him lying off the track. I heard the train coming before I took him off.

Benjamin PARKS being sworn says: Samuel WILLIAMS, the deceased, told me they he had a watch in the possession of a Mr. ELLIOTT, a Silver Smith in Muncie. I would suppose the watch worth eight dollars. I have seen the watch repeatedly. He has some clothing at my house, some two or three pair of pants, one shirt, one or two old vests, and one old coat.

We the Jurors sworn to inquire into the manner and cause of the death of Samuel WILLIAMS have had the matter under Consideration and after hearing the testimony in the case have returned the following verdict: that the said deceased came to his death by being run over by the rail road cars being in a state of intoxication. The said deceased was about twenty two or three years of age, about five feet eleven inches high rather of a fair complexion, the amount of found upon his person was four dollars and fifty five cents. His personal property consisted of one watch in the hands of George ELLIOTT, valued at some Eight Dollars and some clothing of the value of two dollars or there about.

November 19th 1859