JONES, Harriet - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

On Thursday morning of last week the good citizens of near Steven's Station in Richland Twp were horror stricken when the news reached them that Mrs. Harriet JONES had been burned to death. It seems that after doing her morning household duties, she had decided to burn some rubbish which had accumulated in the yard and garden and had started a fire in a field south of the orchard. Her eye sight was badly impaired and it is supposed she accidently caught her clothing on fire and started for the well, which was about 100 rods (1,650 feet) from the burning brush pile. All along the pathway fragments of clothing were found which indicated that she had attempted to tear off her clothing to extinguish the flames. She reached the well, as the prints of her bleeding hands were visible on the pumphandle, but the fire had such a start that it was impossible for her to put it out. The charred body was found near the well, with scarcely any clothing on it at all. Funeral services were held Friday and the body was laid to rest in the Baptist Cemetery near Waynetown.