Individual Details

A Horrible death.
A little son of Anthony [Anton] Jenkins Meets death in the flames of a burning stable. One of the saddest affairs in the history of Gothenburg occurred today. A few minutes after eleven o'clock the cry of fire was heard and men and women dropped their work and hastened to the scene of the fire, which proved to be Anton Jenkins' barn. Had it been the stable alone it would have been a fire of but little importance but there was a child in the devouring flames. The three year old boy of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Jenkins was in the midst of the fire, and stout hearts quailed as the fact became known. The agonizing shrieks of the distracted mother, who knew her child was in the burning building brought the tears to the eyes of more than one stout man. There were willing hands, but the intense heat thrown out by the burning hay made it impossible for anyone to approach the burning mass.

Attention was then turned to saving the residence and by hard work this was done. As soon as the fire had subsided sufficiently water was thrown onto the burning hay and a search was made for the body. Only a few minutes work was necessary to find the chared remains of the child. The feet and hands were burned off and the face badly disfigured, only the chin and mouth being recognizable--which made it evident that death from suffocation resulted before the cruel flames reached the imprisoned boy. the fire was supposed to have been started by the children, who secured matches some source, and were playing in the stable. The value of the barn was probably $300 to $400. There were other children playing in the stable but they fortunately escaped, and, as they were all small, it is difficult to learn from them anything definite as to the fire's origin.

Never before has anything happened in our village that brought forth more universal and heartfelt sympathy than today's terrible accident, but kind words can do little to heal the deep grief of the bereaved parents. In one short hour a happy home has been changed to a scene of mourning, under circumstances so heartrendering that it is no wonder the mind turns instinctively to the quotation: "We know not what a day may bring forth.

The body of the unfortunate child will probably be quietly enterred this afternoon and funeral services held at a later date, as it is not deemed best to permit the mother to view the remains.
Gothenburg Independent, Wednesday July 2, 1896, Page 8, Col. 3. Grand View Cemetery Gothenburg Nebraska. Book, Compiled by Patricia A. Flatten, May 2003; Updated by Harold E. Clark, June 2012.