DOUBLE TRAGEDY
Two Brothers Are Smothered To Death By Gas In An Old Mine at Silver Run
They Go To a Store and Stop In The Mouth Of The Mine To Cool And Are Found Side By Side
An unusual tragedy happened near the mouth of Silver Run in the extreme lower end of Meigs County on Tuesday forenoon of this week. Forest Ralph, aged 13 and Lawrence Ralph, aged 11, sons of Mr. & Mrs. Blaine Ralph, were sent to the Long Grocery Company to get a sack of middlings. The Ralphs live quite a distance back from the river and the boys no doubt got quite warm in making the trip. At the store they were unable to get the middlings and started back with the empty bag. On the way they passed the mouth of an abandoned coal mine which has not been operated for some 15 years and was last operated by the Carl family. Some time in the forenoon Elliott Rothgeb, a farmer and a neighbor, was passing from one field to another and noticed a bag at the mouth of the mine. He stopped to investigate and found the two boys lying side by side a few feet in from the mouth of the mine dead.
An alarm was raised and a doctor hurried to the scene, but neither of the boys could be revived. There was a small amount of coal in the sack and the supposition is that the boys had gathered up a few loose pieces from about the opening of the mine and being hot and tired went into the mine to cool off and were overcome by gas, which was drawn out from the workings back in the hill by an outward suction of the air.
The funeral will be held from the old Kyger Church Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock. The bodies will be buried in separate graves in the Gravel Hill cemetery at Cheshire.
Three other children are left in the family, a girl of sixteen, a boy of six and a baby one and a half years old. The boy of six in the habit of going everywhere with his older brothers, but on this occasion he was not permitted to go for the reason that there is whooping cough in the neighborhood.
[OBITUARY]
Forest and Lawrence Ralph, oldest sons of Blaine and Edith Hix Ralph, departed this life June 18, 1918. Forest was aged 13 years, 1 month and 10 days of age and Lawrence was aged 11 years, 26 days, It was an unexpected wave of sorrow that swept over the community when the sad tidings came that the spirits of Forest and Lawrence had gone to the God that gave them, but it was God's will that the Flowers loaned for awhile should be gathered to him.
They leave to mourn, Papa and Mama, 2 sisters, Gladys and Lucille and 1 brother, Kenneth and grandfather and host of relatives and friends. Forest and Lawrence will be sadly missed in their home and Sunday School to which they were faithful attendants, although we can't understand why we should have this great loss, but God tenderly blinds our eyes and the light will come bye and bye.
Two little Angels on high
They hand in hand together roam
Two links now bind us to the sky
Two fingers beckon us to come.
Lord give us strength our loss to bear
And lead us in the heavenly way,
Oh, may we meet our children there
In realms of everlasting day.
Funeral services were held at First Kyger F.W. Baptist Church at 2 p.m., conducted by Rev. Reed.
Pallbearers were their Sunday School classes. For Forest they were Raymond Rife, Raymond Grover, Dale Scott, Vaughn Scott, Alex Shuler and Arthur Thomas. for Lawrence; Dana Story, Dale Mulford, Willie Swisher, Bennie Jenkins, Emmett Shuler, Marlin Rife. Laid at rest side by side in Gravel Hill Cemetery by Undertaker Demain.
Gallipolis Papers
June, 1918.
Transcribed by F.K. Brown
DOUBLE TRAGEDY
Two Brothers Are Smothered To Death By Gas In An Old Mine at Silver Run
They Go To a Store and Stop In The Mouth Of The Mine To Cool And Are Found Side By Side
An unusual tragedy happened near the mouth of Silver Run in the extreme lower end of Meigs County on Tuesday forenoon of this week. Forest Ralph, aged 13 and Lawrence Ralph, aged 11, sons of Mr. & Mrs. Blaine Ralph, were sent to the Long Grocery Company to get a sack of middlings. The Ralphs live quite a distance back from the river and the boys no doubt got quite warm in making the trip. At the store they were unable to get the middlings and started back with the empty bag. On the way they passed the mouth of an abandoned coal mine which has not been operated for some 15 years and was last operated by the Carl family. Some time in the forenoon Elliott Rothgeb, a farmer and a neighbor, was passing from one field to another and noticed a bag at the mouth of the mine. He stopped to investigate and found the two boys lying side by side a few feet in from the mouth of the mine dead.
An alarm was raised and a doctor hurried to the scene, but neither of the boys could be revived. There was a small amount of coal in the sack and the supposition is that the boys had gathered up a few loose pieces from about the opening of the mine and being hot and tired went into the mine to cool off and were overcome by gas, which was drawn out from the workings back in the hill by an outward suction of the air.
The funeral will be held from the old Kyger Church Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock. The bodies will be buried in separate graves in the Gravel Hill cemetery at Cheshire.
Three other children are left in the family, a girl of sixteen, a boy of six and a baby one and a half years old. The boy of six in the habit of going everywhere with his older brothers, but on this occasion he was not permitted to go for the reason that there is whooping cough in the neighborhood.
[OBITUARY]
Forest and Lawrence Ralph, oldest sons of Blaine and Edith Hix Ralph, departed this life June 18, 1918. Forest was aged 13 years, 1 month and 10 days of age and Lawrence was aged 11 years, 26 days, It was an unexpected wave of sorrow that swept over the community when the sad tidings came that the spirits of Forest and Lawrence had gone to the God that gave them, but it was God's will that the Flowers loaned for awhile should be gathered to him.
They leave to mourn, Papa and Mama, 2 sisters, Gladys and Lucille and 1 brother, Kenneth and grandfather and host of relatives and friends. Forest and Lawrence will be sadly missed in their home and Sunday School to which they were faithful attendants, although we can't understand why we should have this great loss, but God tenderly blinds our eyes and the light will come bye and bye.
Two little Angels on high
They hand in hand together roam
Two links now bind us to the sky
Two fingers beckon us to come.
Lord give us strength our loss to bear
And lead us in the heavenly way,
Oh, may we meet our children there
In realms of everlasting day.
Funeral services were held at First Kyger F.W. Baptist Church at 2 p.m., conducted by Rev. Reed.
Pallbearers were their Sunday School classes. For Forest they were Raymond Rife, Raymond Grover, Dale Scott, Vaughn Scott, Alex Shuler and Arthur Thomas. for Lawrence; Dana Story, Dale Mulford, Willie Swisher, Bennie Jenkins, Emmett Shuler, Marlin Rife. Laid at rest side by side in Gravel Hill Cemetery by Undertaker Demain.
Gallipolis Papers
June, 1918.
Transcribed by F.K. Brown
Inscription
FORREST RALPH
1905 - 1918
Gravesite Details
5C
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
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