Nancy H. Vest, Writer

Sharing Stories and Wisdom from Generation to Generation

  • Home
  • About Nancy
  • Growing Up Years Journal
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Marking Your Milestones

in Charles Heiser Family

The explosive accident of Toby Heiser

Share

I love doing newspaper research. Have you tried it? I was on Newspapers.com the other day doing a surname search for one of the alternate spellings of my last name Heiser. It is also spelled Hiser, Hyser, and a few other ways.

Using Hiser, I searched in Maryland newspapers from 1870-1880. I narrowed down to newspapers serving Frederick and Carroll Counties. I wasn’t expecting anything beyond the basics, so I was surprised to find this 1873 article about my great grandfather, Joseph Henry HEISER, Sr. (1861-1945).

Article from the 13 September 1873 issue of The Democratic Advocate newspaper

Toby, as he was called, was 12 years old at the time of this accident. How frightened his parents must have been. There was never a follow up article about Toby healing, but we know he did.

So how were serious burns handled in 1873?

Prior to the 1800’s, poultices and oils were the only treatments for serious burns. The survival rate was low. At the time when Toby was burned, colloidal silver was commonly used. It was applied to the burned areas, and it worked to prevent infection. Antibiotics wouldn’t be available for some decades yet.

Skin grafts had begun in 1869, but I don’t know if Toby had any skin grafts. Maggots were used to debride the burns in the 1800’s. He may have had that treatment.

Toby survived and thrived

Toby survived his burns and went on to work as a laborer and as a sawyer in a saw mill. He married and had several children. According to the 1930 census, 69-year old Toby was still working, not as a sawyer or a laborer, though. He was an elevator man at a chain plant.

The burns to Toby’s chest and arms didn’t appear to have a lifelong effect. Toby was actually fortunate and blessed to survive the burns at all. He went on after that to live a full life, passing at 83 from a stroke.

I still wonder, though, why he had gunpowder in his vest pocket.

What interesting family stories have you found in newspapers? Comment below.

Copyright ยฉ 2019 Nancy H. Vest   All Rights Reserved

Share
Click here to subscribe to my nearly weekly newsletter and receive a free e-book,ย Write Your First Life Story Today
« The Dickens Family Cemetery: FOUND
A Little Brick Wall in Vienna »

Comments

  1. Nancy says

    April 2, 2019 at 1:13 am

    One does wonder why he had gunpowder in his pocket! The accident could have been so much worse. Thank goodness it was only as bad as it was. It was interesting to read how burns were treated during that time. I didn’t realize that skin grafts began so early.

    Newspaper articles have given me a wealth of information about my ancestors and collateral relatives. Since family didn’t tell stories, it was my second search source after census records.

    Reply
    • Nancy H. Vest says

      April 2, 2019 at 7:39 pm

      I was surprised, too, about skin grafts starting so early. I usually use Newspapers.com and Chronicling America. I didn’t find Genealogy Bank to be useful for my ancestors. What newspaper websites do you use, Nancy?

      Reply
  2. Melissa Henderson says

    April 2, 2019 at 9:42 am

    You truly do find the most interesting information. Thanks for sharing. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Nancy H. Vest says

      April 2, 2019 at 7:36 pm

      Thanks, Melissa. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  3. Michael says

    April 7, 2019 at 9:14 am

    Wow! What a terrible accident, but a fascinating bit of family history tucked away in the newspaper. It really underscores the value of newspapers for genealogy research. You never know what you’ll find.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to my nearly weekly newsletter via email and receive a free e-book, Write Your First Life Story Today.

Most Used Tags

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Baltimore Carroll County Chesterfield County Christmas Civil War Columbia Cotton mill farmer Farming Fort Jackson Frederick Frederick County Ft. Jackson grandparents Keeping Grandma Alive Keepsakes Kershaw County Lexington County Marlboro County Maryland Monocacy Cemetery Montgomery County North Carolina Pennsylvania Photos Richland County South Carolina Surname: Burroughs Surname: Davis Surname: Futrell Surname: Grant Surname: Griffin Surname: Heiser Surname: Hillard Surname: Jeffords Surname: Lee Surname: Martin Surname: Price Surname: Pyles Surname: Terry Surname: Thomas Virginia World War 1 World War 2

Archives

Categories

GeneaBloggers

Share:

Share

Copyright © 2023 · Market theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 ยท Created and maintained by Bakerview Consulting