Obituary Record

George K. Kephart
Died on 2/28/1914
Buried in Blair Cemetery

#1 Pilot 4 Mar 1914

George Kephart

George Kephart was instantly killed by freight train No. 18, just below DeSoto station, last Saturday afternoon at about 2:30, while walking towards this city with his brother, Elmer. Elmer heard the engine whistle and jumped off the track, but his brother didn’t hear it. He tried to pull him off but it was too late, the engine struck him and knocked his mangled body almost 75 feet. The engineer didn’t slow up for he saw the one man get off and thought they both would. When he saw what had happened he stopped and the crew picked up the lifeless form and brought it to this city where it was turned over to Coroner Pierce. An inquest was held Monday morning and the verdict exonerated the train crew from any blame. The unfortunate young man was 22 years of age, and the two brothers were on their way to the country in search of work, being farm hands. Their home is in Harrisonville, Mo. The mother is dead and the father even refused to pay the price of a collect message notifying him of the death of his son. Under the circumstances enough money was rained to buy a quarter of a lot in the Blair cemetery and burial was made here. The train crew asked that their witness fees be turned over to help give the body a decent burial, and the jurymen will turn their fees in also. The older brother, Elmer, went to work for Hugo Haack.

#2 Blair Democrat 5 Mar 1914

KILLED BY FREIGHT TRAIN

George Kephart, who hailed from Missouri and was about 22 years old, was instantly killed last Saturday afternoon by being struck by a freight train on the M. & O. road a short distance below DeSoto.

George and his brother Elmer were coming north in search of work and had followed the track facing a very heavy wind, which prevented their hearing the approach of the train coming from behind them or the engine’s whistling until it was within about ten feet of them. Elmer jumped in time to escape injury, but George was hurled from the track and when picked up was dead and nearly every bone in his body found to be broken.

The train was stopped and the remains brought to Blair, where they were turned over to Coroner Pierce. An inquest was held Monday morning at which the train crews were in attendance and the jurymen as follows: H.L. Struve, C.G. Willliams, O.B. Carter, H.G. Raver, Jas. Maher and John Aye. After listening to the evidence the jury brought in a verdict of accidental death and exonerated the trainmen from blame.

Coroner Pierce telegraphed the boy’s father at Harrisonville, Mo., Saturday. The telegram came back with instructions that the old gentleman had refused to pay for it and consequently it was not delivered. The brother sent word to an uncle living at Winterset, Iowa, asking for money enough to ship the remains home for burial, but up to Tuesday nothing had been heard from him.

It is understood that Elmer will now try to make arrangements for his brother’s burial at this place, Sheriff Compton standing good for a quarter of a lot in the cemetery, and a number of Blair men donating for other expenses. Elmer has secured a job as a farm hand near Blair and feels too proud to have his brother laid to rest in the potter’s field and is doing everything possible to prevent it.

#3 Printed in the Wed., March 11, 1914 Tribune, p. 3

A pathetic incident in the lives of men is furnished in the case of the Kephart brothers, one of whom was killed by a moving train near Blair a couple of weeks ago. Their mother died when Elmer, the surviving brother, was thirteen years old and the younger brother, George, was three. Their father let them out to different parties to take care of and they drifted apart, and only last New Years learned of each other’s whereabouts, and met at Manning, Iowa, and decided to travel together in the future, but their plans were rent asunder by the untimely death of the younger brother. The claim agent of the M. & O. road was in Blair and promised Mr. Kephart that the company would furnish him with enough money to pay the funeral expenses and to take care of his immediate needs

Blair “Find A Grave” lists his birth date as: 12-12-1891 death date: 2-28-1914

~~~ Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

Find A Grave #115892101

Printed in the Blair Pilot on 3/4/1914


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