A very sad accident occurred at the Will Maher home about two and one half miles north of Blair last Sunday afternoon between 12 and 1 o’clock. The incubator was sitting in the pantry and a pane of glass being out, the wind fanned the blaze of the lamp until it set fire to the incubator and the window sill close by. Fred Gutschow, who lives near the Mahers, was taking the flaming lamp outdoors and must have spilled some oil on the floor as he went out. It blazed up and his little daughter, Margaret, about a year and a half old must have walked over it and her clothing caught fire. When Fred came back he saw her and tore her clothing off as soon as possible, but her face and hands were already badly burned. Dr. Murdock was called and did what he could, but the shock was too much for the little sufferer and death resulted at about 6 o’clock Monday morning. Mrs. Gutshow, in company with Mrs. Will Maher, had gone to Huron, Indiana just a few days before hoping the trip would benefit her health, which has been very poor for some time. They returned yesterday afternoon upon receipt of the sad news, and the funeral was held at 10:30 this morning, Rev. Conley officiating.

#2-7 Apr., 1909 - The Tribune - Margaret C. Gutschow

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gutschow are mourning the loss of a baby as the result of an accident at their home on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Gutschow had been operating an incubator in the pantry, and in some manner the machine caught fire. In attempting to carry the machine outdoors, Mr. Gutschow had to pass the little tot who was playing about the floor. In an instant the baby’s clothing was a mass of flames, and before ready hands could tear the clothes from the child’s body, the little one was burned to a crisp. Dr. Murdoch was summoned, but the child died in a few hours after the accident. Mrs. Gutschow, who is visiting relatives in Indiana and has been an invalid for the past two years, was notified of the death of her 18 months old baby, and it is feared that its tragic fate will have a serious effect on her. The entire county deeply sympathize with the family in its bereavement.

#3-Published in the Blair Democrat April 8, 1909

Margaret C. Gutschow

Child Fatally Burned

The infant child of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gutschow, living a few miles north of Blair on the river bottoms, was fatally burned last Sunday and only lived through the night.

Mr. Gutschow had been operating an incubator in the pantry at his home and the wind coming in through a window fanned the blaze against the frame of the machine, setting fire to it. As soon as its condition was discovered it was carried outdoors for fear the lamp would explode. In going out with the burning machine it was taken past the year-and-a-half old baby sitting on the floor, and set fire to its clothing. The men carrying the machine didn’t notice the baby and their attention was first called to its blazing clothes by the frantic crying of one of the other little children.

By the time the burning clothes could be torn from the little thing, its face, ears, and hands were burned to a pulp, and its body burned slightly down as far as its waist band. Medical aid was summoned but the injuries proved fatal.

A fact that will make the accident harder for the parents to bear is that the little one’s mother has been visiting relative in Indiana and it was necessary to telegraph her of the unfortunate accident.

~~~Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file at the Blair Public Library.~~~

Find a Grave Memorial # 105382669