George F. Leonard died August 16, 1911

Mrs. W. J. Cook received a paper from Lawrence, Kansas, Monday, which contains the sad news of the death of George F. Leonard, whose wife was formerly Miss Maud Harriman, of this city. He was starting for a picnic and was being taken across the Kaw river by a young man in a motor boat. They had a row boat in tow and it got away from them and they didn’t catch it until they were near the spillway of a big mill dam, when, for some unaccountable reason, the motor in the boat refused to work and all went over the dam together. Mr. Leonard and the young man swam for a ways after they came up but were unable to reach the shore, going down never to come up again alive. The bodies were found after midnight that night by dragging the river bed. Besides the widow he leaves two children, a daughter, Lucile, aged about 22 and a son, Harriman, aged about 17.

#2 Printed in the August 23, 1911 Tribune Blair, Nebraska

G. L. Leonard Dead

Former Blair Resident Loses Life by Drowning in Kansas

The following article is taken from the Lawrence (Kansas) Journal of August 17 will be read with regret by many of Blair’s people as Mrs. Leonard was formerly Maud Harriman of this city, where she grew to womanhood and where she was married about twenty-three years ago to Mr. Leonard and at the time of this event Postmaster and Mrs. Cook were their attendants during the ceremony. This was prior to the marriage of Mr. Cook. Mrs. Leonard is the eldest daughter of Frank Harriman, former treasurer and sheriff of this county, and the family has many dear friends yet today who sympathize with the bereaved wife:

The bodies of George F. Leonard and Clyde Van Gosen, who lost their lives in the Kaw river here yesterday, were recovered late last night and the identity of the victims of the tragedy is now certain. There was little doubt shortly after the accident that these were the two men who were in the launch when it was swept over the dam.

“The body of the Van Gosen boy was the first recovered and was taken out by George Armstrong and George Weyermuller about 9:30 o’clock last night nearly eight hours after the accident. The body of Mr. Leonard was found a short time afterward only about ten feet from the shore near the point where he had last been seen. They were caught with grab hooks with which fishermen and others had been dragging the river all afternoon and evening. Both were in good condition, although their clothing was somewhat torn and there are a few small wounds on the bodies where they had come in contact with something under the water.

“The double tragedy is one of the saddest that has occurred here for some time. Both of the men had spent years on the river and were accustomed to the water, being expert swimmers and boatmen and it seem strange that they were unable to save themselves, but the river is high and they were probably swept over the dam before they were aware of their perilous condition.

D. B. Hannicat, the bridge watchman, saw the accident and gives the following account it:

“The first I saw of it was the loose boat floating down the river with the two men in the launch in pursuit of it. They overtook the other boat a little ways about the dame and had the chain fastened to the boat in which they were riding. The Van Gosen boy caught the boat and then Mr. Leonard, who was in the rear of the boat, started to reverse the engine and it went dead on him. The boy started toward the engine, but neither of the occupants seemed to realize how near to the end of the dam they were or how dangerous was their position. The engine would not start and yet neither of the men showed a disposition to jump and save themselves, but stayed in the boat and were swept over the dam. The boat went straight over, struck the water below with its bow, plunged straight down and turned over. An instant later the boat reappeared at the surface all broken to pieces and a wreck. The two men, whom I did not recognize, remained in the boat until it struck the water below when they were hurled forward and plunged beneath. They were out of sight at least two minutes before I saw Mr. Leonard come to the surface just opposite the wheel house. He was swimming and I felt sure that he would be able to save himself. He appeared strong and was making good progress when he sank again. The boy appeared a little later and he, too, was swimming for the shore, but evidently he was exhausted and could not make it, for a moment later he sank again. When I saw them come up I was certain that they could reach the shore as they were not far out having gone over the dam close to the south side, but I suppose that they were out of breath or perhaps stunned in the fall over the dam.”

The report that two men who were not known had been drowned at the river caused considerable excitement and wild rumors in town. No one had seen the accident who was able to name the men in the boat. ‘Dolly’ Graeber was one of the first to arrive at the river after the accident and on seeing the wreckage of the boat said that it was his large white launch and that if it was the occupants were Van Gosen and Leonard. The boy had been employed by Mr. Graeber and was in charge of the launch and Mr. Graeber said that he had seen Leonard running to catch the boy with the boss only a short while before.

An effort was then made to find where Mr. Leonard was in order to verify or disprove the statement. It was found that he had left his home about 1 o’clock and that he was intending to go up to the picnic at Cady’s Grove and that he was going in a launch. People who had been at the Grove returned and said that he had not been seen there yesterday. Mr. Graeber secured a description of the two men from those who had seen the accident and it accorded with these two men. The circumstances gradually pointed to the fact that these were the unfortunate men and by evening there was apparently no doubt of it.

Fishermen and others with boats and grab hooks soon took up the work of rescuing the bodies but they met with no success. May S. D. Bishop appeared on the scene and urged the men not to give up, helping them all he could and soon had several men at work. A large trammel net was secured but he men were unable to do much with it and went back to the grab hooks. They worked all afternoon and late into the night before they were able to find either of the bodies.

George F. Leonard has been a resident of Lawrence for many years, being engaged in the insurance business at the time of his death. He was formerly a cigar manufacturer here and is well known by Lawrence people. His family has always lived here, and they have the sympathy of the entire town. Mr. Leonard was born in Baldwin, Kansas, June 9, 1859, and had spent the greater part of his life in Lawrence. He is survived by a wife and two children, Miss Lucile Leonard and Harriman A. Leonard.

His son Harriman had just returned from the militia encampment at Fort Riley and had not seen his father since his return. The family is stricken with grief of the tragic death of husband and father. Mr. Leonard was a great family man and took great interest in his children and his home and his sudden death is a most lamentable one.

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

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