Camden County GaArchives News.....3 Kingsland Men Die By Boiler Explosion February 7, 1919 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Tara Fields tutcher@gmail.com April 28, 2008, 11:11 pm Southeast Georgian February 7, 1919 Southeast Georgian Camden County, Georgia Friday, February 7, 1919 3 Kingsland Men Die By Boiler Explosion The town of Kingsland was overwhelmed with sorrow Monday morning by a terrible accident which brought instant death to three well known citizens, heads of families all of them. The boiler at the Simpson saw mill exploded and killed R. J. Brown, the lessee of the mill, his brother J. W. Brown, the engineer, and Donald T. Peeples, a neighboring farmer. R. T. Peeples, the sawyer was knocked down by the concussion but was not much hurt. E. Rholerson was slightly hurt by flying scantling, striking his arm and legs. Mr. Willie Mills was more severely hurt. It was about nine o'clock when the explosion occurred and it was so violent that it showered bricks over the town to an area of a block or two. The mill shed was completely demolished and the boiler, split in two parts, was hurled so high in the air that it swept away the telegraph wires in its passage and fell on the other side of the rail road, nearly striking Edward's colored peoples hotel. It was hurled a distance of ninety yards and spread out almost flat where it fell within 15 feet of the hotel. Col. McElreath1 relates that a falling brick passed within two feet of his baby boy in his yard. The windows on the second floor of the bank building2 were broken. An old colored woman who was walking the railroad track directly by the saw mill at the time was not touched by the shower of debris falling around her. It is reported that the power was shut down at the time and D. T. Peeples was helping J. W. Brown adjust something about the boiler. Both men were badly mangled. R. J. Brown had been standing outside of the mill but advanced three steps into the mill when the explosion occurred. His body was intact when found. He leaves a wife and several children and their residence is in Slidell, La. Mr. J. W. Brown leaves a wife and seven children, the eldest a youth. Mr. D. T. Peeples leaves a wife and a large family of children, most of them grown and married. The three bodies were coffined and lay in the Baptist church over night. At Tuesday noon they were placed on Bailey's auto truck. Twenty-five cars and several buggies were in the cortège that moved first to Catfish cemetery3, where Mr. Peeples was buried. Then proceeded to Clark's Bluff4 cemetery where the two Brown's were buried. Rev's W. C. Floyd and U. B. Lewis conducted the funeral services at the graves. Additional Comments: Transcribed by Tara D. Fields Woodbine, GA April 28, 2008 tutcher@gmail.com http://www.camdencounty.org File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/camden/newspapers/3kingsla169nnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/gafiles/ File size: 3.2 Kb