Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Sprague, Eugene 1899
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Marilyn Ransom mlnransom@chartermi.net May 22, 2011, 2:24 pm

The Portland Observer, Wednesday, August 30, 1899

Last week Monday Eugene Sprague, son of Otto Sprague formerly in the meat 
market business in Portland, was instantly killed at Racine, Wisconsin, by 
being run over by an electric car.  Beside Sprague, a young lady named Mabel 
Schumacher was also killed.  They were riding wheels on Main street in that 
city and were approaching each other and in order to avoid a collision both so 
turned out for each other that they went in front of the car with the above 
result.  Miss Schumacher’s father, who is a policeman on the Racine force, 
happened to be in the city hall, in front of which the accident took place, at 
the time and rushed out to pull the young lady from under the cars, not 
knowing it was his daughter until she had been extricated.

Young Sprague had gone to Racine to make balloon ascensions for Baldwin & 
Carrow, the balloonists of Collins, having made several ascensions before, 
having gone direct there from Sunfield, where he made a fine ascension 
farmer’s picnic day.  He was accompanied by a lady balloonist, who also made 
an ascension at Sunfield.

Neither of the bodies was very much mutilated and Sprague’s remains were 
shipped to Portland, arriving here Saturday, result of telegraphic 
communication between his uncles and the coroner at Racine.  They were taken 
to the home of his grandmother, Mrs. Lingo, in Danby township, where funeral 
services were conducted by Rev. Millard Sunday forenoon.  The body was in very 
bad condition by the time services were held.

The unfortunate boy’s father is in the West somewhere, having been at Bozeman, 
Montana, when last heard from, his mother residing at Owosso.  He was only 
about 18 years of age but was married and his wife gave birth to a child the 
Saturday before his death.  She did not know where he was, however, and he had 
failed for some time to provide for her, so The Observer is informed, and she 
had made complaint to Justice Bennett about the matter and was to have 
attended to it after her confinement.

Young Sprague was a dare-devil sort of fellow and had engaged in exploits like 
ballooning, rope walking and the like for some time.  With the death of young 
Thayer at Streator, Ill., Sprague is the second balloonist from Collins who 
has met a violent death within a month.



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