Nansemond County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries......Brothers, Hattie A., 1899 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ SUFFOLK'S BUDGET One Girl Killed and Another Desperately Wounded. While a Brother Was picking a Tube of a Gun It Exploded With Frightful Effect - Tuesday Afternoon Club. (Special to Virginian-Pilot.) Suffolk, Va., Feb. 7. - The peaceful home of Mr. William H. Brothers was this afternoon transformed into a fearful scene of blood, agony and death. As a result one daughter is dead, another has a missing leg and is in a dangerous condition, and a son is almost mad with grief and remorse. He threatens to kill himself and join his pretty little sister in heaven. Eighteen-year-old Lyman Brothers saw plenty of robins nearby and he wanted to shoot them. He got down an old gun and took it into the dining room to prime. As he was poking a pin into the tube the friction ignited the powder and there was a terrific explosion. Lyman's two sisters, Hattie, aged 13, and Willie, aged 21, rolled over, groaning and bleeding. Miss Hattie died in a few minutes; Miss Willie's knee was so badly hurt the limb had to be taken off. THE DEADLY GUN. Lyman sat near the dinner table intently fixing his gun. Willie was sitting down and Hattie's head was resting on her knees. The big charge of No. 6 shot tore through the back of Hattie's head, a little on the right side. The neck was broken, the skull crushed and several big arteries cut. A mass of pretty silken hair, clotted with blood, and a yawning ragged wound marks the place where the cruel shot did their deadly work. The charge of lead crashed through the knee of Miss Willie and the pain caused her to fall. The bone, flesh and muscles were all torn away where the shot struck. Both girls bled profusely and pools of blood soon warmed the floor beneath them. THE RUN FOR A SURGEON. Lyman was dazed for an instant at the awful work of his gun. He soon realized the need of a surgeon. Barehead, excited and almost frantic with remorse Lyman made a rush for Suffolk. He went to the office of Dr. R.E. Parker and incoherently told him something had happened. He was too breathless to tell much about it. Dr. Parker summoned a carriage and hurried to the scene. Hattie was dead. Willie was in much pain. Dr. Parker saw an amputation would have to be done. He sent to town for Dr. J.M. Gibson, who responded promptly. They made a good job with the maimed limb. Willie is painfully hurt and will be ill a long time, but the injuries are not necessarily fatal. She was made as comfortable as possible. The remains of Miss Hattie will be buried to-morrow. The family belongs to the Christian Church. Some fears are held for the bodily safety of Lyman, the boy who is responsible for the death of one sister and departure of another's limb. He threatened to kill himself and had to be restrained, so great was his grief. Lyman is a good boy. will liked, industrious and honest. He has the community's sympathy. The dead girl and her sister are sisters of Mrs. William T. Jones, of Cypress Chapel, and cousins of Assistant Postmaster Beverly Brothers. There were several children on the place when the fatal shot was fired. Mrs. W.T. Jones' children were there - some of them - and they wanted to see some robins killed. The gun that did the work was a double-barrel gun, a muzzle loader. In some respects this is one of the saddest events of a decade. The dead girl's father was once beaten, had an arm severed, was robbed and left for dead. He recovered and still lives. The men who assaulted him were hanged. They were Jim and Harvey. Mr. Brothers had $800 in cash, but it was not found. That happened in 1858 [sic; 1857*]. [...] ****************************************************************************** SUFFOLK. Special to The Landmark. Suffolk, Va., February 9. - The funeral of Miss Hattie Brothers took place at the Suffolk Christian Church this morning at 11:30 o'clock. A very large concourse of people attended the sad and solemn service, which was one of the most affecting that has been witnessed in suffolk for many a day. Rev. W.W. Staley, D.D., the pastor, was assisted in the services by Revs. H.H. Butler, of the Christian Church, W.T. of the Main Street M.E. Church, and J.F. Love, of the Baptist Church. The burial was in Cedar Hill Cemetery, and the body of the unfortunate young lady was laid to rest beside the remains of her mother. The following young gentlemen were the pall-bearers for the occasion: Messrs. Willie Beamon, Herbert Holland, Charley Cramer, Lewis Brothers, Joseph Holladay and Eugene Brinkley. [...] ****************************************************************************** KILLED SISTER BY ACCIDENT. - Lyman Brothers, eighteen years old, of Nansemond county, yesterday afternoon started to kill robins and ended by shooting his two sisters. Hattie Brothers, aged thirteen, is dead, and Willie, twenty-one years old, had her right leg shot away. Willie may recover. When the accident happened Lyman was in the dining room priming the tube of an old gun. It was a double-barrel muzzle loader. Friction ignited the powder and the charge of No. 6 shot passed through Willie's leg and Hattie's head, which was resting on her sister's knee. Lyman was frantic and temporarily mad. He had to be restrained to prevent suicide. Hattie A. BROTHERS, daughter of William Riddick & Martha Sarah (BRINKLEY) BROTHERS, b. 3 Jul 1885, Suffolk, accidentally shot d. 7 Feb 1899, at home, Suffolk, interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery (Block E, Lot 46*), Suffolk, 9 Feb 1899, "Virginian-Pilot" (Norfolk, VA), Vol. 2, No. 110, Wed., Feb. 8, 1899, p. 7; "Norfolk (VA) Landmark," Vol. 48, No. 31, Fri., Feb. 10, 1899, p. 6, clipping posted with Hattie's Find a Grave Memorial #84690924, by Martha Fontaine Byrum; donated news item, publication unknown, clipping posted with Lyman's Find a Grave Memorial #84692587, by Brooks Joy *Additional information: Cedar Hill list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_a.txt A photo of her gravestone - added by Hixburg23958 - is also posted with Find a Grave Memorial #84690924, which lists the family in Block D, Lot 82. Willie (1871 - 1929) & Lyman (1879 - 1946) are also buried there. Articles "[Richmond] Daily Dispatch," Oct. 16, 1857, p. 1, &c.) on the assault on their father are posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/newspapers/18571016dd.txt Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by File Manager Matt Harris (zoobug64@aol.com). file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/b636h3ob.txt