Obituary:
Abner Hills
of
Owego
Transcribed by: Betty Short
THE EVENING HERALD, MONDAY JULY 8, 1890
PAGE 4
KILLED BY A LUMBER PILE
ABNER HILLS FATALLY INJURED WHILE AT WORK FOR A.J. LYON
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Two Thousand Feet of Boards Crush Him Under their Weight Death Relieves His Sufferings after about Eighteen Hours No External Bruises can be Discovered.
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A shocking accident that resulted fatally after about eighteen hours occurred yesterday morning at ten o’clock in the lumber yard of A. J. Lyon at the foot of Carroll Street on South. Abner Hills, an old man, a regular employee of Mr. Lyon, was engaged in unloading lumber from a wagon upon a high pile. His back was turned toward another lofty pile which seemed to have been disturbed in some way and two tiers toppled over upon him. There were several thousand feet in the lot.
Mr. Hills was crushed to the ground and as his piteous moans for help were not loud enough to attract attention, it is probable he would have lain there for some time had not the noise of the falling lumber arrested the attention of two fellow workmen. They bent every energy to release the unfortunate man, and soon had him in the open air. He did not seem to be so badly injured but that he was able to crawl from beneath the lumber as they lifted it up. Soon after his release he told the men that he felt as if he would die from the effect of the injuries.
The ambulance was summoned at once and he was removed to his home at 118 Conklin Avenue. Dr. Andrews was called and made an examination but found no broken bones nor any external bruises, his injuries seeming to be internal. He did not rally much during the day and grew rapidly worse during the night, expiring about four o’clock this morning. Mr. Hills was about sixty years of age and leaves a wife and several children.
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THE BINGHAMTON REPUBLICAN, TUESDAY JULY 9, 1890
PAGE 6
FATALLY INJURED A WORKMAN CRUSHED BENEATH A PILE OF BOARDS
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Abner Hill, an employee of A. J. Lyon & Co., on South Street, met with an accident at 10:30 o’clock Monday morning which resulted fatally yesterday morning. He was engaged with several others in piling boards when suddenly the pile fell, a portion of the boards striking him and crushing him to the ground.
As one end of the pile rested on a wagon wheel, it was thought that he was not seriously injured. One of the workmen lifted the boards off him and when extricated, he was able to walk. Dr. Van Alstyne who had been summoned made an examination and found that no bones were broken. Hill, however, declared he was fatally injured and going home went to bed.
He gradually grew worse, suffering considerably and expired at 4:30 o’clock yesterday morning. He was a hard laboring man and leaves a wife with ten small children. Mrs. Hill is nearly distracted over her loss and does not know what to do. It is supposed that internal injuries caused his death.