Heinrich "Henry" Fromm

Cal 1858 - 1878  (~ 20 years)

• Name	Heinrich "Henry" Fromm
  Born	CALC 10 Jan 1858	, Germany   [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1871	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Lutheran
  Misfortune	1878
  	killed in accident
  Name	Henry Fromm
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-138942
  Died	30 Sep 1878	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2, 3, 4]
  	Cause: suffocated by the caving in of a sandpit
  Buried	Saint Peter's Lutheran Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Person ID	I138942	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Carl Fromm,   b. CALC 27 Dec 1827, , Germany ,   d. 30 Sep 1878, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 50 years)
  Mother	Wilhelmina,   b. 1825, , Germany ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F33954	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  DEATH IN A PIT: TWO MEN BURIED ALIVE AND SMOTHERED TO DEATH - HEARTBREAKING SCENE. At about a quarter to twelve o'clock this (Monday) fore-noon, a report came to town that Carl Fromm and his son Henry had been buried twenty feet underground. As a matter of course there was a rush of the people of the Town to the place of the accident - about a quarter of a mile behind the Grand Trunk Station. It took over two hours of hard work before the men were got out and both were dead. Perhaps the best way to describe the sad event is to take the information received from George Helm, a young man who was helping. Mr. Fromm, Senior, was the owner of a piece of ground, near the Waterloo Branch of the Railway on which is a marsh covering about half an acre - he conceived the idea of draining this piece of waste land by digging through an embankment about 100 feet across, at the middle of which the depth would be about 25 feet, and sloping at both ends. The greater part of the work was done, as they finished it in sections, by putting in a wooden tile and then covering it up. They got more than half through when the accident happened. This morning they engaged young Helm to help them, and at the time of the accident he was right between the other two. The ditch was boarded up at the sides, but that did not seem to be sufficient. They all saw that it was dangerous to stay any longer, and decided to get out and put in another piece of tile. But just that instant the side caved in. They all three jumped and struggled to keep above the falling sand, but Helm was the only one that succeeded. He happened to catch hold of a plank and thus helped himself somewhat. He was covered right up to the shoulders, but worked himself out. The others were covered entirely. As soon as Helm got out he called for help, which a man nearby heard. He commenced to dig the others out, and succeeded in uncovering both of them down below the shoulders. Henry kept shrieking "for God's sake help me out!" But they were so fastened in that they could not get out, when another fall of earth took place and they were again totally covered up. He was then exhausted and could do no more, but other help arrived, and with great exertions on the part of many of our citizens, they were again reached and their heads uncovered. Dr. Wright examined them and found they were both dead. But they were wedged in that it still took a considerable time to get them out. At last, however, at about half-past 2 o'clock, they were got out, and as already stated were corpses. The scenes presented by the members of the family, when they saw their dead brought out, can better be imagined than described. The old man was about 50 and Henry about 20. Both were highly respected by all who knew them. Henry had for some time been a clerk with Mr. Moffat, and lately with Mr. C.E. Moyer. The father had for many years been in the employ of Mr. Breithaupt. We presume Dr. Wright will hold an inquest. BERLIN DAILY NEWS SEPTEMBER 30th, 1878

  
  

• Sources

  [S229] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1871, Div. 1, Pg. 62. [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 3 Oct 1878. Died 30 Sep 1878 Heinrich Fromm died in Berlin at the age of 20 years, 8 months and 20 days [S116] Vit - ON - Death Registration. Name:Henry Fromm Gender:Male Age:20 Birth Date:abt 1858 Birth Place:Germany Death Date:30 Sep 1878 Death Place:Berlin, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Religion:Lutheran Cause of Death:Accident, suffocated by the caving in of a sandpit [S499] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - St. Peters Lutheran CC#4509 Internet Link . [Stone eroded] [West] [Carl Fromm] ? Juin/ Ges. ? 1878/ (Alt.)/ 51 ?/ Erected By Their Friends [North] Hier Ruhet/ In Frieden/ Hederich [Heinrich] Fromm/ Gest. 30 Sept. 1878/ Alt./ 20 Jah. 8 Mo. 20 Ta.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - CALC 10 Jan 1858 - , Germany Residence - Lutheran - 1871 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - Cause: suffocated by the caving in of a sandpit - 30 Sep 1878 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Saint Peter's Lutheran Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth