Saturday, May 14, 2016

The Tragic Deaths of Two Brothers

My 5X great-grandparents, Joseph & Miriam (Lyon) Spurr had two sons named Robert. Both of them died in tragic accidents, thirty-one years apart. Both sons were logging at the time of their deaths. My family has been involved in logging for many generations and it's a dangerous business.


Robert #1
The first son named Robert was born on May 23, 1755 and died on February 23, 1774. A newspaper extraction says that he fell under a sled loaded with wood. There is a Findagrave memorial for him in Wrentham Center Cemetery, but it doesn't have a picture of his gravestone. The History of Otisfield says that he was "killed by a loaded sled running over him." This book says that his tombstone has the following inscription:
As I did walk the road, 
Down hill a sled with me, 
The team ran very fast, 
My fall was the death of me. 
He was killed by a sled in a moment.

Robert #2
The second son named Robert was born on July 15, 1774, just a few months after his older brother of the same name was killed. The second Robert died on May 18, 1805 in Otisfield, Maine. The History of Otisfield says that he was "killed by a landing of logs rolling over him, breaking his back, at Crooked River, Otisfield." This Robert is buried in Bell Hill Cemetery in Otisfield and Findagrave has a picture of his gravestone.

Robert (2) was married on September 21, 1802 to Sarah West. She raised their son, John, alone and remarried on November 9, 1826. Her second husband was Simeon Turner. John Spurr was born on December 15, 1805, five months after his father's death.

Joseph Spurr died on June 17, 1805, about a month after losing his second son named Robert. Miriam died on November 6, 1811.

Joseph & Miriam (Lyon) Spurr
Enoch Spurr
Roxanna (Spurr) Stanley
Mary Frances (Stanley) Carter
Edward Mellen Carter
T. Richard Carter - my grandfather.

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