Wednesday, May 22, 2013

A FATAL FALL


My 2nd great grandfather Pawel "Paul" Szukalski died at the age of 63 after suffering a fall over an embankment on 11 Mar 1900.   Paul and his wife Constance (Budzbanowski) were on their way home from church at St. Casimer's and were on a bridge that goes over Pine Creek. They were in a cutter (which is I guess some sort of sleigh) that was pulled by horses.  There was no snow on the ground which understandably made it harder for the horses to pull the cutter with the Szukalski s   The bridge had no rails and for some reason the horses went over the embankment into the 20 feet ravine.

Paul Szukalski broke his neck as a result of the fall. Constance was unhurt in the accident, as were the horses.  Paul was taken to a neighboring farm house and a doctor was summoned.  According to the Manitowoc Daily Herald (March 12, 1900 edition), "A doctor ... did all in his power to alleviate the sufferings of the patient; but the spark of life soon left the body and the uncertainty of human existence had again been sadly and forcibly illustrated".

The newspaper also said that Paul Szukalski was "one of the most prosperous farmers of the community and enjoyed a wide acquaintance in the county.  He had many friends in the city to whom the news of his death will come as a shock."  I am sure that it was heartbreaking for his wife Constance and their 7 children.

2 comments:

  1. Hi! I think we have some history in common. By any chance would there be relation to Marion Szukalski and or the Szukalski Bro’s?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi! I think we have some history in common. By any chance would there be relation to Marion Szukalski and or the Szukalski Bro’s?

    ReplyDelete