The Awful Storms of 30 July 1885 that 
Killed Thomas Ducklow
[Published April 25, 2010]

Thomas Ducklow, second son and fourth child of Thomas and Elizabeth Ducklow, was tragically killed by lightening while sleeping in his farmhouse bed in the early morning of July 30, 1885. He was 36 years old.  Two accounts of his death and details of the storm that killed him were originally published in the Hartford Press (Hartford, Wisconsin) on July 31st and August 7th of 1885 and are re-published here [see footnote].  They are a fascinating read.

Left: Lightening Image from Wiki Commons

Four things you might notice while reading these accounts is how values, sensitivities, and child labor laws have changed in 125 years:

(1) Newspaper writing of the day was both flowery and graphic in detail,
(2) Priority of values —the first article describes the loss of barns, hay, equipment and farm animals ahead of the loss of human life,
(3) The innocent description of two men in the same bed for the practical purpose of sleeping,
(4) The apparent starting age of a shoemaker apprentices was about 11 years old



Here are the two newspaper accounts:

Hartford Press

July 31, 1885

Page 3, Col. 4

A terrific electrical storm passed over this locality last Wednesday night.  The storm, which commenced about eleven o’clock, was preceded by a violent wind, which was followed by heavy rain and in many places hail.  There was on continuous roar of thunder accompanied by wind and incessant, flashes of lightning which lighted the whole heavens and earth for miles around which at times rendered the midnight as bright as the glare of the noonday sun.  Our citizens were soon aroused and lights were seen flashing from many windows.  Soon the sound of the fire bell was heard ringing an alarm, and the voices and hurried footsteps of the firemen were evidence that the lightning had effected its work of destrction [sic] somewhere in the neighborhood.  It was soon learned that two large barns one belonging to Eugene Anderson, and other to Bruno Gehring, just north of the city had been struck and were in flames.  Both barns with their contents were entirely consumed.  Mr. Gehring’s loss aside from his barn was about twenty-five tons of hay, and a quantity of farming tools.  Mr. Anderson’s loss was much greater, he having one valuable horse killed, and a calf smothered in the flames.  He lost about twenty tons of hay, all his farming tools, wagons, sleights and harness.  Both barns were insured.  The house of Thomas Duklow [sic] in the north part of Ashippun was struck by lightning, and Mr. Duklow [sic] was killed by the stroke while in his bed.  This is the saddest result of the storm.  A son of Mrs. Wapp of this city, who was sleeping in the same bed with Duklow as badly shocked but it is thought the will recover.  It is believed that other accidents happened in the adjoining towns, but which up to this writing have not been reported.

Hartford Press

August 7, 1885

Page 3, Col. 3-4

DEATH NOTICES

Thomas Ducklow, whom we reported in our last issue as being killed by lightning at his home in Ashippun, on Wednesday night of last week, was born in the city of New York in the year 1849, and had he lived until September next, would have been thirty six years old.  He was a single man, and his sister was keeping house for him at the time the fatal accident occurred.  There were at the time four persons in the house, all sleeping on the upper floor.  Mr. Ducklow and the hired boy, Wapp occupying one bed, and a brother of deceased in another bed in the same room, and his sister who slept in an adjoining room.  The bolt of electricity struck the chimney, and passed down to the stove pipe into the room, and near where deceased and Wapp were sleeping; leaving the stove pipe the current divided and took different directions.  The fatal portion seemed to leave the pipe in a direct line for the bed.  Coming in contact with the left leg of deceased it passed upward to his head, burning the hair from his left temple.  One of Wapp’s knees that was resting against the body of deceased was injured so that it turned black and he himself was for a time insensible.  Mr. Ducklow must have been awake at the time, as only a few minutes before he was up and closed the windows.  The deceased was well known and highly respected in this and the neighborhood where he lived, having resided in this vicinity since he was an infant one year old.  He was a shoemaker by trade, and in years past worked for different firms at his trade in this city.  In fact he served his first apprenticeship and learned his trade here with Mr. Fred Brause; some twenty five years ago.  While a resident here, as elsewhere he enjoyed the earned and honored reputation of being a sober, steady industrious and honorable man, any and all of which must be long credited to his memory by all the living who knew him in life.  He was buried at St. Paul’s cemetery on Saturday last, a large concourse of friends and neighbors being in attendance.

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Right: Grave marker for Thomas Ducklow. Born Sept. 18, 1848, Died July 30, 1885.  This marker stands approximately 9 feet tall and is one of the largest in the small St. Paul's Cemetery in Ashippun Township, Dodge County, Wisconsin.

The death of son Thomas was a major milestone in Ducklow family history, as has been noted in earlier posts.  Thomas' death was the likely event that set spelling of the Ducklow name used by the greater family in America today.  Prior to his death, the spelling of the family name varied greatly, including Dukelow, Duklow, Duclow and Ducklow.  Note even the difference in spelling in the two accounts above.  Upon Thomas' death, the family decided to purchase a tombstone and have a hire a mason to chisel his name in the stone.  Naturally, the mason needed to know how the family wanted the name spelled.  Our ancestral grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth and Thomas' parents were not literate, and so the decision on the proper spelling was decided by the ten surviving adult children.  They came to choose the "Ducklow" spelling over the more common "Dukelow" spelling in use by many of their cousins.  Once the name was chiseled into Thomas' grave marker, the name became consistantly used by all of Thomas and Elizabeth's children and their descendants.  You might say it was in 1885 that the greater Ducklow family name in America became "written in stone."

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Footnote: The copyright of these articles has expired and they are in the public domain.

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