Man Falls Dead By His Mother's Coffin

New York, 1899

Fifth Member of the Family to Die Within Three Months

By the side of his mother's coffin John F. Murphy, a retired fireman, apparently in full health and strength, fell dead, says the New York Times.

The mother, Mrs. Mary Ann Murphy, died on Wednesday afternoon, after an illness of only two days, at her home, 219 Harrison street, Brooklyn. She was the fourth member of the family to die within three months, and the sudden death of her son brings the number up to five.

John F. Murphy was 37 years old. He had been a fireman for thirteen years, and was retired on half-pay a short time ago. His home was at 521 1st avenue, Manhattan. He went to Brooklyn on Friday night to attend his mother's wake, and sat up with the body all night.

At 1 o'clock the next afternoon, when the body was about to be taken to Calvary cemetery, Murphy and a few friends were sitting in the room with the coffin. Murphy was talking. Suddenly he hesitated in his speech and clapped his hands to his heart. "Boys," he gasped, "I'm sick!" He attempted to rise from his chair and fell unconscious. His friends thought at first that he was joking, and then, becoming alarmed, sent for an ambulance.

Surgeon Smith of the Long Island college hospital responded and Dr. Walter Kean, of Clinton and Congress streets, was also sent for. The two physicians pronounced him dead and ascribed heart disease as the cause.

—The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, Feb. 11, 1899, p. 3.