Grand Traverse County Coroner's Records, 1909-1919

Dublin Core

Title

Grand Traverse County Coroner's Records, 1909-1919

Subject

Death -- Causes.

Description

Collection of Grand Traverse County Coroner's Records, 1897-1965. Attached to this record are the reports and index to the volume, created by volunteers of the Grand Traverse Area Historical Society. The records were created by the Coroner's Office as part of the process of investigating a particular cause of death; therefore, they can often provide information beyond what is recorded on the death certificate. The coroner's necrology and pathology reports may include details on the health of the individual and the exact manner of death. Inquest testimony may point to family relationships, as friends and family often provided sworn statements. Police statements and jury testimony and verdicts may also be available, leading to research in court records or penitentiary or prison records. Dr. Earnest B. Minor was the coroner for this entire period of time. In 1911, the mental hospital’s name was changed from Northern Michigan Asylum to Traverse City State Hospital (TCSH).

Creator

Grand Traverse County. Office of the Medical Examiner.

Source

Original volumes held at the Traverse Area District Library.

Publisher

Grand Traverse County. Office of the Medical Examiner.

Date

1909-1919

Contributor

Grand Traverse Area Genealogical Society.

Rights

CC BY-SA 2.5

Relation

None.

Format

PDF.

Language

English.

Type

Document.

Identifier

2018.46.2

Coverage

Grand Traverse County, Michigan, United States.

PDF Text

Text

Coroner’s Records – Volume II
Grand Traverse County, Michigan
August 1909 – April 1920
Dr. Earnest B. Minor was the coroner for this entire period of time. In 1911, the mental hospital’s name
was changed from Northern Michigan Asylum to Traverse City State Hospital (TCSH).
Page

Date

Name of Deceased

Cause of Death

2

16 Aug 1909

Zenith Evert

Arterial Sclerosis & Heart Failure

4

21 Aug 1909

James M. Lawrence

Senile Arterial Sclerosis

6

17 Sep 1909

August Brawn

Tuberculosis

8

28 Sep 1909

Elisha Dunning

None Stated

10

6 Jan 1910

George W. Phelps

12

6 Jan 1910

Arthur Kennicott

Same as above. Same jurors and witnesses.

14

10 Jan 1910

John Johnson

None Stated

16

21 Mar 1910

Lula Grattop

18

23 Jan 1910

George Brown (Asylum)

20

31 Jan 1910

Wesley Wethey
Suicide – Gunshot
(Name is William Wesley Wethey in county clerk’s records.

22

19 Mar 1910

Edwin Kent (Asylum)

24

23 Mar 1910

Martin Vrooman
Suicide – Gunshot
(First name is Bertram in county clerk’s records)

26

31 Mar 1910

Addison M. Gray

Suicide – Gunshot

28

1 Apr 1910

Henry S. Bargelt

Heart Failure

30

11 Apr 1910

Lois Wills

Acute Infection from Some Source

32

15 May 1910

Lesta Sias (Asylum)

Epilepsy

34

31 May 1910

John Bacem (Asylum)

Epilepsy

Railroad Collision: Logging Train VS Snow
Plow on Pere Marquette Rail
Jurors: Malcolm Winnie, Anthony Pohoral, W.P. Kenney, F.E. Roberts, Pat Bowes, Edwin Martin
Witnesses: C.J. Bailey, Frank J. O’Neal, Dr. J. Wilhelm, William W. Drew, F.W. Rykert, Jacob Heuss

Knocked down & run over by GR & I switching
Train while leaving Oval Wood dish Factory
Jurors: Stephen Lardie, W.P. Kenney, A.F. Hopkins, C.L. Arnold, C.E. Bilow, Pat Bowes
Witnesses: W.C. Hull, Charles H. Hungerford, Patrick W. Yandon, Dayton W. Ingraham, James
Cummings, John A.L. McClure, William Akris, Minnie Boenning, Edward Elstrum
Epilepsy

Fell on his face during epileptic seizure:
Smothered

1

36

7 Jun 1910

Frederick Peterson (Asylum)

None Stated

38

6 Oct 1910

Charles W. Tann (Asylum)

Acute Dilatation of the Heart

Justus G. Lamson (Asylum)
Falling from 3rd story window, breaking neck
(Justin D. in clerk’s records)
& other internal injuries, attempting to escape
Jurors: Malcolm Winnie, Judson E. Cameron, Levi Soule, E. Roberts, W.E. Salisbury, John Morgan
Witnesses: Earnest L. Butler, Robert H. McKenzie, Dr. Robert E. Wells, Charles L. Easterday
40

22 Oct 1910

42

23 Oct 1910

Julia Morrow

Epilepsy

44

27 Oct 1910

Susan Humphreys (Asylum)

Epilepsy

46
28 Oct 1910
Blanche Ramsey
Internal Injuries from Automobile Accident
Jurors: Malcolm Winnie, John Moran, William Clement, N.E. Gore, Edgar Ormsby, Edward Lautner
Witnesses: Nelson Smith, Fred Hunter, Leslie Uagley, Perrin Reynolds, Edward Ashton
Driver: W. N. Smith
48

12 Nov 1910

Anna Zitka

Heart Lesion

50

21 Dec 1910

Kate Miller

Infection of the Brain

52

Undated

Anna Ludeen (TCSH)

Epilepsy & Heart Disease

54
23 Jan 1911
Halvor Hokkin (TCSH)
See below.
Jurors: Malcolm Winnie, Isaac Winnie, Judson E. Cameron, Rowland Douglass, H.S. Ohmer,
LuVerne B. Wood
Witnesses: Joseph Fifarek, Jr., Dr. James D. Munson, Ray H. Buttars, James A.J.Hall, Dr. W.D.Mueller,
Dr. Robert E. Wells
Death came as a result of falling underneath a chair in the course of a struggle with Joe Fifarek, an
attendant, for the possession of said chair. We exonerate the management of the Northern Michigan
Asylum from any blame.
56

17 Apr 1911

Bessie Bazaniak

Heart Lesion.

58
20 Apr 1911 Close West
Kicked by Horse in Beitner’s Barn.
Jurors: Fred L. Johnson, Judson E. Cameron, Hiram H. Gifford, Eastern M. Johnston, Andrew Newcomb,
Edward A. Monroe
Witnesses: Orrin Empey, Will Stewart, Earnest Russell, Julius Swanson, Blanche Stewart, Moses Piette,
Anna Chamberlain
Autopsy: Drs. Guy M. Johnson and E. B. Minor
60

18 May 1911

Wallace Dake (TCSH)

Blood Clot in Heart

62
64
66

10 July 1911
10 July 1911
10 July 1911

Clara Kevitch
Mary Durga
Elmer Durga

Drowned in Long Lake
Drowned in Long Lake
Drowned in Long Lake

68

10 July 1911

George M. Bonner

Heart Failure

2

70

24 July 1911

Al Burdick

Knife Wound in Abdomen inflicted by Lewis
Ocar or Louis Pirillo in Ed Weston’s Saloon
Jurors: Ed Connine, H.B. Davis, F.E. Stickney, Ray C. Davis, D.M. Duane
Witnesses: Dr. Frank Boet, Theodore Calkins, Edward Weston, Clark Coats, Carlo Teall, Perry Lehad
72

24 Sep 1911

George O. Lowden (TCSH)

Suffocation in Epileptic Fit

74

16 Oct 1911

Bion McVay Alward

Locomotor Ataxy

76

23 Oct 1911

Margaret J. L. Burden

Suffocation

78

25 Oct 1911

Carry Duell

Apoplexy

80
26 Oct 1911
Margaret Hyland (TCSH)
Strangulation. See below.
Jurors: Malcolm Winnie, Charles A. Bugbee, Rowland Douglass, A.S.Hobart, Alfred Wildman,
A.B. Cook
Witnesses: Helen Whitfield, Adah Epperson, MD, Evelyn Russ, Lena Knight
Phoebe Roelf tied her feet to the bed and tied a neck tie around her neck causing death by strangulation.
82

18 Dec 1911

Gust Erickson (TCSH)

Heart Disease

84

17 Dec 1911

Willis B. Lane (TCSH)

Suicide – Hanging

86
15 Apr 1912 Marie Witte
Burns. See below.
Jurors: G.A. Smith, Moses J. Rich, William H. Dill, F.D. Marvin, J.B. Hawley, William Clement
Witnesses: Dr. Julius Wilhelm, Mr. Witte, Dr. E.B. Minor, Mrs. Stella Perrin
“Burns upon the back and front of her body inflicted upon her by some person or in some manner to this
jury unknown and we further find several wounds and contusions upon the body of this child and find
from the general appearance of the body…that the child had been neglected and abused so much that it
came ti its death through lack of care and attention.”
88

10 May 1912

Lulu Zuelsdorf

Heart Lesion

90

8 Jun 1912

Ada Bradley (TCSH)

Souicide – Drowning in State Hospital Reservoir

92

25 Jun 1912

Frank E. Budinger

Gastric Hemorrhage

94

10 Jul 1912

Richard Bucher (TCSH)

Age 12; Strangulation by George Langton

96

9 Aug 1912

Clyde E. Marlett

Accidental Drowning – Duck Lake

98

14 Sep 1912

James Fisher

Accidental Drowning – Old Mission Harbor

100

9 Jun 1912

Edgar Franklin Skutt

Accidental Drowning – Boardman Lake

102

23 Sep 1912

William C. VanLeuven

Spinal Paralysis

104
2 Oct 1912
Nora Isabell Stoops
Shot by Husband Frank J. Stoops
Jurors: James McCoy, L.H. Goss, J.C. Emerson, Lloyd Thacker, Fred M. Hale, Harry Beebe
Witnesses: Cora F. Emerson, Bessie May Stoops (Age 8), Claude Stoops (7), Quincy Thacker, William
Ferris, John A. Stoops

3

106
3 Oct 1912
Frank Stoops
Suicide – Gunshot & Carbolic Acid
Jurors: Smith E. Lewis, Joe Dean, William Ferris, Evart Saylor, Fred M. Hale, Lloyd Thacker
Witnesses: Quincy Thacker, John A. Stoops, Charles E. Webster,
108

12 Nov 1912

Mahalla Brewer

Suicide – Poison at James Hyler’s

110

5 Jan 1913

A. Wollcott

Suffocation at Small Lake south of Interlochen

112

27 Jan 1913

Verona Sneigh (TCSH)

Dilatation of Heart

114

20 Feb 1913

A. I. Thayer

Accidental – Run down by Pere Marquette train

116

Undated

Mina A. Rickerd

Strangulation by Hanging

118

2 Mar 1913

Will J. Green

Acute Poisoning

120

24 Mar 1913

John M. Hawthorne

Drowning

122

25 Mar 1913

Cornelius Jordon

Heart Lesion

124

9 Sep 1913

O. L. Sutton

Heart Lesion

126

30 Sep 1913

J. P. Fradsen

Suicide – Hanging Wiliam Youker orchard

128

4 Oct 1913

Dennis Manigold

Suicide – Cut Throat

130

7 Oct 1913

Marjorie Marie Pilch

132

4 Oct 1913

Nellie Leland

134

11 Oct 1913

Frank Ziegler

136

29 Oct 1913

John Wrightman

Heart Lesion

138

12 Nov 1913

William Bowman

Suicide – Strychnine

140

15 Nov 1913

Nellie Pennel (TCSH)

Suffocation – Falling on face in epileptic seizure

142

3 Jan 1914

Kenneth Elwell

Age 2 yrs,11 mo – Malnutrition

144

2 Feb 1914

Inez Lardie

Heart Lesion

146

7 May 1914

August Brunner

Alcoholism

Age 9 ½. Shock due to being hit by automobile
driven by Harry Hines
Jurors: B.H. Bracken, Fred L. Johnson, Moses Rich, L.H. Goss, C.B. Taylor, Rowland Douglass
Witnesses: Myron Wares, Rose Wood, Sarah E. Prall, Hazel Miller, Morgan Hall, George Fester
Heart Lesion

Brain Concussion by falling into the cinder pit
at GR&I Round House
Jurors: R.J. Mercer, A.S. Hobart, John P. Scott, Charles F. Hunter, James W. Martinek, Frank E. Lahym
Witnesses: Anna K. Ziegler, Dr. L. Swanton, Irving Hoch, Emmet Sherman, Gus Erickson

4

148

13 May 1914

Cornelius W. DeZoete

Suicide – Drowning in Boardman Lake

150

18 July 1914

Monroe Baldwin

Suicide – Hanging

152

19 July 1914

Unknown

Body in woods SE of Walton. No COD given.

154

17 Sep 1914

Alfred Lusk

Hemorrhage & Shock: L. leg crushed by train

156

30 Sep 1914

Henry Carlisle

Suicide – Gunshot

Unknown – probably exposure caused by
alcoholism.
“John St. Clair left home about one year previous to finding his body. Nothing heard from him since that
time. Found north of Interlochen between Mud Lake and Cedar Hedge Lake.”
158

22 Oct 1914

John St. Clair

160

11 Dec 1914

David Routsong

Cerebral Hemorrhage

162

2 Jan 1915

Lewis Clement

Acute Dilatation of Heart

164

19 Jan 1915

Louis Anthony

166

13 Mar 1915

Lawrence Keaton

Malnutrition following Bronchitis

168

8 Apr 1915

Hobart H. Hill

Angina Pectoris

170

19 Apr 1915

Grace Smith (TCSH)

Suicide – Hanging

172

25 Apr 1915

Frances F. Setterhorn

Acute Dilatation of Heart

174

1 May 1915

Stewart O. Campbell

Age 14. Suffocation during Epileptic Seizure.

176

9 May 1915

John Blazek

Suicide – Gunshot

Hemorrhage & Shock: R. arm torn from body
(Oval Wood Dish Factory)
Jurors: J.M. Huelmantel, F.W. Carver, Henry Day, Alonzo Fox, Elgin C. Lewis, Harry A. Monroe
Witnesses: Charles R. Bartlett, Charles L. Longnecker, Frank D. Panek, Walter Dean, Gustav Daehn

178
13 May 1915 Oscar Harriger
Age 30. Acute Dilatation of Heart
Jurors: George W. Smith, Walter Langs, Byron Hulett, Ira R. Matchett, Curt Enyeart, Ray Bogart
Witnesses: Lewis Murray, Myron Taylor
180

19 May 1915

Charles N. Spaulding

Suicide – Drowning in Clark Lake

182

23 May 1915

Carrie Campbell

Acute Dilatation of Heart

184

24 Jun 1915

William Murphy (TCSH)

Organic Brain Lesion

186

25 Jun 1915

Gerald Heron

Age 4 mo. Suffocation

188

3 Jul 1915

Frank Goodrich

Sucide – Gunshot

190

11 Jul 1915

Robert Morrison (TCSH)

Probable Suicide-Drowning (Asylum Reservoir)

5

192
28 July 1915 William F. Mathews
Sucide – Carbolic Acid
Jurors: Ezra W. Banker, Henry Skellett, Peter Hormuth, George F. Creech, Fred J. Buzburger, Harry
Hinshaw
Witnesses: Jacob H. Kinter, Ethel E. Bear, Florence Washington, ruby Russell
194

10 Aug 1916

Infant Lawson

Stillborn

196

21 Oct 1915

Vera Moore

Heart Lesion

198

30 Dec 1915

Noah Flum (TCSH)

Injury: kick to stomach, from fellow patient Wm
Archer, causing rupture of pelvic abscess

200

31 Dec 1915

Jacob H. Kinter

Suffocation – Lived at 143 State St.

202

31 Dec 1915

Benjamin Powers

Suffocation – Lived at 143 State St.

204

31 Dec 1915

John Schone

Suffocation – Lived at 143 State St.

206

21 Jan 1916

Louisa Hangstorfer (TCSH)

Acute Cardiac Dilatation

208

12 Feb 1916

Johanna Sullivan (TCSH)

Exhaustion

210

18 Mar 1916

Thomas I. Pool (TCSH)

Acute Dilatation of Heart

212

20 Mar 1916

Sarah A. Langenbaugh

Acute Dilatation of Heart

214

24 Mar 1916

Mary Mannary

Heart Lesion

216

4 Apr 1916

Tom Powers

Fractured Skull from fall down stairs;
Chronic Alcoholism

218

5 Apr 1916

Roy Acker

220

7 Apr 1916

Charles Norman Briggs

Became entangled and wrapped in belts of main
shaft of Basket Factory
Jurors: Adelbert Squires, Edward A. Monroe, Charles F. Hunter, J.A. Maesenich, Fred Dunn, Moses Rich
Witnesses: C.P. Gapf, B.J. McAlvey, Floyd Cummings, Will Lamka

Cardiac Asthma

222
9 Apr 1916
Lloyd Frances Gary
Witness: Agnes McGarry

Age 2 ½ mo. Bronchial Pneumonia

224

10 Apr 1916

Louis Mack (TCSH)

Acute Dilatation

226

23 Apr 1916

Lelia Muller

Heart Lesion; Sclerosis of Liver

228

28 Apr 1916

Mrs. Ogden
Endocarditis & Rheumatism
(Margaret Ann Ogden in clerk’s records)

6

230

2 Jun 1916

Iva Creamer

Hepatitis

232

24 Jun 1916

Michael Anthony Cleese

Arterial Sclerosis

234

30 July 1916

Mary O. Adams

Acute Dilatation of Heary

236

2 July 1916

Florence Faulkner

Apoplexy

238

5 Aug 1916

Roy Stratton

Drowned near dock at Old Mission while acting
as wheelman on gasoline launch which blew up.

240

30 Aug 1916

Laura Hanson (TCSH)

No COD given.

242

3 Sep 1916

Carl Rohde (TCSH)

Chronic Heart Lesion; Arterial Sclerosis

244

5 Oct 1916

246

18 Sep 1916

Unknown: Impossible to determine identity and cause of death due to
decomposition of body found in Clear Lake Forest Reserve near Walton
Jurors: Ralph Hicks, D.E. Hills, MD, Emery Smith, Miller Hobbs, Toot Smith, Clarence Copron
Witness: F. L. VanSickle
John Maynard

No COD given

248
10 Oct 1916
Engineer: F. J. Gage

John McMurray
Run over by train on Pere Marquette track
Conductor: C. H. Davis

250

6 Nov 1916

Ben F. Messenger

Acute Dilatation of Heart

252

6 Dec 1916

Edward Ingersoll

Heart Lesion

254

20 Dec 1916

Nora Bernard

Age 11. Malnutrition

256

6 Jan 1917

Asher Boyer

Arterial Sclerosis

258

10 Jan 1917

George Milton Rowe

Age 6 weeks. Suffocation

260

2 Feb 1917

Edna Carris

Suicide – Prussic Acid

262

16 Feb 1917

Bert Kelley

Pulmonary Hemorrhage

264

15 Mar 1917

Minnie Morley Oranger

Suicide – Paris Green

266

15 May 1917

Joseph Vlack

Suicide:Cut Wrists, fell > skull fracture

268

2 Jun 1917

Cora Thompson

Heart Lesion

270

19 Jun 1917

John Bonnell

Senile Bronchitis; Complications of Infected
Carbuncle

272

16 Jul7 1917

Arthur C. LaFayette

Chronic Alcoholism

7

274

22 July 1917

Anna Colcord
Suicide – Hanging
(Martha Ann in clerk’s records)

276

22 July 1917

Walter Swartz

Accidental Drowning – Arbutus Lake

278

22 July 1917

Carroll Milks

Accidental Drowning – Arbutus Lake

280
27 Nov 1917 Margaret May Cole
Electrocution
Jurors: J.R. Temple, Bert Kelly, M.E. Donley, J.A. Montague, John Anderson, Moses J. Rich
Witnesses: Dorothy Smith, Bernard Covey, George Lardie, William Gifford, Dorothy Rice, John D.
Smith, Irving Cook
“Came in contact with an anchor wire located in an alley between 9th and 10th Streets near Lake Avenue.
Said wire having become charged with electricity in some manner unknown to the jury.”
282

14 Nov 1917

Robert Ward

Age 8. Accidental Shooting.

284

18 Nov 1917

Joseph Maxbauer

Chronic Enlargement of Heart

286

29 May 1918

William Huffman

Suicide – Hanging

288

20 Jun 1918

George Barlow
Suicide – Paris Green
Examination by Dr. Minor and Dr. H. B. Kyselka

290

21 Aug 1918

Thomas Bradley

Struck by Lightening

292

26 Aug 1918

William Hunt (TCSH)

Suffocation in Epileptic Fit

294

17 Sep 1918

Esther Magnuson

Suicide – Cord around Neck

Accidental – Took hold of moving freight
elevator at Hannah, Lay & Co. store
Jurors: Frank Trude, Sam L. Iles, G.A. Ward, M.D. Robertson, Julius Campbell, John A. Coleman
Witnesses: Beatrice Pease, Edward Pease, Leon Moore, Fred Collier, george Blue, George Chase
296

20 Sep 1918

Robert McLaughlin

Frederick Clous
Accident – Struck by Automobile
(Friedrica in county clerk’s records)
Jurors: L. Roscoe, Moses Rich, R.S. Linch, Sheldon W. Burns, Wilbur H. Pordie, C. Buckner
Witnesses: Marie Davidson, M. Clous, Joseph Clous, F. J. Stover
298

30 Sep 1918

300

3 Nov 1918

Frank T. O’Neil

No cause of death given

302

5 Feb 1919

Anna Shewfelt

No cause given

304

11 Mar 1919

Paul Witkop

No cause given

306

11 Mar 1919

Edward Pilditch (TCSH)

308

3 July 1919

Edgar P. Parker

Suicide – Hanging
Extreme Maniacal Depression
Heart Failure

310

22 July 1919

Della Clark

Acute Dilatation of Heart

8

312

26 July 1919

Mike Klico (TCSH)

Hanging

314
2 Sep 1919
Fletcher Gage
Accident – Collision of Trains near Sabin
316
2 Sep 1919
Earl Beeman
Same
318
2 Sep 1919
Frank J. Cushman
Same
320
2 Sep 1919
Earl J. Eighny
Same
322
2 Sep 1919
Guy Schnenman
Same
324
2 Sep 1919
Frank E. Davis
Same
Jurors: Charles Johnson, Anton W. Bartak, J.A. Montague, Charles F. Hunter, Major D. Robertson,
Frank E. Joy
Witnesses: James Kehoe, William Mitchell, N.C. Rhodes, Harry E. Keehne, Frederick S. Newbecker,
Roy Peets
326

6 Sep 1919

Alex Erickson (TCSH)

Starvation

328

16 Dec 1919

Afaf N. Todd (TCSH)
Apoplexy
(First name is Asa in county clerk records)

330

20 Jan 1920

Clara Burgman (TCSH)

Acute Intestinal Obstruction

332

28 Jan 1920

Ella Fell

Acute Dilatation of Heart

334

1 Mar 1920

William Lewis Cole

Strangulation

336

Not Given

Babe Durga

Probably Stillborn

338

3 Apr 1920

John Kruszka (TCSH)

340

22 Apr 1920

John Cutler (TCSH)

Cerebral Hemorrhage, Apoplexy,
Fracture of Lower Jaw
Witnesses: H.C. Boyle (Attendant), Dr. C.A. McDonald, Dr. Hendricks, J. Aniskonski (Translator)
Senility

9

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