Burrell, Clarence 1879 – 1899

BURRELL

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 10/15/2020 at 08:50:28

Source: Decorah Republican Nov. 16, 1899 P 8 C 4

Dynamite and Death at Urbanna.
Vinton, Nov, 11.—In the village of Urbana, eleven miles north of this city, occured one of the most dastardly deeds in the history of crime. Two buildings were dynamited, presumably by robbers, and the flying debris caused the death of Clarence Burrell, 19 year-old son of J. G Burrell, who owned the principal building destroyed. The awful deed was perpetrated shortly after midnight this morning, and the robbers got away under cover of darkness, leaving no clue that promises to lead to their identity. The office of the Urbana Monitor and the general store of J. G. Burrell burned to the ground and but for the prompt aid rendered by the alarmed and horrified citizens the whole town would have been endangered from the flames. There were two distinct explosions and to this fact Clarence Burrell owes his death. The first occured in the Monitor office, and this awakened the boy who thought the noise emanated from his father's store, and he hurried to investigate. Runing out of the house near by he ran to the store and was just stepping to the threshold to open the door when the second explosion occurred. This wreck¬d the building and debris was hurled in every direction. A piece of scantling struck young Burrell in the chest crushing into his body and throwing him to the middle of the street. Something also struck the boy on the left side of the the{sic} head almost scalping him. When he was picked up by the rapidly gathering and frightened citizens, he had breathed his last. It is probable that death was instantaneous. The noise made by the explosion roused the whole town and soon the whole population of the little town was on the scene, The Burrell building had caught fire and it took heroic efforts to keep the flames from spreading to adjoining buildings.

Transcriber’s Note: Find a Grave shows he was born Nov. 24, 1879 and died Nov. 11, 1899. He is buried in the Urbana Cemetery