Posted on 07/04/2011 11:15:57 PM PDT by ccmay
I post this every year on July 4th. This is the obituary of my great-great-great-great-grandfather Selah Woodworth Jr., who blew himself up on July 4th of 1825 by double-charging a cannon during the celebrations. This bit of paper from our family Bible was printed while Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were both still alive.
My old boss at Nashville’s Green Hills Theatre had a steel plate in his cheek bone area and false teeth from being hit with part of an exploding cannon during the Civil War Centenial reenactments.
That certainly was a dreadful occurrence. The poor widow and daughter who must’ve witnessed this.
“An amiable widow and little daughter, and numerous connections”??
“Amiable”? Er... Ummm, I guess only rich people could afford to wear black for seven years?
Sorry to be so late in expressing my condolences.
In 1825 some of my relatives probably did something but Im not sure what
at least your ancestors made the paper
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in the name of the deceased to the Senate Conservative Fund.
It was not reported whether this accident was preceded by the comment “Hold my ale and watch this.”
The early stages of media driven gun grabbing.
I am guessing he should have used a large charge of powder and a small quantity of brick.
I too was wondering if drinking were involved. Nonetheless, a great piece of documented family history.
Good point! Karl Marx was only 7 years old on this date. The two men whose philosophies rule today’s world... :-(
This wasn’t uncommon for muzzle loaders. The Springfield armory had several muskets that were donated that had as many as 7 charges in the barrel. If you overcharge it, you have a large bomb.
“hold my mash and watch this”
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