Sunday's Obituary - Auto Death Is Aftermath Of Fatal Shooting

The headline says it all!  Instant attention and three generations of one family outlined in one obituary.  The article relates how two brothers were in the back yard practicing using a shot gun when one accidentally killed the other.  In 1927 it was quite common for youngsters to know how to help out on the property or the farm which required knowledge of guns.  Driving back from the boy's funeral, his grandmother was in an automobile accident and died.  So this family had two funerals within a very short time of each other:





East St. Louis Journal
August 25, 1927
Page 1 Column 4
Accessed
Belleville Public Library
Belleville, Illinois

"Mrs. Ella Hammond dies in crash while returning from grandson's funeral, boy killed in accident, youth succumbed after being shot by brother who thought gun unloaded. 
The second death stalked in the Hammond family yesterday when Mrs. Ella Hammond, 65, of Washington Park, grandmother of Clifford, was killed by an automobile near Vincennes, Ind.  The woman was en route to her home after attending the funeral of her grandson whose body was buried at Mt. Carmel, Ill. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Chaney of 1908 Cleveland avenue, uncle and aunt of the dead boy, were also injured in the crash which occurred when a machine driven by Orville Holland, 20, of Decker, Ind. collided with that of the Hammond party.  Holland was not injured.

Mrs. Hammond, who resided with her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Ike Krause, was thrown against the top of the automobile as the two cars came together five miles south of Vincennes.  She died an hour later in a Vincennes hospital.  No funeral arrangements have been made but Mrs. Hammond's body has not been brought to East St. Louis and it is believed she will be buried at Mt. Carmel beside her grandson's body.

None of the members of the funeral party could be reached for a statement today and details of the accident were not obtainable.  John Hammond, 4500 St. Clair avenue, father of the boy, and Julian Hammond, 1822A Cleveland avenue, an uncle, had not returned home.  Relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Chaney could not be located today.

Clifford Hammond was shot with a shot gun Sunday morning while he and his brother, Lawrence, were discussing their ability to shoot.  The younger dared Lawrence to shoot at him and he did thinking the gun was unloaded.  The boy died on the way to the hospital."