Story from the Inquest

One road block cleared. On the inquest in readable form was my great grandmother's maiden name Skwarczynska.

I felt so bad for grandpappy's brother and especially Francis and her children so this is what unfolded from the cobwebs: Adam had lived in the United States seven years and had purchased his own home at 144 E. 119^th Street.  He was a locksmith and a general handyman. He and grandpappy had had harsh words, probably about CP's gambling.  Adam's house caught fire on July 7, 1914 and had completely burned except for the bathroom.  They had no fire insurance.

For three days Adam could think of nothing else but the loss of his home that he had worked so hard to obtain.  He had constant headaches and could not eat.  On July 10, 1914, he drank some coffee but could not eat his supper.  He walked over to the burnt home, went into the bathroom (the only portion of the house left intact) and locked the door. Being very despondent and depressed, he took a rope and hung himself on a clothes hook.

Francis knew something was wrong when her son ran back to the neighbor’s house where they were staying saying that his father had locked himself in the bathroom. Immediately, she ran to their burnt house. She lifted her son up so that he could climb through the bathroom window. He unlocked the door but the inner toilet door was locked.  She broke it open and found her husband hanging by a rope.  

When she started screaming, a neighbor came running to help her. They unhooked Adam and laid him down.  He was unconscious but still breathing.  They called the doctor who administered first aid and sent Adam to the Pullman Hospital.  Adam never regained consciousness and died two hours later at 8 PM at the age of 34 years, 6 months & 24 days.  


That is not the end of the tragedy for this family.
William changed his last name. Wawclaw (Walter) became a homeless person and was never seen again.  Anna died at age 17 from TB.
The other twin Francis died at age 11 from a burst appendix. After Irene married, their surname completely disappeared.


Is this one of the reasons that old grandpappy (CP) ran off to Canada?