Kent, ND Farm House Fire, Mar 1898

SEVEN BURN TO A CRISP.

ENTIRE FAMILY WIPED OUT AT KENT, N.D.

FATHER, MOTHER AND FIVE CHILDREN CAUGHT BY THE FLAMES AND NOT ONE LEFT TO TELL HOW THE FIRE ORIGINATED -- BODIES CHARRED BEYOND RECOGNITION WHEN FOUND -- NO FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED.

Special to The St. Paul Globe.
Fargo, N.D., March 26. -- No more horrifying catastrophe was ever known in this part of the state than the one which occurred at Kent, a small town not far from this city, last night, which wiped out of existence a family of seven.
The victims of the holocaust were:
ED HAUSMAN, aged thirty-eight.
MRS. ED HAUSMAN.
JOSEPH HAUSMAN, aged ten.
CHRISTINA HAUSMAN, aged eight.
LOUISA HAUSMAN, aged six.
EDWARD HAUSMAN, aged three.
Two Months' Old Babe.
The bodies were burned to a crisp, beyond recognition.
HAUSMAN was a German, generally known as a popular, honest and energetic man. He conducted a farm in Richland County, North Dakota, for years, but had reverses, and one year ago resolved to engage in other business and moved here to open a saloon.
Friday evening he remained at the saloon until about 2 o'clock, in company with one of his closest neighbors and best freinds. Both retired to their homes at that time, and an hour later James Nolan, an old resident, discovered that HAUSMAN'S residence was on fire. He immediately gave an alarm, but before help could be rendered the victims, who were sleeping in the second story of the burning building, had perished by suffocation.
Coroner Dr. Truax, of Breckenridge, and your correspondent reached there shortly after 2 o'clock. The scene of the horrible disaster is most distressing. An entire family of seven wipoed out of life in so short a time and its accompanying horrors cannot be described. There is positively no cause for a suspicion of foul play, and the theory of the sad occurrence is that it was simply accidental. HAUSMAN was well thought of by his neighbors, and his family generally esteemed. The catastrophe has cast a deplorable gloom upon the entire community.

St. Paul Globe Minnesota 1898-03-27
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!