Sickles - Maggie - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

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Sickles - Maggie

Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Wednesday, 28 May 1890

Some time ago a young woman of loose character came to this city and after various experiences became ill and was taken in charge by the notorious Alice Smith. Alice soon had some trouble with the police and leaving the city left the woman who was suffering from a relapse of the grip, to the care of the neighbors. All aid proved unavailing, however, and she died last night. Before dying she stated that her name was Mrs. Sickles and that she had a husband residing in Arkansas. She has been a Catholic in her youth and in her extremity sent for Father Dinnen but he was absent in Chicago. The burial took place in the unconsecrated part of Calvary Cemetery this afternoon.


Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Thursday 29 May 1890

The airy Alice Smith has in her possession letters to the Mrs. Sickles who died at her place last night before last from her husband in Arkansas. The letters are of a most generous character, informing the woman that his home was always open to her, when others had cast her out. A letter was received from him after he heard of her death informing the people here to give her a respectable burial and send all bills to him operations were begun last Tuesday. They were continued, the young lady growing weaker under them, as her relatives say, from loss of blood. On Sunday morning, so it is stated, she realized that she was in a critical condition and declared that she should die at 11 o’clock. She requested that her brother be sent for at once. This was before 8, Mr. Ingersol states, but the message was not sent until nearly 10 and did not reach him until after her death. Miss Ingersol just previous to her demise wrote a few lines bequeathing some of her effects to relatives and friends. Her relatives declare that she was butchered and are very bitter in their feelings on the matter.  A local physician, who is acquainted with Dr. H. C. Pratt, the proprietor of the sanitarium, states that he is an eminent and skillful specialist, and that all his patients receive the most practical treatment. He thinks that death was the inevitable result of the operation and does not believe that the young lady was allowed to bleed to death or to die in any manner unnecessarily. At all events, the affair is a most lamentable one.


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