Janis' Genealogy Site
Andrew Sassaman
Summary
- Born: 29 June 1809
- Died: 06 October 1881
- Father: Andrew Sassaman
- Mother: Maria Ritter
- Spouse: Lydia Moser
Obituary
Montgomery Ledger, Pottstown, PA, October 11, 1881
A Horrible Discovery in a Madison Dwelling
Andrew Sassaman Found in His Humble Tenement with Life Extinct
A few hundred yards east of Madisonville, Chester County, there stands a dilapidated house on the Schuylkill Canal, close by a bridge which spans the canal, leading to a ford. In this house for the past three years there lived alone an old man named Andrew Sassaman, who is well known to many of our readers he having lived at one time near the borough limits in Pottsgrove. Alarmed at the continued absence of her father, his daughter, Sarah Eisenhower, and her little girl proceeded to the above home about half past nine o’clock Friday morning. Upon entering the dwelling she could find no one, but upon opening the door leading to the cellar stairway a horrible sight met her gaze, and one which also startled a Ledger reporter shortly afterward. Lying prone upon his back on the stairs, with his feet downward with a glassily countenance, eyes wide open and fixed in death, and with the bowels protruding, lay Andrew Sassaman, dead. In his right hand he grasped a cane, and he lay partially on a coal scuttle. Dr. W. J. Ashenfelter, who also gazed upon the dead man, gave it as his opinion that the man had received a cut which caused the bowels to protrude. Should this prove to be the case it is undoubtedly a case of murder.
The appearance of the first and second floors was one of confusion, and indicated a depth of poverty. On the cook stove lay a lot of kindling wood, and on the cook stove and floor were strewn about several pans and kettles and things looked as if the old man was about preparing for a meal and was in the act of going into the cellar for coal, when death overtook him. The clock had stopped at a few minutes before one o’clock. All the doors were locked, except the one leading into the basement kitchen, which was unlocked.
The man had evidently been dead several days. He was last seen about his poverty stricken tenement on Monday. Thursday forenoon Mr. John Bossert tax collector, called for his tax, and could find no one about the house, although the door was open.
Deceased was about 73 years of age, and had the reputation of taking things occasionally that did not belong to him, but his neighbors say he conducted himself with commendable propriety while living in their midst.
Deputy Coroner Charles M. Griffith has been notified and will hold an inquest this afternoon, when the truth will probably be reached. We are inclined to the opinion that he died a natural death as his daughter informed us he was not in good health for some time. She however, believes that her father was murdered. If so it is hard to find a motive unless it was revenge. He frequently harbored tramps and they had a rendezvous in a field near by. Robbery could not have been the object, for there was absolutely nothing to steal.
Sassaman has seven children living, and his wife has been dead for about twelve years. He was a tinsmith by trade, and formerly lived in Phoenixville. In the afternoon David Savage, Esq., of East Coventry Township, Chester County, reached the scene and empaneled the following Jury of Inquest: John Frick, David Hause, Samuel Hunsberger, Franklin Schively, George Keim and Jacob Funk, who proceeded to view the body and then take testimony.
Dr. A. R. Savidge made an external post mortem examination on the body and testified that in his judgment, deceased came to his death through natural causes, and that the body had been attacked by rats, which caused the bowels to protrude. There had been no hemorrhage and the jagged edges of the aperture conclusively proved that the orifices had not resulted from the cut of a knife. Witness was of the opinion that Sassaman had been dead for three or four days, having probably died on Tuesday.
Mrs. Sarah Eisenhower, a daughter of deceased was the next witness. [She] Resides on Cherry Street, Pottstown and becoming uneasy at the continued absence of [her] father, walked, in company with my little daughter to see if anything was wrong. Upon arriving at the house, [she] found one of the doors unlocked and entered, but no one answered any summons. [She] Finally opened the door leading to the cellar basement, when [she] was horrified to find the dead body of my father lying near the top of the stairs. Think he was murdered.
Mr. Geo. W. Jones, a near neighbor, testified to the finding of the body as above described. After a short deliberation the jury unanimously agreed upon the following verdict – “We find that Andrew Sassaman, of North Coventry Township, Chester County, came to his death through natural causes and not other wise.” Deputy Coroner Savage then remanded the body to the custody of Mr. Daniel Benner, undertaker who buried the remains in the Mennonite burying ground, East Coventry, Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock.
Deceased served a period in the war of the Rebellion, having enlisted in Co. A. 53rd PA Regiment on September 18, 1861. During the service he contracted a disease, for which he vainly applied for pension. Mrs. Catharine Fritz, residing on West King Street, this borough, is a sister, and David and Henry Sassaman, who removed to Ottowa, Kansas, in the spring of 1878 are sons of deceased. He was offered a home with some of his children but the old man preferred to live alone.
NOTE: Special thanks to Betty Burdan for providing this transcription.
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