Seven Drowned in Sand Lake Fort Worth Gazette, Jan. 20, 1888   Four of the women and one man were sisters and brother - the other couple also sister and brother. Ennis, Texas. Jan. 18. Reports were received here this evening that seven persons were drowned in Sand Lake, some ten mles east of here. Two young ladies, daughters of William Williams and a young man named Babbitt were skating on the lake when the ice gave way and they sank in six and a half feet of water. Miss Babbitt and two little girls, ages 9 and 13, daughters of William Williams, were also drowned attempting to rescue them. Another small child of Williams fell through the ice and was only saved by one of the drowning  young ladies throwing it out on the ice. Mr. Williams, brother of the young ladies, who was a quarter mile distance, ran to their assistance but was overpowered by their struggles and also drowned. His mother, in an effort to save them, was pulled down and would have drowned were it not for the help of her two little daughters, eight and eleven, who threw her a rope and managed to pull her to shore. All the bodies were found together. Another account Garrett, Tex. Jan. 18. Conducto  Easton, running between Ennis and Roberts on the Central, brings the sad news of the drowning of Mrs Babbitt's four daughter and one son and an elderly lady, name unknown, in Sand Lake near the Trinity River on what is known as the Faulkner farm, while skating today. It appears young Babbitt fell through the ice and the ladies while trying to rescue him went through also. All bodies were recovered.   Copyright © 2008-2017, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Monday, 10-Sep-2018 10:23:08 MDT