A Shelbyville, Indiana, Newspaper
 1928
----------
Death Results From Accident Thursday
James R. Tennell Passed Away At 6:30 O'Clock
Thursday Evening From Fractured Skull.
----------
          Six hours after he was thrown head foremost from an auto truck on the Sugar Creek bridge, northeast of Boggstown, James R. Tennell, highly respected and esteemed farmer of Shelby county, died at the home of  Mrs. Jennie Whitaker, a short distance from the scene of the accident.
          Mr. Tennell was born in Sugar Creek township, December 19, 1865, at the time of his death being sixty-three years two months and eight days of age.  He was a son of the late  Mr. and Mrs. Job Tennell, well known residents of Shelby county.
          He was married about thirty years ago to Miss Mary Grant [Brant]  and to the union six children were born, and all survive with the widow; they are the sons Artie,  Cecil and  Charles at home, and  Ulus, of Hendricks township, and the daughters,  Missess Fred  and  Eva Tennell, residing with their parents.  There are also two sisters, namely, Mrs. Minerva Treon, of Muncie, and  Mrs. Eliza Tucker, of Missouri, and the one brother, William Tennell, of Alexandria.
          A rut in the Sugar Creek bridge was the cause of the tragic accident, which resulted in the death.  Mr. Tennell had been at the home of  L. C. Burnside, a short distance away, during the forenoon, where he had been assisting in the butchering.  The work was finished before noon and after eating dinner, Mr. Tennell, his son Artie, and  Joseph Gundrum started for their homes near Boggstown.  As they crossed the bridge, near the south end the truck in which they were riding struck the rut, which is a deep one, and Mr. Tennell was thrown out of the machine alighting squarely on his head.  He was carried to the home of Mrs. Whitaker near by and for six hours hovered between life and death, with Dr. Keeney of this city, Dr. Wells of Fairland and  Dr. Strickler of Boggstown administering to him.  He was unconscious most of the time, only rallying once or twice during the afternoon.  At 6:30 o'clock he passed away, unable to recover from the terrible fracture of his skull.
          Universal sorrow has spread over Sugar Creek township and the vicinity over the untimely death of this well known man, who was respected for the exemplary life he had led and the position he asserted in the community as a dutiful husband and father.  He was a member of the Mt. Pleasant M. E. Church and of the Boggstown Sagawa Tribe of Red Men.
          Funeral services are announced for Sunday morning at 10:30 o'clock at the Center M. P. Church in Brandywine township and burial will be made in the Center cemetery.  The Red Men's lodge at Boggstown will participate in the burial services at the grave, Stewart & Fix, undertakers, will have charge of the funeral and burial.
Submitted by Bob Gordon

Obituary Index       Main Page