My Genealogy Home Page:Information about Richard Arthur Reed
Richard Arthur Reed (b. December 02, 1896, d. March 20, 1913)
Notes for Richard Arthur Reed:Abilene ReporterMarch 22, 1913"Young man dies returning home"
Two companions in buggy thought him to be in a drunken stupor, officers called out.An inquest held Saturday night, but no verdict rendered.Heart and stomach will be subject to chemical analysis.The corpse of Arthur Reed a young Potosi boy of 17 years was carried to his father's house Friday night about nine o'clock by two companions, Harry Bright and Oscar Smothers.The circumstances of his death seemed so unusual that a call was put in to Abilene for the officers.About midnight Justice Tom Willis, County Attorney Deeble and Dr. Audavee Cash left for the scene in a automobile and conducted a preliminary examination returning about four this morning.Today District Attorney Morris, the County Attorney, Sheriff Weir, Dr. A. Cash and Dr. L. W. Hollis went to Potosi and continued the investigation.An autopsy was held and the heart and stomach of the boy was brought back for chemical analysis.The story of the boys with the deceased is somewhat confused, but they seem to have left Abilene together in a buggy about sun down Friday evening to take in a literary exercise at the Cedar School House.They had with them two quarts of whiskey which consumed in a very short time after they had passed the Epileptic Colony.Reed who was driving, dropped one line and in reaching for it fell out of the vehicle on his head and shoulders.He seems never to have regained consciousness, and it is possible that the shock of the fall stopped an already over stimulated heart action.According to the boy's story they carried him to Cedar School House where they tried to revive him again.Thinking him to be in a drunken stupor.When they finally reached the boy's home, a doctor was summoned who pronounced that the boy had been dead for some time.The inquest proceedings have not yet been completed and there are circumstances in the matter that seem to have officers perplexed.Reed was an important witness in a felony case now pending in the district court here.The officers are unwilling to make a statement until further investigations are completed.
Emma Cox, Arthur's mother told her children many times about the night he was brought home.Audell Odom, granddaughter asked the Chief of Police in Abilene, Texas to do some checking on the autopsy inquest, but there was no records dated further back than 1960 in their files.