Killed By Lightning

Daniel Parker, a Farmer of Millstone Township Killed Instantly

Daniel Parker, a farmer of Ely, near Freehold, was instantly killed by lightning during the thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon. Parker went up to a second story bedroom to take a nap. He lay down on a bed with his head within a foot of the chimney. His three small children, Raymond, Nettie and James, all under ten years of age, lay at the foot of the bed. Mrs. Parker and her daughter Edna were in the kitchen. Suddenly there was a crash and a blinding flash and a great noise all through the house. Mrs. Parker ran up to the room, where she found her husband stretched dead on the bed and the children all seemingly lifeless. The bolt had struck the chimney and had passed downward, wrecking the bedroom and parlor below it. All the children were quickly revived , save Raymond, who was unconscious half an hour. Parker was forty-four years old and was formerly a constable.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, Jul 10, 1901

Some additional excellent resources for your research are:

• New Jersey Census, 1772-1890 - Ancestry.com

• Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 1670-1760 - Ancestry.com

• Interment.net - NJ ~ New Jersey Cemetery Transcriptions on the net.

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