Ransom Johnson
Dec. 9, 1900-July 4, 1936
Niles Daily Star, Monday, July 6, 1936, page 1, col. 8, microfilm Niles District Library
ONE DEATH IN 4TH CELEBRATION HERE
RANSOM JOHNSON, 36, IS GROUND TO DEATH BY TRAIN'S WHEELS
Chicagoan Drowns in Clear Lake' Holiday Noisiest Since Fireworks Ban.
While the state listed 33 deaths for one of the highest fatality lists in the nation for the holiday, one accidental death was in the record here today. Niles calmed down from the noisiest Independence day it has experienced since sale and use of fireworks were "banned" by the legislature.
The Niles victim was Ransom Johnson. .[illegible] he walked along the tracks between Main street and Broadway early Saturday morning. . .
Johnson's mangled body was found on the Big Four tracks early Saturday by two transients. A train, believed to be the one which ran him down, had passed through the city three hours earlier
A coroner's jury, impaneled by Justice Charles E. Warner, will conduct a hearing a 1 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. It is composed of Paul Blackmond, Richard Forrester, Howard Johnson, Willis Kysor, Carl Johnson and John Pethick.
Johnson was born Dec. 9, 1900, at Red Lodge, Mont., and is survived by his widow, Mrs. Vernie Johnson, and a step-daughter, Mrs. Bernice McKee, Michigan Cirty, Ind.; his father, Webster Johnson, Kalamazoo; his mother, Mrs. Anna Johnson, Dowagiac; five brothers, Roy, Decatur; Ray, Benton Harbor; Ralph, Jackson; Rawleigh of Niles and Robert, Kalamazoo, and four sisters, Mrs. Rose Goodrich, Dowagiac; Mrs. Ruth Reed, Benton Harbor; Mrs. Rena Doorleg, Kalamazoo, and Mrs. Ruby Taylor, Niles.
Rites Today
The funeral was held at the Rutherford mortuary at 2 o'clock this afternoon, with the Rev. A.R. Kuehn, of the Evangelical church, officiating. . .
Note: This is part of a longer article with details of other accidents unrelated to Mr. Johnson's death; unrelated parts were omitted.
Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, July 8, 1936, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library
Niles News In Brief: JOHNSON DEATH ACCIDENT
A verdict of "death by accident" returned this afternoon by a coroner's jury ended official investigation into the death of Ransom Johnson, 36, 605 Cass street, whose body was found on the Big Four tracks Saturday morning. He had apparently been killed by a freight train. The jury impaneled by Acting Coroner Charles Warner, was made up of Paul Blackmond, Richard Forrester, Howard Johnson, Willis Kysor, Carl Johnson and John Pethick.