Found Frozen Stiff in a Field
William Gavigan
November 27, 1895 – Monroe Times
William Gavigan of the township of Adams perished with Monday night’s storm. He was found yesterday afternoon frozen stiff in a field with nothing but his boots protruding from the snow. Monday he attended a grubbing bee at the home of Rube Garrison. Returning home in the evening, he rode as far as Kelly’s Corner with Michael Monohan and left to go across the field to his house a short distance away. It seems he had not gone far for but 15 rods away is where his lifeless body was found almost 36 hours later. An over supply of liquor was no doubt the cause of his death.
He was about 70 years of age and found much comfort in intoxicants. It is supposed he became too weak to reach home. He lay down and froze to death. He was an upright citizen and had an only fault and the manner in which he died is much regretted. A wife and seven children in good circumstances survive. The remains will be buried at Puddledock tomorrow.
A “grubbing bee” in the 1800s would have referred to a communal gathering of people to perform the arduous task of removing stumps and roots from land being prepared for cultivation.
