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Salem Pioneer Cemetery ~ Henry Gorgenson
~ part of the Marion County Pioneer Cemeteries of Oregon
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Henry Gorgenson
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| LAST NAME: Gorgenson
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FIRST NAME: Henry
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MIDDLE NAME:
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NICKNAME:
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| MAIDEN NAME:
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AKA 1:
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AKA 2:
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AKA 3:
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| TITLE:
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GENDER: M
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MILITARY:
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| BORN: Abt 1891
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DIED: 22 Apr 1911
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BURIED: 25 Apr 1911
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OCCUPATION:
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| DEATH PLACE: Salem, Marion Co., Oregon
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NOTES:
OSBH DC (Marion County 1911) #1311 - H. Gorgensen, male, d. 22 Apr 1911 near (2 miles N. of) Salem, Oregon at the age of about 30, interment IOOF 25 Apr 1911, undertaker - Lehman & Clough, informant - A. M. Clough, coroner; Marion County Burial.
DISCREPANCY - Name listed as "Henry Gergenson" in Lot record -- identified as "H. Gorgensen" on death cert -- card found on body "H. Gorgenson".
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DEATH CERTIFICATE:
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OBITUARY:
HANGS HIMSELF TO OAK LIMB.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN IS FOUND IN GROVE NEAR ENTRANCE TO THE CAMP GROUNDS. HAD BEEN DEAD SEVERAL HOURS.
WOMAN MAKES GREWSOME (sic) DISCOVERY YESTERDAY.
Dangling from the end of a rope, a grewsome (sic) sight in the early morning light, the body of a man was found yesterday at an early hour in a grove near the camp ground entrance at the fair grounds, on property owned by John Savage. Mrs. Pendleton, living close to the grove, was the first to see the body. She thought someone was standing at the edge of the woods, and called her husband's attention to the form. He went to investigate and made the startling discovery that the man was hanging from a limb of an oak, a course, heavy rope about his neck. He had been dead for several hours. Coroner Clough and Sheriff Minto were notified. The body was cut down and removed to the undertaking rooms of Mr. Clough. There was nothing found about the man's clothes to indicate who he was.
The only thing that may lead to a clue of his identity was a small card on which was written: "H. Gorgensen. Card No. 530. Look in card rack for this number when reporting for work." The man was evidently a Swede, about 30 or 35 years old, light sandy hair; light, close cropped mustache; about 5 feet six inches in height, and wore a dark jacket coat. A gray sweater with blue border, tan shirt, blue and white overalls, a dark, soft hat with the mark, Lion brand, inside, and a pair of black leather high shoes, marked, Dr. A. Reed Cushion shoe. No one had seen the man in the vicinity where the body was found, and no one came yesterday to the undertaking rooms to identify it. The man was probably a stranger to this neighborhood. The card is the only thing that gives an inkling as to who he might have been.
From his looks, he was a laborer and possibly might have been engaged in some one of the logging camps beyond here. That this man might have fallen upon hard luck, lost his job, tried elsewhere for work and was unsuccessful, could be adduced as a reason for his seeking the grove some time Friday night and preparing to end the struggle. Where he procured the rope is unknown. It is a heavy rope, like the kind used on a derrick. The noose was roughly but securely tied. The man did not mean that it should slip when he cast himself from the branch of the tree. In order to get the required drop, he had first got to the branch, secured one end of the rope there, tying it in the same hard knot as the noose. The act must have been deliberate - as deliberate as another man might arrange his evening toilet, before going to the opera. But to the man with death on his mind, the arranging surely was of grim nature. The rope being fixed, the rest was easy. He cast himself off. The distance was about 20 feet from the ground. The drop was sharp, sudden. When the noose tightened it is probable the man was instantly strangled.
When the morning sun came up behind the mountains in the east the body was swaying in a soft breeze blowing through the grove. It is probable that more than one person saw the man, but the distance was too far to discern that he was dangling from a rope. The body will be held at the morgue for a short time in the hope that someone will come to identify it. If not, then it will be buried in the Potter's field.
Daily Oregon Statesman 23 Apr 1911, 3:1-2.
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INSCRIPTION:
No marker shown in lot diagram.
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SOURCES:
LR
OSBH DC (Marion Co., 1911) #1311
DOS 23 Apr 1911 3:1-2.
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CONTACTS:
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| LOT: 356
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SPACE: 3 NE
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LONGITUDE:
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LATITUDE:
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