December 10, 1865 Death of Ira C. Johnson

The October 1991 issue of the Interlaken Historical Society newsletter carried a report on the death of Ira C. Johnson, and also the community support of the family following that death. The article was titled “A Tragedy in Farmer Village.”

“On December 10, 1865, Ira C. Johnson was helping move a large safe in the James C. Knight store. The safe tipped over, killing Ira. A couple months later, Mrs. Johnson received the following receipted bill from undertaker Jacob Bergen.”

Receipt of payment by Community members
Ira Johnson Funeral 1865
Collection of the Interlaken Historical Society

The article continued, “Who were the men who paid the funeral bill? Most were merchants and many of our Society members will find their ancestor’s names on the list.”

The original article identified a few of the donors. “Peter Bergen had a furniture store; Winterstein a clothing store; L. Hinman a grocery store at the present site of the post office (he also built the house that is now our library); John Hill was a doctor; John Avery, the postmaster. The treasurer, R. D. Mann, was a blind Reformed Church minister, and A. W. Porter was the local photographer. “

The building where the tragedy occurred burned in the great fire of December 1880.

The safe, salvaged after the fire, was “the safe used by postmaster John V. Kellogg until 1961 when the post office moved to the present site.” [The post office at the time of the fire was just north of the current library, and then in 1907 moved to the brick Case Block building. Today that building is Gun Black and Alarmtech.]

Names shown on the receipt: Peter Bergen, J.D. Wintersteen, James Kennedy, Jacob Bergen, James C. Knight, John B. Avery, Ira Almy, Ford Rappleye, E.M. Knight, T.W. Rappleye, A. M Forker, O.G. Wheeler, P. H. Hinnan, D.C. Wheeler, D.D. Lefler, John O. Hill, L. Hinman, Daniel Christopher, A. Woodruff, Samuel Mundy, John M. Cornwell, R.D. Mann.

Mrs. Ira Johnson was the former Sarah Bassette, daughter of Lemuel and Julia Bennett Bassette. Her brother, Jared Bassette was grandfather to Dewitt whose diary entries accompany these Snippet items.

Dewitt’s Diary, Friday, December 10, 1965

Temperature 35 early this morning. Cloudy.

We worked in the woods this morning, cutting up dead maple.

Went fishing this afternoon. Leland caught 4 trout north of Bergen Beach and just south of Lem’s. I could not catch a single one from shore.

Temperature 40 at noon today. Cloudy and light north wind on the lake.

Gave Seward Case a trout. He was at his cottage.

Also gave Mrs. Yarnell a trout when we came up from the lake.

Cloudy and still tonight.