A Little Girl Killed

She Fell While Carrying a Button Hook and It Pierced Her Brain

Agnes Sweeny, daughter of Thomas J. Sweeny of Seabright, was killed by an accident last Saturday. The little girl was five years old and she was running across the room with a button hook in her hand when she tripped and fell. The end of the button hook struck her in the eye, just under the temple bone. The little girl fell with the full weight of the upper part of her body on the button hook and this forced the end of the hook into her brain.

Dr. W. S. Whitmore was summoned and he extracted the hook, but he gave no hope of saving the girl’s life. The brains were oozing from the wound when the hook was removed. She was taken to the Long Branch hospital, where she died on Sunday night without having regained consciousness. The funeral was held at half-past two o’clock yesterday afternoon at the home of her parents.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, February 22, 1899

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.

• MyCinnamonToast.com ~ Keep up with FREE databases as they come online