Most families will uncover sad or unfortunate stories in their history, often including accidents, alcoholism, abuse, or even murder. The Hale family is no exception.
Oscar James Hale (1870-1916) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He came from a family of silver platers and learned the trade himself. Around 1891, the Hales relocated to Toronto where Oscar met Rachel Harriet Nutman (1865-1913). Rachel, born in England, emigrated with her family to Ontario, Canada around 1870. Rachel and Oscar married, moved to Dewitt, New York (a suburb of Syracuse) and had three children. They relocated to Detroit around 1904 where Oscar continued to work for a short time as a plater. Family tradition tells us that Oscar was an alcoholic and was abusive – even once pushing his wife down the stairs.
Rachel ran her own baking business out of the house, certainly to help supplement the family income. Sadly, Rachel died at age forty-five on December 26, 1913 from “cardiac asthma.” When Rachel died, the family questioned the circumstances of her death, speculating that she committed suicide by sticking her head inside of her oven. A coroner’s inquest was held. Detroit’s Coroner Burgess found that indeed Rachel died of gas asphyxiation, but that her death was accidental due to defective piping of her bake oven. Burgess listed her death as “due to natural causes.” One might certainly question how gas asphyxiation could be considered a natural cause! We will likely never know what really happened on that fateful day.
Rachel was buried in Woodmere Cemetery next to her sisters. And regardless of the cause, her death left Oscar widowed with three teenage children to care for. Three years later, he was found dead at the home of a neighbor. Perhaps in a twist of fate, a drunken Oscar had fallen down the stairs and broken his neck. The coroner listed his cause of death as “sudden shock.” He probably never knew what happened. Although Oscar is also buried in Woodmere Cemetery, his grave is unmarked, located at the edge of the fence along the railroad tracks. A tragic family story to be sure.
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