Tragedy strikes the Wise family

WISE_Joseph E. Family after 1895

The photo above shows the Joseph E. Wise family in a photo taken sometime after 1895. How do we know the date?

Tim De Frange was kind enough to share both the photo and the tragic story behind it on Ancestry.com. According to Tim, the photo was taken about 1896 in Portage or Summit County, Ohio. Below is the caption that appears with the photo:

The Joseph Wise family gathered for a family picture. Seated in front from l to r are Maggie (Margaret) Wise, Joseph Wise, Sr. Mary Andes Wise, Henry Wise. Standing behind them from l to r are Clara Wise, Louise Wise, Joseph Wise , Jr. Petronella Wise, Charles Wise, Jenny Wise and Ed Wise. Not pictured is Augusta Wise (1876-1895) who died at age 18 when she was accidentally shot by one of her sisters who was cleaning and the gun went off. This photo was taken shortly after the tragedy. Vincent Eichler would not reveal which sister caused the accident. He said it was a tragic accident and wanted it forgotten.

I hesitated to write about this subject, since it was such a painful memory for many, but a recent comment made on Ancestry.com revealed that Louisa Wise was the sister who (allegedly) accidentally shot her sister, Augusta. According to the writer, this was the story that was passed down within the family.

If anyone knows more and is willing to share the information, please contact me at Knapp Notes.

 

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2 Responses to Tragedy strikes the Wise family

  1. Michael Wise says:

    Good morning Ann, I have been told the story about this many times and there is more to it than what was printed but I hesitate to share it because I am not from that branch of the family. If you would like to talk about it I would be glad to relate it to you but not for printing until we can get clearance and corroboration from that branch of the family.  I will be up in Ohio last week of June and first week of July, maybe we can talk about it. God Bless you and all the cousins. Mike

    Like

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