Written by Victoria Gresham | February 27, 2023
A Summer Silenced
On the 200th day of summer in 1890, a devastating event occurred in Porter County. July 19th marked a Saturday that would carry a dark cloud in the blossoming City of Valparaiso. Three men gave their testimony to the dreary scene left in the chronicles of time for the young Hamlett family. Mollie Hamlett, age 33 years old, and her husband, John Hamlett, also known as John Hamlet, made Center Township their home- at least that seemed to be the plan.
While the world around them flourished with life that month, it was certainly a time for new occasions. Earlier on July 3rd, Idaho was admitted into the State of the Union as the 43rd state followed by Wyoming on July 10th becoming the 44th state of the developing nation. Wyoming would later become the first state to endure female suffrage, which would lead to the Women’s Right to Vote crusade. The month of July across the globe held many ups and downs, including the unexpected death and shooting of Vincent van Gogh, Dutch Artist and Painter after taking his life at 37 years of age.
(Image Source: http://www.archives.gov)
Within our state boundaries, Indiana had opened its doors in Fort Wayne to the School of Feeble Minded Youth in 1890 situated in the open spaces of country on East State Street with residents coming from all walks of life statewide. Closer to Valparaiso, the small village of Mayville that had been slowly growing for the past 20 years was silently diminishing from its existence. There even was a time that Mayville had a constable, whose name was Jake Calligan. Sources show that during Jake’s time as constable, he practiced a simple rule of thumb, “Counterfeiting, horse stealing and highway robbery were in visible existence, but just as long as criminals let the local folks alone Jake let them alone.”
(Image Source: fortwaynereader.com)
Back at the Hamlett homestead, there was another situation unfolding for the residents of Valparaiso. H.C. Coates, M.D., serving as the Porter County Coroner, questioned Hans Claussen to provide his recollection of the day’s events. The Coroner’s examination is transcribed in its original testimony as it was exchanged.
(Image Source: inporterco.org)
Coroner’s Examination
(Image Source: Porter County Clerk Archives, February 24, 2023)
H.C. Coates, M.D., County Coroner was tasked with the investigation of the Hamlett tragedy.
COATES
Question: Mr. Claussen tell me what you know about the burning of the house of John Hamlet on the morning of July 16th 1890 in the south of part of the City of Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana.
CLAUSSEN
Answer: About 5 o’clock in the morning I discovered smoke and run over and found the house on fire on the inside the doors and windows were all closed. The first thing I done I knocked in the bedroom window, the smoke and flames of fire come rushing out from the window and made it impossible to get in the window. Then I tried it at the front door of the setting room and met same result for the fire and smoke. Then Albert Stoner come to assist in rescuing the family. The next thing we done we broke in the south bedroom window. The bed was not occupied it was empty. As a rule that bed was not occupied by the family it was a spare bed. We found them all in the bedroom used as the ordinary sleeping room. The mother Mollie Hamlett and four little children ages ranging from seven years of age down to one year, names as follows Ella Hamlett, 7 years old, Anna Hamlett five years old, John Hamlett three years old, Charlie Hamlett one year old. The bodies were all so badly burned that we could not identify any of them. We throwed on water and got the charred bodies out of the fire as soon as we could. The house of Mr. Hamlett is about twenty five rods from my residence in the City of Valparaiso. This is all I know about it.
COATES
Question: Do you have any definite idea as to how the fire occurred?
CLAUSSEN
Answer: The only reason I can give is the lamp they had burning exploded that is I think that was the case.
COATES
Question: Do you know whether the family had any money on hand at the time of the fire?
CLAUSSEN
Answer: Not to my knowledge.
(Image Sources: Porter County Clerk Archives, February 24, 2023)
COATES
Question: Do you think that tramps could have entered the building?
CLAUSSEN
Answer: No, I do not on account of the windows and doors all being closed and fastened.
The Coroner continued to conduct his investigation and learned that Albert Stoner had also arrived on the scene to assist Hans with the rescue attempts. They were joined by William F. Drago. The men gave their accounts of the day as follows:
COATES
Question: What did you discover first when you arrived at the fire?
STONER
Answer: The fire was all in the building. I could see it burning through the windows on the north part of the house. The flames burst through and the windows tumbled in in about five minutes after I arrived at the house. Mother and one child was taken out before all of the floor was burned through. The other three children were taken out from below as the part of the floor burned through when I arrived. I was there about two hours.
DRAGO
Answer: I was at the burning house of John Hamlett in the south part of the City of Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana and assisted in removing the bodies that were burned in the building. There were five (5) of them in number. The Mother and four children. The bodies were all charred and burn beyond recognition. I was informed that it was the wife and four children of John Hamlett. That is all about I know about the terrible accident.
After considering all testimonies, Coroner Coates’ final report of the dreadful incident that extinguished the young lives of the Hamlett family was determined as “death by fire, death was instantaneous and each body was removed from the fire in a charred condition.” Frank Leapelle, Undertaker, took charge over the family to prepare them for burial.
There is no record of John Hamlett’s testimony if any, or his whereabouts during the fire and rescue attempts available at the time of this writing.
The Dash 