Dr. James Bricker Tedrow (1856-1918) was the son of Jonas Tedrow (1821-1894) and Catherine Long (1824-1875). Jonas was a successful and respected farmer in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. He and Catherine were blessed with eleven children: five sons and six daughters, all born in Somerset County between 1846 and 1867. Jonas was a firm believer in a good education for his children; a noble value that Dr. Tedrow passed down to his son, Claire Dewitt Tedrow, and he to his son and daughter, James Woodhouse Tedrow and Katherine Tedrow Lary. [James W. Tedrow is my wife Hilary’s father]
This story focuses on two of Dr. Tedrow’s younger sisters: Elizabeth and Bertha. Elizabeth (Lizzie) was born in 1859. In 1886, at the age of 27, she married Milton S. Hamilton in Somerset County. Milton was six years younger. He died within the next few years and definitely before 1900. Per the 1900 census, Lizzie identified as a widow, working as a dry goods salesperson in New Centerville, Pennsylvania. There were no children.
Bertha Tedrow was six years younger than Lizzie and born in Glade, PA. She graduated in 1893 from Mount Union College (founded in 1846) in Alliance, Ohio. She was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority (the same sorority my wife Hilary is a member of). From there Bertha went to Philadelphia and studied for three years to become a certified nurse. In 1896 she moved to Omaha, Nebraska and found work as a hospital nurse. Bertha remained active with her sorority in Nebraska and was held in the greatest esteem by her large circle of friends.
Bertha married Edward Lanning Dodder in 1905 in Omaha. Three years her senior, E. L., as he was known, was a prominent undertaker and funeral home director in Omaha. Their first meeting was romantic. Mr. Dodder was ill in a hospital and fell in love with his nurse, Bertha Tedrow. They married shortly after his recovery. He also served as the State Treasurer of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Dodder was born in Boone County, Iowa where his father was a Presbyterian minister. Their marriage had not produced any children.
In November of 1907, Lizzie came to Omaha to spend the winter with her sister. On Thursday morning, February 20, 1908, the sisters were in the basement of Bertha’s house cleaning lace curtains with gasoline. They were getting ready for a birthday celebration on Saturday. The curtains had been cleaned the day before, but they deemed the result unsatisfactory. As reported in the Des Moines Register, “Suddenly, the people on the floor above heard a deafening explosion followed by a scream. They started down to the basement but were met by the two women rushing upstairs with their clothing all ablaze.”
Presumably the bucket of gasoline the ladies were using to clean the curtains was too close to the furnace, and when the cellar filled with gas fumes, the heat from the furnace caused it to explode. The sisters were instantly doused with burning gasoline.
The Omaha Daily Bee and The Omaha Evening Bee reported the gruesome details as well as the courage of the poor victims.
“Instantly the cellar was a seething furnace of flames. The women were human torches as they rushed upstairs. Frantically, they went from one room to the other, helpless in their awful agony.
“Mrs. Dodder [Bertha] rushed out of the house and plunged into a deep bank of snow. The flames were extinguished, but not before she had been so severely burned that there is no hope for her recovery.
“Mrs. Hamilton had stayed inside the house. Miss Mahe Barkell, a friend who has been staying in the house for a week, tried to do something for the sisters, but they ran about so frantically that she was unable to give them much aid. She managed though to draw a rug about Mrs. Hamilton, but in the excruciating pain in which she was suffering, Mrs. Hamilton threw off the covering. A letter carrier ran into the house and got a rug tightly about Mrs. Hamilton’s body thus putting out the flames.
“All the clothing was burned from the two women and they were in terrible agony. Dr. A.C. Bunce was on hand almost as quickly as anyone. He saw at once that Mrs. Dodder was fatally burned. She realized her condition. She begged the physician to give all his attention to Mrs. Hamilton. ‘I cannot be saved. Maybe you can save her,’ Mrs. Dodder said.
“The women were carried into the home of Edlef Jepsen next door. Other physicians arrived and the burns were dressed. Mr. Dodder was at a funeral. He arrived, however, soon after the accident. Still forgetful of herself, Mrs. Dodder exclaimed, ‘Poor fellow, this will be hard on you.’ Opiates were then administered to the two women…
“While she was being cared for by the neighbors before the arrival of the physicians, she [Bertha] directed what should be done for herself and her sister and throughout the awful ordeal maintained the most remarkable self-possession and courage.”
Bertha died later that afternoon, and Lizzie passed away the next morning. After they received morphine, neither, blessedly, regained consciousness.
Their brother, Dr. Tedrow from Williams, Iowa, and a niece, Margaret Tedrow from Hebron, Nebraska, arrived in Omaha Friday afternoon. Bertha’s husband and some of his funeral director colleagues cared for the remains of the sisters and placed them in caskets at Dodder’s funeral parlor.
On Sunday afternoon, a service was held at the First Presbyterian church attended by many distraught friends and immediate family and presided over by Rev. E. H. Jenks. On Monday, Bertha and Lizzie were carried back to their hometown of Glade PA accompanied by their brother, Bertha’s husband and Josie Bliss, an aunt of Mr. Dodder. Presumably the 1,000-mile journey was made by train.
The sisters were laid to rest, side by side, at the Union Cemetery in New Centerville, PA.
What Became of E. L. Dodder?
Nineteen months after Bertha’s tragic death, E. L. Dodder married Della May Miller. This was E. L.’s third marriage. His first marriage to Jessie Burket in 1890 ended in divorce. E. L. and Della May had two children: Eloise born in 1912, and Edward III born in 1915.
As the clock rang in the new year of 1917, all seemed well in E. L.’s world. His funeral business was good, he had a very active social life as a member of countless fraternal organizations, and a new growing family. He’d recently bought an electric red convertible and on the morning of January 4, he enthusiastically showed it off to one of his friends.
E. L., who in his earlier years had been in the banking business, was the State Treasurer of the Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW). He had lunch with a member of the organization’s finance committee who said all of the books and accounts were in order.
That evening, E.L. went to the movies with his family, but left before the film ended. He went to his office, got his new coupe out of the garage, and drove seven miles out of town. E.L. pulled over on the side of the road and, allegedly, shot himself with his handgun and died by suicide. His body was not discovered until the following afternoon.
His distraught wife, Della May, told the County Attorney that her husband’s ill health was the cause of his death. She said he’d been brooding over it for some time.
A few days later, the AOUW said they had found a possible discrepancy-shortage in the accounts of as much as $16,000, and an investigation and audit of Dodder’s books had commenced.
Dodder’s friends and wife were incredulous that such insinuations were being made. When asked if she would replace the money, if true, Della May said, “I do not know what I will do. I know nothing of any shortage and the report from Lincoln [AOUW’s headquarters] is a surprise to me. I cannot now say whether I will replace the money.”
The County Attorney in Omaha declined to open its own investigation deeming it a matter between AOUW and Dodder’s estate.
A few weeks later, Dodder’s will was submitted to probate court together with an inventory of assets with a value in excess of $250,000. By this time the AOUW audit committee confirmed a deficit of $16,000 in Dodder’s accounts. Questions were swirling. ‘Why would Dodder die by suicide over $16,000 with a net worth in excess of a quarter of a million dollars?’
This was only the beginning of the Estate’s legal troubles. E. L. had at least three life insurance policies ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. When the carriers denied coverage because of death by suicide, the Estate’s attorneys filed lawsuits to collect on the policies.
During the trials of Mrs. Dodder’s suits against Aetna Life Insurance and Standard Accident Insurance, some letters were introduced by the insurance companies, implicating Mr. Dodder in extra-marital affairs that could have led to him taking his own life. The Omaha Daily Bee reported on the bombshell testimony.
“Mrs. K. A. Moran, hairdresser, on the stand identified a packet of letters received by her from Dodder on the morning after his body was found.
“‘January 4, 8 p.m.’ read a note, together with a $50 bill, enclosed with the letters. ‘Dear Friend: I am enclosing those letters as I promised. This ends it all.’
“Mrs. Moran testified that Dodder was in the habit of visiting her home. She testified, ‘A letter was sent to him from some other city by a lady whose name I don’t remember. It was sent to his undertaking place and was forwarded to my house. I showed it to him and he cried. He said he felt like blowing his brains out.’
“The letter was from a woman who asked Dodder to reserve for her a room at the Loyal hotel during the Ak-Sar-Ben, 1916. Mrs. Moran said she later called the Loyal and found a Mrs. Collins in room 426. Dodder spent three days at the Loyal, Mrs. Moran testified. He also stayed at her home when he was ill, she said.”
In another letter introduced at trial, Dodder wrote to Mrs. Moran that he was depressed over the recent holidays and “I guess I’ll go jump in the river.”
The juries found for the insurance companies in two of the trials, and the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the Estate’s suit against Standard Accident Insurance.
The AOUW ended up filing a lawsuit on a fidelity bond to collect $1,000 that was allegedly misappropriated by E. L. Dodder as its Treasurer.
A very sad and tragic affair all around.
What Happened to E. L. Dodder’s Son?
E.L.’s and Della May’s son, Edward Lanning Dodder III, was 16 months old when his father died. Della May married John Bussamus and Edward and his older sister, Eloise, moved in with him in Glenwood, Iowa.
Edward III became a chiropractor, married Frances Schmidt, and set up his practice in Muscatine, Iowa. After World War II broke out, he joined the Army Air Corps in September of 1942, and became a bomber pilot.
On October 23, 1943, Lt. Dodder was on a training mission in Mountain Home, Idaho. He was piloting a B-24 bomber with a crew of 8 when it accidentally crashed mid-air with another B-24 bomber also with a crew of 8. Both bombers crashed and burned killing all 16 crew members.
Lt. Dodder’s death certificate disclosed he died from 4th degree burns over most of his body. He was 28 years old and was survived by his wife, Frances. There were no children.
References
“Double Funeral Sunday,” Omaha Daily Bee, February 22, 1908
“Mrs. E.L. Dodder Burned to Death,” Morning World-Herald (Omaha, Nebraska), February 21, 1908
“Tedrow Goes to Sad Scene, ”The Des Moines Register,” February 26, 1908
“Fatal Gasoline Explosion,” Omaha Daily Bee, February 21, 1908; “Mrs. E. L. Dodder Burned to Death and Fatally Injured in Gasoline Explosion,” Morning World-Herald (Omaha), February 21, 1908
“Double Funeral Sunday,” Omaha Daily Bee, February 22, 1908; “Tedrow Goes to Sad Scene,” The Des Moines Register, February 26,1908
“Bodies of Women Taken East,” Omaha Daily Bee, February 24, 1908
“Edward L. Dodder Drives to Lonely Spot and Puts Bullet Through Head,” The Omaha Evening Bee, January 6, 1917
“Say E.L. Dodder Who Killed Self, Was $16,000 Short,” The Omaha Daily News, January 12, 1917
“E. L. Dodder Left Quarter Million,” The Omaha Evening Bee, February 1, 1917
“Letters Written to Woman Figure in Dodder Suit,” Omaha Daily Bee, November 13, 1917. The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben [Nebraska spelled backwards] was an organization of local businessmen to promote business in Omaha.
“Guess I’ll Jump in River,” Morning World-Herald, December 19, 1918
“A.O.U.W. Sues Casualty Firm on Bond of E. L. Dodder,” Omaha Daily Bee, June 9, 1917. The outcome of that lawsuit is not known. It’s also not known if the AOUW reduced its original claim of $16,000 to $1,000.
Author’s Note
All of the newspaper articles for this story were found on Ancestry.com and its affiliate Newspapers.com.
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