LAPHAM, Emma M

Hassayampa Miner (Wickenburg AZ) Thursday, February 15, 1917, p 1:5&6 Mrs. Lapham Fatally Burned Last Wednesday night at a late hour a fearful accident at Aguila resulted in the death, in a few hours later, of Mrs. Emma J Lapham, mother of Charles and Frank Lapham, well-known cattlemen of that place. The Lapham ranch house is located about two miles from Aguila. Last Wednesday night the Lapham boys, in company with a Mr. Porter of Mesa who was visiting them, started to that settlement. Just as they reached the station they saw the reflection of a fire in the direction of their home and hurried back to find the house practically consumed, and Mrs. Lapham, who had remained at the house alone, laying on the ground, her clothing still burning. As quickly as possible she was placed in a machine and taken to Aguila and placed on the accommodation train, which brought her to Wickenburg, where Dr. Keith was called and every effort was made to alleviate her pain and save her life. The train reached Wickenburg about 2am and after about four hours of persistent effort on the doctor's part Mrs. Lapham was taken to Phoenix, where she died a few minutes after being taken from the train to the hospital. The burns were all deep and it is stated that her hands and face were burned to a crisp. The cause of the fire and the part which she played in it are merely conjectures, but it is stated by those who are most familiar with the circumstances that indications make it appear that a lamp exploded and either threw the burning fluid on her, or that, after being driven from the house by the explosion, she reentered to save some particular object and her clothing caught. She was able to give no clear account of the causes, as her consciousness was only at intervals and then all other things were forgotten in the terrible agony she suffered. Mrs. Lapham was well known in Phoenix and Mesa, having been in the habit of spending a portion of each year in those cities and being a considerable property owner at Mesa. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hassayampa Miner (Wickenburg AZ) Thursday, February 22, 1917, p 1:4 Mrs. Lapham's Funeral The funeral of Mrs. Lapham, who was fatally burned at Aguila on the 7th, was held in Phoenix last Saturday and the body was shipped to Collins, New York, for interment. Her sons, C. W. and F. C. Lapham, accompanied the body to its resting place.