Joseph Garlick was baptized in 1828 in Peak Forest, England.1 His illegitimate son, Henry, was baptized in 1843 in Taxal, Eng.2 Joseph married Henry’s mother, Ann Mellor, in 1849 in Manchester, Eng.3 In 1850, they emigrated from Liverpool, Eng., and they immigrated to New Orleans, Louisiana.4
Ann’s brother, Francis Mellor, died in 1861 in Linden, Wisconsin.5 In 1870, Joseph and Ann lived in Clifton, Wis.6 Their niece, Elizabeth Mellor, lived with them.6 Henry married Elizabeth in 1875 in Wyoming Territory.7 Henry joined the gold rush in 1876 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.8 In 1880, Henry and Elizabeth lived on Lawrence Street in Central City, Colorado.9 Joseph and Ann lived with them.9
Joseph was in the dining room on 26 April 1887 in Central City.10 He was “preparing to go to the mine after breakfast,” so he “took down a box of giant caps from the top of a high cupboard.”11 The box was “placed upon the dining table.”12 It contained “ninety-two caps of seventy-five pounds resistance each.”11
“The entire box exploded.”11 “The force of the explosion shattered the furniture into splinters.”10 Joseph was “horribly mangled.”13 “His left hand was blown off at the wrist, and the fingers of the right hand were torn off. Several pieces of the caps penetrated his bowels, and his face was shockingly burned.”12 He survived for “about ten hours,” and “he died in intense agony.”11
1 Church of England (Derbyshire), baptisms, p. 44, number 350, Joseph Garlick.
2 Taxal Parish Church (Cheshire), baptisms, p. 36, number 282, Henry Mellor.
3 Manchester Cathedral (Lancashire), marriages, p. 53, number 106, Joseph Garlick and Ann Mellor.
4 Manifest, Chas Chaloner, 31 October 1850.
5 "Died," Mineral Point Weekly Tribune, 1 January 1862, p. 2, column 5.
6 1870 U.S. census, Grant Co., Wis., sch. 1, Clifton, p. 17, line 14, dwelling 122, family 122, Joseph Gaslick.
7 Laramie Co., Wyo., First Marriage Records, 14, Henry Garlick and Elizabeth Mellon, 25 October 1875.
8 "Died," Weekly Register-Call, 22 November 1895, p. 5, column 6.
9 1880 U.S. census, Gilpin Co., Colo., sch. 1, Central City, ED 49, p. 18, line 6, dwelling 12, family 12, Henry Garlick.
10 "Injured by Explosion of Giant Powder Caps," The Daily City News, 29 April 1887, p. 4, column 3.
11 "The Fatal Giant Caps," The Silver Standard, 30 April 1887, p. 3, column 2.
12 "Terrific and Fatal Explosion," St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 28 April 1887, p. 2, column 2.
13 "General News Items," Montezuma Millrun, 30 April 1887, p. 1, column 3.