Edwin Y. Reese

Death date was after July 21, 1902, at which point he was severely injured by, but not killed, a boiler explosion at his mill. See story below. He died between July 22 (the date of the article about the explosion) and July 29, the article about his death.

DELLA ARMENTHA (SHARP) MINSHEW married ED Y. REECE June 17, 1900 in Pickens Co., AL. [Ancestry.com. Alabama, Marriage Index, 1800-1969]

July 21, 1902: "One of the most fearful casualties ever recorded in this section occurred at McCrary, a small station a few miles east of this city on the Montgomery extension of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, about 9 o'clock yesterday morning, when the boiler of Pridmore & Reese's lumber mill exploded, and the entire plant was blown to atoms, killing three men and seriously injuring a fourth.

The dead are Preston Pridmore, one of the proprietors of the mill, Frank Pridmore, his son, and John Taylor, a white man, who was employed as a laborer [John Taylor was a cousin of Preston Pridmore]. E. Y. Reese, the junior partner of the concern, was badly scalded and received internal injuries which may result in his death.

The accident, while a fearful and most deplorable one, occasioned little surprise among those who were familiar with the plant and its history. The whole outfit was what was known in commercial parlance as "second hand." The machinery and boiler had received enough usage, and so it is stated, were totally unfit for the usages to which they had been put since the plant began operations about three weeks ago. As far as can be learned, nothing occurred on yesterday which could have resulted in bringing about the explosion, and the accident was due solely to the fact that the machinery was old and worn out and utterly unfit for use. Mr. Reese, the junior partner of the concern, was formerly a resident of this city, having been employed at Jacobs' machine shop for quite a while. A short time since he entered into partnership with Mr. Pridmore and the saw mill was put in operation. The Pridmores and Mr. Taylor, who lost their lives in the explosion, were all married, and leave families to mourn their untimely end.

Dr. R. S. Curry, who was called to the scene of the disaster to attend Mr. Reese, was seen by a Commercial reporter upon his return to the city yesterday after noon, and stated that the catastrophe was the most horrible that he had ever seen, and that its harrowing details almost beggard [stet] description. The bodies of both Mr. Pridmore and his son were maimed almost past recognition. Frank Pridmore, who was standing near the boiler when the explosion occurred, was blown fully fifty or sixty feet in the air, his body falling to the ground more than one hundred feet from the scene of accident, while the body of his father was found about forty feet from the doomed mill. In addition to the list of injured presented above, Silas Neyett, a negro, was wounded by the explosion. His injuries, however, are of a trivial nature, and he will be alright within a few days. When asked as to the nature of Mr. Reese's injuries, Dr. Curry stated that he was terribly burned and scaled, and that he was probably suffering from internal injuries also, although it was impossible to tell at this time the extent to which they existed, as he was suffering so greatly that a thorough examination was impossible.

Both Mr Reese and the negro, Nevett, are being looked after by Dr. Taylor Henry, who lives in the neighborhood in which the accident occurred, and Mr. Reese's friends in this city indulge the hope that he may ultimately recover from his injuries. --The Columbus Commercial, July 22, 1902, Weekly Edition, p. 4]

MR. REESE IS DEAD. Mr. B. Y. Reese, one of the members of the firm of Pridmore & Reese, whose saw mill at McCrary was blown up last Saturday, and who was severely injured in the explosion, died from the injures sustained therein at nine o'clock Saturday morning. Mr. Reese was a former resident of this city, and had many friends who greatly deplore his untimely death and sincerely sympathize with his family in their sad bereavement. --The Columbus Commercial, July 29, 1902, Weekly Edition, p.1