[4403] William Everett Day 4/12/1900-2/17/1915 b.268 Jefferson Street, Hartford, CT. (Barkhamsted Center Cemetery). Killed at age 14 when his sled struck a tree in front of the old Barkhamsted Center schoolhouse.
One drawback to the location selected for Barkhamsted's Constitutional Oak was that it sat at the bottom of a hill, directly across from the end of Inspiration Avenue, which led westward up the hill toward Center Congregational Church. In the winter, children often sledded down this hill toward their schoolyard. Before school on the morning of Wednesday, February 17, 1915, 14 year-old William F. "Bill" Day and Dyer Davis were sledding from the church at the top of the hill to the schoolhouse at the bottom of the hill. But the hill was very icy that day and Day lost control of the "double ripper" and careened into the metal fence surrounding the tree. He got up and walked to the doorway of the schoolhouse where he collapsed. Sadly, the accident was witnessed by many of Day's schoolmates, including three of his four brothers and one of his two sisters. Day's parents, William Day, Secretary of the School Board, and Hattie Root Day, were notified and took their son home. He remained unconscious until his death, an hour and a half later. New Hartford Medical Examiner J. Swett, M.D., Listed the cause of death as "Facture of Skull." The children at Center School were told of their classmate's death after school closed that afternoon. His sledding companion, Dyer Davis, had hurt his back in the accident, though not seriously. Day's funeral was held Saturday, February 20, 1915 at 2:00 pm at "the church in Barkhamsted," with the Reverend Mr. Burgess presiding.
No one that I know of is alive today to tell us anything about Willie. This account of his death was written for the website of the Barkhamsted Historical Society.
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