My grandmother told me that her grandfather died from poison gas while digging a well in Ohio. My GGGrandmother returned to her father's home in Oxford, NC with 3 children and pregnant with the 4th.

One day I received an email out of the blue. A high school student was researching my GGGrandfather's family for a research history project. Not only did he find out about him, but emailed me the local newspaper's account of exactly what happened.

It stated that my GGGrandfather died from carbolic acid gas poisoning, and so did the young white man who was the only one who was brave enough to try to rescue him. Not only did this fill a gap for me, but it verified my grandmother's story.