Burned Alive: The Patrick Leonard Story
Patrick Leonard was born in Ireland. He came to America and eventually settled in New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked for ice company Upson & Granniss.
In 1891, he traveled to Southwick, Massachusetts, to work on a new ice house his company was building.
On July 26, Patrick was drinking heavily, as he was known to do. His son Thomas locked him in a hotel's shed, as he had done before, to stop him from drinking.
About two hours later, the shed went up in flames. When the fire was out, folks found Patrick's charred remains among the glowing ruins of the shed. It is unclear how the fire started. Investigators first suspected Patrick's pipe caused the fire, but they found it some distance away from his body.
The medical examiner ordered an inquest into Patrick's death.
At a hearing on August 12, witness testimony removed all suspicion of foul play. The judge determined that smoking was more than likely the cause of the blaze.
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