DNA is helping solve 96-year-old mystery – Commonwealth Journal’s History

Some Mothers Boy, killed in a train accident nearly a century ago and buried as an unknown in a Georgetown cemetery, is finally coming home to rest beside his mother and father.

Results of DNA tests are about a month away, but the Haynes family in Pulaski County seems assured Frank A. Haynes, interred for 96 years, is one of them. They are planning to bring his scant remains, exhumed in March, back home to be buried beside his parents in the Newell cemetery at Bronston.

Haynes, 19, was killed in a train accident in Georgetown April 1, 1921. His head apparently was mutilated by wheels on the train as he and a companion attempted to switch directions by jumping from one train to another.

Some newspapers in the area identified Haynes a short time after his death, but no official identification was made and he was buried as an unknown. Communication during the early 20th century was mainly word of mouth and distance between the accident site in Georgetown and his family in Bronston was light years apart.

Someone, somebody, put up a tombstone inscribed: Some Mothers Boy/Killed/April 1, 1921/Interred/April 14, 1921/Contributed by Friends.

Haynes death was legend among members of the Haynes family during the past century. His many relatives in Bronston, Burnside and Somerset knew he was killed by a train; the story was told time and time again. However, they didnt know his burial place until recent publicity surrounding an investigation by J. Todd Matthews, director, Case Management and Communications, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

Efforts by Matthews and NamUs generated publicity that informed relatives in this area where the body was buried. Initially, as recent stories surfaced, Haynes age was given as 17. However, Frank M. Haynes, a nephew who lives at 51 Muncey Lane, Somerset, said family Bible records list the dead mans birthdate as March 2, 1902, making him 19 when he was killed.

My father, Fred, told me the story many times, said Frank M. Haynes. He (Frank A. Haynes) and another boy jumped a train in Burnside. For some reason, at Georgetown, they decided to switch directions.

Both boys jumped from the northbound train to a southbound train (Royal Palm). The other boy made the jump. Frank didnt. The train ran over his head, probably leaving him unidentifiable, said Frank M. Haynes.

The dead boys companion reportedly was detained in Somerset for questioning. However, his name was not recorded and nobody knows who he was or where he went.

Matthews was in Somerset Tuesday to collect female DNA samples from Mamie Hahn, a niece who lives in Twin Lakes subdivision at Bronston. Originally, plans were to take a DNA sample from Margaret Haynes Bell, another niece from Burnside. However, Matthews explained it was necessary to get the sample from Hahn on the dead boys maternal side. Members of the family gathered Tuesday in the Wal-Mart parking lot where DNA and FRS (Family Reference Samples) were taken.

A family spokesperson said Richard New, manager of Southern Oaks Funeral Home, will provide an appropriate container in which to bury the few bones and teeth that remain in the grave after 96 years.

Frank A. Haynes was one of 12 children of Frank Haynes Jr. and Mignona Haynes of Bronston.

Read this article:
DNA is helping solve 96-year-old mystery - Commonwealth Journal's History