Stephens, John L.

Webb City, Missouri, Nov 2 John L. Stephens, 56 years old, a pioneer hard rock lead and zinc miner of the district, was killed when his body was caught by a line shaft while he was attempting to repair a pump in the flotation plant of the Missouri-Kansas Mine near Waco at 1 pm this afternoon, Nov 2, 1928. Stephens was killed almost instantly. He had been repairing a pump when his clothing apparently caught in a belt which carried him to the shaft. The body was mangled. An inquiry conducted shortly after the accident by the coroner of Cherokee county Kansas, gave a verdict that Stephens' death was due to his own negligence in allowing himself to be caught by the moving belt. The body was taken to the funeral home of the Steele undertaking company.

Stephens' home was at Carl Junction Missouri, but for many years he had resided at Webb City Missouri and Joplin Missouri. He built and operated the second lead mill in the Webb City mining area. He was foreman of the day shift of the flotation mill in which he was killed.

Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Ida Stephens of Carl Junction; three sisters, Mrs. Sarah Adams, Mrs. Bertha McCullough of Joplin, and Mrs. Lee Cossairt of Chitwood, and two brothers, William Stephens of Amsterdam, Ida Sephens, and Samuel Stephens of Big Cabin, Missouri. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Webb City, Missouri, Nov 3 John L. Stephens, 56 yeas old, a hard rock lead and zinc miner in the district for many years, was killed almost instantly. His body was mangled, with virtually every bone in his body broken, his head, hands and one leg torn off. He had climbed to a pump near the top of the mill for the purpose of repairing it, when his clothing caught in a belt which carried him to the line shaft. His body was wrapped around the shaft, and some time was required to extricate it. Stephens had been a miner since he was 16 years old. He began working in mines in the vicinity of Joplin and Webb City Missouri, and built and operated the second lead mill in the Webb City mining area. He was foreman of the day shift of the flotation plant in which he was killed. . . Burial Mount Hope Cemetery, Webb City, Missouri.