Gladys Frader
Galdys Harper Frader
1912-1917
Gladys was born in 1912 to parents Charles Frader and Carrie Meyers (1). She had twin older sisters Ida and Lillian and older brothers Fredrick and Frank.
Her family lived near the canal and their names were often found in the paper. In 1904 Charles fell off of a roof on the Justice Farm and there was concern he might die (2).
In 1914 both of her parents were arrested for fighting (3). Their home was part of the notorious incident of the flour thief (4). The stolen product was found in their home however Mrs. Frader stated she got the flour from Mr. Murray. A warrant was issued and a chase ensued and gunshots occurred. All ended well with the arrest of Mr. Murray and no tragic injuries from the gunshots on either side.
Gladys tragically died at age five after drowning in the Mill Pond (5). One of the long-term stewards of the cemetery Sam Snipes reports he heard that Gladys was buried outside the fence and that percipitated Louis Leedom and Henry Moon to close the cemetery to new burials. We have been unable to verify that story but we do know from ground-penetrating radar that there are four burials outside of the wall. We have given Gladys one of those spots.
At the time of her death, drowning was a major public health crisis. Causing the death of 11 people out of every 100,000 in the country. The Red Cross & the YMCA were two organizations that led nationwide programs to teach adults & children alike to swim. In just 15 years, they were able to cut that statistic by more than half to 5 out of every 100,000. It is now just 1 out of every 100,000.
Gladys’ family, all lived long, full lives. Her mother, Carrie, lived to 77. Her twin sisters both married and had families of their own. Charles and Fredrick both served in WWI, both coming home safely. Sadly, none of Gladys’ family is buried here at Slate Hill, though they all stayed fairly local in towns including Newtown and Trenton.
