William P. Fitchpatrick

#37 William Pierce Fitchpatrick (1868-1913) 1905

William Pierce Fitchpatrick, son of Joseph Andrew Fitchpatrick and Harriet Victoria C. Pierce, was born September 12, 1868, in Nevada, Story County, Iowa. He graduated from Nevada High School in 1885 and attended Commercial College in Des Moines.

He went into the abstracting, real estate and insurance business with his father, J. A. Fitchpatrick, in the Fitchpatrick Investment Company. On August 14, 1895, he married Nevada native Ada J. Ringheim, daughter of Ingerbrit Anderson Ringheim and Lorinda Torgisdatter Sime, in Nevada.

He served on city council for two terms from 1894 to 1896 and was elected mayor serving one term in 1905. In 1913, he had put up a building at a favorable location on Lincoln Highway close to the Lynn Street businesses. He operated a garage and automobile business from the site. It appeared to be an exceedingly promising business venture.

At 5:45 on the afternoon of July 8, 1913, this tragically came to an end. W. P. Fitchpatrick along with an automobile expert from the Hupmobile agency in Des Moines and I. R. Kempkes and C. C. Montgomery of Nevada left for a quick drive to Fernald. When Mr. Fitchpatrick was clear of all crossings and upon reaching the Lincoln Highway he sped up. It is not known whether there was an error in judgment or a defect in the automobile. The car began to veer and the steering wheel was wrenched loose. W.P. gave a warning for all to jump, the emergency brake was set, and the three passengers were thrown clear and survived. The automobile rolled and crushed Mr. Fitchpatrick. The broken spoke of the steering wheel punctured his head and his neck was broken. He died instantly.

He was survived by his father, his wife, two daughters and a son.