A forgotten hero

James and Sarah's Hickey's tombstone at Holy Family is one of 3 Hickey stones in the cemetery. James and Sarah's stone is on the left. The larger stone on the right marks the final resting place of their second son, William, and his wife Grace.

In the center is a stone inscribed with "James / Beloved son of Wm. H. & Grace / Hickey." According to the dates on the stone, James died in 1895 at the age of 7.

When I first saw the stone for little James many years ago, I had wondered what had caused his death at such a young age. My guess was that he had succumbed to some childhood disease, like so many other children in that time period. It wasn't until a few months ago that I accidentally happened upon the true story of this child's death and of another cousin who was all but forgotten.

James ("Jimmy") Hickey was the oldest of 5 children born to William and Grace Hickey. George Thomas Miles, born in 1880, was the oldest child of William Hickey's sister, Catherine, and her husband, Samuel Miles. George had a little brother, Samuel, Jr., who was about a year older than Jimmy Hickey. The three cousins lived in Baltimore, a few blocks away from each other.

The Baltimore Sun described George Miles as "unusually muscular" and "a plucky fellow." On the morning of July 22, 1895, George took his little brother and Jimmy Hickey fishing at Gwynn's Falls. The 3 boys found a place to sit, on a rock near the public bathhouses. About noon Jimmy got up to move to a different spot on the rock. Unfortunately, he slipped and fell into the water.

George, with no regard for his own safety, immediately jumped in to save his little cousin. Sadly, though, George was not able to reach Jimmy in time, and he lost his own life in the process. Samuel Miles had run for help, but it was too late. Both boys had drowned before help arrived.

Two days after this tragic accident, the two cousins were buried at Holy Family cemetery. According to the newspaper account of their funeral, the boys were buried side by side in the same grave. However, the only name on the tombstone is that of James Hickey. How sad that the boy who gave his life trying to save his little cousin does not even have a stone to mark his grave.

I am currently working on a book about the Hickey family. I plan to include George and his story in the book, so that others may know of his heroism. I want to make sure that George and the many other "heroes" in the family are not forgotten.