Evidence dossier · Newspaper event report · DR-1912-001
Citation-only releaseLightning at Brainard: Thomas and Mrs. Dobesh, 1912
A newspaper reported that lightning struck Thomas Dobesh's house on the night of 14 July 1912. Mrs. Dobesh had set down a lantern moments before; its globe shattered, and she narrowly escaped harm.
Source says
Under a Brainard dateline, the report names Thomas Dobesh and Mrs. Dobesh, describes slight damage to the house, and says the lantern globe shattered a few feet from her.
We conclude
The notice directly reports the event and the two surname-bearing roles. Identification as the 1910 Butler County couple is a separate, high-confidence correlation.
Still uncertain
The notice does not give Mrs. Dobesh's given name, a street address, legal parcel, insurance finding, or independent physical confirmation of the damage.
Why this record matters
This is a brief moment from an ordinary family's life that a tree cannot convey. The 1910 census makes the proposed identification testable.
Claims and their states
| Claim | Value | State | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storm | Night of 14 July 1912 | Source fact | [1] |
| Published | 25 July 1912 | Source fact | [1] |
| Reported damage | House slightly damaged; lantern globe shattered | Source fact | [1] |
| Mrs. Dobesh | Narrowly escaped harm | Source fact | [1] |
| Correlated household | The Tomas and Francis Dobish household enumerated in 1910High-confidence county and household correlation; the article itself does not name the wife or give a 1912 address. | [1] [2] |
Exact source occurrences
Principal people and correlated identities on this page
- Thomas Dobesh / Tomas Dobish — householder; correlated to the 1910 census headCorrelated identity across cited sources [1] [2]The correlated 1910 census reports age 45, placing birth no later than 1865; eligible under the 120-year publication rule. [2]
- Mrs. Dobesh / Francis — wife; correlated to the 1910 census wifeCorrelated identity across cited sources [1] [2]The correlated 1910 census reports age 43, placing birth no later than 1867; eligible under the 120-year publication rule. [2]
Every displayed person meets the documented-death rule or the conservative 120-year historical publication presumption; that presumption is not an identity conclusion or proof of death, and the record has been data-minimized.
2 Additional names in the source are not displayed until each receives its own eligibility and publication decision.
Sources and citations
- Evidence state
- Contemporary report reviewed with a qualified 1910 comparison
- Identity state
- High-confidence couple correlation to the 1910 household
Lightning Damage at Brainard
- Repository or publication
- Butler County Press, digitized at Newspapers.com
- Full citation
- “Lightning Damage at Brainard,” Butler County Press (David City, Nebraska), 25 July 1912, vol. 39, no. 50, p. 1; Newspapers.com image 673314062. The platform indexes the run as The Banner-Press; the issue masthead reads Butler County Press.
- Access
- Subscription required
- Locator state
- Exact locator
U.S. National Archives
- Repository or publication
- U.S. National Archives
- Full citation
- 1910 U.S. census, Center Precinct, Butler County, Nebraska, ED 3, sheet 7A, NARA T624 roll 839; FHL microfilm 1374852.
- Access
- Subscription required
- Locator state
- Exact locator
No source image is published. This page releases only description, a short excerpt or paraphrase, and citation under its item-level rights review.
Editorial note
The contradictory working-note age for a son (15 versus 16) was adjudicated from the 1910 census and research log, then omitted because it is not material to this public event dossier. The clipping is not released.