At least Burial No. 3,573 had enjoyed a good meal

More than 175 human stories, many of them indecipherable now, form the narrative for this pretty section of the Chariton Cemetery known as Potter's Field. Lucas County's desperately poor, ranging in age from infants to the aged, were buried here for nearly a century. Among them are several known, as they say, "but to God" --- strangers who died among us whose names we didn't know.

The Chariton Leader reported the death of one this way in its edition of July 8, 1909, under the headline, "Unknown Man Killed."

"A tramp called at Clint Noble's lunch counter on Saturday night, saying that he had walked thirty miles without anything to eat and was hungry. Clint fixed him up and started him on his way rejoicing. Next morning, the crew of No. 15 found him out by the "Y," where he had apparently been struck by a passing train. The coroner went out and he was brought into town and taken to the Melville undertaking establishment. There was nothing on his person by which he could be identified and he was apparently between 40 and 50 years of age --- some say older, some younger."

The Herald's report of the same date was similar, but more detailed in some areas:

"A stranger, evidently a tramp, was killed some time Saturday night at the top of Whitebreast hill between here and Lucas. He was seen lying by the track by the crew on fast mail No. 15. When they reached Osceola, they notified the officials here and an engine and way car were sent to the scene of the accident and the remains were brought to Chariton and taken to Melville's undertaking parlors. The man's neck was broken, and one leg and nearly all his ribs on both sides were broken, and a deep gash was cut in the side of his head. When found the body was still warm, and it is thought that he was either struck by train No. 5 or fell from it while stealing a ride.

"He was a man about 50 years of age, five feet tall, and dark complexion. He was seen on our streets Saturday. The only articles found on his person were a dime, a spool of thread, and a needle, which was fastened to a copy of the Saturday Evening Post. The remains were interred in the potter's field yesterday afternoon."

Chariton Cemetery records identify the deceased as "unknown tramp" and note that his was the 3,573rd known burial in the cemetery when interred on Wednesday, July 7, in "public ground."

And this is all we're likely ever to know.