In 1895 Jacksonville, Ore., Sadie Trefren’s parents had just buried their 17-year-old daughter, Mary, who had died of typhoid fever during the town’s epidemic. So when Sadie fell in love with Albert Perry, they were saddened she would leave the family home, but happy she had made a good match.
As Sadie was planning for her wedding, she told her twin sister, Hattie, and her closest friends that she had a really bad feeling that her wedding gown would be her funeral dress. Two days after the wedding, calamity struck when Sadie was alone, doing the house chores.
Some paper fell on the coals while she cleaned ashes from the fireplace. A flash of fire caught her skirt on fire, and Sadie ran out the door in panic, screaming and looking for help.
When help came, they found Sadie in shock with her clothes completely burned, her body blistered and hair singed. The nearest doctor, nine miles away, couldn’t save her.
She was buried the next day, the minister at her wedding conducting the graveside service. It’s not confirmed she was wearing the wedding dress, but the grave was covered with wedding flowers and her bridal bouquet.
Source: Miller, William M. Silent City on the Hill: Jacksonville Oregon's Historic Cemetery. William Miller, 2004. Print.
