A Life Remembered: Lillian Viola Rednour (1913-1916)
On March 15, 1916, a tragedy unfolded in Henderson that shook two families and stunned the community.
Three-year-old Lillian Viola Rednour, daughter of W. H. Rednour and Clistie Jane (Wilson) Rednour, lost her life in an accidental shooting while playing at a neighbor’s home on West Main Street.
According to the Henderson Morning Gleaner (March 16, 1916), Lillian was visiting the home of Claude Belcher. While several small children were playing, a shotgun that had been secured by six-year-old Elvin Belcher was discharged. The load struck Lillian in the neck, causing instant death. A coroner’s inquest was held, and testimony determined the shooting to be accidental. All involved were children.
Newspapers described the confusion and grief that followed. Neighbors rushed to the house. Dr. Moseley was summoned. The coroner’s jury returned a verdict in accordance with the facts presented – a tragic accident.
Cemetery records indicate she was buried in public ground at Fernwood. Today, there is no known marker identifying her grave.
That detail is what makes this story especially poignant. A little girl whose life ended in a moment of childhood tragedy rests in an unmarked space in Fernwood Cemetery, her name preserved only in newsprint, cemetery ledgers, and a century old death certificate.
More than 100 years later, we remember her. If you visit Fernwood Cemetery, somewhere in the public ground section rests three-year-old Lillian Viola Rednour.
