George Shotwell and Albert Foster (1907)
Documented accidental poisoning
George Shotwell and Albert Foster died, and Reuben Foster became seriously ill, after drinking wine accidentally mixed with wood alcohol at a farm near Tabernacle in September 1907.
The poisoning
Shotwell and the two Fosters went to neighboring farmer Thomas Blaszak’s property on Friday, September 6, to help gather produce for the Philadelphia market. After the work, Blaszak offered them homemade wine strengthened with liquid from another bottle. Investigators concluded that he had mistaken toxic wood alcohol for a less dangerous spirit.
All three men became violently ill the following morning. Shotwell and Albert Foster lost their sight as their conditions worsened. Albert died at about 10 p.m. Saturday and Shotwell at about 1 a.m. Sunday. Reuben Foster received medical care and was later reported out of danger.
Official inquiry
Coroner Seeds notified Burlington County Prosecutor Atkinson and supplied a bottle of the suspected drink. Atkinson ordered postmortem examinations, performed on Monday by Dr. A. H. Small of Riverside and Dr. J. C. Brown of Vincentown. Small said the examinations and inquiry established that wood alcohol in the wine caused the deaths and that Blaszak had apparently mixed it in by mistake.
The available account treats the episode as an accidental poisoning. No criminal charge has yet been located.
Sources
Contemporary report dated September 11, 1907, reproduced by the Tabernacle Historical Society, “Tales of Murder and Mayhem”. The account has been paraphrased here; the dates inferred by the historical society agree with the weekdays stated in the report.