In the late 19th century, the lives of most Saucon Valley residents revolved around farming; a pursuit which carried with it many occupational hazards. One of them was the risk of an animal attack, which according to the following Allentown Democrat article was what seriously injured a Lower Saucon Township resident as he labored on Andrew Ehrhart’s “big farm” in Lower Saucon Township in February 1895.
Fortunately, in the case of Edwin Derr of Leithsville, the attack by “an infuriated bull” apparently did not prove fatal. His injuries, however, would have been extremely painful.
The article notes that in the attack Derr’s clothes were ripped from his body, which would have made his escape to the relative safety of a nearby house even more excruciating.
Hospitals in the area were in their infancy in the 1890s, which meant that most injured individuals were treated at home, or wherever the attending physician could get to them.
The article notes that Edwin Derr was married and the father of four children in 1895.
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An Edwin Derr who had four children is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Pleasant Valley, Springfield Township, Bucks County. According to the entry for him on FindAGrave.com, he was born on July 20, 1846 and died on Nov. 23, 1924, at the age of 78. He would have been 48 years old at the time of the bull attack in 1895, but the age provided in the story is an approximation.
Edwin Derr, a farmhand from Leithsville, Lower Saucon Township, was seriously injured when a bull gored him on the farm where he worked in 1895. The above story published by the Allentown Democrat on Feb. 13, 1895 provides a detailed account of what happened to him.
Olden Days is a Saucon Source column in which unearthed newspaper articles about the history of local people, places and things are shared.