From the 3/25/1887 Van Wert, Ohio, Times: "The Paessler saw mill in Union township, on the Mahogany Belt railroad, was the scene on last Friday of a most appalling accident. During the forenoon the mill had been closed down and at the time of the explosion, which was between one and two o'clock in the afternoon, the mill hands were at work loading lumber on the cars. There were at the time about twenty men within a hundred feet of the treacherous boiler but were luckily protected by wood and lumber piles, otherwise the loss of life must have been even more terrible. And yet it could not have been more sad and heart-rending. The lives of two men were instantly hurled into the depths of eternity without the slightest warning of danger. Samuel Miller and Frank P. Burtsfield were the unfortunate victims. They had just stepped into the mill to warm in front of the furnace and were engaged in conversation at the very moment of death. Both men were blown against a large wood pile and struck by large pieces of the boiler, which mangled their bodies in a dreadful manner. Frank Burtsfield was not quite thirty-one-years of age, unmarried, was a school teacher, and had just closed a term two days before. He has also been for several years a member of the Democratic County Central Committee. He was universally respected and his untimely death is deeply deplored. His funeral, which was held Sunday was largely attended.
The cause of the explosion is a matter of conjecture but it is generally supposed that the water in the boiler was too nearly exhausted. A water gauge was used which is claimed to be unreliable on account of often being clogged with sediment. The mill was a complete wreck and pieces of the boiler were scattered all over the yard."

From the 8 April 1887 Van Wert, Ohio, Times: "BURTSFIELD - Franklin Pierce Burtsfield was born in Richland county, Ohio April 15, 1856, and came to an instantaneous and untimely death by the explosion of a boiler at the sawmill of O. H. Paessler, March 18, 1887."
"Frank, as he was familiarly known, was a son of John and Matilda Burtsfield who came to Union township some fifteen years ago, where they have since resided. For a time he attended the district schools; afterward taking a course of study under the tutorage of Prof. M. H. Tuttle at Convoy, thus preparing himself for the noble calling of teacher, in which he excelled for a period of ten years. From boyhood up he was ever notable for his many admirable traits of character. It always seemed the one thought of his life, that in all his intercourse and association with others, the "golden rule" should be his most prominent commander. So it was he gained the warmest friendship and esteem of all, and when overtaken by the fatal calamity which resulted in his death, was followed to his last resting place by a large concourse of sorrowing friends. Frank is now silently sleeping within the lonely tomb, but his brief life will constantly loom up in the minds of all who knew him as a bright and shining light, which burned, as it were, for a day, but was so suddenly extinguished by the hands of a mysterious fate. His sorrow-stricken father, mother, brothers and sisters, toward whom he had always been a dutiful and loving son and brother, were loth to give him up. But, he is now gone, and may they all so live as to meet him in the sweet peace, in which he now rests, forever and forever."