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Railroad death
From: Perry
DearMYRTLE,
My 2gg-grandfather (Edward Wells, b.3 Jul 1853, Letcomb, Berkshire, England and
d. 30 Jun 1887, perhaps Boston, MA) worked on a railroad in New England, and was
said to have been crushed to death between two cars. He was a brakeman, age 35
when he died. He left his second wife, and a son, Burtis Edward Wells, when he
died. How would I go about learning whether this is true or not, and further
information about what railroad it was, if so? His death record is not helpful.
Thanks in advance! -- Perry
Dear PERRY,
His death record is helpful in this manner, for you now have:
- the death date
- place of death
Now you begin searching surviving newspapers, most
likely on microfilm, for a report of the train accident. These were "big news"
so you are sure to find a cover story write-up. Yes, his obit might also prove
useful. Look in the papers for the week or two following his death. Please note:
1877 RAILROAD STRIKE. A Google search
located information on nationwide strike which officially began 14 days
following your 2nd great-grandfather's death. That is mighty interesting timing,
he died when tensions had mounted to a nearly unbearable point, I would imagine.
"14 July 1877, A general strike halted the movement of U.S. railroads. In the
following days, strike riots spread across the United States. The next week,
federal troops were called out to force an end to the nationwide strike. At the
"Battle of the Viaduct" in Chicago, federal troops (recently returned from an
Indian massacre) killed 30 workers and wounded over 100." See:
http://users.commkey.net/fussichen/otdrr.htm
CONSIDER
CHECKING
- THE BOSTON GLOBE. From Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia: "The Boston Globe [...]was founded in 1872 by six Boston
businessmen, led by Eben Jordan, who jointly invested $150,000. The first
issue was published March 4, 1872 and cost four cents. It was originally a
morning daily when it began Sunday publication in 1877. In 1878, The Globe
started an afternoon edition called The Boston Evening Globe, which ceased
publication in 1979."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boston_Globe
- DAILY ADVERTISER, BOSTON HERALD & BOSTON
TRAVELER. "The Daily Advertiser was established in 1813 in Boston by
Nathan Hale. The paper grew to prominence through the 19th century taking over
other Boston area papers. [...] The old Boston Herald was founded in 1846 by a
group of Boston printers jointly under the name of John A. French & Company.
[...] Even earlier than the Herald, the Boston Traveler was founded in 1825 as
a bulletin for stage coach listings. In 1912, the Herald acquired the
Traveler, eventually becoming the Boston Herald Traveler, in 1967."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Herald
I
COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING USEFUL HERE
- FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY CATALOG Place
Search> Boston, part of Massachusetts. Then selecting periodicals and looking
through the list of 1 item. I also did a keyword search for Boston Globe, and
then Boston Herald, and didn't find anything relevant.
- THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION site
proved fruitless, since unfortunately it lists accidents post-1975, too late
for your inquiry.
http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Default.asp
- NORTH EAST RAILS 1805-1900 Accidents &
Wrecks. This site looked interesting, but I didn't have time to look into
this in detail. My impression is that this site leads to hiring a researcher.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/wreck7.html
FOR
FURTHER READING
Do report back on your progress. Other readers will
benefit from your experience, Perry.
Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
6023 26th Street West PMB 352
Bradenton, FL 34207
http://www.DearMYRTLE.com
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