The Ashtabula Disaster

by Stephen D. Peet

The following account of the passengers on the ill-fated train has been gathered with great difficulty. Communication with survivors and correspondence with friends have been the sources of information, and the description is given more for the satisfaction of the friends than for any general interest. It must however be remembered that each name has its own associations. This is true especially of those who died. Their names are freighted with precious memories and carry a weight of affection which, though unknown to the public, must make even the very mention of it exceedingly valuable.

If it is a consolation to know the last words of the dying, certainly the scenes attending the death of those who perished in this disaster must have a melancholy, a tragic interest.

We give below an account of the passengers in the different cars in succession, beginning at the front and going through, with as much accuracy as possible, to the last one in the train.

From the first car, more persons escaped than from any other. There were at least sixteen of these. Mr. C. E. Jones of Beloit, Wis., was sitting in the front seat; Mr. and Mrs. Martin and two children, of Lenox, Ohio, who were a third of the way back from the front; J. M. Mowry of Hartford, Conn., and Dr. C. A. Griswold of Fulton, Ill., were sitting together in the middle of the car; Thomas Jackson of Waterbury, Conn., and Mr. A. H. Parslow of Chicago; Victor Nusbaum, from Cleveland, and Charles Patterson of the same city, were toward the rear. This constitutes all the survivors on the right side.

On the opposite side, toward the front, were Edward Trueworthy and Joseph Thompson, of Oakland, Cal., with Alfred Gillett of Cranberry Isle, Me., sitting in two seats, facing each other. Mr. Thompson is described as having a smoking cap on, while Mr. Trueworthy had a shawl across his shoulders. Mr. Gillett was the only one out of this group who was killed. In front of them were a Mr. Walter Hayes of Lexington, Ky., with Miss Sarah Mann, who was also killed. Thomas Jackson of Waterbury, Conn., Robert Monroe of Rutland, Mass., Mr. Alex. Monroe of Somerville, Mass., Wm. B. Sanderson, Alex’r Hitchcock, of Port Clinton, Ohio, and Charles E. Rickard of Biddeford, Me., were upon the same side of the car.

Mr. F. Shattuck of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, is known to have been in this car and to have been killed. Mrs. Fonda and her nephew, D. Campbell, of Milledgeville, Ill., have already been described as among the dead.

There was a lady sitting at the right hand near the front who was “slight built and had a child with her about two years old.” The child was described as being “quite forward, for his age, talking well, and was very bright and interesting.” Just behind them was a lady who was described as “large, full formed, dressed in a plaid trimmed with black.” A younger lady sat behind her who was “tall, well formed, dressed in dark clothes and spent most of her time in reading a book.” These were all killed. It is probable that the trucks of the car above struck down just above where they were, as all in this part of the car seem to have perished. Their bodies lay near where they sat, but were too much crushed and burned to be recognized by their friends.

The author could have identified them had he received descriptions in time.

About the middle of the car upon the left side, were two ladies sitting together, both of them dressed in black. The one was older than the other and had been to the East to bury a daughter who had died of consumption. Both of these were killed.