The Ashtabula Disaster

by Stephen D. Peet

The second passenger car was well filled. There were many ladies in it. It is not known for a certainty who were its occupants, as no one has yet been found by the author who had escaped from it. The dead who are supposed to have been in it and have since been recognized or otherwise proven to have been on the train, were as follows: George Keppler, of Ashtabula, O.; L. W. Hart, of Akron, O.; Isaac Myer and Birdie Myer, his daughter; Mrs. George and Mattie George, of Cleveland, O.; Maggie Lewis, of St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. E. Cook, of Wellington, O.; Mrs. Lucy C. Thomas, Buffalo, N. Y.; Wm. Clements, Bellevue, O.; Mr. M. P. Cogswell, Chicago; Miss Annie Kittlewell, Beloit, Wis.; L. C. Crain, New Haven, Conn.; Boyd Russell, Albany, N. Y.; Doctor Hubbard, Polk City, Iowa, and others whose bodies have not been recognized, amounting in all, according to the testimony of many survivors, to at least forty passengers.

In the smoking car were about sixteen persons. A group was at the rear end. It consisted of Mr. Tilden, the superintendent of water works; Geo. M. Reid, superintendent of bridges, and David Chittenden, of Cleveland. The conductor and news-boy were near by. Mr. Stowe, of Geneva, Ohio, was standing near and listening to the conversation. As mentioned before, this conversation was upon the weight of the engine and the amount of water it used. Mr. Stockwell was sitting on the other side, having just bought a cigar of the news-boy. Another group had dispersed but a little time before. It consisted of three who called themselves “the three blondes,” as the accidental resemblance to one another had amused them. These were, Mr. J. M. Mowry, of Hartford, Conn., who afterwards went into the first passenger car; Mr. J. C. Earle, of Chicago, Ill., and Col. A. Maillard, of California, both of whom remained. Two brothers were in the car—Mr. R. Osborn and F. Osborn, of Tecumseh, Mich.,—who were sitting together. Two young men were in another seat—C. D. Meranville and Wm. B. Sanderson. Mr. L. C. Burnham, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Mr. C. Lobdell, Troy, N. Y.; Thos. C. Wright, Nashville, Tenn., and Mr. Harry Wagner, conductor of the sleeping coaches, were in the same car. Of this number, Mr. Stowe, Mr. Chittenden, Mr. F. Osborn, Mr. Stockwell and the sleeping car conductor were killed. The stove fell from one end of this car to the other, making a clean sweep by carrying everything before it. As it hit the end it broke through the timbers and then set the car on fire. Those who were struck by it were instantly killed.

Mr. R. Osborn, whose brother perished by his side, was very badly hurt and barely escaped with his life. The car stood after its fall at an angle, so that those who were within, were obliged to go up an inclined plane and to get out at the upper door. Most of those who escaped, went up the north side of the track.

The destruction of life was greatest in the second coach, because, as has been mentioned, the car struck upon its side and was badly smashed; yet it is a singular fact that the bodies from this were better preserved than from any other car in the train, as they fell into the stream where the water was deepest, before the flames could reach them.

The following description was sent by the author to the “Inter-Ocean” of Chicago, and has since proved its correctness by the fact that several have been recognized by the description given in it:

“The drawing-room car contained the following-described persons:

“A lady from Chicago, who is described as being very handsome; she had left her husband at Dunkirk, and was returning home,” so a passenger learned.

“Next, a lady and gentleman. The lady is described as being ‘quiet in manner, and evidently a person of culture.’ She was about twenty-two years of age. The gentleman was short, had black whiskers and mustache. Opposite, and afterward in the state-room, was a party consisting of a gentleman, his wife and two children, a girl and boy [who have been already described].

“Next was a tall gentleman having on a long ulster overcoat. He was from Boston, and was going to California; was a merchant tailor. My informant, Mr. Thomas C. Wright, thinks that Mr. Bliss was not in this car. He says others were in the rear of the car, but does not remember them. Mr. Ormsbee of Boston, was in the car and is the only survivor. He was at first pinned down hands and feet and could not extricate himself. Afterward something fell on the top of the car, and loosened him and he reached up his hand and dragged himself out. As he went out he heard the lady in the corner of the car calling for help. He has seen the photograph of Rev. Dr. Washburn and recognized it. The probability is that that gentleman was underneath the only part which was struck by the ‘City of Buffalo,’ and was instantly killed.”

It is still a question whether Mr. and Mrs. Bliss were in this car.

The gentleman and lady who have been described above, are supposed to have been Mr. and Mrs. Hall, of Chicago, rather than Mr. and Mrs. Bliss. The gentleman was reading to the lady the book “Near Nature’s Heart;” as the newsboy passed, he took out “Daniel Deronda,” read it a little, and afterward bought “Helen’s Babies.” Mr. Ormsbee, the sole survivor from the car, judging from photographs which have been shown him, declares that they were not Mr. and Mrs. Bliss. Mr. Burchell, of Chicago, however, maintains that Mr. and Mrs. Bliss were in this car, and his statement is worthy of credit. There is no doubt that they were either in this or in the “City of Buffalo,” and it is probable that no trace of them will ever be found.

The occupants of the “Palatine” were, Mrs. Bingham, of Chicago; Mabel Arnold, North Adams, Mass.; H. L. Brewster, Milwaukee, Wis; B. B. Lyons, of New York city; Mrs. Annie Graham, of New York; Miss Marion Shepard, Ripon, Wis.; Geo. A. White, Portland, Me.; John J. White (?) of Boston, Mass; Chas. S. Carter, of New York; Mr. L. B. Sturges, Minneapolis, Minn.; Mr. J. E. Burchell, Chicago, Ill.; Col. A. Maillard, of San Rafael, Cal.; Mr. H. W. Shepard, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Lewis Bochatay, Kent’s Plains, Ct.; John J. Lalor, of Chicago, C. H. Tyler, St. Louis; and Jos. D. Pickering and nephew, of Buffalo, N. Y.

The persons who were in the “City of Buffalo” are as follows: Mr. Henry White, of Weathersfield, Conn., who broke the glass door and got out; Mrs. Bradley, of California; Mr. J. P. Hazelton, of Charleston, Ill., and Mr. Gage, of Illinois, who escaped and afterward died. The nurse and child of Mrs. Bradley, who occupied the rear state-room, perished. Mrs. A. D. Marston and her mother and boy; Mrs. Trueworthy and daughter, Mrs. Coffin, of California; Mrs. Moore, of Hammondsport, N. Y.; Mr. Hodgkins, of Bangor, Maine; “a gentleman going to South America, very polite and fine looking,” who afterwards proved to be Mr. J. Spooner, of Petershaw, Mass.; Mr. D. A. Rogers, of Chicago; Mr. Barnard and Miss Mixer, daughter of Dr. Mixer of Buffalo; Mr. Rice, of Lowell, Mass.; Mr. J. F. Aldrich, of Des Moines, Iowa; and, it is supposed, Mrs. H. M. Knowles, and child of Cleveland;—twenty-one in all. The probability is that all who were in this car were so completely destroyed that scarcely a vestige of them remained. There has been the most thorough search for even the least scrap that might give trace of their presence in the ill-fated coach. It is probable that the fall at first served to crush those who were in it, and that the position of the car gave a draft which intensified the heat so as to consume the bodies. The fire burned here the longest, and was still burning at two o’clock in the morning.