Accident Train Derailment Martins Creek NJ April 29, 1911: a Virtual Cemetery

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Accident Train Derailment Martins Creek NJ April 29, 1911

Eleven lives were lost in the derailment and burning of the Utica teachers’ special near Martins creek. The railroad men themselves say that the most remarkable feature of the wreck was that a hundred weren’t killed in the terrific shock and the sudden sweep of fire. Flames were rushing from end to end of the train while bruised women were clambering up the side of cars striving for the windows. Their hands were burned as they raised themselves on the sills to be helped out. Half a dozen teachers got to the ground with their hair ablaze. For minutes afterward the women were tearing burning skirts from each other. One ran an eight of a mile across a plowed field trying to loose herself from a burning skirt. Of the dead there were three in the Easton hospital—Eleanor Rutherford, a teacher of Utica; Charles M Person, the train conductor, of Stroudsburg, and M. V. Vanoy, the engineer of Trenton. There is no reason to doubt that eight died in the fire. From the mass of ashes and twisted iron the wrecking crew removed fragments of four bodies. More could be seen but until the embers cooled it was impossible to reach them Professor A.G. Burton, Principal of school No. 20 and president of the Utica Teachers’ association, said that he had sent word home that these six teachers, all of Utica, perished in the flames: Sophia Knoult, Mary Allen, Sara Jones, Susan Sessions, Bessie Walker and Louise Lindsman. Besides the seven teachers, four employees of the Pennsylvania are dead—Persons, the conductor; Vanoy, the engineer; Harry Wilmer, the baggage man; and Joseph Bicknell, the tourist agent, whose home was in Philadelphia Chief Surgeon Michler of the Easton Hospital has ten patients under his care. Three of these are in a dangerous condition. They are Carrie Rutherford, as sister of Eleanor; August Leight of New Hartford, N.Y., and George Parsons, the locomotive fireman. He said that there as a chance that all of those might recover. Miss Rutherford was burned about the head and breast in trying to escape from a rear coach. Miss Leight’s injuries are similar to Miss Rutherford’s. Parsons was hurt internally and scaled by steam from the broken boiler. The others will be able to leave the hospital in a few days. They are Frances Hall of Waterville, N.Y.; Bertha Hall, Frances’ sister; Minnie and Frederika Schwabe, sisters of Utica; Mary Condon of Utica; and Cecelia Lindsman, as sister of Louise of Deerfield, a suburb of Utica. All of the survivors except the injured in the hospitals and a dozen teachers who stayed here to be near their friends have been sent home by the Pennsylvania railroad. Many of those who went back to Utica carried injuries, some of them serious, but they were able to travel. The investigation determined that at least fifty of the teachers were burned or cut or bruised With the burning cars eight miles away from Easton in a difficult country and separated from the highway to Easton by the Delaware river, a situation was presented that caused confusion and contradictory reports. The Pennsylvania officials were unwilling or unable to furnish information to relatives or friends of the teachers.** Information Found Bicknell, Joseph West Laurel Hill Cemetery PA; Person, Charles Phillipsburg Cemetery NJ; Rutherford Carrie L Unknown Burial have death certificate; Rutherford, Eleanor E Unknown Burial Have death certificate; Vannoy Wilbur U Titusville Methodist Cemetery NJ ** *** No Information Found on Others Known Dead Wilmer, Harry Baggageman; Parsons, George Locomotive Fireman; *** **** Missing given up as dead Walker, Bessie, Utica, Teacher; Sessions, Susan, Utica, friend of teachers, Mount Pleasant Cemetery Onondaga County NY; Allen Mary, Utica; Knolt, Sophia, Utica, Teacher; Jones, Sarah, Utica, Teacher; Lindsman, Louise, Utica, Teacher ****

Eleven lives were lost in the derailment and burning of the Utica teachers’ special near Martins creek.  The railroad men themselves say that the most remarkable feature of the wreck was that a hundred weren’t killed in the terrific shock and the sudden sweep of fire.    Flames were rushing from end to end of the train while bruised women were clambering up the side of cars striving for the windows.  Their hands were burned as they raised themselves on the sills to be helped out.  Half a dozen teachers got to the ground with their hair ablaze.  For minutes afterward the women were tearing burning skirts from each other.  One ran an eight of a mile across a plowed field trying to loose herself from a burning skirt.    Of the dead there were three in the Easton hospital—Eleanor Rutherford, a teacher of Utica; Charles M Person, the train conductor, of Stroudsburg, and M. V. Vanoy, the engineer of Trenton.  There is no reason to doubt that eight died in the fire.  From the mass of ashes and twisted iron the wrecking crew removed fragments of four bodies.  More could be seen but until the embers cooled it was impossible to reach them  Professor A.G. Burton, Principal of school No. 20 and president of the Utica Teachers’ association, said that he had sent word home that these six teachers, all of Utica, perished in the flames:  Sophia Knoult, Mary Allen, Sara Jones, Susan Sessions, Bessie Walker and Louise Lindsman.          Besides the seven teachers, four employees of the Pennsylvania are dead—Persons, the conductor; Vanoy, the engineer; Harry Wilmer, the baggage man; and Joseph Bicknell, the tourist agent, whose home was in Philadelphia    Chief Surgeon Michler of the Easton Hospital has ten patients under his care.  Three of these are in a dangerous condition.  They are Carrie Rutherford, as sister of Eleanor; August Leight of New Hartford, N.Y., and George Parsons, the locomotive fireman.  He said that there as a chance that all of those might recover.    Miss Rutherford was burned about the head and breast in trying to escape from a rear coach.  Miss Leight’s injuries are similar to Miss Rutherford’s.  Parsons was hurt internally and scaled by steam from the broken boiler.    The others will be able to leave the hospital in a few days.  They are Frances Hall of Waterville, N.Y.; Bertha Hall, Frances’ sister; Minnie and Frederika Schwabe, sisters of Utica; Mary Condon of Utica; and Cecelia Lindsman, as sister of Louise of Deerfield, a suburb of Utica.    All of the survivors except the injured in the hospitals and a dozen teachers who stayed here to be near their friends have been sent home by the Pennsylvania railroad.  Many of those who went back to Utica carried injuries, some of them serious, but they were able to travel.  The investigation determined that at least fifty of the teachers were burned or cut or bruised    With the burning cars eight miles away from Easton in a difficult country and separated from the highway to Easton by the Delaware river, a situation was presented that caused confusion and contradictory reports.  The Pennsylvania officials were unwilling or unable to furnish information to relatives or friends of the teachers.**  Information Found Bicknell, Joseph West Laurel Hill Cemetery PA; Person, Charles Phillipsburg Cemetery NJ; Rutherford Carrie L Unknown Burial have death certificate; Rutherford, Eleanor E Unknown Burial Have death certificate; Vannoy Wilbur U Titusville Methodist Cemetery NJ  **  ***  No Information Found on Others Known Dead Wilmer, Harry Baggageman; Parsons, George Locomotive Fireman;  ***  ****  Missing given up as dead Walker, Bessie, Utica, Teacher; Sessions, Susan, Utica, friend of teachers, Mount Pleasant Cemetery Onondaga County NY; Allen Mary, Utica;  Knolt, Sophia, Utica, Teacher;  Jones, Sarah, Utica, Teacher; Lindsman, Louise, Utica, Teacher  ****