Derailment of The Duquesne Limited Passenger Train - Connellsville, PA

SEVENTY PERSONS KILLED IN DUQUESNE LIMITED WRECK
PASSENGERS SCALDED TO DEATH IN A CROWDED SMOKING CAR.

Big Atlantic Type Engine Struck Pile of Lumber and Terrible Disaster Followed at Laurel Run.

The Dead and Injured.

DEAD.
                                                                            Charles Langford, Wilmerding, Pa.
The list of dead, as identified at the             J. Edgerly, Butler, Pa.
  morgues of J. E. Sims, J. S. Stader             Richard D. Ducett, Baltimore, Md.
  and Morris & Co. at 2 o’clock this             Charles M. Grey, Baltimore, Md.
  afternoon are as follows:                             J. Twilly, Brooklyn, N. Y.
C. A. Wilson, Connellsville, Pa.,                     Herbert Homes, Emelton, Pa.
  identified this morning.                             C. L. Heater, Assistant Division
Leo Wubbeler, Beaver Falls, Pa.                     Engineer, Hazelwood, Pa.
Prospera Francesko, Allegheny                    A. G. Protzman, residence unknown.
James W. Coakley, Rochester, Pa.                   Gesso, an Italian.
M. Myerowitch, Johnstown, Pa.                   Unknown Chinaman
T. J. Farman, Philadelphia, Pa.                   Jesse Hines, Tarbora, N. C.
Walter Stewart, Camden, N. J.                   F. B. Nolker, Eldridge, Md.
Geo. F. Rhein, Baltimore, Md.                  Chas. M. Wagner, Berkeley Springs,
John K. Powers, Cumberland, Md.            W. Va.
M. K. Smith, E. S. Goldsmith and                  John H. Willis, Pittsburg, Pa.
 C. A. Feinnello, Connellsville.                  Charles K. Stendorf, residence
W. A. Gaed, Agent C. V. R. R.,                 unknown.
  Martinsburg, W. Va.                                 Charles M. Zepler, Philadelphia, Pa.
Harold B. Morrison, 131 Flowers                 W. A. Kalp, Mt. Pleasant, Pa.
  street, Pittsburg.                                         S. S. Roush, B & O employee
J. Wade Shupe, Mt. Pleasant, Pa.                Alfred C. Bannard, Pittsburg, Pa.
G. J. Winkler, a member of the fire        J. W. Martin, Hancock, Md.
  department, Westmont, Pa.                John Adams, Addison, N. J.
William Sheedy, Patterson Creek,                John Simon, Hungarian, New York.
  W. Va. Unknown Slav.
Carmine M. Mitchell, Rochester, Pa.        J. W. Keczner, Cumberland, Md.
Joseph Grey, Brooklyn, N. Y.                        James Fox, residence unknown.
E. Reynolds, York, Pa.                                Joseph ------, residence unknown
S. E. Good, McKeesport, Pa.                       Fifteen dead still unidentified
Joseph Shelhaus, Rochester, Pa.
J. W. Ketzner, Cumberland, Md.                   INJURED.
G. W. Biser, Berkeley Springs,               Edward Keffer, Somerset, Pa.;
  W. Va.                                                fatally.
B. Murray, Pittsburg, aged 12 years.       Harry Devlin, Connellsville and
Joseph Cook, fireman, Glenwood, Pa.           Cumberland; serious.
Louis Helgroth, conductor,                        John Brownlee, North Braddock;
 Cumberland, Md.                                slight; left for New York last night.
William Thornley, engineer,                        Thomas Dom, baggagemaster; head
  Glenwood, Pa.                                         cut; went to home in Pittsburg.

The most appalling disaster in the history of the Pittsburg Division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad occurred at Laurel run, two miles west of Dawson, last evening. Sixty-eight passengers and three trainmen were killed in a mad plunge of the Duquesne Limited on a sharp reverse curve, caused by some heavy timbers falling from a west-bound freight train to the east-bound track, along which the Limited was speeding at the rate of 50 miles an hour. Forty-three passengers met instant death or were cooked by hissing steam escaping from engine No. 1465. Five passengers died on the relief train between the scene of the wreck and the Connellsville station. Eight passengers and Conductor Helgroth died at the hospital.

Harrowing Scenes.
The scenes at the wreck were harrowing. Half a hundred passengers, most of them English speaking, were literally cooked alive in the smoking car. A second disaster was averted by the presence of mind of Conductor Helgroth, fatally burned at the time, Conductor Edward Baker, who was dead-heading over to Cumberland on the Duquesne, and Baggagemaster Thomas Dom. They rushed up the track the instant the wrecked train had come to a standstill and with matches flagged train No. 49, which was stopped by Engineer Mose Johnston only within half a car length of the wreck. Helgroth fell fainting alongside the track after No. 49 was stopped and died at the hospital at 3 o’clock this morning. Dom was bleeding from a wound eight or ten inches long on the head and suffering from internal injuries when he realized the danger of a second disaster after his car had toppled over almost into the Yough river and ran up the track with Helgroth and Baker. The latte was riding in the rear of the train and was not injured.

Engineer William Thornley, a veteran at the throttle, had the big Atlantic No. 1465 doing 50 miles an hour or better on one of the best stretches of running ground on the Pittsburg Division when the accident happened. Fireman Joseph Cook, just a week off the Wheeling Division, was on the other side of the cab.

Running Fifty Miles an Hour.
The train was made up of eight cars, two Pullmans, a dining car, in charge of Conductor F. R. Nichols, three day coaches, a regulation baggage and a sealed express car. Some distance below Laurel run the Duquesne passed the west-bound freight. Thornley hadn’t started to slow down for Dawson; in fact he had his throttle wide open approaching the reverse curve just at the Laurel run bridge. While the curve is a sharp one, the track and roadbed are good at that point and passenger engineers bent on making their schedule do not shut off when taking the curve. There was not an instant’s warning that death was at hand for half a hundred passengers. Before Thornley had time to push back his throttle a notch the mighty Atlantic plunged from the track after striking several 60-foot timbers which had fallen over from the west-bound track. The engine passed over the obstruction, but the ends tilted and caught the tender, throwing it high into the air aver the top of the engine and nearly 100 yards up the track, where it landed sideways, blocking both tracks. The ponderous engine plunged in between the two tracks for a short distance and then caromed over on its side to the right. The sealed express car went clear down to the river, ploughing to the right. The baggage car telescoped the engine and landed down over the bank clear of the tracks. The first day coach followed the baggage, but the momentum of the train by this time was losing force and instead of telescoping the engine the coach veered off the right.

Fireman Cook had the hand of the steam gauge around to the 200 mark. As the smoker, crowded to the full capacity of every seat, ripped along the side of the big passenger engine the steam dome caught it just at the window height. Wrecked and battered open as it was, every ounce of steam from the engine poured forth its hissing messenger of death. From end to end the scalding cloud shot across the interior of the car. Not a single passenger escaped the deadly summons to another world. One inhalation was fatal. Every one of the dead passengers is burned. Some of them are scalded from head to foot.

Dead Awfully Distorted

The skin came off with their clothes at the morgues in town last night and this morning as the undertakers and their assistants prepared the bodies for burial. The features of the dead were terribly and horribly distorted in many instances. Death came quickly, but its agony evidently was intense. Not a soul escaped from the smoking car. Those who were not killed outright were rescued within a few minutes by passengers from the Pullman cars and the other day coaches which followed the smoker. All of the cars were derailed, but they did not leave the road bed. The tracks were torn up for over a train length and the big timbers responsible for all the damage were splintered into hundreds of pieces and imbedded and tangled in the under mechanism of the cars. In the front portion of the coach immediately following the ill-fated smoker several passengers were killed. One of these was not taken out of the wreck until after daylight this morning. He was Chas. Zepler, who was pinned in by the wreckage close to the roof of the car. He had left his wife and son but a few minutes before the accident, going forward from the day coach to take a smoke. He hardly had time to get to the forward end of the smoking car until the crash came. Mrs. Zepler and her little son came to Connellsville last night, the former hoping against hope that her husband would turn up safe. The recovery of his body was broken to her as gently as possible and today she will accompany the remains to their home in Philadelphia. Another passenger, who stood close to the door of the second coach and the smoker was caught between the bumpers as the two cars crashed together. For 30 minutes he sat with feet dangling down between the bumpers, but held in the death grip about the waist until death relieved his sufferings. To Arthur May, an express messenger on No. 49, this passenger begged piteously either to be released or killed outright. No one could give relief, and strong hearts turned away and wept as the unfortunate man’s life passed away in violent convulsions, irantically pleading with God for mercy and the chance to see his family once more.

No Survivors.

There is not a survivor of the smoking car able to tell the experiences of the few seconds during which the car was filled with steam. Two of the survivors, Edward Devlin and John Brownlee, at the Cottage hospital, may recover. All the balance will die, Dr. T. H. White said to a Courier reporter today.

Edison Goldsmith was sitting about the middle of the smoking car. Shortly after leaving Pittsburg he was invited back into the dining car by Andrew Hans of Connellsville to have dinner on the way up. He declined the invitation, remarking that his upper would be waiting at home and he didn’t want to disappoint his mother.

M. K. Smith, Division Operator of the Connellsville Division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, was riding well up in the smoking car or the front end of the coach next the smoker, his exact place on the train being unknown. It was not until 5 o’clock this morning that Smith was identified. He had been in Pittsburg Wednesday on railroad business and Mrs. Smith expected him home by 8 o’clock. She was assured by friends that he was not on the train and that he was detained at work by the wreck. None of Mr. Smith’s friends were aware that he was among the dead until his body was taken in charge at Morris & Company’s morgue. There papers on his person gave the startling information that he was among the victims. Friends then made a closer examination and readily identified him. At 8 o’clock, Mrs. Smith was waiting for her husband to drop in for breakfast when the news of his death was broken to her.

J. Wade Shupe, a prominent citizen of Mt. Pleasant, was not identified until about 8 o’clock this morning. Friends came for the remains this afternoon. Mr. Shupe was married and was a son of O. P. Shupe, the well-known flour mill man and capitalist.

Passengers to the Rescue.

The passengers on the Pullman cars were not shaken up much. The dining car was well filled at the time the engine jumped the track. Conductor Nichol was hurled headlong down the aisle and dishes were scattered in all directions. A. D. Soisson and wife and W. H. Marietta and Andrew Haas were in the dining car. They were not injured. Mr. Haas and Marietta were among the first to rescue the dead and injured from the smoking car. Once or twice the wrecked cars were threatened with fire, but the flames were quickly checked. The wreck crew worked clearing up the tracks all night and had them open this morning.

As fast as the bodies were recovered from the smoking car they were laid side by side on a high bank above the railroad. Some of them were covered with handkerchiefs, etc., while other stared in awful hideousness under the glare of many torch lights. Steam blistered the tongues and lips of the victims to an awful size and they protruded in a sickening manner. Fireman Cook was found clear of his engine. Engineer Thornley was under the wheels of the smoking car. The top of his head was crushed in. Otherwise he was not much marked or burned.

The Dead Trainmen.

William Thornley, the engineer who lost his life in the wreck of the Duquesne Limited last night, was one of the best known men in the railroad service about Pittsburg. Mr. Thornley was first engaged in the B & O service as engineer of September 15, 1882, when he began running as freight engineman from Pittsburg on the local division to Connellsville. He knew every inch of the road, and was regarded form his first week of service as one of the most careful men in the service. He followed his freight work several years and then was assigned to passenger runs on local trains, then to through runs. When the Duquesne Limited was instituted by the B & O between four and five years ago, just after the reorganization was begun, one of the enginemen selected for the responsibility of seeing that the train was run on schedule time was Thornley. He had served continuously since in this service.

Mr. Thornley’s home is at 4905 Lytle street, Hazelwood. He was 52 years old and leaves a wife, one son and three daughters. For a number of hears he lived in Connellsville.

Fireman Cook was recently married and has been connected with the B & O since 1900, when he came from Baldwin, Tenn. He was also regarded as a first-class man in the service, this accounting for his promotion form a minor passenger run to the place with Thornley on the limited engines about a week ago. He was a member of Iron City Lodge No. 18, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.

Conductor Helgroth was a popular passenger man. He ran extra on the through runs and had a wide acquaintance among the patrons of the B & O. He is married and leaves a wife and family at Cumberland.

Baggagemaster Thomas Dom for a number of years made his home in Connellsville, having runs out of here. He is not dangerously hurt. He is at the Cottage hospital. Dom lives in Pittsburg and has a wife and several children.

Arrival of the Dead

After the arrival of the relief train and the disposition of the dead and injured the crowd at the depot waited for the arrival of the morgue train. Forty-three bodies were unloaded from the train and taken to City Hall, which Burgess C. W. Patterson had thrown open. Prisoners were released from the cells to make room for the corpses. From City Hall, Undertakers Morris & Co., J. E. Sims and J. L. Stader took charge of all the bodies they could handle. Thirty-seven bodies are at Sims’ morgue, 15 at Morris & Co.’s and 16 at Straders’. All the nearby undertakers were telephoned for and came to lend their assistance in the work of cleaning up the bodies. It was a hard, long task, but under the circumstances it was very well handled.

Today the town is in a state of intense excitement. The morgues are crowded with visitors, viewing the unidentified dead. Rumors of identifications are rampant on the streets, each new name added to the list bringing with it a new aftermath of heart-rending sorrow. Early this morning, people from all over the country flocked into town, uncertain regarding the safety of their friends known to be in Pittsburg yesterday. In spite of a drizzling rain great crowds are about the morgues, some morbidly inclined, others searching for news of missing friends. S. E. Good of McKeesport, one of the dead, was on his way to New York where he was to be married tomorrow. His brothers identified his remains this morning.

Article continues with the history of the Duquesne Limited.


The Courier, Connellsville, PA, Thursday Evening, December 24, 1903, page 1, columns 1-4

Pittsburgh’s Chinatown and How It Disappeared

Pittsburgh’s Chinatown was a small but a lively downtown feature and Boulevard of the Allies was the burgeoning force that slowly squeezed the life out of it.

Chinatown in Pittsburgh began to coalesce in the late 1800s, a stop in the trail of those scrambling to California to take part in the Gold Rush, according to the Post-Gazette. By the early 1900s small grocery stores, gift-shops and restaurants had popped up. They supplied the community with Chinese goods. A quaint park sat between Ross and Grant Streets, a meeting space for Chinese immigrants to catch up on the latest news and play mah-jongg. Racism of that era made it difficult for Chinese to assimilate in Pittsburgh and they found community in Chinatown, which the Post-Gazette in 1979 labeled a “ghetto-like area.”

The heart of Chinatown was on Second and Third Avenues between Ross and Grant streets, bussed by two rival Chinese fraternities: the On Leong Labor and Merchants Association and the Hip Sing Association.

They were the unofficial rulers of this small Chinatown, with occasional gang confrontations in the 1920s and 30s to assert power.

With the construction and expansion of Boulevard of the Allies the presence of small Chinese population downtown Pittsburgh was short lived. When the construction was first dedicated in 1921, it extended from Grant Street and Second Ave to Oakland. The Boulevard and other infrastructure projects grew more expansive with time, and the Chinese community was slowly squeezed out.

Parking lots replaced Chinese goods shops. The Yee Haim store at 519 Second Ave. was one of the few stores left, according to a Post Gazette article from 1942.

By 1959, only three Chinese families remained.

Today, the only physical trace left of this community is the Chinatown Inn restaurant. The Inn is located in the former On Leong Labor and Merchants Association building and the ornate red pagodas trimmed with pale green carvings are the only remnants of its former function.

Still, it only tells a small part of the tale of Pittsburgh’s Chinatown, a history now faded into a distant memory.

– Grace Kelly (The Pitt News)

    March 4, 2015

11 Fascinating Facts about the Victorians

Health professionals in the Victorian era were constantly innovating and suggesting new and interesting ways to fight illnesses. In 1875 one recommendation was to cover oneself in sheets of newspaper, providing a warm and comfortable night’s sleep while reducing the onset of pneumonia.

1)  Read All About It 

The Victorian period was a time of discovery, rebellion and exploration for those who lived through it. It was also a prosperous time for Sudeley, which saw many improvements under the watchful eye of owner, Emma Dent. As we prepare to host our annual Victorian May Day celebrations, read on find out 11 interesting things you probably didn’t know about the era.




2) An Everyday Poison 

Toxic arsenic was widely consumed by Victorians. Women believed it had qualities which made skin appear younger, and so it was a major ingredient in many cosmetics – whereas men would consume arsenic pills as a way of stimulating their libido. Unsurprisingly, these products caused extreme sickness and lead to many fatalities before people understood the true power of the substance.




3)  Curious Collections 

Many Victorians would specialise in collecting objects, from zoological and botanical to geological and archaeological. People devoted cabinets and spaces for their prized collections, which would often take up entire rooms in their home. During the era many towns and villages had a curiosity shop which sold an array of weird and wonderful objects to avid collectors.



4) Widow of Windsor

It’s well documented that when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861, she went into mourning and wore black until her death 40 years later. During this time she secluded herself from the rest of the world and was rarely seen in public, earning herself the name of the ‘Widow of Windsor’. But did you know, Victoria disliked black funerals and at her own funeral in 1901, ensured the streets of London were decorated in purple and white.

5)  Walk Like an Egyptian 

In the Victorian era, people were fascinated by ancient Egypt. Many historians believe this was down to the parallels that could be drawn from their relationships with death. In fact, Egyptian influences can be found in women’s mourning jewellery from the era. This obsession led to an unusual phenomenon whereby experts would unwrap mummies for an auditorium of curious men and women.

6)  The Penny Black 

The Victorian era has often been described by historians as the ‘Golden Years’ as it was a hugely important time for innovation. One of these innovations was the concept of the postage stamp, which first became available for purchase on 1 May 1840. The first stamps, The Penny Black and the Two Pence Blue, included the image of a young Queen Victoria, and to this day, the UK is the only country which uses the reigning monarch’s head for national identification rather than the country’s name.




7) Sprechen sie Deutsch? 

The British royal family is German in origin – in fact Queen Victoria’s mother, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg, was a German princess. The Queen was brought up by her German governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen, from Hanover, and as such, Victoria spoke only German until she was three years old. Even as an adult, German was spoken in Buckingham Palace and at all private occasions, with many of Victoria’s courtiers, including her husband, Prince Albert, being German.


8)  50 Shades Of Black

As well as mourning loved ones, there was another, more practical reason, why so many Victorians wore a lot of black – it was all down to pollution. Industry was booming in the Victorian era, and as such pollution was rife – particularly in the cities – meaning that women who wore light colours would find their dresses turn shades of grey, and so opted for darker clothing.



9)  Look Into My Eyes 

Victorians were big advocates of spiritualism and believed in the afterlife. Public events involving hypnosis, séances and fortune telling were popular occasions during the era, and it was big money for the people performing these acts. However, unsurprisingly many of these professionals were simply good actors maximising on peoples gullibility.




10)  Hostess With The Mostess 

If a lady was at home in the day she was expected to be properly dressed and prepared for visitors between the hours of 3pm and 5pm. The time visitors could arrive was dependent on how familiar an acquaintance they were, with closer friends and family permitted to visit later in the day. It would have been seen as poor taste for anyone to arrive earlier than 3pm.

11) Say My Name

Queen Victoria wasn’t actually called Victoria – she was in fact named Alexandrina after her godfather, Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Victoria was a middle name which she shared with her mother. However, until her coronation in 1838 she was known as Drina and many of the public at the time were never certain of her official name.





Article by Holly Jones ~ Castle & Gardens
April 26, 2017

10 Creepily Ironic Historical Deaths

10Creepily Ironic Historical Deaths

By Pauli Poisuo

10 – John horrocks

As a pioneer and explorer of 19th-century Australia, John Horrocks always ran a fair risk of getting killed by a wild animal. Ultimately, that was indeed the hand fate dealt him. However, he wasn’t bitten by a spider, stung by a medusa, eaten by a shark or even kicked by a kangaroo. In fact, he didn’t get killed by any of the thousands of lethal creatures Australia has to offer.

He was shot to death . . . by a camel.

Horrocks was a camel enthusiast and was keen to introduce the animals to Australia, as he felt they would do well there. This mission came to an an abrupt end, as one day his foul-tempered expedition camel managed to shift its weight so that pack it was carrying caught Horrocks’ weapon, causing it to go off. Sadly, Horrocks was loading the gun at the moment, so the shot took off a few of his fingers before moving on to his face.

John Horrocks died of his injuries, but not before giving orders for the camel to be shot as well. This means that the first and only camel/human gunfight in history technically ended in a draw.

9 – JIMMY HESEIDEN

Segways are the (in)famous self-balancing electric scooters that are steered by tilting your weight. Although they may appear an affront to nature, the company that makes them insists they’re an extremely easy to use and the “green future” of commuting. However, the ease of their use and their validity as a vehicle took a bump in 2010, when Jimi Heseiden, the owner of the company, was testing a new Segway model on his grounds. He promptly lost control of the vehicle in the most ridiculous manner possible: Somehow, he managed to drive straight off a cliff and into the river below.He was pronounced dead on the scene.

8 – DAVID GRUNDMAN

David Grundman had two things: A shotgun and a massive need to shoot at things. So one day in 1982, David drove into the desert with his friend, in order to go nuts with his weapon. He opened fire at some small saguaro cacti (large, vaguely man shaped cactus plants), obliterating them with his shotgun shells. However, destroying small saguaros was way too easy: He needed a bigger, more powerful target. So Grundman focused his attention on a huge, 26-foot (7.92 meter) saguaro they found nearby. He opened fire at it, and with just one shot managed to blast off a whole, massive chunk of the plant’s “arm.” Some accounts report he even started shouting “Timber!” as the cactus fell, although he only got as far as “Tim–” before he was interrupted. In an impressively instant case of revenge on the part of mother nature, the wounded cactus fell directly on Grundman and crushed him to death.

7 – PIETRO ARETINO

Pietro Aretino was an unrelenting Venetian 16th Century satirist, notable for his saucy humor aimed at the aristocrats. As such, it’s only fitting that this famous humorist’s death was brought on by a dirty joke. Aretino was never one to shy away from a naughty story. One day, he was told a particularly dirty one about his (possibly imaginary) sisters and the brothel they worked in. Instead of getting offended, Aretino found this hilarious. He laughed and laughed and laughed—until he collapsed backwards in his chair, dying as he hit the ground. He literally laughed himself to death.

6 – BASIL BROWN

Most people who pay attention to their diet are likely to live longer than those who eat lard at every meal. However, Basil Brown was not most people. He was a die-hard health advocate—literally. In 1974, Mr. Brown managed to drink himself to death with one of the healthiest imaginable drinks in existence: Carrot juice. The problem was that he was drinking way too much of it: a gallon each day, for 10 days. However, despite warnings, he didn’t realize that too much of a good thing can become very bad indeed: The massive dose gave him a severe vitamin A poisoning, a bright yellow skin and a completely ruined liver. He ended up getting killed by his “healthy” obsession.

5 – NITARO ITO

In 1979, Nitaro Ito was a political hopeful vying for a seat at the Japanese House of Representatives. Ito wasn’t happy with how his campaign was going, so he decided it was time for drastic action: In an effort to gain some sympathy votes, he decided to stage an attack against himself. After all, what would be the better way to get the public’s attention than to be hospitalized in an attack by a mysterious enemy wielding a knife? Ito couldn’t trust anyone with the “attack,” so he decided to stage the stabbing himself. Sadly, he was not too handy with a knife: He managed to hit his own thigh artery and ended up bleeding to death.

4 –SIEMUND "ZISHE" BREITBART

According to many, Siegmund “Zishe” Breitbart was the strongest man of his time. A 20th century strongman, Zishe was a hit on the circus circuit and even appeared in movies to show his incredible feats of strength. He could hammer huge nails into planks with his bare hands and bend iron bars like they were candy. He could even lift baby elephants—while climbing a ladder and supporting three men in a locomotive wheel by a rope in his teeth. He was the closest thing there was to Superman. That is, until one day in 1925, when a nail scratched his knee during a routine performance. This seemingly laughable injury gave the invincible strongman blood poisoning and killed him.

3 – JAMES OTIS, JR.

James Otis Jr. was a famed American Revolutionary and a political force to be reckoned with: He invented the famous phrase “Taxation without representation is tyranny,” which became one of the rallying cries of the revolutionaries. At his peak (before an unfortunate head injury sent him to sidelines), Otis Jr. was a solid, level-headed man except for one thing: He had a peculiar tendency to insist that he would like to be killed by a bolt of lightining. He repeated this so often to many friends and relatives that it became something of a meme.Apparently, some thunderbolt-throwing entity had been paying attention to his words. On May 23, 1783, it is said James Otis Jr. was standing in a doorway of a friend’s house when a lightning suddenly struck the chimney, killing him instantly without leaving a mark. Strangely, no one else was harmed and no further lightning bolts—or, for that matter, thunderclouds—were seen.

2 – GOUVERNEUR MORRIS

Gouverneur Morris, a revered American legislator, was a no-nonsense kind of guy. Nowhere was this more evident than in the events that led to his death. When he was experiencing a urinary blockage, he didn’t trust the doctors to take care of the situation. Instead, he decided to settle the matter himself. Sadly, he was far better at determination than doctoring. His solution to the problem was extreme, to say the least: He stuck a piece of whalebone up his urinary tract and wiggle it around in an effort to remove the blockage. This cringe-inducing procedure failed to do anything to heal him—instead, it caused enough damage to kill him.

1 – ARRICHION

In 564 BC, Arrichion the Wrestler became the only person to win the Olympic gold by dying. Arrichion was a superstar of his age, a nigh-unbeatable wrestling god who went from victory to victory. But one day in the Olympic finals, he finally met his match. Arrichion found himself caught in a deadly ladder hold, a choke move that completely prevented him from breathing. He was out of options: If he wouldn’t submit, he’d asphyxiate. Clearly, the only reasonable thing to do was to submit and suffer a loss. However, Arrichion opted for the unreasonable and, in fact, unbelievable. Inspired by the shouts of his coach (who probably didn’t realize how dire the situation was), the wrestler rolled into an even more painful position, thus gaining access to the opponent’s foot. This brave move ended up killing him, but he was able to twist the other wrestler’s foot so painfully that he submitted at the exact same moment Arrichion’s life left him. Arrichion had won the Olympic gold, and all it cost him was his life.

+ DRACO THE GREEK

Draco was one of the earliest notable Greek politicians. He was a very popular lawmaker and a powerful orator. Sadly, history books say that his popularity ended up causing his untimely death. Draco was so loved that when the people saw him, he was pelted with hats and cloaks in a display of honor. Sadly, one particular body of people that chose to give him such honor was very large and had an extremely good aim. Draco was smothered to death under the massive pile of cloaks.

Funerals in Eighteenth Century Virginia

FUNERALS IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY VIRGINIA

A Research Report by Thad Tate

Colonial Williamsburg, Inc.  (1956)

Funerals in colonial Virginia were to some extent social as well as solemn occasions. The friends and relatives of a dead person had often gathered at his plantation from considerable distances. Once they had made the tedious journey, they might expect to stay several days. The necessity of feeding them during this time meant that a certain amount of feasting became an expected part of the funeral. Even in cases where people did not come from so far off, at least one meal was in all probability provided for those who were present.

Drinking was also quite common at seventeenth century funerals and may have continued with some frequency into the eighteenth. However, there was an obvious reaction just prior to 1700 against the huge amounts of liquor being consumed at funerals. Some people even began to specify in their wills that nothing to drink should be provided, and so the practice may have moderated somewhat. There are, however, other evidences, such as the three gallons of wine and nineteen gallons of other spirits provided at the burial of one John McClanahan in 1774, that drinking was still prevalent at Virginia funerals.

The funeral service for a member of the planter class or for some other person of wealth and position customarily was quite elaborate. The attendance vas usually large. Near relatives and a good many more distant ones; friends and fellow planters; humbler neighbors from near-by small farms; and the servants and slaves of the plantation were all likely to be present. Those closest to the dead wore some indication of mourning, either full mourning clothes or a black ribbon or armband. They might also have been left mourning rings and mourning gloves by the will of the dead person.

Funerals usually took place at home, and there was considerable resistance to the idea of holding them in church. Likewise the church graveyards were largely for the burial of transients or persons who lived very close to the church. A family burying ground in the garden or at some other convenient location on the plantation was much more popular. Hugh Jones' Present State of Virginia (1724) describes these preferences very succinctly:

The Parishes being of great Extent (some sixty Miles long and upwards) many dead Corpses cannot be conveyed to the Church to be buried: So that it is customary to bury in Gardens or Orchards, where whole Families lye interred together, in a Spot generally handsomely enclosed, planted with Evergreens, and the Graves kept decently: Hence likewise arises the Occasion of preaching Funeral Sermons In Houses, where at Funerals are assembled a great Congregation of Neighbours and Friends; and if you insist upon having the Sermon and Ceremony at Church, they'll say they will be without it, unless performed after their usual Custom.

As Jones' description indicates there was a funeral sermon delivered by the rector of the parish, not too different from modern funeral sermons except for its greater length. The clergyman would also read the Anglican Order for the Burial of the Dead as it appears in the English Prayer Book of 1662, this being the prayer book in use in the colonies from that date until the end of the Revolution. The vestments worn by the clergyman would depend upon whether he wore his ordinary habit or dressed as he would have for a service in the church. If in street attire he would have worn a long cassock, cincture (sash), gown or black or grey coat, tippet (long black scarf), a soft black square cap or a black cocked hat, a large wig, and bands (a soft white linen neckcloth with two pendant tabs. Vested for church he would have exchanged the gown or coat for a linen surplice, probably at this time one which buttoned up the front and was full and long. He would have removed the tippet and then probably have put it back on over the surplice together with a hood. His hat, of course, would be removed.

The one or two contemporary illustrations which are available here strongly suggest that in the case of a funeral a clergyman would have appeared in ordinary habit rather than wearing a surplice. The cassock would, however, certainly stamp him distinctly as a cleric. As illustrations of eighteenth century clerical dress we have in our files color slides of a former member of the staff correctly vested and standing in the pulpit of Bruton Parish. There are also several contemporary illustrations, mostly English but certainly applicable, in our Graphic Arts File. A list of these has been compiled and will be held for use, if needed.

It is probable that the parish clerk might have been present at any funeral to assist the clergyman with responses, etc., since he is specifically mentioned as one of the persons to be included in the funeral procession in several wills. Like the clergyman he wore a cassock, bands, and wig.

It is clear from the contemporary records that Virginians made a sharp distinction between the funeral and the burial, much more so than today when the two words are often interchangeable in popular usage. The funeral referred to the gathering of mourners for the sermon and other suitable memorials. The burial involved only the actual interment of the body. It was moreover possible to separate these two parts of the service by intervals or as much as several weeks, especially if the deceased had requested a more or less private burial.

There is some indication of the firing of guns at Virginia funerals. However, this seems largely to have been a seventeenth-century custom. There was, for instance, a 1655 law in the colony against the wasting or powder at entertainments, but weddings and funerals were both exempted from its restrictions. There is much less evidence of this custom in the eighteenth century; so it probably should not be included in any representation of a funeral of the later colonial period.

Where the funeral and the burial were observed at the same time or where the burial was not private, some sort of procession from the house or church to the burying ground took place with a greater or lesser degree of ceremony. The following, which describes the funeral of Col. John Hutchings of Norfolk in 1768, is undoubtedly a rather elaborate procession:

He was yesterday carried to the place of interment by six reputable tradesmen, his pall supported by six Aldermen, preceded by a party of the militia with their muskets clubbed, muffled drums, and mourning banners, and was followed by a numerous offspring, a great number of relations, and a very great concourse of people of all ranks and degrees.

A much simpler procession would have been that of Mrs. Elizabeth Stith, a wealthy widow of Isle of Wight County, whose will specified that she should have "a decent burial, with only my relations and near neighbors at it; and that the parson and clark with the four men that bear me to the grave shall have hat bands and gloves;…"

The following account by a traveler in Virginia in the 1780's, Robert Banter, gives a rather full description of a funeral — and a fairly elaborate one — which took place some weeks after the actual burial:

This morning I dressed myself in mourning to go to poor Mr. Hopper's funeral with Mr. George McCall. It's the custom in this part or the country to have the funeral service performed two or three weeks after the person is buried — a very foolish one in my opinion, as it only serves to renew the grief of the relations. People were invited all the way from James River to it [this apparently occurred near Tappahannock]. Mr. Mathews, the parson who married them about six weeks ago, read the service. As soon as it was over, the ladies walked into one room and the gentlemen into another, where a table was spread with funeral cake and wine sealed with black. After this followed a cold dinner. Neither Mrs. Ritchie nor Mrs. Hopper appeared…

Many of the descriptions of funerals and burials which do survive are those of extremely elaborate rites. Two of the best accounts, for instance, are those of the funerals for Lord Botetourt, the next to last royal governor, and for Peyton Randolph, the Speaker of the House of Burgesses, who died attending the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. but was returned to Williamsburg for burial. These were exceptional; they might well have been the two most ceremonious funerals in the entire history of colonial Virginia. But, as the evidence above might suggest, even the death of the average planter often called for a funeral attended by a large gathering and marked by a high degree of formal ceremony.

At the same time there was a counter-movement in the direction of simpler funerals setting in during the twenty-five years or so before the American Revolution. Many planters who possessed both the means and the social position to warrant the fullest funeral observances were stipulating by will that they should be interred quietly and without great formality. These were men such as Thomas Lee of Westmoreland County who complained of the "indecent mirth" at funerals and asked that his burial service consist of only the church ceremony attended by those relatives and friends who were near and that a funeral sermon be preached in his parish church on some day other than that of the burial.

The specific instructions of such men, who as Charles Carter of Cleve said of himself, "never delighted in funeral pomps," are a valuable source of evidence for the type of simple funeral which they desired but also for the more prevalent funeral customs which they abhorred. Quite commonly they sought to introduce one or more of the following modifications in the traditional ceremonies:

1.) Keeping the burial portion of the ceremony private or nearly private. Thomas Lee's request on this score is mentioned above, and Charles Carter asked that his buria1 take place at night and be kept as private as possible. The usual request was, like that of Thomas Lee's, that attendance at the actual burial be held to relatives and near neighbors.

2.) Elimination of the funeral sermon. Not only was the sermon moved to another day from the interment; it was omitted altogether, much in keeping with modern Anglican practice. There are numerous examples of this (e.g., Philip Grymes of Middlesex County who requested "no funeral sermon—prayers only").

3.) Restrictions in the use of mourning clothes. This was so commonly asked that it seems safe to conclude that, even where the funeral remained rather elaborate, there was a general trend in the direction of simpler mourning observances. To some extent the non-importation agreements of the pre-Revolutionary era promoted this, since black ribbon and clothes probably had to be imported; but it was a movement that was well under way before 1765.

Charles Carter's will was very detailed in his instructions on mourning. He asked that only his children appear in mourning and that any other relatives should wear "Common Clothes, the men with a black Crape on their left arm and the women with a black knot on their left side…" He added, "I do positively forbid the putting of any of my servants in mourning, having always determined within myself as much as my power lay, by setting a proper example, to put a stop to the ridiculous custom of involving familys by pompous funerals and mournings… "

There are other examples, too. Philip Grymes wanted only his wife in mourning and only if she so chose. Mrs. Stith in her instructions for a very simple procession also mentioned that the pallbearers should have only black hatbands and gloves. And Philip Rootes of King and Queen County wanted none of his family to go into mourning.

4.) The use of common men as pallbearers. This sometimes occurred even at important funerals and may have been in reality a long-standing practice; for Sir John Randolph who was entombed in the Chapel of the Wren Building in 1737 had specified that his body should be carried by six poor house-keepers of Bruton Parish. One of the most interesting requests is that of Philip Rootes who wanted four of his Negro slaves as pallbearers.

Any attempt to describe a funeral of a Virginia plantation owner of the 1760's or 1770's must then really take into account two diverse characteristics, first of all, the traditionally elaborate ceremony attended by a large number of mourners, but, secondly, the increasing note of simplicity in the burial customs of the age. Depending upon which of these features received the greater emphasis a funeral scene laid in this time and place could show considerable variation in the size of the gathering and in the degree of formality observed and still retain its claim to authenticity.

The following outline, which follows a middle course between the divergent trends in funerals, suggests one possible example of a representative funeral of the period:

Attendance. Even if the funeral were represented as a fairly simple one, there should probably be a large number of people present — and a very varied cross-section of the rural population of Virginia. Besides the members of the family, there might be a number of men, obviously wealthy planters and of the same social class as the deceased, with their wives. As many, or perhaps even more, plainer people, representing the neighboring small farmers, and the slaves of the plantation should also be present. Then the clergyman and his clerk would complete the mourners.

Pallbearers. Even some of the really large funerals, such as that of Peyton Randolph mention only six pallbearers. Apparently four or six were the usual number in most cases. As some of the above examples have shown, these men could have ranged all the way from fellow planters to Negro slaves of the deceased.

Mourning dress. This is one of the details on which the greatest amount of variation is possible. The best description which we found is that of the very simple mourning requested by Charles Carter with all but the closest relatives in ordinary clothes, the men wearing black crape on their left arm and the women with a black knot on their left side. Mourning gloves for the pallbearers might also be depicted. Fuller discussion of mourning dress will require consultation with Mrs. Walsh, who is in charge of our Costuming Department.

Place of Burial. There is no problem here at all, as any attractive and well-landscaped plot either in the garden or elsewhere on the plantation served as a final resting place for the family.

Details of the funeral and burial. There could or could not be a sermon by the clergyman, but almost certainly he would read all, or portions of, the burial service from the English Prayer Book of 1662. His dress and that of the parish clerk, who also would probably be present, would have been as indicated above. If both the funeral and burial were being held, then there would have been a procession to the grave, joined by all the people present.

The funeral as a social gathering. If any sizeable number of people were present, then the fact that the sadness of the occasion was partly alleviated by its being in part a social gathering should not be overlooked. There would perhaps be a spread of food after the burial and a good deal of conversation among the people present.

Regency Speak

The “Regency” is the era in England when the Prince of Wales was regent for his father, King George III. This began in between 1811. Because he was the Prince Regent, the period is called the Regency. the Regency ended in 1820 when George III died and his son, Prince George became King George IV.

When people think of Regency, they often think of books and movies such as Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and most of all, Pride and Prejudice. The Regency has its own terminology with which the modern reader may not be familiar.

Abigail
A lady’s maid, one of the most prestigious positions for a household servant. Her duties are to care for her lady’s every bathing and grooming and dressing need, including brushing and/or washing her clothing.

Almack’s
Assembly rooms on King Street in London where exclusive subscription balls were held each Wednesday night of the Season. Only young ladies of good breeding deemed worthy by Almack’s patronesses were awarded vouchers to entrance. Although, reportedly the patronesses weren’t as particular when it came to awarding admittance to gentlemen.

Apoplexy
A stroke.

Banns
Public announcement in church of a proposed marriage. The banns were read aloud during church service, following the reading of the second lesson, for three consecutive Sundays, with a query as to whether anyone knew of any reason why the couple should not wed. This was done in the parish of both the bride and groom. Once the banns were read three times, without objection, the cleric issued a certificate allowing the couple to marry at one of their parish churches.

Bluestocking
A woman with unfashionably intellectual and literary interests, often with a scientific bent.

Bow Street Runner
(See more info below) The forerunner of the metropolitan police later referred to as Scotland Yard, the Bow Street Runners were established in the mid-18th century by the magistrate of the Bow Street court, Henry Fielding.

Cit 
a derogatory term for a member of the merchant class in London.

Chit
an unflattering term for girl or young lady 

Cut direct:
A deliberate, public snub, also called cut dead, as in “she cut me dead”

Demi-monde
Literally “half world”; a class on the fringes of respectable society but most often referred to courtesans, prostitutes, etc.

Dowager
The widow of a peer, eg the Dowager Countess of Placename. The term was not added to a woman’s title until the new holder of the title married. This differentiated her from the wife of the new peer. The term also sometimes refers informally–and disparagingly–to an older woman of the upper classes.

Entail
An inheritance of real property which cannot be sold by the owner but which passes by law to the owner’s heir upon his death. The purpose of an entail was to keep the land of a family intact in the main line of succession. The heir to an entailed estate could not sell the land, or bequeath it to anyone but his direct heir.

Guinea
A gold coin worth 21 shillings

Hell (ie gaming hell)
A gambling establishment, less respectable than the elite gentlemen’s clubs which also provided many opportunities for gambling and betting.

Jarvey
The driver of a hackney coach or cab in London.

Jointure
A financial provision for a widow. Typically the amount is negotiated based on the portion she brought to the marriage, and is generally established as part of the marriage settlement.

Laudanum
A tincture made with a mixture of brandy and opium used to control pain or as a sleeping aid.

Mayfair
A desirable residential neighborhood in Regency London.

Modiste
A lady’s dressmaker who was usually French or pretended to be.

Pianoforte
An early version of the piano developed about 1730. Unlike the harpsichord, it could be played softly (piano) or loudly (forte). The full term was gravicèmbalo col piano e forte (literally harpsicord with soft and loud).

Rake
A dissolute person who indulges in excessive drinking, gambling and debauchery.  Often rake is incorrectly used interchangeably with “playboy” or “womanizer.”

Rout
A crowded party with no place to sit and barely room to stand.

Season
The social “Season” began in early spring and lasted until the end of June. The Season typically followed the sitting of Parliament.

Special license
A license obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury that granted the right to marry at any convenient time or place. Only men of influence could obtain one. They were valid for 3 months. Without a special license, marriages could only take place between 8:00am and noon in a parish in which one of the parties has resided for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Tiger
A liveried groom, generally small and young, who managed the horses when his master ascended to or descended from the seat, and sometimes took the reins to exercise the horses while his master temporarily left the vehicle. An owner-driven curricle or phaeton typically had a groom’s seat between the springs on which the tiger sat. The tiger wore an orange and black striped waistcoat which is what gave them their “title.” A small, lightweight tiger was preferred in order to maintain the proper balance. In fact, it was something of a status symbol to have the smallest possible tiger.

Ton
Fashionable Society, or the fashion. From the French bon ton, meaning good form, ie good manners, good breeding, etc. A person could be a member of the ton, attend ton events, or be said to have good ton (or bad ton).

Five Historic Hauntings

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there is no denying that many hauntings were human, rather than spiritual, mysteries: ghosts were often the product of personal fears, anxieties, lies, crimes and deceits that are often difficult to fathom as historians. Here are five spooky cases for you to consider…

1621: Nunnifying Mary Boucher

Mary Boucher was a London servant woman employed by a Catholic lady. According to the clergyman John Gee (d1639), the lady hatched a plot with three Jesuits to convert Mary to Catholicism, and so have her ‘Nunnified’. What better way to persuade Mary to convert to the Catholic faith than to convince her that ghosts returned from purgatory?

One of the conspirators dressed up in a white sheet and approached Mary as she lay in bed one night. The supposed spirit touched Mary with “a hand cold as earth or iron” and claimed to be her long-deceased godmother: “See that you tell my children what you have seen, and how their mother appeared unto you”.

When Mary told her mother about the ghostly visitation, she convinced her daughter that it was nothing but a popish trick. But maybe John Gee, who claimed to have visited Mary to verify the story, was making up his own stories to deflect rumours that he himself was in thrall to the papacy…

1650: The haunting of Susan Lay

In 1650 an Essex servant girl named Susan Lay went to her local magistrate in great distress, saying that she was haunted by the ghost of her mistress, Priscilla Beauty, the wife of an alehouse keeper. Lay had given birth to illegitimate children by both Beauty’s husband and her son, William. Both children died in infancy.

Priscilla passed away at Easter 1650. Three days after she was buried, Susan – who was then living in the alehouse barn – began to be visited by the pale ghost of her mistress calling to her, “Sue, Sue, Sue”. The anguished Susan thought the spirit of her mistress had come back from the dead to punish her for her sins – “oh this woman will be the destruction of me”, she said.

When Susan threatened to commit suicide, William told her, “this is a just judgement of God upon you for if she walks, she walks to you and nobody else.”

1765: Shrieking and groaning at Hinton Ampner

The haunting of the Manor House at Hinton Ampner, near Alresford, Hampshire, began simply enough with the inexplicable banging of doors. A groom said he had seen an apparition of its former owner, Lord Stawell.

Mary and William Ricketts had purchased the manor in 1765, and soon began to regret it. When William left for a lengthy trip to Jamaica four years later, leaving his wife and three young children, the poltergeist phenomena began to intensify: Mary began to hear footsteps, knocking noises, and the rustle of silk in her bedchamber. By the spring of 1771, mysterious murmurings, groanings, and shrieks plagued the Manor House.

William was still abroad. Mary’s brother, Sir John Jervis, came to investigate, but could find no rational cause for the disturbances. The family moved out shortly after, and the house was demolished a few years later.

Was it the ghost of Lord Stawell, or perhaps another previous owner, Sir Hugh Stewkeley? A local pauper had told the family that Stewkeley was rumoured to have buried treasure under the floorboards of the dining room.


_{c1865: a man clinging to a tree in the face of an apparition in a forest. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 72 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images).}

1834: A ghostly tenancy dispute

In February 1834 four men applied to the Bristol magistrates to nullify the tenancy agreement they had signed because their rooms were haunted. One of the men said he saw the ghosts of two women, one wearing mourning clothes. Another’s daughter claimed she also saw the ghost of a woman with light hair and grey eyes, who wore a cap with lace strings. She felt a draft of air as the ghostly woman passed by her bed. As well as these visions, all four tenants complained of a strange blue light appearing in their rooms.

The magistrate tried to convince them that there were no such things as ghosts. But the men refused to believe it, with one of them citing the Reverend John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, as an authority on their reality. Alas, the law could do nothing for the haunted tenants.

1861: A murder revealed by a ghost?

One evening in January 1861, several men and women were gathered at the fireside in the cottage of Joseph Allinson, in Kendal, when terrible knocking sounds emanated from the room above where Joseph’s bedridden, purblind wife lay.

The alarmed fireside congregation proceed upstairs to investigate the cause of the mysterious noises. Mrs Allinson revealed to them that she had just been visited by an apparition of a grim, rough-looking man dressed in black. It breathed in her face, causing the bedside candle to burn dim before being extinguished by some unseen hand.

The ghost pointed to the floor and in a thick, husky, hollow voice told her that she must dig under the hearthstone in the cellar, and there she would find something buried. The ghost then vanished.

Joseph and his friends immediately headed down to the cellar to carry out the spirit’s instructions. On removing the hearth flagstone they found, just below the surface, a quantity of long-buried bones, thought to be human, and a scattering of hops. Were they the remains of a murder victim? Was the ghost that of the murderer, or the murder victim?

Professor Owen Davies from the University of Hertfordshire specialises in witchcraft, magic, and ghosts from the ancient world to the modern era. He is the author of the forthcoming Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic (OUP, 2015) and America Bewitched: The Story of Witchcraft after Salem (OUP, 2013).