Joseph Ernest McCurdy
March 31, 1886 – September 20, 1906
Joseph Ernest McCurdy was a brother to my Grandmother, Etta Blanche McCurdy Shrider. He lost his life at a young age in a train wreck in 1906. Unbelievably .. on Ancestry I was able to find the story of this tragic day in two different papers!!!
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THE TIMES DEMOCRAT LIMA, OHIO SEPTEMBER 24, 1906
WOODLAWN CEMETERY
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Received the Remains of Fireman Joseph E. McCurdy Today
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WOODMEN OF WORLD
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And Members of C.C.O.N.G. Attended the Funeral Services
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The funeral of Joseph E. McCurdy, the C. H. & D. fireman who lost his life as a result of the head end collision which occurred on the C. H. & D. road near Johnson’s last Thursday night was held this morning at 10 O’clock, from the United Brethren Church at Spring and Union Streets, with the Pastor, Rev. A. E. Davis officiating. The services were impressive and were very largely attended and the floral offering were profuse and beautiful The funeral sermon which was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Davis was an eloquent one.
The funeral was attended by the members of company C. O. N. G.; and by the members of the local camp of the Woodmen of the World and the remains of the unfortunate fireman were consigned to a resting place in Woodlawn cemetery with military and lodge honors. The pall bearers wore militia uniforms.
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IN WOODLAWN
The Remains of Fireman Joe McCurdy
Will Be Laid to Rest By the Woodmen and Soldiers
On Monday.
FROM U. B. CHURCH
The Funeral Will be Held
At Ten O’clock Monday Morning.
Fireman Was Conscious
While Work of Rescue Progressed.
The funeral of Joseph E. McCurdy, the C. H. & D. fireman who lost his life in the head end collision which occurred on the C. H. & D. road near Johnson’s night before last, will be held from the United Brethren church on East Spring Street, at 10 o’clock Monday morning and will be attended by members of the local camp of the Woodmen of the World and by the members of the Co. D. O. N. G. The body will be interred in Woodlawn cemetery.
In an account of the wreck, the Dayton Herald says:
Neither Engineer Smiley nor his fireman could escape when the crash came. Both were pinioned under the wreckage and exposed to the scalding water and steam which hissed from the broken pipes in the cab of the passenger engine. Engineer Smiley’s left knew was pinned against the firebox and the leg below the knee was terribly burned and crushed.
Engineer Smiley lived half an hour after the crash. He directed his rescuers how to work to save him, but although they effort was put forth he died before they could save him. It is believed that the death of the engineer was largely due to his inhaling the hot steam which came from the busted pipes.
On the opposite side of the passenger engine cab Fireman McCurdy was pinioned under the wreckage in a similar manner. His left was nearly burned off and he was terribly cut and bruised about the head and face. Not withstanding his terrible injuries, McCurdy did not lose consciousness at the time and frequently inquired about his engineer.
The injured fireman was taken to St. Elizabeth hospital. The attending physicians did all they could for him but the man was beyond all human aid and died about 5:30 Friday morning.
Brakeman William A. Lent, on the passenger train, had a miraculous escape from death. He was acting as assistant – conductor to Conductor W. K. Nolte, both Lent and Nolte were engaged in county their tickets when the crash came.
Lent was sitting in one of the front seats in the first coach of the passenger train. When the tender of the engine was driven back into the coach, he escaped being crushed by a fraction of an inch. Lent was violently hurled to the floor of the car. His back was badly sprained, and his right hand was badly cut and bruised.
Brakeman Lent said Friday: “The first intimation we had that there was another train on the tracks was when the crash came. It was all over in a second. I cannot describe my feelings.” Lent is confined to his home and will be unable to move for several days.
The engine of the freight train was in charge of Engineer Trainer and Fireman Johns. Both jumped from the cab of their locomotive, and escaped with a few bruises received in falling. Trainer was in charge of the engine which ran into another train in Piqua last Sunday.
Their were five passengers on the ill-fated No., 135, but none of these were injured. Some of them walked to the car lines and came to Dayton, while the rest waited until the wreck train returned to Dayton.
The wreck train was sent out soon after the wreck occurred, and worked nearly all night in clearing away the debris. Traffic on the road was not opened up until Friday morning.
There was a pathetic scene at the home of Engineer Smiley, Springfield Street, Friday morning. The ill-fated engineer leaves a wife, who is heart-broken over the untimely death of her husband. Engineer Smiley had been running an engine for seven years and never had an accident. He worked five years for the B. & O. and went with the C. H. & D. about two years ago. He had the reputation of being one of the best men on the road, and his loss is a heavy one to the railroad company. His body will probably be buried at Hamden Junction.
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LIMA TIMES DEMOCRAT SEPTEMBER 26, 1906
CARD OF THANKS
We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who so kindly assisted us in the hour of sorrow, and Rev. Davis for his appropriate sermon; also the choir and all those who so kindly contributed their floral offerings and especially Co. C. for taking charge of the funeral.
DOLLIE BOWEN, mother
BLANCH SCHRIDER, sister
ARTHUR McCURDY, brother
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THE LIMA TIMES DEMOCRAT OCTOBER 15, 1906
Estate of Joseph E. McCurdy, deceased. The undersigned has been appointed and qualified as administratrix of the estate of Joseph E. McCurdy, late of Allen county, Ohio, deceased.
Dated this 13th day, of October, A.D. 1906.
RUSSELL L. ARMSTRONG Attorney DOLLIE A. BOWEN
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LIMA DAILY NEWS 25 JANUARY 1907
OUT OF COURT
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RECEIVER OF THE C. H. & D. RAILWAY COMPANY WILL SETTLE CLAIM FOR DAMAGES BECAUSE OF THE DEATH OF THE LATE JOSEPH E. McCURDY.
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Yesterday a petition was filed in the probate court of this county in the matter of the estate of Joseph E. McCurdy, deceased, in which Dolly Bowen, as administratrix, represents to the court that she has made a claim against the C. H. & D. railway company through Judson Harmon, as receiver for that road for damages resulting from the loss of the life of the said Joseph E. McCurdy.
The petitioner states that the deceased was a fireman in the employ of the defendant company and that while acting as such on the twentieth day of last September he was injured and died from the effect of said injuries. Now, Judson Harmon, as receiver for the said road has proposed to settle with the petitioner for the sum of $1250, but as no suit has been brought, nor is there any pending against the railroad company on said claim, she believes it would be to the benefit of the beneficiaries of the deceased to settle the claim for damages and asks the privilege of so doing by petition to the probate court.
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Lima Times Democrat 21 September 1906
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TWO LIVES ARE LOST IN WRECK ON C. H. & D.
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Head-end Collision Near Johnson’s
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KILLED
J. C. SMILEY, of Dayton, engineer of passenger train
JOSEPH E. McCURDY, of Lima, fireman of passenger train
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Another frightful tragedy has been added to the list that hangs to the history of that fateful curve on the C.H.& D. railroad near Johnson’s, the little station among the bluffs near North Dayton. At an early hour this morning a terrific head end collision occurred on this same curve and the lives of two more railroad men were snuffed out as a sacrifice won by the disaster. With but a momentary flash of warning, a south bound passenger train and a north bound through freight train met on the curve, the passenger engine was torn to fragments and both men in its cab met death. The impact with which the two locomotives crashed together was terrific and the lighter passenger engine was literally torn to pieces by the big “battleship” which was pulling the freight train. The engineer of the passenger train lived but a short time and his fireman sustained injuries from which he died at 5 o’clock this morning.
The victims of the collision were engineer Smiley, a resident of Dayton, and fireman Joseph E. McCurdy, of 124 West Water Street, this city. They were in charge of the engine of the passenger train and were within a few miles of the end of their run and expected to soon put their engine in the “clear” and get some rest after a hard days work on an excursion special. Their train was in charge of conductor Nolty, a south-end man, and had been in service yesterday as an excursion train, running between Piqua and Troy to accommodate the heavy passenger travel occasioned over that portion of the line by the Troy fair. They were being run to Dayton as a third section of train No. 3 and were to lay over in Dayton for the remainder of the night and were to have charge of the excursion run again today. Their train was within a few miles of the Dayton yards and was rounding the curve at Parson’s Bluff, near Johnson’s, when suddenly the headlight of a north bound freight train engine flashed on the curve ahead of them. There was no time even to jump for safety for almost the same instant that the first gleam of the oncoming headlight was seen the terrible crash came.
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PASSENGER CREW
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Had Orders to Meet the Third Ninety at Johnson’s Station
Information that was obtainable concerning the wreck today indicates clearly that the mistake which brought about the disaster was made by the engineer of the passenger train. The passenger crew had orders to meet the third section of train No. 90 at Johnson’s and when the passenger train arrived at the station the second section of train 90 was in the “clear” there and engineer Smiley evidently supposed that the train was third 90 and did not note the number of the engine, which he would have found did not tally with the number of third 90’s engine as given on his meeting orders.
At the point where the wreck occurred, two miles south of Johnson’s, the road curves to the west around a high bluff and engineer Smiley, being on the right side of the engine and the short side of the curve, had little chance to see the engine or the headlight of the freight train until the engines were but a very short distance apart. Then it was too late to jump and he and fireman McCurdy, who was probably down on the deck and knew nothing of the danger, were caught in a trap with no chance to escape.
The men on the freight engine had a better chance to jump and they did so, and all three .. engineer Tom Trainer , his fireman and the head brakeman .. escaped without an injury. Engineer Trainer was on the long side of the curve and saw the headlight of the passenger engine in time to reverse his engine, give warning to the fireman and brakeman and then jump before the crash came. Engineer Smiley and fireman McCurdy however were caught in the debris of the wreck and both met death.
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FAMOUS WRECK
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In Which Engineer Pat Doolin Was Killed Occurred at Same Place
The collision last night occurred within one hundred feet of the point where Passenger Engineer Pat Doolin and Fireman McElroy, both of this city were killed a few years ago, when engine No. 200, pulling southbound passenger train No. 3, at a high rate of speed, left the track on the same curve and was torn to pieces by the heavy train which it was drawing. The place is regarded by all railroad men as one of the most dangerous on the road, a high bluff being on the west side of the track and the canal and Miami River on the east side.
No very great damage was done to the engine which was pulling the northbound freight train which figured in last nights wreck. This train was not running at a very great rate of speed when engineer Trainer saw the headlight of engineer Smiley’s engine, the 135, and he had his train well under control before he jumped. The passenger train did not slacken its speed however, until the 135 hit the big freight engine. The latter engine withstood the shock and was not knocked off the rails but the lighter passenger engine was completely wrecked.
Only Five Passengers Aboard
There were only five passengers onboard the excursion train when the wreck occurred and they escaped with no injuries any more serious than a severe shaking up. The brakeman of the passenger train had one arm slightly hurt.
As soon as the wreck was reported, a wreck train was sent to the scene from Dayton and another was sent from this city. The track was cleared and repaired in time to hold the paper train only about an hour this morning and all trains after that were run through on time.
Both engineer Smiley and fireman McCurdy were alive when their mangled bodies were located under the wreckage by the other trainmen. Engineer Smiley died a few minutes after being taken out of the wreck and fireman McCurdy died at 5 o’clock this morning.
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FIREMAN McCURDY
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Was a Member of Company C and of the Woodmen of the World
Fireman McCurdy was about 22 years of age and was popular among his friends in this city. He lived with his mother and brother at 124 West Water Street and was a young man of exemplary habits whose death will be a severe blow to his mother. He was a member of the Company C, Ohio National Guard, and was also a member of the local camp of the Woodmen of the World.
The first information that Mrs. McCurdy received from the wreck was that the young man was seriously injured, and later, after she and her other son, who is employed by the street railway company, had arranged to go to the injured youth a second message was received announcing his death. The brother went to Dayton on train No. 1 this morning and returned with the remains at 4:30 o’clock this afternoon. The body was taken to Eckert and Son’s morgue and will be taken to the bereaved home this evening. No arrangements for the funeral have yet been made. The body was met at the depot by several members of Company C and by a number of members of the Woodmen’s order.
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Engineer Resided in Dayton
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Engineer J. C. Smiley resided in Dayton.. He had been employed on the main line of the C.H. & D. for about a year and formerly railroaded on the Wellston division of the D. & I. branch of the road. He was also formerly employed on the Baltimore and Ohio road,
Engineer Smiley’s remains were taken to Dayton this morning and no information has yet been obtained here as to the time or place of his funeral.
Engineer Trainer, who was in charge of the freight train that was in the wreck, had charge of the engine that was pulling the Lima excursion train at Piqua last Sunday when it was hit by a Pan Handle freight train.
Joseph Ernest McCurdy with his brother, William Arthur McCurdy
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