Record & Star Anniversary Edition Page 11

Find An Index To All Of This Newspaper Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-watsontown-record-star-silver.html

=============

Rolland B. Follmer & J. P. Wilson

A Pioneer Business House

Leading Hardware Stove, and Tinware Store of this section

Established in 1866 by F.H. Knight, and for 38 years successfully operated at present location

Now owned and managed by Follmer and Wilson, two progressive young business men.

Heavy and shelf hardware, stoved, heaters, and tinware

Lamps, house furnishing goods, paints, oils

Electrical supplies, Plumbing, Steam Heating, Roofing and spouting

Rolland B. Follmer, senior member of the firm, is a former Watsontowner, being a son of J.M. Follmer, one of the pioneer residents of the town.  Mr. Follmer left here in 1882, after traveling over the greater part of the United States in the interest of the Dr. D. Jayne Medicine Co. of Philadelphia, returned to his native town.

J.F. Wilson is also a native of Watsontown, son of Dr. C.G. Wilson, well known to the older citizens.  Mr Wilson was engaged in the telephone and electric light business for a number of years, traveling extensively in this work and other engagements previous to locating here.

Messrs Follmer and Wilson purchased the old established F.H. Knight store in September 1906 and are giving the business their undivided attention.  A force of skilled and experienced workmen is employed.

The establishment is one of the busiest business marts in town.

Barr Table Company

     THE WATSONTOWN TABLE WORKs commenced business in the car shops building in 1878 being started by Jos Hollopeter and Jas. W. McLain,. Samuel Miller, George Burns and Isaac Stryker were afterwards added to the  firm. Subsequently Ario Pardee became proprietor of the works, which were removed to his lower planing mill.   Later the plant passed into the hands of J. G. Bower and F. H. Miller, who built the preset building and operated the works successfully for a number of years, when it passed into the hands of a stock company known as the  the West Branch Table Works. In 1897 Mr. George B. Breon acquired possession of the plant and the firm name  was then changed to the Breon Table Company. 

    June 15, 1906, the plant was purchased by the Barr Table Company, and Mr. J. W. Barr, who for four years had charge of the business for Mr. Breon, assumed the entire management and control. Under Mr Barr's management  the plant has been greatly improved by the installation of new, up-to-date machinery and appliances, including complete collector system. 

     With an established reputation for superior work the new firm has introduced more progressive methods, not only adding to the quantity but quality of the product. The business has increased twenty-five per cent under the management or Mr. Barr, the out-put reaching an annual average of $125,000. Sixty-five hands are employed and the factory is continuously operated to its full capacity. 

    THE BARR TABLE COMPANY is recognized as a leader in the industry, manufacturing a larger number of the higher grades of tables than any factory in this part of the state. A greater portion of the tables produced are of the finest quartered oak, the designs being mainly originated by Mr. Barr, who is an expert designer and architect, and thoroughly familiar with every detail of the business and with the wants of the trade. 

      The adjoining illustration shows one of the new designs for 1907. Catalogue of other designs may be had for the asking. 

Bryson Post No, 224," Department of Pa., Grand Army of the Republic, was organized September 20 1881 by Capt. John F. Parker, then Commander of Henry Wilson Post, No. 129, Milton, assisted by a large delegation from that Post. The officers installed were: F. A. Roan, Commander: J. M. Follmer, Senior Vice Commander; E. W. Fosnot, Junior V. C.; T. G. Caldwell, Officer of the Day; J. R. Messinger, Officer Of The Guard; Geo. P. Straub, Quartermaster; T. H. Kisner, Surgeon; Rev. David Kennedy, Chaplain; Am brsbe Lamm, Adjutant; Sergt. Major, law. C. Fasnot.

 The Post rented the hall in the Hogue Building, now the property of the Farmers National Bank, and have occupied the same quarter  continuously until the present time. The above picture shows the room as it is to-day, one of the neatest and best equipped In the Department. Since its organization the Post mustered into its ranks 188 members. Out of that number  58 have died, 94 have withdrawn or were dropped from the rolls, leavinga present membership of 46. 

The following comrades have served the Post as Commanders:

1881, F. A. Reen;

1882, Lew. C. Fosnot: 

1883, 0. F. Benson;

1884, James Cummings 

1885 Wm. H. Kline; 

1886, J. H. Wagner; 

1887, J. R. Housel;

1888, John R. Cooner;

1889, Wm. L. Baker; 

1890, T.H. Kiser; 

1891 S G. Stadler; 

1892, Wm. D. Moyer; 

1893, J. N. Messenger;

1894, Geo. P. Straub; 

1895, Samuel B Morgu; 

1896, Alfred Diehl;

1897 S. R. Averill: 

1898, Wm. L. Baker;

1899 Lew. C. Fosnot;

1900, J. R. Messinger;

1901, James Zettlemoyer;

1902, F. A. Reen; 

1903, I. W. Long; 

1904, M. 0. Ellert;

1905-06, S. B. Morgan; 

1907, Geo G. Kilmer. 

The Post meets every Friday evening, and has rarely failed to have a quorum at its meetings. It has and continues to carry on its rolls the best citizens of the town, and still continues to maintain its reputation as one of the most active Posts In the Department, rarely failing to be represented at encampments, and being represented frequently on the staffs of the Department and National Commanders. Its observance of Memorial Day has been kept up every year since organization. It holds services in eight cemeteries decorating the graves of over two hundred deceased comrades.

Frequent campfires and  entertainments have been held all proving very successful. During the winter months joint meetings have been held with the Lewisburg and Milton posts, which events have been very interesting.  After twenty-six years of faithful service in the work of the Grand Army of the Republic, the handful of surviving comrades realize that their organization must soon be numbered with the things of the past, and that in very few years, they must relinquish the work to the hands of their sons and daughters, and they are gratified to know that willing hearts and ready hands will perpetuate the patriotic duty which the organization has by precept and example firmly imbued into the the hearts of the rising generation.

SONS OF VETERANS. 

    For a town the size of Watsontown, S. D. Morgan Camp, No. 225, Pa. Div., Sons of Veterans, is the equal of many camps in much larger towns not withstanding the fact that it has been organized but two years.

    he camp was mustered in July 31 1905 with 59 charter members and at the present time is in a flourishing condition, the membership having reached 104.

    The company of Reserved of the military part of the order was mustered in as Co. H, Third Regiment, Pa Div, October 30 1906, with 34 members and 25 funs. The company now numbers 58 men, 35 of whom are fully equipped with guns and uniforms.

    The ladies Auxiliary was organized April 9 1907, with a charger membership of 29.

    The organization and town boasts of the only Sons of Veterans Band in this sate  It was organized February 19 1906 with 18 members and was mustered in as Trate's Third Regiment Band, S.V.R. January 7 1907, with 25 members fully uniformed and equipped with a fine set of new instruments.  They have favorable prospects of a membership of 35 before they are two years old. During the short time since organized the Band has met with the remarkable success, and wherever it has filled engagement had received the highest praise of efficiency.

    The grand Army of the Republic needs the assistance of every Son of A Veteran in the land, and if they don't receive it, the Sons are shirking their duty and not worthy sons of the men who offered their lives to preserve the Union. As Sons of Veterans we should ever bear in mind that the high honor of bein Sons of Veterans is not due to any services which we rendered, but is out privilege because our fathers dared to do and if need be to die for the right.  It is our duty to show to the world that we are worthy of the title we bear. This we will endeavor to do by respecting the memory of our country's defenders both those who are still permitted to stay with us and those who fell in battle or have since responded to the last roll call.

Daniel W. Kemble was born November 26, 1857. Starting as a water boy for the Pennsylvania Canal Company while yet in his "teens," he served that company thirty-two years, closing his service as foreman of this division of the West Branch Canal, with head-quarters at Port May, near Watsontown. Here he operated a supply store in connection with his canal supervision for fifteen years. After the abandonment of the canal he continued to operate the store until April 1, 1904, When he purchased the McFarland market and store in Watsontown and has operated the same successfully until the present time. Mr. Kemble carries a very complete stock of staple and fancy groceries, fruits, vegetables, oysters and fish in season, and has Wilt up an extensive trade by careful and courteous attention to the wants of the people. Mr. Kemble is at present a menthol of the Borough Council, having serve': one year, and in this duty as in at other positions he is recognized as z progressive citizen, and an honorable honest, liberal-minded man. He is az active member of S. B. Morgan Camp Sons of Veterans, and of Watsontown Lodge and Encampment of the I. O. O. F. 

John McFarland, one the best known early residents of this section, was a native of the north part of Ireland, and was born in 1817. Be came to this country when about sixteen years of age. and soon developed the sterling, industrious and ambitious qualities of his race. After working for a number of -years on a farm, near what is now the city of Reading, he became a contractor on the Little Schuylkill Railroad, and assisted in laying the first strap-iron rails on that road. Later he was a contractor on the Catawissa Branch of the P. R.R'y building  a portion of the road and of the Big Mountain tunnel, near East. Mahanoy Junction. After completing this work, ;Nit,. McFarland came to this sect ion, purchasing two farms and the grist mill near Warrior Run Church. These properties were greatly improved with new buildings and the mill placed in first, class condition. In 1808 Mr. McFarland built the Watsontown Flouring Mill, operating it and dealing in grain for over twenty years, during which he refitted the mill with it complete equipment of full roller process machinery, making it one of the best in this part of the state. In 1890 he sold the mill to Follmer, Fowler & Co. and retired from active business. Mr. McFarland built: the handsome home, caner Main and Eighth streets, now occupied by his son, and in many ' other ways showed his progressive spirit. He died in 1807, loved and respected by all who knew him. 

Capt. William F. Ungard was born at Mill Hall, Pa.  October 22 1853.  Like other distinguished citizens, he began his career as a mule driver on the canal, engaging in that occupation before becoming nine years of age. One year later he went on a farm, remaining at this occupation until the age of sixteen. Following this he engaged in boating and lumbering.

Mr. Ungard came to Watsontown in 1878, and boated for the late E. L. Matchin until Mr. Matchin’s death. In 1893 he took charge of the coal business and continued in that and the ice business until the fall of 1906.

During the following winter, Mr. Ungard was engaged in the restaurant and milk business, and in the spring purchased and occupied the Allenwood Hotel. This stand he has completely remodeled and placed in first-class condition for the accommodation of the public. Under his progressive management the hotel is rapidly becoming one of the most popular in this section.

Mr. Ungard is a self-made man in the best sense of the term, having practically made his own way in the world from childhood. He has raised a family of six boys and one girl, and his life has been a strenuous one, full of hard work and trying experiences.

On May 17, 1902, the soldiers monument  was dedicated at the Watsontown cemetery with "imposing ceremonies".

General J.P.S. Gobis delivered the oration.  The Bryson post had began plans for the monument a few years prior, but after raising a few hundred dollars, the project was abandoned.  In 1901, another effort was made, with a "Popular One Dollar Subscription" raising the necessary funds. The plot was donated by the Cemetery Association, near the soldier burial lot, which had previously been donated to the post.

On this lot was alos mounted a large canon from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

"Overlooking the town and seemingly guarding it, the combination is an impressive one, reflecting the patriotism of a grateful community - an honor to the town and the price of all surviving members of the Grand Army of the Republic.

==========

To see more about the Businesses & Stores in Watsontown - 

Find a Block By Block look at Main Street Watsontown through the decades here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/04/main-street-watsontown-block-by-block.html

=====================================

Find More Stories & History Of Watsontown Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/04/watsontown-pa.html

And more local history, from surrounding areas, here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

=======================================

Was There A Tunnel At Fort Augusta?

 

In Sunbury, more than any other local town I research, there are numerous stories of secret tunnels.  Tunnels from the prison, tunnels from various homes, and tunnels from Fort Augusta.  

Was there really a tunnel from Fort Augusta to the river?  I do not know, I can only tell you what old newspapers and periodicals had to say about it.  

Normal S. Engle claimed to have seen the tunnel in 1888, after the flood washed out part of the bank.

Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. (1912). United States: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution..

Mrs. Amelia Gross was very involved with the DAR.  It was due to her efforts that the DAR erected a monument there, and for a time, the group considered purchasing the site.  In their 1912 magazine, an article states that "since the old fort became the property of the present owner, an underground passage to the river had been discovered, and numerous relics found..."

"Close by is an old well, which tradition says, led underground to the shore of the Susquehanna River"

The Reading Eagle, 1925

Read More About Fort Augusta Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/07/fort-augusta.html

=================

More Stories & History From Sunbury Pa

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/07/sunbury-pennsylvania.html

And more Stories & History From surrounding towns:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

===================

The Libby Prison Timbers Came From Pennsylvania

 

In January of 1908, the Danville Morning News reported that the Libby Prison Timbers Floated Down Susquehanna Past Here Fifty Years.

"Timbers from which the famous infamous Libby prison was erected were floated down the Susquehanna past this town over fifty years ago.  The trees were felled at Wyoming county and rafted down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake Bay and thence taken to Richmond VA, where Libby erected a large tobacco warehouse, and when the Civil war broke out, that warehouse became Libby Prison.  The fact is not generally known, but is vouched for by Dr. John Denison, of Tunkhannock, who was told the full facts by an old Susquehanna river raftsman." - The Danville Morning News

The outside of the prison was constructed of brick, but photos of the inside show the huge timbers used in the construction.

Built in the late 1840s by John Enders, who was killed during its construction, the structure actually consisted of three separate pieces built to form one warehouse. In 1861, the warehouse was purchased by Maine native and Church Hill resident Luther Libby, who used it to house his ship chandler and grocery shop. A year later, the Confederate government seized the building to use as a prison for captured Union soldiers, calling it Libby Prison. 

The prison primarily housed Union Army officers, becoming notorious for its overcrowded and execrable conditions—second only to Andersonville Prison in Georgia. By 1863 Libby Prison was packed with some 1,000 prisoners, and many Union men would perish there from disease and malnutrition. Following the Union occupation of Richmond in 1865, the prison was used to detain Confederate officers. 

While visiting Richmond in April of 1865, Abraham Lincoln pronounced—to throng of people gathered near the prison who were clamoring to tear it down—that the building should be left standing as a monument.

Two decades later, in 1888, a group of Chicago investors purchased the building, had it taken apart piece by piece (asll 600,000 bricks) and moved to Chicago, where it was opened to the publis as a Civil War Museum.

The museum was quite popular, and profitable, through the Columbian Exposition in 1893, but the building was dismantled again in 1899, and sold as souvenirs and salvage.

My ggg grandfather, Joseph A Lumbard, 14th Co. G,  (later a Selinsgrove newspaper editor) mentioned seeing Libby prison:

"A number of the boys crossed the river and visited a number of the places of note in the late Rcbel Capital.  Among the places visited was Castle Thunder and Libby Prison, names which will never fail to send a shudder. through the breasts of every loyal person in the land, since within their walls were confined many of the bravest of the brave, and upon whom were heaped many insults and barbarities which alone will forever damn the memory of the actors in this inhuman drama.

At one of the prison pens in a yard an aperture was be seen which was the mouth of a burrow which had been dug by prisoners confined in the prison, and through which a number of prisoners had escaped a few nights before the surrender of General Lee’s Army.  As our boys stood and examin­ed the narrow opening they could not refrain from expressing their surprise that a man should attempt to squeeze his body through so small an opening." - The Diary of J.A. Lumbard, Co G 147th, Ch99

The Libby Prison Escape

The escape from Libby prison was the largest prison escape during the civil war.

For 12 nights straight, Rose & Hamilton tunneled through a sealed off room by chiseling through a fireplace and digging a route through the wall. They hid the dirt they removed under a thick layer of straw strewn around the basement, which was known as "rat hell", as it was always full of rats.


Early each morning the men slipped back through the fireplace, replaced the bricks and laid back down with the other sleeping men.
The two men soon enlisted the help of a dozen other prisoners, with men working in shifts. They worked in complete darkness, with rats swarming them the entire time they dug.
The first three tunnels failed. But seventeen days after starting the fourth tunnel, Rose broke through the flood of the a shed outside the prison fence. From there, the prisoners could simply walk through a gate to dock street.


On February 9th 1864, Rose, Hamilton, and 107 Union Officers slipped through the fireplace, one at a time. They each walked through the gate, and slipped into the shadows of dock street.
The fireplace bricks were replaced by men who had chosen not to escape at the time. Two men drowned after escaping, and nearly half of the men were recaptured, including Col. Rose. But many made it to the Union lines at Williamsburg, and it was one of the most successful prison escaped in American History, the largest to occur during the civil war.

===============

Tough Timbers Of Libby Prison Are Still Being Used

Tough timbers went into old Libby Prison, itself no chamber of ease, according to stories of Union Civil War prisoners.

Today, more than 40 years after the demolition of the one-time ship chandlery at Richmond, Va., execrated thruout the North during the Civil War as a chamber of horrors, its timbers are still on active duty.

Carved with the initials of many a Northern war prisoners of the Confederacy, they form the beams and rafters of a peaceful Indiana barn.

On the farm of Frank Davis, near Hamlet, Ind., visitors yet go to view the stout lumber on which their ancestors may have whittled during their durance.

Few barns have so many beams and rafters as Davis'. When the then State Senator J. G. Danielson acquired the lumber from the famous prison after the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, he found he had more than he needed for his barn. But he ordered all the timbers used – and the beams are almost close enough together to constitute a floor.

Their last trip to this farming community resulted from the failure of the project of a group of "mauve decade" promoters. They purchased the prison at the time of the 1893 fair and rebuilt it at a reported cost of $10,000, at Sixth Street and Wabash Avenue, Chicago, as a fair exhibit.

Though it attracted widespread publicity, the project was a failure as a money maker and was auctioned.

===================

An Index Of Stories, Photos & History From the Lumbering Area

Particularly Along The West Branch Of The Susquehanna River

When A Lewisburg Boy Received A Carnegie Medal

Fleming Claude Bower, son of Attorney Frederick E. Bower of Lewisburg, recipient of the Carnegie Medal, for saving a 12 year old Milton boy from drowning in the icy river, January 1909.

 Who knew a broken arm could be so lucky?

Fleming Bower, age 26, entered the navy after graduating from Bucknell. A machinist on the ship "Georgia", Bower had his arm broken when an iron beam fell on it.

According to the Lewisburg Chronicle, it had been found that "the broken arm has not properly united, and a resection of the bone by a Boston specialist will be made."

Well, that sure doesn't sound lucky, does it?

Unless you know that on July 16th 1907, there was an explosion on the Georgia.  Eight seamen were killed, and not one of those in the turret escaped injury.

"The accident happened while the battleship was several miles off Provincetown and the men were engaged in target practice, together with other vessels of the battleship squadron of the Atlantic fleet. The powder had just been taken from the ammunition hoist to lead an 8-inch gun. It was seen to be burning and in an instant it exploded in the very face of the loader of the gun. No damage was done to the vessel, as the powder was not confined, and early last evening, under orders from Washington, the GEORGIA sailed back for the target grounds of Provincetown."

How the powder became ignited is not known, but the theory held at the navy yard is that it was set off by a spark from the smokestack of the warship.

Bower was not on board the ship at the time, because he had a broken arm.  A broken arm that didn't heal properly, and required a special surgery, and a much longer time to heal than expected.

And that's how he came to be back in his hometown of Lewisburg, visiting with his parents, in January of 1909.  Which turned out to be extremely lucky, for 12 year old Stoner Watts.

Stoner Watts, of Cameron Avenue in Milton, was ice skating, along with his friends, below the railroad bridge on the Susquehanna River, when he fell into a hole in the ice.  The Miltonian says:

 "His young companions fled at the sight of the boy's predicament, Mr. Bower, however, being in the neighborhood and taking in the situation, took a headlong plunge of twenty feet, caught the boy and succeeded in holding him above water [at the edge of the ice], until rescuers reached the pair in a boat, when they were taken to shore in an exhausted condition."

In 1910, Bower received a Carnegie Silver Medal.

 

An article in the Carnegie Hero Fund Periodical, imPulse, June 2012, says that the award came with a grant of $2,000, which Bower applied to the  resumption of his studies at Bucknell and then at Cornell University, where he studied mechanical engineering. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Merchant Marine as first assistant engineer aboard the Armenia, a German ship that had been seized. On a voyage to England the vessel was torpedoed twice but remained seaworthy. Bower was then an ordnance inspector in Findlay, Ohio, before entering the U.S. Maritime Service, which was
established in 1938. During World War II, he served as chief engineer on ships carrying
ammunition to American forces in North Africa for airplanes and trucks to forces in England. He rose to the rank of commander. 

Along the way, Bower married Catherine Ruth Haldeman. The union, which bore 11
children, four of whom survive, lasted until Bower’s death in 1973 at age 91. “All of us are deeply proud of him,” says granddaughter Cathy Hughes Atkinson of Palm Coast, Fla. “My grandfather was and remains a great source of family pride and forever remains a man of honor. What he did inspires us all and will continue to inspire his descendants.” 

When he retired, Bower read an entire set of encyclopedias from start to finish.

===========

About The Carnegie Medal
=============

On January 25th 1904, a disaster in the Harwick Mine, just outside of Philadelphia, claimed the lives of 181 men.  Selwyn M. Taylor and Daniel A Lyle gave their lives in rescue attempts.   Greatly touched by Taylor's and Lyle's sacrifice, Andrew Carnegie had medals privately minted for their families.  Two months later he  wrote a "Deed of Trust",  for a Carnegie Hero Fun,  established to recognize persons who perform extraordinary acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and the dependents of those killed saving or attempting to save others. Those chosen for recognition receive the Carnegie Medal and become eligible for scholarship aid and other benefits.

Carnegie medals are 3 inch in diameter, cast in bronze, silver and gold. Chapter 15 verse 3 from the Gospel of John encircles the outer edge: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" . The trust soon stopped issuing gold medals, and the last silver medal was issued in 1981.

    Approximately  11% of those nominated received the Carnegie Medal

The Commission’s working definition of a hero as well as its requirements for awarding remain largely those that were approved by the founder. The Fund's website states the criteria:

• "The rescuer must be a civilian who knowingly and voluntarily risks his or her own life to an extraordinary degree. Members of the armed services and children considered by the Commission too young to comprehend the risk involved are ineligible for consideration."
• "The rescuer must have rescued or attempted the rescue of another person."
• "The act of heroism must have occurred in the United States, Canada, or the waters thereof (12 nautical miles).
• "The act must be brought to the attention of the Commission within two years of the date of its occurrence." [ roughly one-quarter of awards have been given posthumously]
• "The act of rescue must be one in which no full measure of responsibility exists between the rescuer and the rescued, which precludes those whose vocational duties require them to perform such acts, unless the rescues are clearly beyond the line of duty; and members of the immediate family, except in cases of outstanding heroism where the rescuer loses his or her life or is severely injured."
• "There must be conclusive evidence to support the threat to the victim’s life, the risk undertaken by the rescuer, the rescuer’s degree of responsibility, and the act's occurrence."

===============

For more Stories & History of Lewisburg:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/08/lewisburg-pa.html

=======================

MORE STORIES FROM BUCKNELL:

The Early Days Of Bucknell University By E. Wolf, 1914

Mrs Bucknell Sailed On The Titanic, and Lived To Tell About It.

Charles Bell, The Escaped Slave Who Worked At Bucknell For 40 Years

Dr H. Alexander Returns To Visit Bucknell, 1897

Flemming Bower Received The Carnegie Medal

Medal Of Honor Recipient George H. Ramer

15 year old killed in Sledding Accident at Bucknell,  1898

Local Artist John Wesley Little, from Picture Rocks in Lycoming County,  paid his childrens college tuition to Lewisburg University [today Bucknell] partially in paintings.  Bucknell still owns some of his work.

=====================

============

READ MORE

============

September 1907

"Fleming C. Bower, 26, student, saved Stoner F. Watts, 12, from drowning, Milton, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1909. Bower jumped into a hole in the ice, in the middle of the Susquehanna River, to the assistance of Stoner, who had skated into the open water. He supported him while they drifted 60 feet to the end of the hole, and, while the current pulled at his legs, with his arms on the ice, he supported the boy for five minutes until two men reached them in a boat."

Fleming Bower, of Lewisburg, made a thrilling rescue of a twelve year old boy from a watery grave. The smoothness of the ice invited skaters from all around, and young Watts, who lives on Cameron avenue, with a host of young friends were skating just below the R. R. bridge on the river here, when the young fellow skated into an air hole fifty by seventy feet in size. His young companions fled at the sight of the boy's predicament, Mr. Bower, however, being in the neighborhood and taking in the situation, took a headlong plunge of twenty feet, caught the boy and succeeded in holding him above water, until rescuers reached the pair in a boat, when they were taken to shore in an exhausted condition. Young Bower is a former Bucknell student and son of Attorney F. E. Bower, of Lewisburg, who is now in the Naval service on the battleship, Georgia. He is voted a brave lad by everybody in Milton, and will be heard from later. - The Miltonian, Jan 29 1909

  

Stoner Fermin Watts was born in July of 1896, the son of Peter & Phoebe (Hornberger) Watts.

A machinist for ACF, he  married Clara Raup.  Watts died in 1964, and is buried in Harmony Cemetery in Milton.

========================

Other Valley Residents

 Who Have Received The Carnegie Medal:

=======================

LUTHER H WAGNER  Milton, PA, Water w/Ice 1906

MELVIN MACGILL Renovo, Pa Water 1952

BENJAMIN A. ADAMS Sunbury, PA   Electrocution   1929

KENNETH L. BOARDMAN Sunbury, PA   Moving Vehicle - Path   1975

EDWARD T. HAMMER Sunbury, PA   Moving Vehicle - Path   1945

DAVID C. LEONARD Sunbury, PA   Water   1936

AMBROSE A. METTLER Sunbury, PA   Electrocution   1912

WILLIAM H. VONADA Sunbury, PA   Moving Vehicle - Path   1933

HOWARD B. CHEYNEY Williamsport, PA   Water   1914

SHELDON V. CLARKE Williamsport, PA   Water   1912

VITTORIO DE PARASIS Williamsport, PA   Water   1948

HARRY ST. CLAIR HATHAWAY Williamsport, PA   Water   1939

MARGARET KISNER Williamsport, PA   Water   1917

BARBARA ANN KOPP Williamsport, PA   Moving Vehicle - Inside   1957

CLARENCE W. LYONS Williamsport, PA   Water w/Ice   1909

A Sleigh Carrying 17 People Was Hit By A Train , January 1895

In the early morning hours of Friday January 25th 1895, a sleigh pulled by a team of four horses carried 17 passengers, as they returned to Selinsgrove after attending the Owl Club sleighing party and dance in Middleburg.

At the same time, a double headed freight of 36 cars, a train of the Sunbury and Lewistown Railroad, approached Kreamer Station.  The train was drawn by two engines, with Mack Wertz engineer on No 113 and George Potter engineer on No 181.  Harry Lutz was the conductor.  

The engineers stated that they whistled for the crossing at the whistle post, approximately 250 yards before the crossing.

None of the party on the sled heard the whistle. 

"My first intimation of danger was given by the light thrown on those opposite from me, by the light of the approaching train.  I realized the danger and the necessity for prompt action, I caught hold of my wife's coat with my right hand and exclaimed 'oh, jump'.  As I threw myself backward off of the slef, my hold slipped and Mrs Ulrich remained on the sled.  Soon after I landed in the snow, the sled was struck."  - Charles Ulrich

  The engine crashed into the side of the sled, just back of the drivers seat.

The driver, 24 year old Charles Romig was killed instantly, as was his father Isaac.  Many others were severely injured.

A Diagram of the Sleigh Labeling where the passengers sat

 

J.A. Lumbard, editor of the Snyder County Tribune (and my ggg grandfather) wrote in detail about the injuries of the passengers.  Lumbard's oldest daughter married Miles Potter, brother of A.W. Potter who was on the sleigh at the time of the accident.

According to Lumbard, who always has a tendency to be a bit verbose:

"Their driver left his home for the last time in life, as he bade his family farewell, said to one of his daughters "goodbye, until we meet again'.  Did he have a presentment of what was to happen?

The drive to Middleburg was a pleasant one, and upon arriving there the evening was spend in dancing and a pleasant time was had.  After the dance the party left for this place, it being about twenty minutes after 2 o'clock am, the drivers stopped at the red-bank crossing and drove very much slower when they approached the Kreamer crossing than when they approached Kreamer.  No one on the sled, [at least those living] heard the train whistle for the crossing, and the first intimation of danger was the head-light of the engine."

Mr A.W. Smith, Lloyd Schroyer and Chas. P. Ulrich esq all got off the sled, but before others could do so, the train struck the sled.

According to the Middleburg Post, a new two story frame house sat very near to the railroad, making it impossible to see a train until one is almost on the track.

Both the Post and the Tribune, in a rare moment of agreement, theorized that the sleigh bells may have camouflaged the sound of the whistle.

Mr A.W. Smith made it out of the sled before the collision.  He recalled:

"We were driving along at the rate of possibly four miles an hour.  I was sitting with my head down - I had just passed my fathers home - I thought of him in his  old room and the fact that we were nearing the cemetery where his remains were interred, when suddenly I heard someone say 'whoa, train".  Looking up I saw the head-light.  At this time the leaders were near the track, I let myself drop out of the sled.  As my feet were tangled in the robes, I fell on my back in the road.  As I was rising to my feet, the train crashed into the sled, striking it near the front bob, forcing the rear bob towards the car, carrying the sled along a short distance."

He watched helplessly as all of the passengers, except one, were knocked out and sent flying from the sled.  "I had full view of the faces of the party under the glare of the headlight, and I will never forget it.  The right hand seat was swept from the sled, the splinters wraps, and blankets were sent flying in every direction.  The occupants of the sled were thrown on a pile and for a time were moved by each car as it passed, until out of reach."

The injured, all except for the Romigs, were all found about three feet from the south rail in the ditch.  Prof Hartman had been caught in some manner by the train and "for a time was sent along the track, revolving with each truck."

Smith recalled that his first thought was to find his wife.  At first he could not locate her among the injured, and he feared she had been crushed under the engines.  As he started up the road towards the train, eh met Lloyd Schroyer, who said he had just helped her from the sled.  She alone had remained inside the sled throughout the entire ordeal. Finding her safe, he said "my feelings must be imagined, as I cannot describe them."  [The Middleburg post reported that Carrie Hendricks remained on the sled throughout the ordeal as well.  She was also uninjured.]

Charles Ulrich Esq, Roscoe North,  Professor Hartman and Miss Carrie Hendricks were also apparently uninjured, and those seven immediately did what they could to aid the others.  The temperature that night was below 0.  

Mr Potter, his daughter Annie, and Miss Burns were carried to the house of Mrs Gordon.

Mrs Ulrich and Lottie Eby were taken to Mr. A.C. Smith's house.

Mr & Mrs Hummel were taken to the hotel.

The remains of Mr Romig and his son were soon located.  North wrapped Charlie's remains in a blanket and carried them to the depot.

"As soon as the steam could bring them" Drs Hassinger and Mohn from Middlburg, and Drs B.F. & F.J. Wagenseller of Selinsgrove rushed to tend the injured.  "They went promptly and courageously to work, but with their insufficient light and inadequate preparations, they labored under great disadvantages."

Kreamer Station, 1917

Miss Carrie Hendricks, an uninjured passengers, was compelled to assist in the amputation of Miss Burns leg, and also of A.W. Potter's arm.  "She did so without flinching, but after returning home was confined to her bed for several days with nervous prostration."

A.W. Potter, who had both of his arms crushed and his hip fractured, requested the doctors tend to the others first.  Potter had one of his arms amputated below the elbow, and the remaining arm was broken in two places, the bones having come through the skin.

"Miss Mollie Burns,  aged 21 years, had her right leg so badly crushed that it was amputated at the knee. She is one of the prettiest girls at Selinsgrove, and a leader in society." wrote Lumbard  Mollie Burns was the daughter of Samuel P. Burns.

Ed Hummel was wearing a fur cap that night, and it was "cut as with a razor".  He suffered various injuries to the head, and his eyed were swollen shut for several days. "His escape from death was almost miraculous." Lumbard reported that Ed bore his suffering stoically, "occasionally he gives vent to one of his quaint expressions".

Mrs Hummel was also injures, sustaining painful bruises, particularly at the base of her spine.

Miss Lottie Eby was also severely bruised, wth her face disfigured by swelling, her eyes swollen shut, and her ankle sprained.  She was expected to make a full recovery.

Professor Hartman suffered a puncture wound through his thigh, but was up and about within a few days time.

Mrs Charles P. Ulrich suffered a "concussion of the spine" as well as a broken rib, but was "doing nicely".

A special train was sent to collect the dead and those who were well enough to travel.    A.W. Potter and Miss burns were brought to Selinsgrove in the baggage car.  "It was a sight that made the hearts of our people bleed" wrote Lumbard.

===============

On Tuesday January 29th, 2,000 people went to Selinsgrove for the largest funeral ever held in the county.

"At an early hour, the citizens of the adjoining towns began to flock into town in all manner of sled and sleights and by noon upwards of 1,500 strangers were gathered in town, to attend the funeral of the father and son, Isaac and Charles Romig, who had been killed in the railroad accident at Kramer.

All of the schools and businesses were closed from 12-3, "during the obsequies, as a mark of respect to the unfortunate dead".

Thus, those who had came to town had nowhere to go and were compelled to remain on the streets, which  "more readily made the vast number of strangers more readily noticed."

The two caskets were hauled side by side to the cemetery, in a sled drawn by two mules who had been in the accident, and "which so often had been drive by men whose remained were stilled in death and were being drawn towards the silent city of the dead."

As the procession near Market street, it's progress was greatly impeded by the stress of the crowd.  As the crowd was too large for the church, services were held at the town hall, with all of the pastors of the town on the platform.

As mentioned in the Middleburg Post, just a few days prior, William Gortner, despondent over financial problems, committed suicide.  Gortner owned the Selinsgrove Canning Factory.  The Sheriff closed the cannery on January 22nd.  Gortner hung himself later that day.

==================

Stories & History From Selinsgrove, Pa

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/04/selinsgrove-pennsylvania.html

For More Local History & Stories From Nearby Towns:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

=====================
READ MORE
===================

1.  Isaac Romig -  Isaac Daniel Romig, born July 1836, served in the 172nd Co F during the civil war.  He married Malinda Jarret and the couple had 11 children. Isaac lived on a "farm owned by the Pennsylvania System on the Island Of Que".  Thought to possibly have had a heart attack as the train hid the sled - died instantly
2. Charles Romig, son of Isaac Romig, born 1866. Died when hit by the train.  He was 28 years old.
3. Richard Lloyd Schroyer was born Dec 8 1868, the only son of Michael and Mary Schroyer.  He married Eva K. Schoch. He was a "prominent Lutheran Layman" and treasurer of the Lutheran Synod, according to his obituary in February of 1942.
4. Anna Mabel Potter was born May 1872, the daughter of Albert & Marie [Kearns] Potter. For many years, Anna was secretary to her father at his local law office.  Later she was on the administrative staff of the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare institution as Mogranza.  By 1944, she had moved to Caldwell NJ, where her half siblings also resided.  Anna Potter died in May of 1944.
5. Mrs Laura Cordelia [Davis] Ulrich was a direct descendent of Major Anthony Selin, for whom Selinsgrove was named.  She wa the daughter of Captain Charles Selin Davis, who organized a company of volunteers to serve in the civil war. [J.A. Lumbard, newspaper editor, was part of this company, Company G of the 147th] Laura was born in Selinsgrove on March 9 1858.  
6. Charles P. Ulrich was born in January of 1853, the son of Jonathan & Harriet [Bergstresser] Ulrich.  He was a  "noted county lawyer" in the Snyder County. He died March 1 1929
7. Mollie Dietrick Burns, the daughter of Samuel & Katherine [Dietrick] Burns, was born December 5 1876.  She died January 30 1961, having never married. In 1920, she was employed as a stenographer for the telephone company.
8. Mary [Davis] Potter, wife of Albert W. Potter.
9. Albert Wasson Potter was born January 7th 1847 in Huntingdon County.  He served in Co F, 45th regiment of Pa Volunteers during the civil war. He studied under George W. Elder of Lewistown, and was admitted to the bar of Mifflin County in 1872.  He married first, Mary E. Kearns, and after her death in 1876 he married Marie L Davis. 
10. Edward Hummel was born September 5 1849, the son of John & Mary [Bilger] Hummel.   He married Fanny Shellenburger.
11. Mrs. Fanny [Shellenburger] Hummel was born August 1853, the daughter of Amos & Martha [Benedick] Shellenberger.  She died March 8 1922.  She married Edward Hummel.
12. Charlotte F. Eby, "Lottie" was born July 31 1870, the daughter of George & Margaret [Snoddy] Eby.  She married Robert N. Hartman.
13. Professor Hartman 
14. Carrie Hendricks
15. Roscoe C. North was associated with the First National Bank of Selinsgrove for nearly 50 years, beginning as a bookkeeper and later a cashier.  At the time of his death in January 1942, he was president of the bank.  Roscoe Married Isabella Jane Parker.
16.  Mrs Carrie [Specht] Smith,  wife of Dr Albert Smith
18. Dr Albert M. Smith was born the son of John & Martha [Middleswarth] Smith. He was a well known physician and a political leader in Snyder County, representing Snyder County in the state legislature.

This photo shows both Roscoe North, with his bike, and Carrie Hendricks is one of the two ladies holding flowers (Jess Burns is the other)

==============