Obit Index

[NOTE: some parts of the articles are very descriptive]

The Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 29, 1917
page 1

27 Die When Trains Crash At Kellyville

Three Coaches On Frisco No. 407 Are Rent To Splinters

Empty Troop Train, Returning From Fort Sill, Plows Through Passenger At Full Speed

Didn't Wait For Second Section

Only Seven of Dead Are White Persons, As Majority Were Killed In Negro Compartment

Kellyville, Okla., Sept 28 (Special)

KNOWN DEAD
John Crownover, Shamrock, Okla.
F. M. Hutchinson, Tulsa, Okla.
H. P. Whitleff, negro, Sapulpa, Okla.
____ Davenport, Tulsa, Okla.

INJURED
H. S. Blevins, Oklahoma City
J. W. Sanders, Oklahoma City
George B. Glaze, Oklahoma City
A. F. Watts,, Oklahoma City
Orman Barber, Nowata, Okla.
Marcus N. Catterton, Sapulpa
J. S. Richardson, Sapulpa
Preston C. West, Tulsa
T. W. Cooper, Oklahoma City
O. E. Jones, Oklahoma City

Twenty-seven persons were killed and more than fifty injured, some of them seriously, in a head-on collision near here today of passenger train No. 407 on the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad and an empty troop train, returning from Fort Sill.

Of the total dead, only seven were white. Of the remainder, fourteen were negro men, three negro women and three Indians. That the list of dead is confined principally to negroes is attributed to the complete telescoping of the first three cars in the train, which included the Jim Crow car.

It was impossible to learn the names of all the dead up to midnight tonight, owing to the mutilated condition of the bodies, which made identification difficult.

The collision occurred two miles west of here, just after the passenger train had crossed a railroad bridge at Polecat creek.

Orders Misunderstood

Misunderstanding of orders was declared to have been the cause of the collision, and was explained to have been due principally to the troop train running in two sections.

The passenger train had been ordered to take the siding near here to allow the troop train to go on.

When the first section moved by, John Rule, engineer of the passenger train; started, thinking the entire train had passed. Two miles out of town he met the second section, and the crash came.

The crews of both engines jumped, saving their lives, although they sustained severe injuries.

Fireman Insane

The fireman on the troop train, whose name could not be learned, was declared to have become insane as a result of the accident. Engineer Rule, of Sapulpa was able to walk to his home when taken to Sapulpa, while his fireman, M. N. Catterton, was taken to Tulsa for treatment.

At Top Speed

Both trains were said to have been running at nearly top speed.

The mail car on the passenger train plunged through almost the entire length of the smoker and "Jim Crow" car, where most of the passengers were killed.

Persons who saw the wreckage described the scene as one of awful horror. Mangled parts of the dead were on every hand, while the injured made their way crawling on hands and knees to the creek nearby, seeking relief.

Strangled In View of Crowd

One sight that appeared, more pathetic than others was that of a negro, caught under a car, another negro lying across his chest, while an iron bar, a part of the car above him, was strangling him slowly, with onlookers powerless to give him assistance.

Most of the dead were found under the mail car, as this portion of the train had crashed into the combination smoker and negro compartment, first splintering the coach, and then tossing it partially on the roof of the mail car.

Heads of Negroes Severed From Bodies

Ivan Howard, druggist of Edmond and brother of E. B. Howard, state auditor, was riding in a rear sleeper of Frisco train No. 407 and worked with other passengers in getting the injured from the wreck. No one in his car was injured.

He said that the whole side of the smoking car had to be cut before any of the victims could be reached, as both ends of the car were jammed in such a manner that entrance could not be effected.

"I helped to take twelve injured men from the smoking car," he said, "and at least that many more were taken out by other passengers. The "Jim Crow" car presented the horrible spectacle. The telescoped floor of the mail car just ahead crashed through the front end and caught a number of negroes. I saw three heads severed from the body."

Local Attorney Is Among Those Hurt

Charles P. Glaze of Oklahoma City, mentioned in the list of injured, is an attorney, with residence at 1231 East Ninth street.

J. W. Sanders, who was said to be a former deputy sheriff of Creek county, lives at 1309 1/2 Agnew avenue, according to the city directory.

The name of H. S. Blevins, also said to live in Oklahoma City, does not appear in any directory, nor does that of A. F. Watts, also reported to live here.

O. E. Jones, an Oklahoma City attorney, living at 1616 West Twenty-first street, was seriously injured in the wreck and was taken to a local hospital here. T. W. Cooper, also of Oklahoma City, is being treated for injuries at another hospital.

The Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 30, 1917
page 2

Deaths In Wreck On Frisco Now 23

Investigation Into Cause To Be Taken Up By Railroad Officials

Driver Tells Story

Explains He Was Unable to Identify Number of Troop Train

Sapulpa, Okla., Sept 29 (Special)

Death in a Tulsa hospital tonight of B.T. McMurrough of Sapulpa brought the number of dead in the Frisco wreck at Kellyville Friday afternoon to twenty-three.

Investigation into the cause of the wreck will be taken up by Frisco officials today, but the inquiry may be a mere formality, as railroad heads are said to have agreed that the collision was due to a mistake of the engineer of the passenger train. A revised list of the dead and seriously injured follows:

The Dead

B. T. McMurrough, Sapulpa, Okla.
Hudley, Hugo, Okla.
A. Tracy, Tulsa, Okla.
F. M. Hutchinson, Tulsa, Okla.
W. E. Welcher, Bristow, Okla.
Jesse Mucker, negro, Bristow, Okla.
Negro, Woman, carrying letter addressed to Mrs. A. P. Steers, Cobb Bath House, Claremore, Okla.
White Man, about 24 years old
Ten Negro Men
Four Negro Women

The Seriously Injured

W. P. Mills, postal clerk, Monett, Mo.; George B. Glaze, 1231 East Ninth street, Oklahoma City; now at Oklahoma hospital, Tulsa; right arm injured, scalp wound. A. F. Watts, Tulsa, Okla.; Marcus N. Catterton, fireman on passenger train, Sapulpa, Oklahoma.; J. S. Richardson, Sapulpa, Okla.; Harry Blevens, 912 North Francis avenue, Oklahoma City; cuts and bruises on face, back and right leg; in Oklahoma hospital, Tulsa. Ezekiel Lowe, negro, Tulsa, Okla.; Jess Mycker, Oklahoma hospital, Tulsa, Okla.; Zach Guy, negro, Sapulpa, Okla.; Mace Franklin, negro, Oswego, Kan.; Jesse J. Abney, Tulsa, Okla.; Earl Adams, Broken Arrow, Okla.; J. W. Samuels, 1309 1/2 South Agnew street, Oklahoma City; cuts on face. Orman Barber, Nowata, Okla.; William Lietwein, Monett, Mo.; Edgar A. Linton, St. Louis, Mo.

Scene Haunts Engineer

Suffering mental agony, John F. Ruhl, engineer of the passenger train that collied with the empty troop train is confined to his home in Sapulpa under the care of physicians.

"It was terrible, the moans of the crushed and dying and the sight of my train torn to pieces," Ruhl said today. "I know I'll see it forever."

We had orders to meet regular passenger train No. 8 at Kellyville as well as a special empty troop train, No. 1322. As my train entered the Kellyville yards, the passenger train was standing on the siding and behind it was the troop train, as we supposed.

"I looked for the engine number of the trooper and as these numbers are not so conspicuous as they were prior to the time they were taken from the sides of the tender and supplanted by the word "Frisco" in passing I was not sure beyond the first two numerals, '13' that it was the train we had been ordered to meet.

Failed to Notice Caboose

"I thought to satisfy myself, as we passed the rear of the special, but before I could pass, I was slowed down by the conductor who stopped the train to allow a passenger to avoid being carried by his station. This took my attention from the caboose attached to the troop train and I failed to notice it when we passed by."

Ruhl could not account for the time that elapsed from the first moment after the crash until he was found wandering miles from the scene of the wreck.

"All I remember was the flying glass. There seemed to be tons of it, the cries and groans, and then I saw my fireman stumble and fall and everything went black. It was awful!"