The railroads page has been updated with the addition of fatalies that also include those that weren't train wrecks. plus a few bit and pieces of other data. And a outside the county news article about the Kortkamp mine near Hillsboro. http://gillespieil.com/gillespie/railroads.html additonal items are welcome. Wayne http://gillespieil.com/

Excuse me for butting in, but I have been intrigued with your work as you have communicated with others day to day. It may be you can provide some insight to my problem, but if not, that is okay. I think people who work in a particular area know more than a clerk is often more precise. I have a relative who lived in Chicago--a young man with a wife and infant son. He worked for the G.R & I and was killed 1875 in Michigan--a coupling accident on a run between Grand Rapids and Indiana. The area was apparently somewhat remote, the newspaper said "near Clam Lake" (MI). I 've since learned there are 2 counties that could have jurisdiction over the incident. I am told the RR itself had its own procedure--but the locals are first on the scene. I have bounced around between the 2-3 entities and haven't been able to pin down any correct order or procedural 'protocols'. I wind up "flapping my apron" just trying to find out what they are or where to start. Perhaps your research has revealed what happens in situations like this--unfortunately, there were probably many such accidents in this period--so I'm hoping you can help. Other than the local news clipping to which I referred, I have a couple of haunting questions: Who would be the first responders? What was their role? What was required in attending to the remains? Would the coroner do any sort of physical preparation before returning the body to Chicago? If it winds up as a county record, does the county keep that record or the RR? Both? What 'papers' would be kept with the body--in other words, what do the officials [on scene and RR] do before transporting remains? Where would a death record be--Antrim or the 2nd suggested county (which I shall go look up before I send this message). >From Chicago City Directories I know the victim's home address. But being a young couple, I am assuming they were in an apartment. I am hoping an obituary might suggest a mortuary but Chicago was a big city even then. Didn't the Big Fire occur in this period? If I can get more details maybe I will have luck, but I understand the line went bankrupt, so I may find myself on a wild goose chase after all. If you can provide any insight at all, I would be most appreciative! Thank You! Jan in California -- Original Message ----- From: "W Hinton" <wmhntn@frontiernet.net> To: <ilmacoup@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 5:57 AM Subject: [ILMACOUP] railroad fatalities > The railroads page has been updated > with the addition of fatalies that also > include those that weren't train wrecks. > plus a few bit and pieces of other data. > And a outside the county news article > about the Kortkamp mine near Hillsboro. > http://gillespieil.com/gillespie/railroads.html > additonal items are welcome. > > Wayne > http://gillespieil.com/ > > > > Check out Macoupin County ILGenWeb page at > http://www.macoupinctygenealogy.org/. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ILMACOUP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Jan and anyone else interested, First off, I must say that I am no where close to an expert. and I have never worked with any Michigan records. First responders would have been anyone on or near the scene. Their role would have been to do what they could. On most train related accidents that did not incapacitate the train, victims were usually transported by the train to the nearest depot or station. Records, if any would be with the attending doctor, who usually was the closest. A lot of the rural doctors in Illinois, in that time period, just kept their records and they never filed any. If he filed any papers, I would guess that they would be in the doctor's county. Jurisdiction should have been the county in which the incident occurred, but may have been where it was reported. Any damage done to the train should have been investigated by the state Railroad Commission or possibly the (US) Interstate Commerce Commisssion. If the widow filed for compensation from the railroad, there may be some sort of record for that. Newspapers are usually the best palce to start, as they may contain the name of the doctor, undertaking parlor, or some other insight. Burial location could be another clue. Another remote possiblity would be a church record, as some did a better job of keeping records that the counties did. I have only been guessing, so I hope this may help, if only slightly, Wayne http://gillespieil.com/