Hi Listers, I'm looking for confirmation of (and information on) a train wreck which caused a relative's death in 1872. The relative, Albert J. STARK, was supposedly a luggage man on a Milwaukee Railroad passenger train. Notes I have from another researcher say he died on July 3, 1872, "between Mason City and IA Falls, IA (Cedar Rapids) in a railroad accident". Another note on Albert says he was "killed NW of Des Moines, IA". I'm unsure how all four of these cities relate to one another ~~ if he was killed NW of Des Moines, that could have been on the rail line that runs SW out of Mason City to Omaha, NE.... but I'm confused how Iowa Falls and Cedar Rapids would come into play here. As of the 1870 census, Albert was a 17-year-old living with his parents in Ottumwa, Wapello Co., and no occupation was listed for him. I've checked the GenDisasters site but they don't have a listing of this wreck. Can anyone shed some light on this? TIA Joey Stark in WI

You might get some help from the 1882 railroad map at this site. Doesn't look as if there was a line from Mason City to Iowa Falls in those days. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl Don Woodley RAOGK Volunteer for Bremer, Butler, Floyd and Franklin counties. Researching Ayers/Ayres, Butler, Carpenter, Woodley on one side; Trindle, Cornford, Lingenfelter & Relf on the other.

Joey, I do not know anything about your Albert J. Stark, but do have some advice on researching this type of event. If I were seeking data on this event I would do the following: 1) Contact the libraries, genealogical, and historical societies in all four areas and request a search of newspapers for the time frame surrounding the stated date of death for your person. 2) Also request a check for an obituary from the area in which he was located in the 1870 census. Many small local libraries have obituary indexes or cemetery books and will do these type of searches for a small fee or sometimes for free. 3) If there is no available help at the local libraries, I would recommend you check with Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness to see they have a volunteer in the areas from which you need help. For a link to RAOGK you may use the link on my links page at the following url: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~thetiethatbindsour/links.htm Good luck with your research, Virginia Evansville IN