The following is a copy of an article I found regarding the Cross Mountain Mine Disaster; ONE HUNDRED OR MORE DEAD From the Mine Explosion and Majority of Bodies Likely to Be Found Today OVER HALF OF VICTIMS MARRIED MEN Fifty-six Women Widowed and 184 Children Orphaned by the Disaster at Briceville - Workmen Still Attempting to Force the Cross Mountain Mine to Give up the Dead Briceville, Tenn., Dec. 11 - With sixteen bodies recovered and identified rescue parties today renewed their hacking and digging in an attempt to force the big Cross Mountain mine here to give up its dead. Having forced their way three miles into the mountain and bratticed most of the mine's cross entries, members of the rescue crew expect to stumble onto corpse strewn chambers at any hour now. Discovery of the first body of this morning came at 10 o'clock, when a dead miner was found in a sitting posture in one of the interior chambers. He was Andrew Johnson. It is estimated the explosion rendered 56 women widows and made 184 children orphans. That there are 100 or more dead men remaining in the mine there is no doubt. All hope of rescuing any of the scores who went to their toll Saturday morning to be embraced by death has been abandoned. The discovery late last night eight more bodies prompted crowds to gather at the death cave-in early this morning. Weeping wives, made widows by Saturday's dust blast in the Knoxville Iron company's mine, came to the shaft entrance in scores this morning, prepared to meet th'eir dead. In a warehouse but a short step from the mine entrance are great aurabers of coffins waiting for their occupants. Corpses in plenty for these coffins will be found in the mine early this afternoon, it is beiieved. Possibly the majority of the victims will be found today. Of the eight corpses discovered last night three were sitting bolt upright in a mine car while the bodies of five others were lying on the ground. Their deaths came by explosion of dust. Charles Kesterson, whose body was among the first discovered, was found at the telephone back in the mine by the rescuing crew. Evidently Kesterson was trying to phone news of the blast to the office of the mines when he was struck by falling debris. His skull was badly mashed and his body was cut. Thousands Visited Scene. At least 10.000 persons visited this hamlet and willing workers were many. George P. Chanler. president of the Tennessee Coal company, is in charge of the relief work. He divided the men into gangs of 50 and sent each shift into the working for two hours. Even when the air in the mine was at its best they could not work longer in there. The throng of visitors is largely responsible for the exhaustion of food supplies in Briceville. All stores are bare of eatables and many went hungry. However, hunger will not be long an added horror to relatives of the Victims, as Knoxville" and other -cities are rushing food supplies. Straining on the ropes that keep the throng back from the mine open- Ing are the relatives of victims, anxiously awaiting some word of life within the yawning mouth of the death trap. The situation becomes more intense as each car of debris is brought to the surface, for, its driver might bring some word, or with the debris, might be the body of a loved one. The shrill whistle of the special train bringing coffins brought another horror to the already dazed inhabitants of the little town. The special brought 100 boxes and they were piled near the mouth of the mine. A terrible pall of silent sorrow exists about the mouth of the mine as thousands congregate, some standing for hours and others moving momentarily from one point of vantage to another. Officials Are Reticent. No official or semi-official opinion has been given out as to the cause of the disaster. President T. I. Stephenson had nothing to say in answer to this inquiry. It is generally believed however, that the disaster was due to a dust explosion. Mine officials also continue to decline to give out any positive information on the number of men who went to work in the mine, but it is thought that the number was between 100 and 200. Source: Mansfield News, December 11, 1911 Angela Meadows Blackwell

Does anyone have a list of those killed? Pat ---------------------------------------------------- This mailbox protected from unsolicited email by Spam X-terminator from StompSoft http://www.stompsoft.com ----- Original Message ----- From: <AngelaMeadows3@aol.com> To: <TNCAMPBE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 6:04 AM Subject: [TNCAMPBE-L] Cross Mountain Mine Disaster > The following is a copy of an article I found regarding the Cross Mountain > Mine Disaster; > > ONE HUNDRED > OR MORE DEAD > >>From the Mine Explosion and > Majority of Bodies Likely to Be > Found Today > > OVER HALF OF VICTIMS MARRIED MEN > > Fifty-six Women Widowed and 184 Children > Orphaned by the Disaster at Briceville - Workmen > Still Attempting to Force the Cross Mountain > Mine to Give up the Dead > > Briceville, Tenn., Dec. 11 - With > sixteen bodies recovered and identified > rescue parties today renewed their hacking and > digging in an attempt to force the big Cross > Mountain mine here to give up its dead. Having > forced their way three miles into the mountain and > bratticed most of the mine's cross entries, members > of the rescue crew expect to stumble onto corpse > strewn chambers at any hour now. > > Discovery of the first body of this morning came at > 10 o'clock, when a dead miner was found in a sitting > posture in one of the interior chambers. He was Andrew > Johnson. It is estimated the explosion rendered 56 women > widows and made 184 children orphans. That there are 100 or more dead > men remaining in the mine there is no doubt. > All hope of rescuing any of the scores who went to their > toll Saturday morning to be embraced by death has > been abandoned. > The discovery late last night > eight more bodies prompted crowds > to gather at the death cave-in early > this morning. Weeping wives, made > widows by Saturday's dust blast in > the Knoxville Iron company's mine, > came to the shaft entrance in scores > this morning, prepared to meet th'eir > dead. > In a warehouse but a short step > from the mine entrance are great > aurabers of coffins waiting for their > occupants. Corpses in plenty for > these coffins will be found in the > mine early this afternoon, it is beiieved. > Possibly the majority of > the victims will be found today. > > Of the eight corpses discovered > last night three were sitting bolt upright > in a mine car while the bodies > of five others were lying on the > ground. Their deaths came by explosion > of dust. > > Charles Kesterson, whose body was among the > first discovered, was found at the telephone back in the > mine by the rescuing crew. > Evidently Kesterson was trying to > phone news of the blast to the office > of the mines when he was struck by > falling debris. His skull was badly > mashed and his body was cut. > > Thousands Visited Scene. > > At least 10.000 persons visited this > hamlet and willing workers were > many. George P. Chanler. president > of the Tennessee Coal company, is in > charge of the relief work. He divided > the men into gangs of 50 and > sent each shift into the working for > two hours. Even when the air in > the mine was at its best they could > not work longer in there. > > The throng of visitors is largely > responsible for the exhaustion of > food supplies in Briceville. All stores > are bare of eatables and many went > hungry. However, hunger will not be long > an added horror to relatives > of the Victims, as Knoxville" and > other -cities are rushing food supplies. > > Straining on the ropes that keep > the throng back from the mine open- > Ing are the relatives of victims, anxiously > awaiting some word of life within the > yawning mouth of the death trap. The situation > becomes more intense as each car of debris is > brought to the surface, for, its driver might bring some > word, or with the debris, might be the body of a loved one. > > The shrill whistle of the special train bringing coffins brought another > horror to the already dazed inhabitants of the little town. The > special brought 100 boxes and they were piled near the > mouth of the mine. > > A terrible pall of silent sorrow exists > about the mouth of the mine as > thousands congregate, some standing > for hours and others moving momentarily from one point of > vantage to another. > > Officials Are Reticent. > No official or semi-official opinion > has been given out as to the cause of the disaster. > President T. I. Stephenson had nothing to say in answer > to this inquiry. It is generally believed however, that the > disaster was due to a dust explosion. > > Mine officials also continue to decline to give out any > positive information on the number of men who went to work > in the mine, but it is thought that the number was between 100 > and 200. > > Source: Mansfield News, December 11, 1911 > > > Angela Meadows Blackwell > > > ==== TNCAMPBE Mailing List ==== > Don't Forget To Check The Courthouse & Bible Records For Campbell County > Marriages. Also, Look For Recorded Wills and Land Records. > >

My husband's grandmother, Mossie Belle Robbins (maiden name) lost her husband, father and brother in that mining disaster. I can't imagine the heartbreak she went through. Bobbie Here is another article about it: CROSS MOUNTAIN EXPLOSION The following article was taken from Lake City Banner, December 1, 1977. It was a cold, overcast Saturday morning the Dec. 9 in 1911 as the dawn greeted the families in the hollows that lace the ridges along the narrow valley called Briceville. Many of the families in one of those hollows, Slatestone, prepared for another hard day in the Cross Mountain coal mine much as they had done for years. The men and some of their sons had risen early. Dressing in the dark, they had put on clothes still stiff from the sweat and dirt from the work of the day before. They had eaten a breakfast of honey and bread, or, "if times were good," they had eaten some meat and gravy. Gathering their tools, the miners walked the short distance to the mine. On that fateful day, of the 150 regular miners who normally worked at the mines, only 89 reported for work because of a shortage of coal cars. As the men entered the mine entrance, called by some the "Bank," it was 6:30 a.m. As they walked farther and farther into the deep tunnels that lead into the very heart of the mountain, small crews of men separated off to go to their work areas for the day's labor. The sounds of the hoofs of the nearly 50 mules could be heard up and down the long corridors. At 7:20 somewhere deep in one of the rooms or in some passageway, it happened. Perhaps it was a spark from a squibb used to ignite a powder charge. Or maybe it was the flame from a miner's oil lamp. In a moment frozen in time, a luckless miner realized that the most feared of all things in a mine had come, an explosion. In one split instant, the place where he stood was filled with blinding light and then a thunderous explosion. A pocket of methane gas or coal dust had ignited, and before it would run its course, 85 lives would be taken. Racing down the headway toward the surface, the concussion twisted and killed as it went. At the mine entrance a clean up crew was blown back by the blast. Within minutes the entire community knew of the explosion. Rescue teams began to form almost at once. Deep in the mine, most of the men weren't killed by the blast, but now faced an even more deadly threat, the dreaded after damp, or carbon monoxide. Many of them began to barricade themselves in the rooms. One such group was a father and son, William and Milton Henderson from Clinton. With them were Irwin Smith, Arthur Scott and Dore Irish. Mr. Henderson later told what they did. We barricaded up the entrance to the mine room. With our coats we fought back the after damp the came through the cracks in the brattice, and then stuck our coats and other articles of wearing apparel in the holes in the brattice. We had lights, our dinner, and each of us had from half to three quarters of a gallon of water and coffee in our dinner pails." Other miners were trying to do the same thing. A large 10-foot exhaust fan was installed to clear the mine of the smoke and gas. When the rescue teams thought it safe to go in, they took with them a canary which could detect the deadly after damp. The team had gone into the mine only a short distance when the little bird fell dead. Thinking they had reached a current of poisonous gas, there was a wild dash to the outside. But then the men realized that it was the smoke from their own lamps that had killed the bird. Getting another bird and safety lamps, the men started back in. In Henderson's group, late Saturday night Scott and Irish decided to take a chance and try for the outside. They left the safety of the room and started for the entrance. It was the last the other three saw of them until Monday when they met on the outside. Henderson reported that on Sunday the remaining three attempted to leave but were forced back to the room. "We remained there until discovered on Monday at 8:15 at night." Those killed in the Cross Mountain mine were: James A. White Joe Farmer Frank Leinart Eunis Robbins E.F. Duncan Dan Martin A.L. Haynes T.A. Leatherwood Jr. Aaron Duncan Arthur Smith John Duff F.A. Duff H.A. Rish Thomas Thomas Richard McQueen Eugene Ault Taylor Ault Henry Burton Charles Kesterson John White Conda Harmon Robert Sharp Herman Sharp P.A. Hatmaker Charles Marlin W.A. Gammon Dave Robbins (Mossie's brother) Joe McQueen Ernest Elliott J.S. Peterson Harvey Martin Alzono Wood Roy Peters Sam Miller Mark Marlow W.A. Farmer Andrew Johnson W.P. Rolland Albert Rolland Eugene Peters Lynn Wood James Foust Lee Polston John Marshall Robert Hunter Melvine McKamey Durvin Pryor Monroe Vandergriff Will Irick Ben Gallaher Reuben Gaylor Lewis Teno Harry Cannon Alonzo Martin Charles Hill Ed Risden R.J. Lester Thomas Martin Francis Ridenour Isaac Duncan Coster Payne Thomas Marlow C.E. Olvey Oscar Olvey E.J. Long James Carden Luther Wood George Slover Pat Vallalay Tate Vallalay James A. Marlin John Allen Jr. (Mossie's husband) James Robbins (Mossie's father) Joe Ridenour J.K. Cooper J.F. Haynes James Gilbraith Noah White Charles Whitted Sill Hutson Dan Phillips and Charles White.