Here is a transcript of the obituary of John H. Jeffries that appeared in the Manassas Journal 25 May 1906 [Prince William County Virginia 1900-1930 Obituaries, by Ronald Ray Turner (Manassas: 1996), p. 169]: "On Saturday night last Mr. John H. Jeffries, for several years an employee of the Southern Railway here, met with an accident that resulted fatally within a few hours. "The returning refrigerator cars usually have more or less ice remaining in the ice box, opening on top of the cars, and it has been a custom for the employees along the railway, when these cars are returning empty, to help themselves to the ice as it is simply wasted. Before returning home for the night Mr. Jeffries had gotten a block of ice from one of these cars that had stopped in front of the depot and was evidently descending from the car, when he fell as the train started and was caught beneath the car from which he received injuries resulting in his death. "When found a few minutes after the accident by Mr. Thomas Welsh, Mr. Jeffries was still conscious and said he was fatally hurt, but those about him did not realize the seriousness of the accident and it was not until Dr. Newman made a close examination, after he was taken home, was it known that he was seriously hurt and even then the full extent of the injury was not realized, and his death within two hours after the accident was a great shock to the family and the community. "Mr. Jeffries was an industrious man, a good neighbor and kind husband and father and the bereaved widow and seven little children have the sympathy of all who know of their great loss. "The funeral was preached at the house at 2 o'clock by Rev. T. D. Clark and his remains were laid to rest in the cemetery near town." Local obituaries of that time seldom identify parents, except for the death of a child. We are able to identify his parents from his marriage license application: Jeffries, John H. age 27, born and resides in Prince William Co., son of Albert and Martha; married to Maggie Redmon, age 17, born and res. Pr. Wm. Co., dau. of Elias and Mary Redmon; married 27 Dec. 1891. [Prince William County Virginia Marriages 1854-1900, by Ronald Ray Turner (Manassas: 1992), p. 87] The county marriage register on microfilm shows that the license was issued 26 Dec. 1891, the bride was called Maggie F. Redmon, her parents are called Elias and Mary Redmond nee Welsh (mother's maiden name?), John is a farmer, F. H. Shiply performed the marriage. The 1900 census of Prince William County shows the family living in Gainesville District #1, family 177: Jeffries, John, white male, b. Mar. 1864, married 9 years, b. VA, parents b. VA. Maggie F., white female, b. Feb. 1874, m. 9 years; has born 5 children, 4 living; she and parents b. VA. Children: Richard H., Apr. 1892; Clarence V. June 1893; Mary M. Jan. 1896; Lucille M. Mar. 1898. Servant: Howard Carter, wm, b. Apr. 1889, VA. [from Prince William County, Virginia, 1900: a rearranged census, by Ronald Ray Turner (Manassas: 1995), p. 147] I did not find John Jeffries or his family in Prince William County in 1880 or 1870. In the 1870 census index I find only the following Albert: JEFFRESS [sic], Albert G., 49, mw, b. Va., in Bacon Township, Charlotte Co., Va., reel 1640, p. 17. I checked the microfilm. This man had no wife, and his children did not include a son named John. There are several women named Martha JEFFRIES (in case she was already a widow), in Madison, Pittsylvania, and Essex counties. Hope the above information will help you. Sincerely, Donald L. Wilson, Virginiana Librarian Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center for Genealogy and Local History (RELIC) Prince William Public Library System Bull Run Regional Library, 8051 Ashton Avenue Manassas, VA 20109-2892 (703) 792-4540 www.pwcgov.org/library/services/relic -----Original Message----- From: John Risdon [mailto:jonpegr@peganet.com] Sent: Friday, March 10, 2000 8:47 AM To: VAPWILLI-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [VAPWILLI-L] JOHN H. JEFFRIES Since my last posting requesting info re JOHN H. JEFFRIES I found the following newspaper article through the PW web site: The following article appeared in the Manassas Journal June 1, 1906: "The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has sent Mrs. Jno. H. Jeffries, whose husband was killed here on May 19, 1906, a check for $1004.63. Mr. Jeffries had only been in the company about 9 months at a cost of something over $30. We believe Mrs. Jeffries will also receive $1,000 in trust from the Maccabees." If anyone has the time and access to an issue of the Manassas Journal for the time period covering the accident (May 19, 1906) I would appreciate receiving info from the article and an obituary. Trying to positively identify John's parents. Also, can anyone tell me anything about the Maccabees by whom John was employed? Thanks very much for any help John in FL ==== VAPWILLI Mailing List ==== Search this list's archived messages! http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl