Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-12-03
NOTED MEN DIE IN
TRAIN WRECK
PRESIDENT SAMUEL SPENCER
PERISHEs ON OWN RAILWAY.
DIRECTOR WITH EARLlNG
Others Wounded and Burned to
Death in Flames Following Crash
of Trains-PhiIip Schuyler Vic
tim-Aged Member of Disting-
ushed Family Caught in Collision.

Lynchburg, Va, Nov. 29.-Samuel
Spencer, president of the Southern
Railway company and recognized as
one of the foremost men in the de-
velopment of the southern states, and
six other persons were killed this
collision between two fast passenger
trains ten miles south of Lynchburg
and a mile north of Lawyers Depot.
Philip Schuyler, a retired capitalist
of New York, was among the killed,
together with other guests of Mr..
Spencer. Only Mr.. Spencer's private
secretary, E. A. Merrill of New York
City. and one of three pOrters sur
vived the accident.
List of Wreck Victims.
The dead:
President Samuel Spencer, New
York City.
Charles D. Fisher, Baltimore.
Philip Schuyler, New York City.
Francis I. Redwood, Baltimore.
D. w. Davis, Alexandria, Va, private
dispatcher TO President Spencer.
William Pollard, negro porter on
President Spencer's car.
An unknown person.
The injured:
Lucretia Allen, colored. Danvilie,
Va. leg broken and amputated below
the knee; left arm badly broken.
Willis J. Winston, New York City,
leg badly broken.
J. w. Shaw, colored, Spencer, N. c.,
fireman, badly crushed and both legs
broken.
Garland Thomas, colored, Green's
boro, n. c.
P. E. vauls, colored, waynes-
boro, Va.
Cora Logan, colored, Shelby, N. c.
Sam Cox, colored, porter On the pri-
vate car, Washington, D. c.
- Cruett, address unknown.
Son. Hogan, colored, Charlotte,
n. c.
q. A. Merrill, New York City, pri-
waite secretary to President Spencer.
Spencers Body Badly Burned.
The collision was between the Jack
sonville express and the Washington
and Southwestern vestibule limited,
southbound. President Spencer and
his entire party, as far as is known,
were sleeping when the collision oc-
Cured. and the probabilities are that
all of them excepting Dispatcher Davis
We're killed instantly. 1t is certain
that life was extinct before the flames
touched them. President Spencer's
body was burned almost beyond recog-
milton, as was that of Mr. Fisher. The
body of Mr.. Schuyler was taken from
under the train before it was badly
burned.
President Spencer's car was at
tached to the rear of the Jacksonville
train, which was standing still when
struck Mr.. Spencer was found ly-
ing directly upder the big locomotive
of the rear train. So great was the
- rec of the impact that the forward
train was sent at least $50 feet ahead,
the locomotive going over and upon
the body of Mr.. Spencer.
brushes Combination Car.
The impact drove the combination
car forward and the express car lifted
up, together with its trucks, and
crushed the car for forty feet, Ieav-
ing the remainder of the car strewn
with tons of baggage and colored pas
sengers who were pushed back like
rats as the express car crushed the
combination car. The combination
car did not leave the track and in
clearing the track, the express car
was hauled to a siding mile distant
on top and in the debris of the com
bination car. How the negro passen-
gers in this compartment escaped is
beyond explanation.
The wreck occurred on the crest OF
a steep grade when the Atlanta train
could not have been running more
than thirty miles an hour. Had il
been a mile or two further south the
number of dead might have been
frightful as the train was about two
hours behind its schedule.
1t was reported at first that En-
gineer Kinney of Spencer. N. c., who
was in charge of the engine of the
Atlanta train, was killed, but this
proved to be incorrect Kinney
suffered only few slight bruises and
cuts.