This is what I know:
In 1929, when my mother was 8 years old, her brother Walter was hit by a train and killed. He was 16 years old.
According to the official death certificate, he was hit by the train while walking on the track. He died while being transported by the doctor to the hospital, of skull fracture.
My grandmother said that he was on his way to work. The document says he was employed as a mill operative at American Mills no. 2. My grandmother told me that he was engaged, and he was saving up his money so he could get married. People married young in those days. She said he always walked along those tracks, and he was a level-headed young man. No one knew why he would have been standing on the tracks.
About 12 years ago, I found a very old family Bible that I suppose had belonged to my grandmother. In the pages was an obituary for Walter Mason which stated that foul play was suspected but could not be proven. I gave the Bible and the obituary to my Uncle Bruce, Walter's only surviving family member at the time. When Uncle Bruce died, I tried to find the Bible, but I couldn't.
Ever since, I have been trying to track down that obituary. Here's what I've pieced together from it and other sources:
The Loray Mill strike was going on at the time, in Gastonia, where my mother's family lived at the time. This was a vicious and bloody battle between the mill workers and the mill owners, in which at least two people were killed. It began in the spring of 1929.
Because of the strike, Walter was walking from his home in Gastonia to the American Mill to work, so as not to break the strike. Remember, he wanted to get married. He needed money.
The theory is that somebody pushed him onto the tracks in front of the train, either mill bosses or striking workers. Why? I don't know. I REALLY want to find out.
I just got the death certificate this morning, but that doesn't memtion possible foul play.
I guess I need to go to Gastonia and see if I can visit the newspaper archives there and find anything. But I lived in Gastonia for a year and I really hated that town. I wish I'd known more about this then, and I could have done the research while I was existing there.
Anybody got any advice?
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Comments: 18
I would also try to find out who his fiance was. You could talk to her family and stuff and see if they knew anything about it. Being engaged is a pretty big deal and might not go without mentioning.
I don't know how long the police keep their files, but if foul play was suspected, there should be a record of it somewhere. Someone must have investigated it. You could always look for the file.
It might also pay to find out who owned the train. Don't most railroads keep records of accidents that happen involving their trains? You would think they would have done some sort of research on their own, or have a copy of the police report in their own files. And who was the conductor? They might have told the story to someone or kept a diary. I mean, when a train hits someone, you would think they would stop and wouldn't the conductor be the first to investigate?
It'll be a slow process, but keep working at it and keep us updated on your progress.
Try online searches; there is a lot of info online these days.
I remember that's how I researched which convention Patrick Troughton died at because most records only mentioned... "at a convention." I e-mailed the Columbus Georgia newspaper, and one of the editors was kind enough to help me answer the question.