Four Farmington People Killed In Auto-Train wreck

SHREVE, FELLOWS, HAGENOW, MILLER, PAINTER

Posted By: Volunteer: Sherri
Date: 8/25/2015 at 16:32:44

FOUR FARMINGTON PEOPLE KILLED IN AUTO-TRAIN WRECK
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Victims Were Mr. and Mrs. Shreve, Their Daughter, and Janet Fellows

Farmington people were almost rendered speechless with horror when they learned early Monday morning that four residents of the town had been killed in an automobile accident about 8:40 Sunday evening near Montrose, on a Burlington grade crossing, when their car was struck by a train.

The dead are:
E.L. Shreve, 52, rural mail carrier.
Daisy Bell Shreve, his wife, 50.
Virginia Jane Shreve, daughter, 12.
Janet Winifred Fellows, 13.

The tragic accident, which wiped out all of the Shreve family, save one, and the little Fellows girl, was, with one exception the most horrible automobile accident that has happened to Van Buren county people, and in loss of life equals the accident at Niles crossing near Cantril, a few years ago when four young men lost their lives when the car in which they were riding collided with a Burlington route train.

Had Been to Ft. Madison

Just what caused the car to be on the tracks when the train came hurtling along will probably never be known, as onlookers differ in their versions of the affair.

Mr. and Mrs. Shreve and their daughter, with little Miss Fellows as a guest, had driven in their Chevrolet coach to Ft. Madison and were returning home when they met with the accident that cost their lives. The collision of the automobile and train took place on what is known as the Hitchcock crossing, three miles north of Montrose, where Highway No. 161 crosses the railroad tracks. The car with its four occupants was well on the railroad tracks when No. 15, the St. Louis-Burlington mail train, traveling better than 50 miles an hour, struck it. The results were devastating, and when occupants of other cars could get to the bodies it was found that all four were lifeless.

The impact of the collision threw the bodies of Mrs. Shreve and the two girls clear of the train, but Mr. Shreve was caught behind the steering wheel and was still in the wreck when the train was brought to a standstill after dragging the wreckage nearly a quarter of a mile.

Mr. Shreves head was terribly mangled, having been crushed by the windshield frame. Mrs. Shreve's boy was so crushed that he death was doubtless instantaneous. Virginia Shreve's neck had been broken, and the Fellows girl had been crushed. The bodies were placed on the train and taken to Ft. Madison where they were taken in charge by Coroner Walt H. Clements of Lee county. Monday afternoon they were returned to Farmington.

Relatives Summoned

When members of Mrs. Sherve's family and friends in Farmington were informed of the accident they immediately got into communication with another daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Shreve. Mrs. Fern Hagenow, of Chicago, the only surviving member of the family. It had been the custom of Mrs. Hagenow to visit with her mother by long distance telephone Sunday evenings, and when a call was put in to Chicago to inform her of the accident it was found she was on the line in an effort to get her mother in Farmington. Mrs. Hagenow, with her husband arrived in Farmington early Monday morning. Also came Mrs. Shreve's brothers, Arthur and E.C. Miller of Davenport, and Mr. Shreve's sister, Mrs. Carrie Painter, also of Davenport, and Mr. Shreve, Herman Miller, and her mother Mrs. Hattie J. Miller, live in Farmington.

The Shreve family was one of the finest in Farmington, and their tragic passing has enshrouded the town in gloom.

The little Fellows girl was a loveable Miss, popular with all her school mates and loved by all older people who knew her. She was the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Fellows, her father being proprietor of the Mid-Continent gas station at Farmington. A sister, Katherine Viola, also survives her. Prior to her going to Farmington
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FARMINGTON PEOPLE KILLED IN WRECK
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some three years ago the family lived at Keosauqua, and the funeral services were held at the Christian church there Tuesday afternoon. The child's grandmother, Mrs. Seward Fellows, lives in Keosauqua.

As before stated, the exact contributing cause which led up to the accident will likely never be known. Mr. Shreve had a reputation for being a careful driver, and it is certain that with the precious load under his care he would take no unnecessary chances. One report says his car came to a stop on the railroad track and leads to the belief the engine might have gone dead. Another theory is that he may have become blinded by the lights of another car drawn up on the other sie(side) of the track and failed to see the approaching train. Whatever the real facts may be, it is a certainty the responsible conditions were, temporarily beyond his control. It was one of those awful accidents that happen at times when even the best of drivers are at the wheel, and it is the relatives and friends alive and able to contemplate the awful consequences, who are the poignant sufferers. The grief of surviving relatives of both families is shared by all the people.

Farmington Native

E.L. Shreve was a native of Farmington, and all of his fifty-two years of life had been spent there or in that community. At one time he conducted a store at Anson, west of Farmington, but for twenty-three years had been carrier of mail on rural route No. 1, out of Farmington.

Mrs. Shreve was a splendid woman. She was born at Primrose in Lee county, but the most of her life had been spent in Farmington. She was united in marriage to Mr. Shreve June 3, 1903. Her relatives are those mentioned above.

The funeral services for Janet Fellows were held on Tuesday afternoon at the Christian church in Keosauqua of which she was a member and the sermon was delivered by Mrs. Jennie Nickle.

Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Shreve and daughter, Virginia, were held Wednesday afternoon at the Methodist in Farmington, Rev. Samp of Columbus Junction, a former pastor and friend officiating. The church, although the largest one in town, could accommodate only about one third of those present.

Masons and Odd Fellows conducted services at the grave in the family lot at Farmington cemetery.
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Of the accident Monday's Keokuk Gate City said:

The crossing where the accident occurred is the first one north of Montrose and is the diagonal crossing. Mr. Shreve was said to have been a careful driver and was driving at only a moderate rate of speed. Whether he confused the headlight of the engine with that of the line of cars, or whether his engine stalled is not known. It was reported from one source that he turned out to pass another car, in which case he may have been intent on watching the road and did not realize the nearness of the tracks and the approaching train.

Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Tucker were the first to reach the victims, and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Reuther, who live an eighth of a mile from the accident heard a terrific crash and the grinding of brakes on the trani(sp). They rushed out and to the scene. Motorists on the road stopped their cars and there was a huge crowd on the scene almost immediately. Three of the victims were said to have been kille instantly, and the fourth victim, one of the little girls, died as she was being held in the arms of one of the women who helped to pick her up. The car was a twisted mass of wreckage and was carried up the track by the train. One door and a tire were said to have been the only whole pieces left of the automobile.

Train Was On Time

The train which struck the Shreve car was the northbound passenger train from St. Louis. It had left Keokuk on time, according to the report at the station here, and reached Montrose on time, leaving there close to 8:30 o'clock. There was a report last night that the train was late, but the official train record here shows it left Keokuk on .... (remainder missing)

Source: Van Buren Co. Genealogical Society Obituary Book E, Page 145, Keosauqua Public Library, Keosauqua, IA