Jeff Cresap

CRESAP, JORDON, CARROL

Posted By: Volunteer - Rich Lowe
Date: 10/18/2001 at 18:14:01

A telegram was received here Friday that Jeff Cresap, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Cresap, was killed by falling from a train in Colorado where he was employed as a brakeman. Jeff was born and reared in this city and was about 30 years of age and unmarried. He had been away from home for about twelve years.

The remains were received at Selma Saturday and the funeral services were held at that place Monday morning, many relatives going up from here. The mother of the young man is prostrated from the shock.
---
The following Special to the Bee payments and was received last evening:

Colorado Springs, July 20--J. D. Cresap, a brakeman on the Short Line railway, whose residence was in this city, was instantly killed at Cameron at 2:30 today, by falling from the top of a freight train.

The accident occurred at the wye near the coal chutes east of Cameron, as the freight train to whose crew Cresap delonged was pulling in from Colorado Springs.

How Mr. Cresap happened to the to fall will always remain a mystery. He was not missed until the train reached Cameron, and a portion of the train was slowly backed down the track with watchers carefully scanning for a trace of the br G. akeman. His body was found with life extinct where it had fallen.

Coroner Gesell was notified and arrived on the scene shortly after 3 o'clock. The body was brought to the morgue in this city and preparations were made to hold an inquest. A coroner's jury consisting of Charles Hardcourt, Arthur Smith, Roy Sill, Joe Finley, V. Sternberger and W. H. Little, was employed today to inquire into the cause of death, and decided that it was caused by fall and no blame was attached to anyone.

Conductor S. Shale, Brakemen D. E. Kendal Wilcox, Engineer Harry Newell and firemen J. M. Troster were the witnesses examined by the coroner, and none saw Cresap meet his death.

Wilcox testified that the freight train of eighteen cars pulled into Grassay, which is one mile east of Cameron, at 1:25 a.m.. The caboose and a merchandise car were cut off as customary by Cresap, while six dump or ballast cars were set in on the side track by the coal chutes. Cresap was riding on the platform of the rear dump car as the train backed, intending to couple that portion of the train to two cars standing further down the track. When within five carlengths of the smaller section of the train he fell, death resulting immediately after. He was dragged about a car length while his brake stick was carried five car lengths to the place of coupling, where it fell off. His lantern was found at a point where he is supposed to have fallen off.

The most plausible theory to account for Cresap's fatal mishap is that he was leaning over the platform of his car, examining the knuckle of the coupling, which must be open by the brakeman in the case of an automatic coupling, when he lost his balance.

The entire crew testified to Cresap's stability, uniting in the statement that he was a trainman far above the average in competency. All joined in saying that the train was moving at a speed of about two miles per hour when the accident occurred, or less than the usual rate for making a sure coupling.

Cresap was 30 years of age and unmarried. He lived with a married sister at Colorado Springs and had been in the employ of the short line only three months. He was an experienced railroad man, however, and had worked on the Burlington.

Cresap leaves two sisters in Colorado Springs, Mrs. John Jordan, wife of the secretary of the El Paso Mining company, and Mrs. Carroll, with whom he lived.

-------------

I am NOT related and am posting this obit for those who may find this person in their family history.