FERGUSON, Charles C.

Date of birth:  1875
Date of death: Jun 1897 – Willow Springs, Howell County, Missouri

The Franklin Democrat, Friday, June 25, 1897,
Volume XXXVII Number 50, page 6 column 6

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Death of Charles C. Ferguson.

The following notice of the death of Charles Ferguson, from a paper of Pana, Ill., is furnished us by his uncle, J. W. Parkhurst, of Fairland. Deceased was a resident of Johnson county for one year, making his home with R. C. Parkhurst of Bud:

“Saturday afternoon at four o’clock, from the residence of Mr. and Mrs. J. Harvey Shaw, on South Poplar Street, occurred the funeral services of Charles C. Ferguson, their adopted son, who met death Thursday morning while on duty on the Kansas City and Ft. Scott railroad.

The remains arrived in Pana on the Knickerbocker at 2:18, and were taken immediately to the home of the de­ceased. Accompanying the remains were his father, Daniel Ferguson, of Bolivar, Mo., his brother, Will Fer­guson, and Mr. W. D. Welsch, of Springfield, Mo., with whom Charles Ferguson has been making his home. An uncle and cousin, James Parkhurst and son, Roscoe of Indianapolis, were also in the city to attend the funeral. The services were short. Rev. A. P. Stover of the first M. E. church officiated and made a brief, but very appropriate address, speaking of the model life of the young man, his prospect for the future and the sadness of his demise.

Charles Ferguson was injured at Willow Springs, Mo., while making a head-end coupling. He was sitting on the cow-catcher of the engine, holding up the shackle-bar, preparatory to making a coupling with cars in front. Just previous to this the engine had uncoupled from four cars farther up the track, which ran on an incline toward the engine. By some means unknown, very likely from gravitation, these four cars started and gathering momentum, struck the engine very forcibly when it was within six feet of the car in front. The jar threw Ferguson between the cow catcher and the car in front, crushing the stomach and lower part of the body. The accident occurred at 7 o’clock in the morning, and he survived until five in the evening, being uncon­scious all the time.”

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Link to Charles C. Ferguson’s grave

Submitted by Mark McCrady and Cathea Curry