May 1, 1900

Gunnar Bjarnason

Copied from Utah Icelandic Settlement

Gunnar Thorarinsson was born 25 April 1881 at Skalmarbaer, Thykkvabaerjarklaustur, Vestur Skaftafell, the son of Thorarinn Bjarnason, born 17 June 1849 at Hruni Kalfafell i Fljotshverfi, Vestur Skaftafell, died 21 February 1924 in Spanish Fork, Utah; and Brynhildur Jonsdottir, born 9 December 1849, died 4 March 1885 in Spanish Fork, Utah. Gunnar immigrated to Spanish Fork, Utah with his parents in 1883. Gunnar moved to Cleveland, Utah in Emery County with his family. He married Isabelle Muir 8 February 1900 at Richfield, Utah. Isabelle was born 16 December 1880 at Richfield, Utah, died 28 July 1966 at Smithfield, Utah; she is buried in Richfield, Utah. Gunnar worked at the Winter Quarters Mine near Scofield, Utah. 1 May 1900 was the day the Winter Quarters Mine blew up, killing at least 200 men. Gunnar was one of these miners. It was the worst single loss of life in Utah history and one of the five worst mining disasters in U.S. history. The Winter Quarters Mine record lists him as Gunnar Bjarnason from Richfield, Utah.

photo courtesy of Mr. Zimmerman of Stark, Ohio

Thomas Brogden - research by James Bleess

Brogden was a member of Rathbone #9 KP

Massillon Independent, Ohio - May 10, 1900

The body of the late THOMAS BROGDEN who was killed in the Schofield mine disaster arrived at North Lawrence this afternoon. The arrangements have not been made.

Massillon Independant Newspaper in Massillon, Ohio

A number of Massillonians on Thursday attended the funeral of the late Thomas Brogden, of North Lawrence, who was killed in the mine disaster at Schofield, Utah. Services were held at the home of the deceased, the Rev. Mr. Yoder of the Methodist church, officiating. The North Lawrence Odd Fellows, with which organization Mr. Brogden was connected, were present at the services in a body.

Newman Creek Cemetery

Row 10
North Lawrence (a mile north)
Stark County,Ohio
Date of death was given as 1900 no other dates in the Stark Co. Library other Brogdens are buried near Thomas.

Christian Johnson - research by Jacky Caras

Salt Lake's Victims:
Funeral Services to be Held in This City Tomorrow
Salt Lake Herald Newspaper May, 1900

The body of Christian Johnson, which was accompanied from Scofield by the widow and child of the deceased, will be buried tomorrow. Johnson was fifty-five years of age and a native of Denmark. He came to Utah twenty-seven years ago, and for a time resided at Big Cottonwood. Later he made this city his home. His family consisting of a wife and seven children, live in the Eighth Ward. The funeral will take place from the ward meeting house at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon.

The birth year or birth date was found in a cemetery inventory done by Elaine Bonnett. The inventory only listed five men. Richard Ronback, John Jarvekorpi, John Palokankkie, Joseph Katkm and William Joki Salo. The cemetery list is available at FamilySearch.org/books/Family History Books/.

Silien, Jacob was born in Finland and came to American some time between 1882 and 1893 with his wife and four children. His wife's name was Susanna Louise Koski. His daughter, Christina was born April 1882 in Finland and was a step daughter to Susanna Louise Koski. Jacob and Susanna had a son, Fred Silien, born 22 Jun 1893 in Omaha, Nebraska. He died 29 July 1959. Another son Yalmur Silien was born 20 Jan 1895 in Omaha, Nebraska. Jacob and his family moved to Utah between 1895 and 1898 where Sakarias was born April 1899 in Utah. Susanna was born Nov. 9, 1848 in Finland and died December 16, 1926 in Council Bluff, Iowa.

If you are related to or would like more information about this family please e-mail Brandy Luth.

Robert & Llewelyn Williams

Information submitted by Jacky Caras

There is a mention of a Williams family in the Dilley book page 64. "...Take one instance, that of Mrs Williams, who came from Tennessee with her husband and a family of seven children a few days before the explosion. Her husband went to work in the mine and the next day met his death there.

Mrs. Mary Williams received $168.00 from the Scofield Relief Fund July 1900. She sued the PVCC (Pleasant Valley Coal Company) and received $500.00 less taxes $33.00. FHL film #484812 pg 271. Llewelyn was 16 years old.

Alfred E. Watson

Information submitted by Jacky Caras

Dilley book Page 79: Burial Service at Eureka The funeral services over the remains of Al E. Watson, one of the victims of the recent mine explosion at Scofield will be conducted from the Odd Fellows' hall tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at 1 o'clock under the auspices of Tintic Lodge No. 12,I.O.O.F. of which the deceased was a member. The deceased is a brother is Superintendent Joe Watson of the Eureka Hill mine, and Eph. Watson, Justice of the Peace, and was a resident of this place about nine months ago.The body will be interred at the city cemetery. Al. E. Watson was 33 years of age at the time of his death, and leaves a wife and three small children. Joe Watson returned last evening from Scofield, where he went to care for his brother's wife and family, and have the remains sent to Eureka. Mr. Watson said that everything possible was being done by mining company, and also by the outside people who were at Scofield. The rescue was still going on when he left the grief-stricken coal camp; Mr.Watson says that superintindent G. W. Sharp is especially deserving the praise for his faithful labor. Mr. Sharp has, he said, scarcely taken time to eat or sleep while the rescue work progressed, and did everything in his power to console and care for the unfortunate familles who are left without sustenance by the awful calamity.

Mrs. Lizzie Watson received $150.00 from the Scofield Relief Fund July 1900. She sued the PVCC (Pleasant Valley Coal Company) and received $500 less $33.00 taxes. FHL film #484812 pg 296.

Joseph Perry Thomas & Joseph Sanders Edwards Thomas

Information received from Diane Miller

Joseph Sanders Thomas and his son Joseph Parry Edwards Thomas was originally buried in Scofield, Utah and on November 25, 1933, members of their family had the Wheeler Mortuary of Springville re-inter the remains of four of the family from Scofield to the Spanish Fork Cemetery. Those four where: Joseph, his son, Joseph Parry who was 18 years old he and his father were killed in the Scofield mine disaster; Joseph's father, Frederick Edwards Thomas, and Joseph's young daughter, Elizabeth Ann, who was one month old when she died in Scofield.

Headstones and memorials can be found on findagrave.com. These two links will take you there: Joseph Sanders Thomas Memorial# 12496143 and Joseph Parry Thomas: Memorial# 12496140

Pitman, (Messach) Meshick

At the death of Meshick Pitman in the Winter Quarters mine his three sons and baby daughter became orphans. His wife had died in October of 1899 in Scofield, Carbon, Utah probably in child birth. Her baby daughter, Mary Pitman was born 2 Oct 1899 in Scofield. The following newspaper article was found in the Eastern Utah Advocate dated 17th of May 1900. The Witman (Pitman) children, the four only real orphans as a result of the Scofield disaster, have been placed in good homes. The three boys will be taken to Provo people and the little girl has been placed in a Scofield home. The baby girl Mary Pitman died 19 Aug 1900 just a few short months after her fathers death.

Mrs. "Sandy" Wilson, (Elizabeth Hunter Wilson) whose husband (Alexander Ferguson Wilson Jr.) was killed with two other brothers (William L & James L Wilson) and a fourth (possibly referring to her brother John Hunter who died) who has since died, was confined three days before the accident of May 1. Her husband was among those known to be killed a short time after the tragedy occurred, and because of the turmoil created at her home, the matter was not kept from her. She was told that not only was her husband among the dead, but that his two brothers were killed, her father (in-law, Alexander Wilson) was injured and a fourth brother (in-law John L. Wilson) fatally hurt.

She became delirious at once, and lay in that condition in bed with her three-days-old baby without attention. Her mother-in-law and other relatives and friends were too horror-stricken and dazed to attend to her. In their grief they forgot all about her.

For three days no one came near her bedside. And during that time she lay prostrate and moaned and raved with the babe at her breast. (baby Mary Isabell Wilson born 25 Apr 1900.) The fire went out in the house. There was nothing for her to eat, and no medicine. She was helpless, while the body of her husband lay in the next room.

In the meantime John Wilson, who had been blown with his horses nearly 150 yards across the canyon from the mouth of the mine, had been discovered and was taken to his home. The back of his skull was crushed and some solid substance had been driven through his abdomen. He left here alive on a special train for Salt Lake to be attended in the hospital.

(later in the same article) John Wilson, who was driving at the mouth of the tunnel, was blown over 200 yards down the dump. ...Wilson had his skull mashed and his recovery is doubtful.

Sandy Wilson also on the outside was hit by flying timbers and his life is despaired of. Probably the most terrible catastrophe has come to the Wilson family, Sandy Wilson, the father, who was on the outside of tunnel No. 4, was blown eighty feet and his leg was broken, and he received other injuries. His son, Jack, was blown across the gulch. Three other sons have been brought out of No. 4 dead. They are Sandy, Jr. (Alexander Ferguson Wilson Jr., W. J. James (James L. Wilson) and Bill (William L. Wilson). What makes the accident to them more heartrending is the fact that the wife of Sandy, Jr., was confined three days ago, and she is lying in a critical condition.

...across the aisle lay father and son in the persons of Alex and John L. Wilson. The former at the time of the explosion was standing thirty feet distant from the mouth of the shaft. The elder seemed to be the only man who was conscious of his surroundings, although suffering from a broken leg, severe contusions and possible internal injuries.

John L. Wilson, the young man, was the most seriously injured of the quartette, having borne the full brunt of the explosion at the mouth of the tunnel, and being blown 200 feet down the canyon, with the result that the back of his skull was crushed like an eggshell, so much so that Drs. A. J. Holmquist of Helper and Bascom, who accompanied the injured men to town from the scene of the catastrophe, entertained grave doubts as to his recover.

He estimated that among the list of casualties there were but ten men suffering from injuries from which they would recover, with the possible exception of John L. Wilson.

Fireman James F. Wilson at No. 2 received the appalling news in a dispatch from his brother, Andrew J. Wilson, who conducts a butcher shop at Scofield, at 7 p.m. last night. It read: "Sandy and Johnny hurt and three boys killed. Come down."

All the Wilsons were well known in this city. Two of the brothers formerly run a butcher shop on West South Temple Street, and John lived here for years with his family. They are injured and may be numbered with the dead before this morning, while the three boys. Alexander, William and James, are already gone. Alexander was married, being about 23 years old, and his brothers are aged 19 and 14 respectively. They are nephews to Fireman Wilson, who left for the scene last night.

The father, "Sandy" Alexander Wilson, the man injured with a broken leg died 6 Sept 1910 in Salt Lake City. Cause of death Intestinal obstruction and contributory myocarditis.

The son, John Law Wilson, the young man blown across the canyon 150-200 yards, died 11 May 1927 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. Cause of death was carcinoma of Stomach, contributory: old injury to skull with cerebral ?.