Hipes - William
Source: Weekly Argus News June 24, 1893 p 6
The intersection of the Vandalia RR & Ladoga gravel road two miles south of Crawfordsville has always been considered one of the most dangerous crossings in this vicinity but it has never been baptized in blood until this morning when there occurred one of the most shocking accidents in the history of the county and almost without warning two persons were dashed to frightful injuries and subsequent death, while a third had a very remarkable escape. The accident is very similar to and quite as appalling as the dreadful disaster which befell the Alamo hack at the Torutman crossing of the Big Four some 8 years since and the bloodstains of this morning places the Danville & Youtsville crossings, as they are known on a par. Whether or not it was the carlessness on the part of the victims or the train men; whether each might not have been somewhat to blame or whether it was simploy one of those unavoidable accidents for which no valid reason can be given will never be known, but the facts so far as can be known are about as follows.
William Hipes, a well known farmer residing about six miles SE of the city, together with his two daughters, Rena age 18 and Nellie, age 15 were in a two hourse wagon driving toward town. The Vandalia track crosses the road at an angle and a short distance south of the crossing is a deep cut, so that it is impossible to see a train from the south until quite close to the track. Whether Mr. Hipes was driving fast and the rattle of the wagon drowned the noise of the train or whether they were absorbed in something else is not known but at all events the horses were just stepping off the track when there came a shriek of a whistle and the locomotive was upon them. The engine which wrought the destruction was drawing the first section of No 52, the construction train, in charge of Conductor Fowler. ENgineer Jack Ryan, whose hand wa son the lever, states that the wagon and its human freight were fairly upon the track before he could think and the sight almost froze his blood. The engine struck the wagon just about the driver's seat, jerking it loose from the horses and sending the pieces flying in all directions and demolishing the fence leading up to the cattle guard. The train which was under good headway, was stopped in about 100 yards and the crew alighted to investigate. On the pilot with her head resting in a basket of broken eggs and her hand still tightly clutching an umbrella lay the elder daughter, Miss Rena, but she was dead, to all appearances and the crew hastened back to the scene of disaster. Lyikng to one side with a frightful gash in his head was William Hipes but he never knew what hurt him and expired a few minutes thereafter. The younger daughter Nellie, had been thrown over the fence but in some unaccountable manner escaped death.
She was dazed but with assistance walked to the home of Fred Pitman nearby. In the meantime Fletcher McDaniel, who had been plowing in an adjoining field, reached the scene. He says he heard a whistle for the crossing and a moment later, a shrill blast for breaks (sic) when he looked up and saw the cloud of dust occasioned by the collision. He hastened to the engine where he and the fireman who had remained, discovered that the woman on the pilot was still breathing and lifting her off, the bruised and bleeding form was laid in the caboose besides the father's death body. The train came on to the Vandalia Station where they were laid out on the platform and the terrible tidings spread like wild fire.
Dr. Ensminger was soon at the station but a hasty examination showed that the daughter's death was only a question of a few hours. The external injuries were a gash in the head and body bruises but even these were sufficient to produce death. THe father's body was taken to McClure's Undertaking establishment where a large and curious crowd viewed the remains preparatory to the dressing for burial. There was an ugly gash in the head, the right side and arm was badly bruised and fractured but so far as the undertaker could ascertain the skull was not broken and it is left for the coroner to determine the immediate cause of death.
The younger daughter, at the residence of Fred Pitman, near the scene, was visited by Dr. Hutchings and Ensminger. The side of her face is badly bruised and she seems to be suffering from spinal injuries but it is believe she soon will recover. Mr. Hipes was a prosperous farmer and good citizen and himself and family consisting of a wife and three daughters, were held in high esteem in the neighborhood. He lived on the Nathan McLaughlin farm two and one half miles east of Tinkersville in what is known as the Brenton neighborhood and in addition to this large farm owned other pieces of land. Dave Martin bore the awful tidings to Mrs. Hipes but she did not learn the worst until on the way to town when a neighbor met them and thoughtlessly made her acquainted with the true state of affairs. The poor woman is almost prostrated and her misery can only be imagined.
Coroner Bronaugh arrived this afternoon and is making preparations for the inquest. Rena Hipes was removed to the residence of Wm. Scaggs near the station and a telephone message at 2:30 states that there is a slight improvement. however Dr. Ensminger finds that she has hemorrhage of the brain and that death will surely follow in a few hours. The ill-fated wagon contained a quatity of produce and the entire front was smeared with broken eggs.
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The fears of the physician were welll founded and a pair of precious lives were called upon to pay the penalty of the dreadful Danville crossing accident. Miss Rena Hipes never regained consciousness an ddied about 9 o'clock Saturday night, 13 hours from the time of the catastrophe. The body was prepared for burial and taken to the sorrow stricken home yesterday morning, the remains of the father having been taken out the evening before. The double funeral occurred this afternoon at the little Newlight Church, which is situated on the Hipes farm and the services were conducted by the pastor, Rev. Gott. The attending circumstances made it more than a doubly sad occasion and almost the entire community turned out to pay their last respects. The interment was at Mace.
Miss Nellie Hipes, an occupant of the ill-fated vehicle, whose escape seems almost miraculous, was able to be taken home yesterday and although suffering some from her injuries, will shortly recover. The shocking accident was the chief topic of conversation yesterday and hundreds of people drove out during the day to view the scene and the pieces of the wreck.
The affair has of course given rise to considerable comment and speculation as to whether or not Engineer Ryan blew the whistle for the crossing. Several think they heard the whistle for brakes while others in the vicinity assert they heard nothing but the warning shriek which was not given until the engine was fairly upon the wagon. Claim Agent Allison of the Vandalia, is here looking into the matter and the train crew stopped off this morning at the instance (insistance)of Coroner Bronaugh who expects to hold the inquest this evening.
Note: William and his daughter are buried in the Mace Cemetery.
His dates: 2-15-1838 and death of course on 6-17-1893
(Wife who was prostrated with the news was Catharine Moody Hipes Born Oct 11, 1840 died July 8, 1912)
Their daughter who was killed with her father, Lonera (Lorena ?) B. Hipes was born Oct 28, 1876 died June 17, 1893.
They had another, daughter Rosetta whom died at a young age, 3-1-1875 to 9-8-1876
and the third daughter mentioned in the above article was Nellie, born 4 May 1878 and died 23 November 1970, having lived to a ripe old age. She married Harry Hesler who died in 1948 and she remarried Charles Quillen. She is the only one not buried at Mace Cemetery, but instead is buried at Oak Hill. She had no children, thus sadly, William Hipes' family was completely wiped-out.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - kbz
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Friday, 28 July 1893
This morning in the circuit court, Crane & Anderson and Ristine & Ristine filed for Mrs. Elizabeth Hipes, administrator of the estates of William and Lorena Hipes, deceased, two suits against the Vandalia Railroad each asking for $10,000 damages, the first for the killing of Wm Hipes by the road and the second for the killing of Lorena Hipes. The suits are filed for the benefit of Mrs. Hipes and her two surviving daughters, Nellie and Ollie. The complaints separately allege that the deaths were caused by carelessness, negligence, and unskillfulness of the road and not by any fault of the deceased. It is set forth that Mr. Hipes and his daughters were crossing the track at the scene of the accident exercising all due care and vigilance and that they were caught on the track through the fault of the road alone. It is stated that the train was not a regular train and was running at a time not published or expected and was in the charge of an incompetent and unskillful engineer. It is charged that the train, a wrecker, was running about fifty miles an hour to keep out of the way of the fast mail a few minutes behind it and that it failed to give the required three whistles for the crossing at the stated point for whistling or to ring the bell as required by law. It is claimed that the crossing is a very dangerous one, a high bank, covered with grass, brush, and trees running back for 600 feet, shutting off the view of an approaching train from anyone approaching the crossing from the south and also deadening the sound of any such approaching train. The track is smooth and level and trains run very swiftly there with very little noise. Brush & Snyder represent the road and the fight promises to be interesting. It is hardly probable, however, that the case will be tried in this county.
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Thursday, 15 February 1894
The record in the circuit court shows trial in the suit of Mrs. Katherine Hipes against the Vandalia for the killing of her daughter, Lorena. She is awarded $400 and costs. At the last term of court, she was awarded by a jury damages in the sum of $1,500 for the killing of her husband, Wm Hipes.
The whole thing has now been compromised and the claims for the death of William and Lorena Hipes, the injuries of Nellie Hipes, the demolition of the wagon, killing of the horses and all have been adjusted. In satisfaction of all claims in full the railroad company paid Mrs. Hipes $2, 525. Out of this she pays her attorney fees. The railroad pays all costs of the suit. The whole matter has now been forever disposed of.
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Saturday, 17 June 1893
The construction train of the Vandalia Road came rolling into the station this morning from the south ten minutes before the passenger train, with the pilot all smeared with blood. The crew came tumbling off and brought the first intelligence of a terrible accident which had occurred at the Vandalia crossing of the Danville Road one mile south of town.
Two of the victims of the accident were on the train, one cold in death and the other apparently in a dying condition. The dead person was William Hipes and the other was his eighteen year old daughter, Miss Rena. They were lifted from the floor of the caboose and carried to the platform of the freight house just east of the track and there, torn and bleeding, were laid down side by side. A messenger was hastily dispatched for Dr. Ensminger and he arrived on the scene just after the passenger train went north.
The Engineer’s Story
Engineer Ryan, of the construction train, gave his story of the accident in the few minutes his train tarried at the station. He had been ordered to Sedalia for work and was running north about ten minutes ahead of the regular morn mail train. When he neared the Danville crossing he whistled as usual, but when in a short distance of the spot he saw that he was going to strike a farm wagon which was going upon the track. He whistled for brakes but it was of no avail for the wagon was struck about in the middle, the horses being on the north side of the track. As the engine swooped down on its victims, Ryan saw that the wagon contained a man and two women who never realized their fate until it was upon them. They looked up when he whistled for brakes but a second later they were struck and the train kept on about 200 yards before it could be stopped. One of the women was upon the pilot and the man dead upon the side of the track, he only breathing a few times after the crew picked him up. The third occupant was thrown clear over the fence and when the train stopped had gotten up and was staggering away toward a house south of the track. The dead man and the woman on the pilot were placed in the caboose and brought on to town.
The Victims
When Dr. Ensminger and Dr. George Hall, of Chicago, reached the station, they found the dead body of Mr. Hipes by the side of his injured daughter surrounded by a crowd of sympathizing men who were fanning the pallid sufferer whose groans of agony were heartrending and pitiful. Mr. Hipes had had an arm almost cut off and his head and side crushed. He probably never fully realized what killed him.
His eldest daughter, Miss Rena, was the one beside him and she was terribly injured about the head and heart. Dr. Ensminger pronounced her injuries fatal and she was removed at once to the residence of Frank Skaggs just about a block east of the station. The body of Mr. Hipes was taken to McClure & Scott’s undertaking establishment to be prepared for burial. Drs. Hutchings and Thornberry had been summoned to the house of Fred Pitman, near the scene of the disaster where the third victim, Miss Nellie Hipes, aged 15, had gone after being thrown from the wagon. She was found to be badly bruised and with her back injured, but conscious. She was kept in ignorance of the fate of her father and sister and spared all the excitement possible. She said she had heard a whistle just as they drove upon the track but nothing more.
A Witness To The Accident
Fletcher McDaniel was plowing in a field just northwest of the crossing and heard the wreck train whistle as usual. He paid no attention until it whistled for brakes and then looked up just in time to see the wagon struck. He hastened up to the engine when it stopped near the little trestle and found that all the crew except the fireman had run back to the scene of the accident. Upon the pilot lay the apparently dead body of Rena Hipes. Her head was in a basket of eggs and her hand still clenched an umbrella. As Mr. McDaniel approached she began to gasp for breath, and realizing that she was alive the fireman and him carried her tenderly back to the caboose. A large crowd of neighbors had gathered about and were helping to remove the fragments of the wagon. The horses had escaped almost uninjured and had gone on. The wagon had been loaded with poultry and eggs, and these were scattered for a distance of one hundred yards, the wagon bed being fully that distance from the wheels.
Dave Martin and Wm Harris were sent at once to the farm of Wm Hipes to notify Mrs. Hipes of the sad accident. The terrible news, which was broken to her gradually, drove the poor lady frantic and when she reached the residence of Fred Pitman, where her daughter, Nellie, was lying, she was almost prostrated with grief and excitement.
A Bad Crossing
The crossing where the accident occurred is a notoriously bad one. The road crosses the track diagonally and on the side from which the train approached is a steep bank covered with locust trees. It runs far back and hides from view any train which might be approaching. The only way in which travelers are apprised of the approach of the trains is by the whistle for the crossing. It is probable that Mr. Hipes knew that the passenger train was not due for several minutes after he attempted to cross, and as the wrecker was a special, he was wholly unprepared for that. The rattling of his wagon over the hard road prevented him from hearing the whistle for the crossing, and when the whistle for breaks was made, it was too late to escape. Wm Smith who was behind him in a buggy heard the first whistle and called out but was unheard by the occupants on the lumbering wagon.
A Good Citizen
Wm Hipes was one of the substantial and respected citizens of Montgomery County. He was always a sober, honest and industrious man, and had the honor of all who knew him. He made his own way, beginning as a renter on the farm of S. H. Gregg.
He made enough money there to buy the old McLaughlin farm of 293 acres, between Tinkersville and Mace, and went to that place, his brother, Samuel, succeeding him on the Gregg farm. He was a money maker but was a very devout gentleman, and was one of the leading and influential members in the Newlight Christian Church, which is located on his farm. His family consisted of his wife, and three daughters, two of whom were in the disaster with him, while the third, Ollie, aged twelve, was at home with her mother. He, with the two eldest daughters, had started to town to do some trading when the terrible misfortune occurred. The disaster is a shock to the whole community and the news occasions both profound regret and horror.
This Afternoon
Dr. Ensminger this afternoon reports Miss Rena Hipes is still alive, but with no chance for recovery. She has never regained consciousness and is suffering from hemorrhage of the brain. She may live until some time tomorrow. Miss Nellie is better and did not sustain any injuries of a fatal or even serious nature. She is badly bruised and shaken up but will recover all right. All three were struck on the left side of the head and while Miss Nellie was knocked twenty feet over a fence, she escaped miraculously.
The Second Death
Miss Rena Hipes Dies of Her Injuries Saturday Evening
The second victim of the accident at the Danville crossing died Saturday night at 9 o’clock. Miss Rena Hipes lingered all day Saturday in an unconscious condition, her suffering being relieved by opiates. At 9 o’clock she died at the residence of Frank Scaggs and was there prepared for burial. The body was taken to the family home near Mace yesterday morning and the coffin placed in the parlor beside that of her father. Mrs. Hipes and Miss Nellie arrived soon after, Miss Nellie, being able to walk from the carriage to the house. The scene when they entered the room where the caskets lay was heart rending and the strongest men turned away to hide their emotion. Mrs. Hipes had not seen her husband’s body before and the sight of it lying beside that of her eldest daughter was almost more than she could bear and live. The funeral of the unfortunates occurred this afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Newlight Church on the Hipes farm, Rev. Rolla Gott officiating. An immense throng attended the services and followed the remains to the interment at Mace. So ends one of the saddest and most lamentable tragedies in the history of Montgomery County
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Tuesday, 20 June 1893
The double funeral of Wm Hipes and daughter, Miss Rena, victims of the Vandalia crossing catastrophe, occurred yesterday afternoon from the Newlight church on the Hipes farm. Not a fourth of the people attending could get in the church, a commodious edifice, and the funeral procession to Mace was a mile and a half long. Rev. W. W. Tate, of Ladoga, officiated.
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Friday, 21 July 1893
Coroner Bronaugh came in from New Ross yesterday and filed his verdict on the killing of Wm Hipes and daughter on the Vandalia Railroad on June 17. the report is a very brief one and merely states in effect that the accident occurred by the deceased colliding with extra train No. 52 at the Danville Road crossing of the Vandalia. The coroner found that the train gave its usual whistle for the crossing and exonerates the trainmen from any blame in the matter. He makes no mention of the condition of the railroad’s banks at the crossing. - thanks to "S" for these
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Wednesday, 20 December 1893
Andrew W. Smith was driving along about 150 yards behind Wm Hipes and daughters on June 17, and noticed the engine approaching very rapidly. Heard it whistle at the post, and noticing that Hipes did not see or heed it; he called out to him endeavoring to apprise the occupants of the ill fated vehicle of the danger. He was not able to make them hear, however, and a few seconds later they were struck. Walter Moneymaker, an enterprising kid with a sore thumb, stood in the smoke house door at Pittman’s place and heard the whistle at the post, also the danger signal at the crossing. Sam Shaver was in a field northeast of Dave Martin’s barn and heard the whistle when the train was past the post near Pittman’s house. Fred Pittman had a strong impression that the train whistled for the crossing. Fletcher McDaniel was plowing in a field east of the Danville Road at this crossing. Heard the train whistle for the crossing and as he had a skittish horse, hurried to turn him in the furrow before the train come up. Heard the danger signal a few seconds later and saw the dust fly when the wagon was struck. John Rynan, the engineer of the wrecker, conductor Fowler, brakeman Lawler and fireman Hunt all testified that the whistle for the crossing was regularly given at the whistling post. They gave the rate of speed at from eighteen to twenty miles an hour. This afternoon the arguments are in progress. . – thanks so very much to “S” for all the typing
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Friday, 22 December 1893
Yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of the arguments in the Hipes damage suit against the Vandalia Railroad Company, the jury retired, having been instructed by the court. It was 10 o’clock when they announced to the bailiff that they had made and sealed a verdict to be rendered this morning at the opening of court. When opened this morning the verdict found for the plaintiff and assessed her damages at $1,500. The special interrogations were to the effect that the crossing was a dangerous one and that the decedent Hipes knew it to be such. He did not stop but looked and listened for the train as he approached the crossing. on approaching train could be seen by a person twenty two feet from the track. The jury stated on the outside that they did not believe that the train whistled at the post. The verdict was no surprise and the case will of course be appealed. Many attorneys incline to the opinion that it will be reversed in the Supreme Court, but doubtful things are very uncertain. The plaintiff has a much better case in the suit for damages resultant from the death of Lorena Hipes. Lorena was not driving and consequently could not have been negligent. The damages allowed here will probably be larger than in the first suit if the jury finds for the plaintiff. . – thanks so very much to “S” for all the typing