“Three hundred and twenty bodies have been recovered. Of these 71 were American, 11 Negroes, 146 Italians, 54 Slavs, 31 Poles, 5 Greeks and 2 Bulgarians.” (TC 12.15.07 pg. 3)
During the night:
Rescue crews are shifted out and a new clean-up crew of 100 men arrives to remove roof falls in order to recover more bodies. (McAteer) (Haas) (News)
~4:00 am
*In Littleton, WV:
“As a Cameron helper in charge of Pete Fleming, engineer, and George Keifer, fireman, was coming in on the siding the engine started to run away.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)
Fleming reversed the engine and tried to stop it but he and Keifer had to jump to save themselves. Fleming broke one leg below the knee and his face is cut and bruised by falling stones. “He was taken to Regers’ Hospital” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)
“The engine struck the cars on the siding with great force then started backward and before it could be overtaken had gained the main track and was running at a rapid rate. The telegraph operator at Burton was called but the engine passed that place in its mad fight, which is six miles distance, in six minutes from the time it started. The operator not understanding the order gave it a ‘white light’ not realizing his mistake until he saw it flash by unoccupied. The operator at Glover’s Gap was called and arrangements made to derail the engine at that place.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)
“The track was cleared and the engine getting out of steam stopped of its own accord at Shey’s Tunnel, one mile east of Glover’s Gap.” (FWV 12.14.07 pg. 5)
~6:00 am
The First Regiment Band takes the trolley car to Clarksburg to attend the funeral services of John M McGraw. (FWV 12.12.07 pg. 5)
The Fairmont West Virginian reports the weather as: rain or snow tonight; warmer
~8:00 am
The remains of Harry Seese, a son of Samuel Seese, a victim of the Monongah mine disaster, is brought to Shinnston on the 8 o’clock train and buried in the Masonic cemetery. “His many friends and relatives here have the sympathy of the entire community.” (CDT 12.14.07 pg. 5)
During the Morning
In Pennsylvania:
In Fairmont:
Frank M Murphy, proprietor of the Bijou Theatre, brings the cash box containing the entire receipts of the Bijou Theatre for Thursday, securely locked, into the offices of the Fairmont West Virginian. When opened it contained sum of $32.03 all of which he very generously contributes to the Monongah Relief Fund. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
Justice/Coroner Amos fills out 11 insurance claims over the course of the morning. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
In Monongah:
“Twenty funerals were held here this morning, the bodies being buried in the potter’s field set aside for the purpose.” (WT 12.13.07 pg. 8)
C.W. Watson is asked for a statement. He said that there was nothing new in the situation and that there had been a great deal said about the officials and the coal company and about the state representatives but little had been said about those whom he thought were the real heroes in the calamity, the men who made up the searching parties. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
“These men came in from many places in the state and volunteered their services without thinking of getting their names in print. They did not stop to inquire nor did they seem to care whether their names were on the payroll or not. The one thing that they were bent on was to get the entombed men out and no sacrifices seemed too great for these men to make. There were the real heroes, the burden bearers.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
Mr. Watson said that the rumor this morning that the mines were on fire proved to be untrue when the workers had made a thorough investigation of the matter. (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
“It was found that some of the afterdamp coming in contact with the good air caused a peculiar odor and that was the foundation for the report that the mines were on fire. Worked stopped for a while because it was the workers who did the investigation.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
~9:30 am
In Clarksburg:
“Four funerals were held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception Friday morning, three of them for victims of the Monongah disaster.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)
“The first funeral was that of John T. McGraw, pitt boss at Monongah mine No. 8, whose body was recovered from the mine early Thursday morning. The body arrived in Clarksburg from Monongah on a Baltimore & Ohio train and was taken to the church where at 9:30 o’clock funeral services were held followed by the burial in Holy Cross cemetery. A large number of friends and relatives, accompanied the body here and the First Regiment band of Fairmont, of which the dead man was a member, also came along.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)
~10:00 am
In Clarksburg:
Timothy Lyden’s body is taken from his mother’s home on Jackson Street “to the Catholic church where funeral services will be held and interment will be in Holy Cross cemetery.” (CDT 12.12.07 pg. 4)
“Fire which started in the No 8 mine last night is entirely out today and an unusually large force of men put to work at 10 o’clock.” (WT 12.13.07 pg. 8)
“Two forces of men are at work clearing up the falls where it is thought dead miners may be entombed. The number in each force is 45 and they are working 8-hour shifts. The men are only making a search for the miners. Mine Inspector J.W. Paul gave orders that the mines should not be disturbed except where it was necessary to get a body…the debris is still very loose and the men can be located by the odor. General Lee. L. Malone, who has been through the mines, gave it as his opinion that there are not more than four or five more bodies to be found.” (FWV 12.13.07 pg. 1)
Deodorizing and disinfecting squads went ahead of recovery teams and work just as they have for the days prior. As soon as a body is located it is disinfected with a solution of carbolic acid (prescribed by physicians in charge) and properly marked with all available information for identification. All carcasses of horses are treated with either a very strong solution of carbolic acid or with a half barrel of slacked lime on top of which chloride of lime was sprinkled. (McAteer) (Haas)
~10:30 am
In Clarksburg at the Church of the Immaculate Conception:
“The next funeral was a double one and was for Timothy Lyden and Henry Martin, also victims of the awful Monongah disaster. Lyden’s body was taken from the home of his mother, Ellen Lyden, on Jackson street to the church and Martin’s body was brought here on the interurban trolley arriving at 9:30 o’clock and taken to the church. At 10:30 o’clock services were held over both bodies, attended by a large number of sorrowing friends and the interment followed in Holy Cross cemetery.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)
~11:30 am
In Clarksburg at the Church of the Immaculate Conception:
The 4th funeral is that of “Thomas Flynn, who died at his home on Flynn street Wednesday afternoon of consumption, took place at the church at 11:30 o’clock and was also largely attended by sorrowing friends. The burial was in Holy Cross cemetery.” (CDT 12.13.07 pg. 1)
*Author’s Note: The event of the runaway car at 4 am in Littleton is not directly related to Monongah, other than giving an impression of how fast runaway rail cars can manage to go all on their own; 6 miles in 6 minutes is…impressive. But, this author mostly included it because it is just a really neat and kind-of funny story (in hindsight, of course) which always manages to cheer me up at this point of the Timeline so I felt I should go ahead and keep it in for those reasons.
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The Monongah Disaster 