Maine Genealogy
Source: Joseph Williamson, History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine. (Portland Me.: Loring, Short, and Harmon, 1877-1913).
[1:802]A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.Morrison and Steele drowned.—John W. Ricards suffocated on board brig "Two Friends."—Three Lads drowned in Sight of their Parents.—Boys drowned while skating.—Eben. W. Hilton accidentally shot.—Injuries from a Rocket.—Two Aged Citizens crushed by a Log.—Fall of a Circus Tent.—Other Accidents and Casualties.
It is not intended to recount all "the moving accidents, by flood and field," which have occurred within the limits of Belfast, or to her citizens abroad. The space appropriated to this chapter allows only a brief narrative of the more prominent disasters.
During the plantation period of the settlement, but two accidents attended with loss of life are known to have taken place. One was the loss by drowning of John Morrison and Thomas Steele,1 in December, 1770, while returning in a canoe from Penobscot River, where they had been to mill. The other, which happened a few years afterwards, was the drowning of a man named Bates, in Goose River.2
1777, April 21. David Houston, son of Samuel Houston, aged 16 years, while coming with James Miller, on Sunday morning, from Brigadier's Island, was drowned by the capsizing of their boat. Miller swam ashore. Houston could not swim.3
1800, May 3. Wiggin Taylor, aged 32 years, was drowned in the harbor.
1800, ____. One Silver, employed by Tolford Durham as a ferryman, was drowned near the eastern shore of the river.
1802, June 1. Jason Webber, aged 21 years, was drowned.
1803, June 8. Ensign Henry True was drowned in the river.
1805, July 9. Abigail Colburn, aged 3 years, was killed by a falling log, near the foot of Main Street. She was a daughter of Ebenezer Colburn.1White's History.
2Locke's Note-Book.
3Ibid.[1:803]1805, July 12. John Adams Huse, aged 3 years, son of John Huse, was drowned.
1806, Oct. 7. A Mr. Patten was killed by the fall of a tree.
1808, June __. Solomon Rice, of Charlemont, Mass., was drowned in the bay.
1810, ____. John W. Ricards, aged 20, in the employ of Captain John Lymburner, was suffocated while sleeping on board the new brig "Two Friends," in the cabin of which a charcoal fire for drying paint had been kindled.
1810, June 29. James Walls, of Portsmouth, N. H., aged 24, was drowned in the harbor. Having no friends or property here, his remains were interred by the town.1
1811, Feb. __. Henry, son of Captain Benjamin Young, was scalded to death.
1811, March 4. Esther Monroe, a native of Lexington, Mass., died in consequence of injuries received by her clothes taking fire.2
1812, April 4. James Gordon, aged 86, was killed by falling from a horse.
1815, Oct. 23. Nathan Cram, a native of Lyndboro', Mass., aged 35, was drowned. His body was found June 13, and buried under direction of the selectmen.3
1820, May __. John Winkley, a seaman, 30 years old, was drowned. His body was found June 13, and buried under direction of the selectmen.
1822, Feb. 5. John C., son of John Merriam, and Ralph C. J., son of George Hopkins, two small lads, ventured out below the wharves on a thin and brittle sheet of ice, which gave way under their pressure. Persons on the shore were attracted by their cries, and every effort was made to save them. They went out of sight in presence of parents, brothers, and sisters, and a crowd of people, who could render no assistance, and were obliged to remain inactive spectators of the terrible scene. Their bodies were recovered.4
1822, July 10. Noah Mathews, of Searsmont, aged 18 years, was killed by the wheel of a heavy ox-wagon passing over his head. He was asleep, while on the tongue, and the wagon suddenly starting threw him off.5
1822, Dec. 23. Hiram Emery, aged 22, was suffocated in1Town papers.
2Hudson's History of Lexington.
3Smith's History of Petersborough, Appendix, 44.
4Hancock Gazette.
5Penobscot Gazette.[1:804]the cabin of the schooner "Hope," at the wharf. His bedding took fire from a candle. The coroner held an inquest.1
1824, March 24. Daniel McCarvey, a native of Ireland, aged 21, while rolling a cask of water, fell between a vessel and the wharf, and was crushed to death.2
1825, Jan. 12. While Edmund Leason, aged 50, was crossing near the upper bridge, in a boat laden with wood, he capsized, and became so chilled by exposure that he survived but a few moments after being rescued.
1825, Oct. 23. Sophia, child of Hiram Merry, aged 2 years, burned to death by her clothes taking fire.
1826, June 26. During a rainy and tempestuous night, a little son of Peter Osgood, aged 6 years, was lost in the woods, where he had gone for a cow. A general alarm was given, and the citizens of the village searched until the next morning, when he was found two miles from home.3
1826, Dec. 1. A son of Eliphalet French, aged 14, fell from the rigging of the schooner "Bunker Hill," and was fatally injured.
1828, Oct. William Hewes was drowned in the harbor.
1829, Jan. Miss Margaret S. Armor, aged 26, was killed at Poor's Mills, by a fall.
1829, Aug. 17. William, son of John Roberts, aged 6 years, while playing on the mill-dam of William Grinnell, at Goose River, fell in, and was drowned.4
1829, Dec. 25. As a number of boys were skating on the Tilden Mill Pond, at Goose River, three of them—Joseph, son of William Boswell, aged 17; Salathiel N., son of Jacob Cunningham, aged 14; and Charles, son of Charles Tilden, aged 12—broke through the ice, and were drowned. After an hour, their bodies were found within five feet of each other. Their funeral took place from the Unitarian Church on the following Sabbath, and was attended by a thousand persons. The three coffins were carried on one hearse, and deposited in the same grave.5
1830, April 28. David Thompson, son of Widow Thompson, aged 18, was drowned by falling from a sail-boat in the harbor.
1831, Jan. 4. The eastern stage was upset while descending a hill near the upper bridge, and one passenger seriously injured.61Hancock Gazette.
2Ibid.
3Belfast Gazette.
4Journal.
5Maine Farmer.
6Advocate.[1:805]1831, Feb. 28. John Parsons was killed by a falling tree. The same evening, Captain John Williams and Nathan McDonald were drowned while crossing the river in a boat.
1831, April 21. A son of Zebulon Davis, aged 13 years, was drowned while in a small boat. Caleb Huse, who was with him, escaped.1
1831, Aug. 25. Drowned in Grinell's mill-pond, Ruel Swallow, aged about 30. He came from Dunstable, Mass.
1831, Oct. 27. Josiah D. Hinds, aged 56, was drowned in Peirce's mill-pond.2
1831, Dec. 22. William Boswell, an insane man, was found frozen in the basement of the brick school-house, the thermometer being fifteen degrees below zero. He survived but a few days.3
1832, Nov. 15. Ann M. Gilson received injuries from her clothes taking fire, which resulted in death.
1834, April 6. John Smith, an Irishman, was found dead from the effects of intemperance.
1834, Oct. 11. Earl Lane, Jr., of Northport, was drowned in the harbor by the filling of a boat.
1835, Dec. 24. Eliza, daughter of William Emerson, aged 4 years, was burnt so severely that death ensued.
1836, May 10. A child of Mrs. Hanson, aged 2 years, was burnt to death.
1837, May 11. James Enwright, a man of intemperate habits, was found dead on the east side of the river.
1838, Feb. 7. Robert Fisher, of Philadelphia, a colored man, aged 28 years, was drowned in the harbor.
1838, Feb. 24. Ebenezer, son of Job Shaw, aged 16, was killed by a rolling log.
1838, July 10. While a party of gentlemen were upon an excursion among the islands in Penobscot Bay, when about three miles from Owl's Head, Mr. Eben W. Hilton, one of the party, was killed by the accidental discharge of his rifle. He lived three hours. He was landlord of the Phœnix House. His age was 26.4
1838, Nov. 29. Roderick, son of Bancroft Wyman, aged 7 years, was drowned.
1840, Sept. 29. John Gillum, aged 9 years, was drowned.
1845, June 23. Sarah C., daughter of John S. Wilson, aged 2 years, killed by falling backwards into the fire.1Journal.
2Advocate.
3Journal.
4Waldo Patriot.[1:806]1846, March 31. Captain Samuel Whitney, of Lincolnville, with his wife, was drowned while attempting to cross the bay between Ducktrap and Castine. Their boat came in collision with a cake of ice, which made a hole in her bow.1
1846, Oct. 25. John S. Durham, son of Jonathan Durham, died at Baga, from injuries received while loading the brig "Tonquin," of which he was second mate.
1847, May 1. Part of the steamboat wharf gave way, letting into the water a team loaded with dry goods, which were considerably damaged.2
1847, July 5. A son of Roger Merrithew, of Belmont, while witnessing a display of fireworks on the Common, was badly injured by a descending rocket, which mutilated his face.
1847, May. Elisha H. Hall, of Belfast, sustained serious injury by falling into a cellar hole on Pearl Street, in Boston. He recovered $4,416 damaged from the city.3
1847, Aug. 9. Benjamin F. Miller, aged 22 years, was killed by the caving in of earth near Miller's Wharf.
1847, Nov. 30. Edwin Kimball, aged 10 years, son of Edwin C. Kimball, was drowned while skating on the mill-pond, on Goose River, opposite his father's house.
1848, July 4. A son of Jacob Ames, aged 12 years, was instantly killed by being thrown from a wagon.
1849, April 5. The body of an infant, apparently born alive, and that of an unknown man, aged about 60 years, were found in the harbor.4
1849, May 4. Ambrose Stephenson, aged 37 years, was fatally injured by the fall of a stick of timber in the ship-yard of S. C. Nickerson.
1849, Sept. 7. William Fletcher, aged 17, fell from Farrow's Wharf, and was drowned.
1850, July 11. William Colley, of Belfast, fell from the mast-head of a vessel in Boston, killing him instantly.
1850, Dec. 11. As a son of Samuel G. Thurlow, aged 11 years, was crossing Spring Street, where a number of boys were coasting, he was struck by a sled, and received injuries of which he died the same evening.
1851, Nov. 13. Sylvester Y. Cottrill, while attempting to secure a boat at Haraden's Wharf, fell into the water and was drowned.1Incidents in the Life of Samuel Whitney, 67.
2Signal.
3Law Reporter.
4Journal.[1:807]1854, Oct. 22. Robinson Crockett, of Brooksville, a ship-carpenter, fell into the hold of the new ship "Wild Cat," at Sibley's Wharf. He was found insensible, and died the same evening.
1855, Oct. 8. Benjamin B. Anderson, a young man from Waldoboro', received fatal injuries by falling into the hold of a vessel.
1855, Dec. 3, Captain Robert Henderson, aged 80 years, toll-keeper at the upper bridge, was accidentally drowned.
1857, Aug. 9. As a team was unloading at Carter & Co.'s ship-yard, David T. Durham and Gad Hayford, two aged citizens, were severely crushed by a large mast. The injuries sustained by the former resulted in his death.
1857, Sept. 11. Martin Crowell, aged 46 years, was instantly killed by falling from an upper loft in the New England House stable.
1858, March 12. As Jere. M., son of J. G. Dickerson, aged 7 years, was playing dominos with other children at his father's house, two fluid lamps were accidentally broken, burning the little boy so badly as to cause his death.
1859, May 2. William Wade, a young man belonging to the English schooner "Sultan," was drowned at the steamboat wharf.
1859, June 18. ____ Spinney, of Deer Isle, a young man, was drowned in the harbor.
1860, Jan. 21. Alexander Logan, of Waldo, was instantly killed on Beaver Street, by being run over by a stage-coach.
1860, Feb. 15. Bridget Fahy, aged 5 years, was scalded to death.
1860, March 12. Peter Welch, an Irishman, was drowned. His body was found seven weeks afterwards.
1860, Aug. 25. Albert L. Wilder, aged 15 years, was drowned while bathing near Carter & Co.'s ship-yard.
1860, Dec. 11. Cora A. Kelly, aged 4 years, was burnt to death.
1861, June 20. Ralph M. Emery, mate of the ship "Ocean Traveller," was stabbed in Havana, from the effects of which he died. His remains were interred here.1
1862, May 4. Isaac L. Toothaker, of Searsmont, aged 17 years, was knocked over in the harbor by the boom of a sail-boat and drowned.
1863, March 10. Mrs. Peter Welch died from burns caused by her clothes taking fire.1Journal.[1:808]1863, May 27. A sail-boat capsized in the bay, and Julian Douglas was drowned.
1863, June 14. By the falling of pole in a circus tent, during a high wind, several persons were injured.1
1864, June 23. William Young, aged 43, who lived in the western portion of the city, near Belmont, was instantly killed by falling from a barn.
1864, Aug. 7. Waldo F., son of Colonel F. Hall, aged 16 years, was drowned in Lincolnville Pond.
1865, June 30. Mrs. Grace Ulmer, wife of John White, aged 86, residing at Poor's Mills, was caught in the coupling of a revolving shaft, drawn around it, and almost instantly killed.
1865, Oct. 6. Annie B. Wright, aged 7 years, was burnt to death.
1866, Aug. 9. A little son of Lewis A. Knowlton, 10 years old, while running with a head of herd's-grass in his mouth, by some means drew it into his windpipe, from the effects of which he died. During the week, Daniel Blake, a single man, aged about 30, fell into a large cistern at White & Conner's ship-yard, and was drowned. A sailor named Birk was found in Main Street, at midnight, insensible and badly wounded.2
1866, Nov. 7. A son of Matthew Robbins, aged 14, was run over in the street by a dray, and so severely injured that he died in a few hours.
1867, April 25. David M. Patterson, aged 46, was thrown from his team and fatally injured. His horse became unmanageable from fright at some burning brushwood.
1868, Aug. 14. Sharon E. Banks fell or was thrown from a wagon-load of barrels, and died from his wounds in a few hous. He was aged about 45.
1869, Feb. 24. Gorham G. Blake, of Belfast, was drowned from steamer "Enterprise," on the Sacramento River. He was formerly an engineer on steamer "Daniel Webster," and attached to the navy during the Rebellion.
1869, April 1. Alexander McDonald, of Nova Scotia, a laborer on the railroad, was injured by a premature blast, and died the next morning.
1869, Sept. 23. Bridget Simmons, aged 47, was drowned by falling into a spring of water at City Point. She had been subject to fits.1Age.
2Ibid.[1:809]1869, Aug. 1. While Rufus P. Hill was riding on the Augusta road, with his wife and little girl, the horse became frightened by the sting of a bee, and ran away, throwing them all out. Mrs. Hill was severely hurt, and the child, who was five months old, so severely injured as to cause its death.
1870, May 26. James Wood was crushed by being run over by a heavy team.
1870, Nov. 22. The body of Luther Whitney, of Thorndike, was found on the eastern flats. He is supposed to have fallen through the railroad bridge.
1872, Jan. 29. John Y. Stevens, aged 16, who was injured by the bursting of a grindstone in the axe factory of B. Kelley & Co., in October, died from his wounds, after great suffering.
1872, April 26. During a high wind, a wood-shed on the east side of the river blew down, instantly killing Josiah Flagg, who was crushed by the falling timbers. He resided at Mason's Mills, and was aged about 60.
1872, Aug. 25. Martin M. Welch, a sailor belonging in Belfast, was seized with insanity in Boston, and during one of his paroxysms jumped from a third-story window, causing his instant death.
1873, Sept. 19. George W. West, aged 27, and unmarried, a son of John West of Belfast, was killed on the Eastern Railroad, on which he was employed.
1873, May 24. The body of Stephen Knowlton, of Belmont, aged about 60, was found floating in the water near Swan & Co.'s Wharf. He was partially insane, and it is unknown whether his death was caused by accident or by suicide.
1873, July 31. Sylvanus Richards, of Belfast, was drowned by falling from a boat on Unity Pond. He was about 30 years of age, and left a family.
1874, May 5. Captain John Roix, of Belfast, mate of the schooner "Florida," was found drowned in the harbor of Jacksonville, Fla.
1874, July 12. Russell Howard, aged 11, son of Aaron Howard, was drowned near the foot of Allyn Street, by the capsizing of a frail punt.
1874, Sept. 18. Benjamin Eaton, aged 30, was thrown from a stage above a vessel where he was discharging coal, and killed.[2:300]FATAL ACCIDENTS.Account of Accidents resulting fatally from 1875 to 1900.As in Volume I, only brief statements of the fatal accidents occurring within the limits of Belfast are given in this chapter.
1876, March 1. Mrs. Sarah M. Sides, a widow, aged 67, living at the Board Landing, died from her clothes taking fire. She was alone at the time of the accident.
1876, July 4. A 15-months-old son of Fred S. Crosby, who lived above Primrose Hill, was drowned by falling into a tub of water in the yard.
1877, May 11. Jesse H., aged 4, son of Andrew Dean, fell from the dam of the upper paper mill, and was drowned.
1877, July 30. Freddy, aged about 5, son of Captain Pearl W. Bagley, was found drowned under the steamboat wharf.
1877, October 20. While returning from partridge shooting, Fred, aged 17, son of Alfred K. Simpson, was fatally injured by the premature explosion of his gun.
1878, September 16. Thomas Carson, a blacksmith, aged 70, was killed by the forenoon down train, while walking upon the track, near the bridge. The coroner's verdict was that his own carelessness was the cause. This was the second fatal accident on the railroad.
1878, September 26. Charles Gilbert was killed by falling from aloft on the ship Lucy A. Nichols, in the South Atlantic Ocean. He was son of Fitz W. Gilbert.
1878, November 16. A 2½-year-old child of Roscoe G. Ellis died from falling into a pail of hot water.
1879, February 19. Charles Mace, a brakeman on the Maine Central Railroad, and son of John Atwell Mace, of Belfast, fell across the track at West Waterville, while uncoupling cars, receiving injuries which resulted in death.
1879, June 12. Albert T. Stevens was killed at Northport by the fall of a house which he was repairing.[2:301]1879, July 22. Henry E. Eaton, aged 51, was drowned by the capsizing of a sail-boat, while crossing the bay. A month later his body was found near Cape Rosier.
1879, August 14. Ulab Carter, aged 7, was drowned by falling into a reservoir in the old brickyard on the east side of the harbor.
1880, April 15. James M. Clary, who lived on the Poor's Mills road, died from the effects of falling across a bale of hay.
1880, May 20. While Captain Napoleon Bonaparte Warren was setting new masts in the schooner Henry, at Lane's Wharf, the masts, seventy feet long, gave way, dashing him from the foremost head to the dock, and causing instant death. He was forty years old, and left a family.
1882, June 13. Peter, 4 years old, son of Thomas Leary, of East Belfast, was drowned by falling into a cistern.
1882, November 23. Blanche E., the 4-year-old daughter of Captain George Pattershall, was drowned by falling from a wharf at the Upper Bridge.
1882, September 12. John Charles, aged 21 years, son of Calvin Hervey, was drowned by the upsetting of a canoe on Lake Quantabacook. His body was found a fortnight later. Memorial services were held September 16, in the Unitarian Chrch, the young man being one of the choir.
1882, December 30. Captain Charles Thomas Gilmore, master of the schooner Florida, was drowned on the passage from Boston. He fell from the stern, probably in an attack of heart failure, to which he had been subject. He was a son of James Gilmore, and was an excellent and genial citizen.
1883, April 10. Ford Gay, of the Head of the Tide, while running a circular saw in a stave-mill at Orland, was struck by a board and instantly killed. He was an energetic and well-known man. His age was 60 years.
1884, January 8. Charles Augustus Murch, while engaged in harvesting ice at the east side of the harbor, was struck on the head by a detached piece, causing concussion of the brain, which proved fatal the same evening. He was about 45 years of age, and son of Lewis C. Murch. He had been Alderman from Ward 5, and was a prominent Odd Fellow.
1884, June 3. Eben I. Russell, of Belfast, railroad brakeman, was instantly killed by falling from the afternoon train, above[2:302]Thorndike. He was a native of Farmington, and had been employed on the Belfast Branch for five years. His age was 42.
1885, January 6. Samuel E. Stimpson, aged 55, and a native of Deer Isle, and Charles S. Kelley, formerly of Stockton Springs, aged 51, were drowned in the river just below Citypoint, by breaking through the ice while catching smelts.
1885, April 10. During the temporary absence of his mother, Willie F., 3-year-old son of Simon Jellison, who lived on Belmont Avenue, set fire to his clothing with matches, causing fatal injuries.
1885, July 11. Elmer Wesley Twombly, aged 25, and John Casey, aged 24, perished in the fire which consumed the stables of the Belfast Livery Company. (See chapter xxxv, on Fires.)
1886, March 11. Samuel Redman, who lived in the suburbs, died from the effects of a fall which broke his thigh. He was born in Brooksville, and in early life was a sea captain sailing to the West Indies. He came to Belfast in 1880, to live with his sons Alvah and Samuel. His age was 92 years.
1886, May 27. A. C. Merrithew, son of Ezekiel Merrithew, of Belfast, was accidentally killed while employed as foreman in engineering work at Omaha, Nebraska.
1886, July 25. Franklin Prince Eames, of East Belfast, died from injuries received by the breaking of a whiffle-tree while unloading hay from a patent fork. During the war he was lieutenant of Company I, Fourth Maine Regiment. He had represented Ward 5 in the Common Council, and was Alderman in 1877-78. Dr. George Franklin Eames, of Boston, is his son. The age of Mr. Eames was 61 years.
1886, September 23. Absalom C. Sites, of Brooks, was killed by a train while crossing the track near Brooks Village.
1886, October. James P. W., aged 26, son of the late Patrick Casey, was drowned in New York Harbor. He was employed on a dredging machine.
1888, March 12. George W. West, mate of the schooner Henry S. Culver, is supposed to have been lost off Fire Island near New York during a blizzard.
1888, July 7. James W. Wargent, of Isleboro, aged about 37, was drowned off the Monument, by the capsizing of his boat. James Richards, who was with him, clung to the bottom of the[2:303]boat and was rescued by William A. Lear and Frederick Mahoney, who saw the accident. Wargent could not swim.
1888, October 16. William G. Gray, flagman at the East Bridge railroad crossing was killed by being hurled against the noon incoming train while endeavoring to stop a frightened horse of Stephen E. Fletcher, of Stockton Springs. He was 23 years old, son of Walter Gray, and a young man of good character. He sacrificed his own life while attempting to save that of another.
1888, December 12. Thomas Hall, aged 4 years, adopted son of Thomas Haugh, was burned to death. While alone in the house, cutting paper, his clothing took fire.
1889, February 18. Albert T. Conforth, railroad brakeman, was struck on the head by the rebounding of a hook attached to a small plow, and died the next day. He was a son of Otis Conforth, of Unity, was about 26 years old, and unmarried.
1889, April 6. Captain George Bird, his wife and his children were lost on the barge Sunrise, which he commanded, in Delaware Bay. The barge, loaded with coal, had anchored for a harbor, and at midnight foundered during a heavy gale.
1889, June 10. Frank W. Patterson, mail agent on the railroad from Portland to Lewiston, had both legs broken by the train running into a washout near Oakland. Seven men were injured, one fatally. Mr. Patterson was brought to Belfast on a special train. He never regained the use of his limbs, and died from the effects of the accident January 5, 1895.
1889, August 4. Walter, 3 years old, son of Walter E. Sylvester, was found drowned near Hall & Cooper's wharf.
1889, November 26. Benson Walker, aged about 65, a ship-carpenter, was killed by falling from a staging in Carter & Co.'s shipyard.
1890, April 10. Frank Haugh, aged 38, fell from Lewis's Wharf and was drowned.
1891, March 25. Albert L., aged 28, son of the late James M. Clark, was instantly killed at Worcester, Massachusetts, while engaged in coupling cars.
1891, April 18. Joseph B. Varnum, age 65, fell into the hold of a new schooner in McDonald and Brown's yard, and died the following Wednesday.
1891, June 24. John Wesley Hinckley was drowned from the ship Iroquois, on the passage from New York to California.[2:304]1891, October 3. William J. Goyens, of Belfast, was accidentally killed in a mine at Hecla City, Montana.
1891, October 13. Romulus C. Philbrick, of Troy, aged 65, was struck by the outward afternoon freight train at the Rolerson Crossing, near Citypoint, and instantly killed.
1892, March 29. Mrs. Sarah N., aged 71, wife of Luther M. Smith, who resided on Belmont Avenue, died from falling into an open fire, probably during a paralytic shock, as she had been long an invalid. She was born in Vassalboro, her maiden name being Sarah N. Clark. Six children survived her.
1893, February 24. William L. Abbott received injuries from a fall, causing his death two days later.
1893, March 5. Charles Philbrick died from the effects of falling in his barn.
1893, June 7. John W. Mitchell, aged 30, recently a school-teacher in Belfast, was drowned while bathing in the Kennebec River at Augusta.
1893, July 29. By the capsizing of a boat near Dark Harbor, Isleboro, Leonard R. Pendleton, aged 21, son of Emery O. Pendleton, of Belfast, was drowned.
1893, July 27. On Lake Erie, Captain Thomas Winslow Warren, of Belfast, aged 51, lost his life. He fell from a vessel.
1893, August 6. Mrs. Catherine Conley and her two daughters, Mamie aged 19, and Agnes aged 15, formerly of Belfast, were killed by the bursting of a reservoir in Portland.
1894, January 23. Caleb M. Nash, aged 59, and deaf, while walking on the railroad track near the Lower Bridge, was struck by a passing train and killed. A coroner's jury exonerated the company and its employees from blame. Mr. Nash came to Belfast from Rockland.
1894, May 10. Emery S. Young, aged 4 years, son of Charles Young, was drowned in the stream near Rankin's Mill, on the East Side of the river.
1895, April 9. Oscar Leroy Elmes, aged 14, son of James Henry Elmes, residing in the Pitcher District, while launching a plank into a swollen stream, was drawn violently under a bridge, and drowned.
1895, October 6. Josie Thomas, aged 14, while attempting to start a range fire with naphtha, received injuries which caused her death.[2:305]1895, October 22. George Holt, aged 76, missed his way in the evening, and while wandering near the Sibley Wharf, fell in and was drowned. He had always resided in Belfast.
1896, October 26. Captain Augustus Holbrook, aged 42, met his death by falling from a dory near Swan's Island.
1896, October 28. John P. Tower, a former Belfast resident, fell from an elevator in Boston, and was killed.
1897. But a single fatal accident occurred during the year. Walter M. Gray fell from a wharf July 23, and died from his injuries a few hours later. (Son of Walter R. Gray below.)
1898, January 4. William T. Creasey, of Morrill, was run over by a team, receiving injuries from which he died on February 9.
1898, June 9. Walter R. Gray disappeared. He was last seen sitting on the edge of a wharf, and is supposed to have fallen into the harbor. His body was afterwards found.
1898, June 16. John Smith was drowned in the harbor.
1898, June 28. Walter H. West collided with a team on Northport Avenue, receiving injuries which caused his death, Agust 31.
1899, November 18. Isaac D. Mixer, aged 52, was instantly killed by falling from his wagon while unloading hay at the store-house of the Belfast Fuel and Hay Company, or died from heart failure. He was a native of Knox, and lived on the Ford Gay farm on the Head of the Tide road.
1900, January 6. Parker, son of Nathaniel Gordon Pettengill, aged 2, died from burns received while playing with matches.
1900, January 16. Prentiss Colson, aged 67, while walking on the railroad track near Citypoint, was struck by the morning train, and died soon after. A coroner's jury exonerated the railroad employees from blame.
1900, August 30. Ezra J. Roberts, aged 72, and a native of Brooks, was killed by a freight train, below the Rolerson Crossing. He was deaf, and had been warned about going on the track.
1900, September 15. Leonard E. Hanson, a German sailor, fell from aloft on the schooner Carrie E. Look, while coming down the river, and was killed. He was buried in Belfast.
