Hello,
I have a strange, heartfelt query. Is it possible that there could be no "official" certificate/record (other than several newspaper articles written at the time) of the death of my great-grandfather, Michael Steven
Mongoven (sometimes misspelled Mongovern) on 7 Feb 1904? "Steve," like many in his family, was a railroad man...a conductor for the Northern
Pacific in the 1890s and early 1900s. The following information was culled from the
Grafton newspaper:
In the midst of a blizzard at about 4 PM on Saturday, February 6, 1904, Steve [Mongoven's] "Extra East 660" became stuck in a snowdrift near Miller's Cut, three miles north of
Grafton,
North Dakota. Brakeman
Murphy was sent back towards
Cashel to flag a southbound passenger train which was due soon. Meanwhile, Steve cut the engine off his stalled train and plowed his way through to
Grafton to report the incident to the dispatcher. He mistakenly reported that his train was stuck about one mile from
Grafton. In reality, the train was three miles from the town. The dispatcher ordered a relief train to proceed south from Pembina. The train moved southbound, arriving at
Cashel and picking up brakeman
Murphy. The dispatcher wired the rescue train conductor that freight train "Extra East 660" was disabled two miles west of
Grafton, allowing an extra mile from the estimate Steve had given him. About four miles out of
Cashel, and three miles west of
Grafton, the rescue train piled into the caboose of "Extra East 660." Steve and his brother, a brakeman, were the only crewmen in the caboose. Steve perished on impact and his brother was seriously injured. The two men were removed from the burning wreck as quickly as possible. Steve's body was laid in one of the rescue train's cars. His brother was taken to the caboose of the relief train. On Sunday morning, Steve's body was brought to
Grafton.
The engineer in charge of relief engine 591 estimated that he was traveling about 22 miles an hour at the time of impact. He feared if he proceeded any slower he, too, might get stuck. He stated that he did not think he was within a mile of the train when the accident occurred. The front of the relief engine was completely demolished, being smashed in and filled with draw bars, links, and a miscellaneous assortment of twisted iron, broken wheels, and pieces of timber. The caboose of "Extra East 669" and the car in front of it were burned and two other freight cars, one loaded with fish, were turned over on their sides. The debris wasn't cleared completely until about 7 PM Monday. The coroner's jury held an inquest at the scene of the wreck on Monday. Their report indicated that Conductor Mongoven's mistake in reporting his train's location to the dispatcher had caused the accident. [Grafton
News & Times; Feb. 1904]
Michael Steven Mongoven's body was returned to his home in East Grand Forks,
Minnesota, for funeral preparation. Included in the coffin was the body of his newborn baby son, who had died within several hours of his father's death. The two were buried in
Calvary Catholic Cemetery across the Red River in Grand Forks,
North Dakota.
I have written to N.D. and local (
Walsh County) authorities and was told there is no death certificate on file in
North Dakota. The same holds true for
Minnesota, and
Polk County,
Minnesota (his home in 1904). There appear to be no photos of the wreck, which seems extremely odd. Do I need to go to the courthouse in
Walsh County to check through their records? Shouldn't there be some coroner's jury report filed with the county? By the way, Steve's widow, Elizabeth, traveled with a priest friend to Minneapolis to settle with Northern
Pacific Railway. The company offered her $5000 and she was awarded $7000. I imagine a trip to the
Minnesota Historical Society to examine their railroad records is in the cards some day.
Thanks for any help!
Sincerely,
Jan
Mongoven