SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

My cousin, Jude Tropp, emailed the other day asking about whether John B. Kauffman (JB), our grandfather, had been in a railroad accident at some time in his career.  Railroad accidents were extremely common when the railroad was at its height in the 1900's so it wouldn't be surprising.  The reason Jude asked was that his mother had shared a story about JB being in an accident that caused him to have all his hair burned off and when it grew back his hair was pure white. John B. Kauffman began working for the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1904 working continuously for 41 years and 6 months and retiring in 1947.  It is likely that he heard about many railroad accidents over the years that he was employed.  Upon researching the accidents that occurred in Janesville involving the Chicago and North Western railroad during the time that JB was working I found three accidents that I would categorize as being quite severe and injuring railroad workers. In the reports...

Michael Goodman immigrated as a child to Wisconsin from Ireland with his family.   The family lived south of LaValle, Sauk county, close to Michael’s uncle, Thomas Goodman.   Michael’s father, Peter, and his uncle Thomas worked at the pig iron foundry in Ironton.   After processing, the iron was shipped to Lake Michigan, but when the port facilities did not materialize the foundry closed.   This is probably what prompted a move to Janesville by the Peter Goodman family where Michael eventually became a livery man.   Because horses and wagons were the primary mode of transportation in the 1800’s livery stables were an integral part of the community.  A livery stable offered horses, teams and wagons of all sorts for hire.  Funeral Cortege in front of livery stable in Janesville, Wisconsin   As automobiles became available in the early 1900’s livery stables slowly converted to include the use of cars for taxiing individuals.  Michael Goodman’s l...

  This 1865 photo shows Main Street in Janesville, Wisconsin.   The store, Lamont & Fuller, can be seen in the foreground.  Lamont  & Fuller dealt in groceries, crockery, flour, feed, butter, cheese and fruits.   Their store was located at 8 North Main Street.   The sidewalks are constructed of wooden planks, and the road is dirt.   There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to the traffic, or to the parking, either.   I wonder how a pedestrian ever crossed the street without bumping into a horse or dragging a long skirt in manure.  Considering that the first white settlers arrived in Janesville in 1835, this photo shows a great deal of development in just 30 years.     The photo is from a stereopticon image available online; (1860 - 1920) Main St. Janesville, Wis. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-bec8-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99   The informatio...