Samuel Thomas Carter and the Virginia Mines Disaster of 1905

Wedding Photo of Samuel Thomas Carter and Mary Alice Warnick

Samuel Thomas Carter was born July 13, 1877 in Georgia, son of Thomas Kendrell Carter and Artemesia "Artie" Elizabeth Wheat Carter. He was the third of five children. His siblings were Mary Agnes Frances who was born February 18, 1875, she married Walter Millwood; Lela Ann was born April 19, 1876. She married James Benjamin Blackwell. Augustus Felton was born November 7, 1878. He married Mary Ella Franklin. William Jackson "Jack" was born December 3, 1881, he married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Salter.

Samuel's father died when he was only four years old, just before the birth of his baby brother Jack. I don't know anything about his early years, but I can imagine they were hard. He became a coal miner, probably at a young age. Artie never remarried.

Artie moved the family to what would become Hueytown, in Jefferson County, Alabama. Her daughter Mary Agnes had already married Walter Millwood, and remained in Georgia. In the 1900 census, all the boys listed their occupation as coal miner. Artie and daughter Lela list no occupation. The boys all stated that they had been unemployed between 2 and 4 months the previous year.

December 22, 1901, Samuel married a neighbor, 18 year old Mary "Alice" Warnick. They were married at Bethlehem Methodist Church in Rutledge Springs. The church was organized in 1818, and is still in use today.

Bethlehem United Methodist from Hueytown Historical Society

A daughter Odessa was born in 1903, known as Dessie.

Tragedy struck February 20, 1905 at about 4:00pm. The coal mine where Samuel was at work, known as the Virginia mine,  had an explosion and cave in. The entrance to the mine was blocked. There are many accounts of the disaster in newspapers all over the country,  some with much more graphic details than we see today. Some headlines from local and national papers:
“More Than 100 Men Entombed in Mines Frightful Catastrophe at Virginia City”Birmingham Age-Herald 21 Feb 1905:  1.
“Every Home in Virginia City House of Sorrow: With Pick and Shovel Men Race with Death” Birmingham Age-Herald 21 Feb 1905: 7.
“Over Hundred Lives Probably Lost at Virginia Mines” Birmingham News 21 Feb 1905: 1.
“Little or No Hope Hold Out for Entombed Men but the Rescue Work Goes on Day and Night” Birmingham News 21 Feb 1905: 1.
“100 Miners Entombed; All Perhaps Killed: Explosion of Dust Causes Disaster in Alabama Pit” New York Times 21 Feb 1905: 1.
"Fifty Bodies Taken from Wrecked Mine: Hope for the Remaining Sixty-Six is Now Abandoned; 300 Children Destitute" New York Times 22 Feb 1905.
“One Miner was Found on Knees in Prayer” Birmingham Age-Herald 24 Feb 1905: 5.
“Two More Bodies are Brought Out” Birmingham Age-Herald 27 Feb 1905: 6.
"Charge Deaths to Operators: Coroner's Jury Blames Mine Men for the Explosion"Atlanta Constitution 8 Apr 1905: 1.

"Official List of Entombed Men: One Hundred and Seven in All” Birmingham News 21 Feb 1905: 1.

Special to The Birmingham News
Bessemer, Ala. Feb 21. - "Following is a complete list of coal diggers entombed in Virginia mine, as given by their check weighman, Tinning:

WHITES:
Sam Burchfield
John Gallegher
Fred Morgan, has wife and one child.
Charles McFalls
E. L. Cargo
Ross Stewart
D. Troulis

The Citizen, Berea, KY

James Meekin, has wife and several children.
J. H. Dammer
Pat Meekin, son of above
W. M. Dickinson
Will Meeks
Barney Kiker, has wife and two children
W. A. Meeks
Ernest Hopkins
Robert Beal, has wife only
James Brown, has wife and one child
Fred Smedley
M. L. Turner, has wife and three children
S. T. Carter
Lee Hardeman
E. H. Bryant, has wife and one child.
Charles Crawley, has wife and eight children
Steve Crawley
J.C. Weaver
O. M. Parsons, has wife only
H. Meekin
W. W. Shoemaker
J. H. Pool
Sandy Nelson, has wife and two children
Harry Hughes
N. R. Pool
W. M. Wright
W. H. Donaldson, has wife and child

Hopkinsville Kentuckian

____ Pendley (boy)
J.D. Wells, has wife and four children
Richard Tidmore, has wife and four children
John Cohely, has wife
Ben Chastine, has wife and family
Peter Smith
G. L. Pendley, has wife and three children
____ Lawrence, has wife and four children
Joe Scott
Dave Harris, has wife and one child
Jerry Keel, has wife and two children
Kirby Powell, has wife and one child
Roly Bennett
Ira Powell, has wife and one child
Sam Slogett, has wife
Bert Slogett
R. E. Hassell, has wife and two children
Fred Wyatt
P.M. Stucky, has wife and four children
____ McDonald
Andy Nicholson
Luke Bailey, has wife and one child
Jim Jordan, has wife and one child
Bob Pearson
Walter McCoy, has wife and son

ITALIANS:
A. Lazarre
Tussel Last
L. Antonia
Roda Raffael
____ Tussey
Lonzi Eiro

Total Whites - sixty-five

NEGROES:
Levy Steale
W. M. Howard
Ike Cole
Jake Hooks

J. A. Starling
Jim Burton
Jim Huffman

The Red Cloud Chief, Webster County, NE

General Hooks
John Grigsby
Isaac Hooks
John Dudley
Elisha Hale
Loyd Davis
Charles Burton
J. E. Durden
A. J. Jackson
Amos Brown

Wade Johnson
Sam Simpson
Primus Wyatt
W. Goings
Homer Dawson
Ivy Walker, has wife and two children
Dave Smith, has wife and two children
Steve turner, has wife and two children
Henry Turner
James Simpson

Total Negroes - twenty-seven

Following is a list of company men, that is, those employed by the company by the day, including drivers, pumpers, trappers, etc.

WHITES:
John Brown, a driver boss, has wife and one child, a son who was in the mine with him.
Neil Brown, trapper
Charles Moreland
Tom Caldwell, has wife and family
Steve Hawkins
Will Green, pumper
Charles Pickett, chainer
M. J. Vance, has wife

The Brisbane Courier, Australia

John Nelson, driver

NEGROES:
Ike Benner
P. Toles
Bob Hall
Bess McCarthy
Dave Hall
Jackson Bowen


Up to 12 o'clock today many bodies had been brought to this city and had been prepared for burial by Kennedy Bros. undertakers, who were given the contract to take care of and register the entire list of the dead. They have been assisted by Moore Bros., Vermillion & Adams, and by the Z. R. Steen,undertakers, but the entire list of bodies brought to Bessemer have passed through Kennedy Bros hands, who will have a complete record of the disposition of every body. 

Below will be found a list of all bodies received here, together with the place of burial, where instructions have been received.

WHITE
John Coheley, unknown 
Fred Morgan, Adger
Tom Grigsby 
Tolsey Veresto, Blocton
J. G. Tidmore, Pratt City 
Henry Meachim, Pratt City
James Meachim, Pratt City 
Charles A. Crawley, Pratt City
Steve Crawley, Pratt City 
J. M. Brown, Ensley

The San Francisco Call

Jerry Keel, Pratt City 
Tom Caldwell, Pratt City
W. H. Donaldson, Valley Creek 
Luke Bailey
Robert Pierson, Johns 
Jesse Weaver
Walker Shumaker 
J. E. Jordan, Gentry's Gap
Ed Bryant, McDonough, Ga 
Will Dickson, Dolomite
Will Green, Sumter (Masonic) 
J. M. Lawrence, Bibbville (Masonic)
Steve Hawkins, Blossburg 
Sam Slogett, Adger
Bert Slogett, Adger 
N. R. Pool, Valley Creek
J. H. Danner, Adger 
John Pendley, Jr., Adger
Roda Raffael, Blocton 
M. L. Turner, Tuskaloosa (Masonic)
George Pendley,Sr., Adger (Masonic) 
J. L. Nelson, Pratt City
Ollin Pool, Valley Creek 
Lanzi Ciro, Blocton
W. Alonza Meeks, Blockton 
Will Meeks, Blockton
Fred Smedley, Whitwell, Tenn 
Sandy Nelson, Pratt City
B. M. Chastine, Adger (Masonic) 
A. Lancy, Blocton
Roland Bennett, Blocton 
Thomas Cody, Adger
Charles Moreland, Adger 
Robert Beals, Adger
Charles McFalls, Valley Creek 
W. B. Wright
Sam Burchfield, Valley Creek 
Pat McCoy, Pratt City
Walter McCoy 
Lancy Antonio

Daily Press, Newport News, VA

NEGROES
Pearl Toles, Ravine, Ala 
Ike Hooks, Pratt City
Sylvester McCarthy, Ravine
Dave Hall, Bessemer
Bob Hall, Bessemer 
General Hooks, Pratt City
J. A. Sterling, Pratt City 
unknown, Pratt City
Will Howard, Pratt City 
John Dudley, Bessemer
Ira Walker, Cedar Hill 
Sam Thorn, Cedar Hill
Oliver Houston, Cedar Hill 
Amos Brown, Cedar Hill 
A. J. Jackson, Cedar Hill
H. R. Johnson, Cedar Hill 
Sam Simpson, Cedar Hill
Wade Jonson, Marion Junction 
Jim Burton, Vances
Homer Dawson, Vances 
Henry Stevenson, Vances
George Huffman, Sumter 
Elisha Hale, Pratt City
Jim Huffman, Sumter
-------------



Alice may not have even known at the time, but she was pregnant with another daughter. That daughter was my grandmother, Flora Jane, born August 13, 1905.

Samuel Carter was buried in the cemetery adjoining Bethlehem Methodist, where he was married only a few years before.

Alice remarried in 1909, which you can read about here: http://rootsbranchesandnuts.blogspot.com/2013/06/wedding-wednesday-james-harve-hamaker.html

#Genealogy Blogs from Facebook

Update 11/23/2014 Sharing this list of bloggers old (as in more experienced) and new from the Facebook groupGenealogy Bloggers.  Sorry for the format, it just would NOT behave! Here they are, in no particular order...drumroll please...

http://spartanroots.wordpress.com/   SpartanRoots.wordpress.com by Carol Kostakos Petranek (Greek Genealogy)

http://wereallrelative.com/ ... We're All Relative by Cynthia Berryman

http://genealogybyjeanne.blogspot.com/ ... Genealogical Gems by Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman

http://thewordspinner.wordpress.com by Lisa Anne Taylor

http://www.yvetteportermoore.com by Yvette Porter Moore

http://www.theallengazette.com by Susannah Allen

http://ancestorsinthenews.blogspot.com/ Leslie Ann

http://lostmementos.blogspot.com/ Leslie Ann

http://pursuitofjoe.blogspot.com/ Leslie Ann

http://ancestorslivehere.blogspot.com/ Leslie Ann

http://www.onebranchatatime.com Linda O'Donnell; personal genealogy blog & tips

http://6grantcounty.blogspot.com/ Mary Dutcher Knapp; Grant County, Wisconsin

http://littleoakblog.wordpress.com Heather Lisa Dubnick

http://www.geneartistry.com Sarah Svard Ashley

http://www.Ancestorsoup.blogspot.com Karen Seeman

http://blog.genealogybank.com Mary Harrell-Sesniak

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/ Barbara Poole (covers New England)

http://genealogicaldetours.blogspot.com/ Rhonda Bridges Trueman NC, SC, TN, VA, and general genealogy

http://historical-melungeons.blogspot.com/

http://thehistoryinterpreter.wordpress.com/latest-news-from-the-history-interpreter/ Janet Braund Few

http://zangarigenealogy.blogspot.com Vincint Zangari / Zangari Genealogy / Maricopa Genealogy Experts

http://mytrueroots.blogspot.com True A. Lewis

http://meandmyancestors.blogspot.com/ Mary Hartmann-Bowden

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/ Heather Wilkinson Rojo

http://www.cowhampshireblog.com/ Janice Webster Brown

http://www.Robineau.ca/ Roger Robineau

http://www.reflectionsfromthefence.blogspot.com/ Carol (Aka, Carol A. Bowen Stevens)

http://www.oldbonesgenealogy.com/blog Eileen Souza

http://blog.transylvaniandutch.com John Newmark

http://oldstonesundeciphered.blogspot.com/

http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com Pam Carter

http://cardermayes.weebly.com/blog.html Deborah Carder Mayes

http://FamilyHistoryResearchByJody.blogspot.com Jody Lutter

http://www.NoStoryTooSmall.com Amy Johnson Crow

http://www.diggingdowneast.blogspot.com Pam Schaffner

http://demancestralbones.wordpress.com Barbara Butts-Harakal

http://genealogicalhistoryresearch.blogspot.com/ Genealogical Research: past, present, future... Selma Blackmon

http://www.jenealogy.biz/blog Jennifer Alford

http://yourjewishgem.blogspot.com/ Marilyn Robinson

http://talkingboxgenealogy.com Danni Altman-Newell

http://edesorbanfamily.wordpress.com/ Diane Edes

http://oldstonesundeciphered.blogspot.com/ Lisa Wallen Logsdon

http://OneRhodeIslandFamily.com Diane Boumenot

http://ancestoryarchives.blogspot.com/ Melissa Berry

http://www.who-knew-it.blogspot.com Debi Austen

http://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/ Elizabeth Handler

http://jewishgenealogyjourney.blogspot.com/ Elizabeth Handler

http://genealogybyginger.blogspot.com Ginger R. Smith

http://branchingoutthroughtheyears.blogspot.com/ Fran Ellsworth

http://oldtrunkintheattic.blogspot.com/ Laura Mattingly

http://kanabel.blogspot.com/ Juli Whittaker

http://marshallgenealogy.blogspot.com/ Juli Whittaker

http://williamsfamilyroots.blogspot.com/ Juli Whittaker

http://cope-lemons.blogspot.com/ Juli Whittaker

http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ Jana Iverson Last

http://openingdoorsinbrickwalls.wordpress.com/ Cathy Meder-Dempsey

http://footstepspast.blogspot.ca/ Kim Mills

http://bembryroots.com/ Kelly Bembry Midura

http://longwaytotennessee.wordpress.com Kelly Bembry Midura

http://howdidigetherefromafricatonc.blogspot.com Minnie Becton

http://www.lifestoriestoday.com/blog

http://gordonfamhistory.wordpress.com/ Penny Gordon

http://rootstories.wordpress.com/ Tiffiny Neal

http://genealogywithvalerie.wordpress.com/ Valerie Hughes

http://oldbonessearch.com

http://so-many-ancestors.blogspot.com/ Beth Gatlin

http://myobsessivehobby.blogspot.com/ Chris Korstange

http://tjlgenes.blogspot.com / Travis LeMaster

http://tangledrootsandtrees.blogspot.com/ Schalene Dagutis

http://fullcirclefamilyhistory.blogspot.co.uk/ Jo Tillin

http://weallhaveskeletons.wordpress.com/Annette Poland Bergeron

http://starryblackness.wordpress.com/about/ Lynne Black

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/  Barbara Kernos

http://kowalski-bellan.weebly.com/the-spiraling-chains     Emily Kowalski Schroeder

http://kowalski-bellan.weebly.com/growing-little-leaves    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

http://ballbureau.blogspot.ca  Karen Ball-Pyatt

http://jinsalacoblog.wordpress.com/about/     Jeanne Bryan Insalaco

http://untameablegenealogy.wordpress.com/  Lacey Holley

http://pk-pollyblog.blogspot.com Polly FitzGerald Kimmitt, CG

http://genealogyjunkie.blogspot.com/  Terri Buster

http://geneadiva.blogspot.com/     Margaret Tull

http://theroadbackward.com/  Karen Howes

Be  sure and check them out.

Some great blogs in this group!

Wedding Wednesday-James Harve Hamaker and Mary Alice Warnick Carter, Hueytown, AL

Marriage of James Harve Hamaker and Mary Alice Warnick Carter
July 22, 1909

James Harve Hamaker is on of those people who just dropped out of the sky and landed fully grown in Alabama, Although the Hamaker line is pretty well documented in Alabama, I have not been able to place him. His first appearance is in the 1900 census in Jefferson, Alabama:

JEFFERSON   40-PCT

Series: T623  Roll: 21  Page: 171

139/143

HAMAKER, HARVEY, 24, single, born AL ---1876, father unknown, mother AL, coal miner

Meeks, Susan C, 30, sister, born AL Nov 1869, single, father unknown, mother AL

Meeks, Henry, 22 brother, born AL Oct 1877, father unknown, mother AL, coal miner

Harve was born August 8, 1869 per his death certificate.

You would think there would be some clues having Susan and Henry Meeks as his brother and sister. Mysteriously, I have found no earlier census records for them either. No marriage of a Meeks and Hamaker. Harve's death certificate was no help, parents unknown. Still searching.

Harve married Mary Alice Warnick, daughter of George Washington Warnick and Flora Jane Cargo Warnick. Alice was the widow of Samuel Thomas Carter. Samuel died in the Virginia Mines (AL) explosion February 20, 1905. You can read more about him here-- http://bit.ly/1h2IHUA  He left behind not only his widow, but a daughter Dessa and his as yet unborn daughter Flora. Flora was born August 13, 1905.

Mary Alice Warnick Carter, daughters Flora and Dessa

Harve built Alice a house on land origionally belonging to the Huey's, at 3121 Warrior River Rd. Harve raised both daughters, and he and Alice had one son, Roma Neil, born October 12, 1911.

Harve died in 1950, at the age of 81. Alice died in 1970, at the age of 87.

Harve and Alice are buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Hueytown, Jefferson, Alabama

The End is Nigh for Google Reader

With Google Reader being retired July 1, 2013, I have been testing some alternatives. So far the winner seems to be Feedly http://www.feedly.com . 

*I did find an easier way to add blogs to the Feedly reader. It is a bookmarklet that you can just drop to your bookmarks/favorites bar. It can be found here http://www.labnol.org/software/rss-extensions-bookmarklets/27929/ .

After adding this bookmarklet, I can just navigate to a blog and click the button. So far it's working well.
***Update on above. See 

Google pulls malware Twitter and Feedly extensions for Chrome

Finally, There is a widget that can be added to your blog so readers can add your blog to their Feedly Reader http://www.feedly.com/factory.html :

Cick on the button you want for your blog.
If you don't see the design you need create your own using our button kit.