Jermyn No. 1 Mine Disaster 1897

Date: 28 Sep 1897
Location: Rendham, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Surnames/tags: Mine Disaster Pennsylvania Disasters

Jermyn and Company Jermyn No. 1 Mine Fire Rendham, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania September 28, 1897 No. Killed – 5

Scranton, Pa., Sept. 29. -- Five men yesterday afternoon met a horrible death from "blackdamp" after the accumulation of fire in the Jermyn No. 1 mine, near Rendham

Victims are:

Isaac Watkins, fire boss, 55 years old, leaves a wife and one child, Rendham
William Tomkins, 22 years old, single, boarded with Watkins
Joseph Smith, 35 years old, wife and one child, Mudtown
John Gallagher, 42 years old, wife and seven children, Minooka
William Franklin, 26, years old, wife, Rendham

Since last Tuesday the fire had been raging in the mine. The men who lost their lives represented one "shift." They went on duty at 3 o'clock, and nobody knew of their death until the discovery of the lifeless bodies. Not a man in the party survived to tell the story. In the case of each body the head pointed toward the shaft, indicating that they had groped and struggled toward the shaft for fresher air while suffocation was overtaking them.

Sources

https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/jermyn.htm