Wednesday, August 11, 2010

John Rudolf Bachman 1875 - 1944


John Bachman and Nellie Fordham 1900
John Rudolf Bachman was born 19 Oct 1875 or 1876 in Eden, UT.  His sister Emma says 1875, his death certificate says 1876, the obituary says 1874, the grave marker says 1875. It appears Emma is right.

Emma: "I have heard mother say she nursed John until he was past three.  He was fine looking and healthy." He had blue eyes and black hair according to his draft registration. John had an eighth grade education according to the 1940 census.  In the 1890's he was a road supervisor in Eden, UT.

He married Nellie Fordham 1 August 1900. The marriage was performed by Justice Joseph Hall. The best man was William Burnett. Attending the wedding were: William H. Stone, H. Hill, A. J. Stallings, M. P. Brown, J Branpuan, Burnett, N.C. Peterson, Lowe, Beverage, Candland, J. Jones, Miss A Branpuan, Mssrs A. Stallings, W Stallings, E. G. Burdick, E. Bradshaw, J. Hall. They plan on living in Carlin, Nevada.

Carlin slogan is "Where The Train Stops...And the Gold Rush Begins"  Carlin was also a major part of the railroad pioneering expansion across the continent and for many years was a main stop on the Southern Pacific route, with maintenance shops, crew quarters ad ice houses based in Carlin's railroad yard.

Nellie died four years later on July 13, 1904.

On February 23, 1808 he was a teamster driving a team of horses at the New Phoenix Mill (Weber County) at the Highland Boy Saturday. The road permitted two teams to pass and both teams were being driven at a high rate of speed.  When John Bachman turned out his sleigh struck a telephone pole and threw him heavily to the ground.  Both bones of his left arm were broken.  He was removed to the city hospital, where the fractures were reduced.  Luckily the team stopped , or a serious runaway might have resulted.

In 1915 he testified in an Weber courtroom that H. L. Child was driving an automobile at an unreasonable speed.  H. L. was found innocent by the jury.

His draft registration 1n 1917 lists his occupation as a farmer.

The 1920 census in Ogden has him as a "lodger" and a RR Car Inspector and says his parents were from Switzerland and is single.
 
On January 28,1926 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, John marries Emma Florence Western (her first husband Edward Sewell) which made him a stepfather to 11 children.  The marriage lasts nine years.  Emma dies 20 Apr 1935 in Ogden leaving eleven children, 35 grandchildren and 20 great grand children.  Her obituary says she lived five years in Delle, UT.  One wonders why a woman with eleven children would move into a desolate train outpost like Delle, UT far removed from civilization.  Emma, her husband Edward, John and his other two wives were sealed respectively after their deaths.

The 1930 census says John is 43 and Emma is 60, living in Delle. Actually Emma is ten years older: 70 and John twelve years older: 55.  We all want to be thought of as younger. Someone might have been drinking that day.

He is a railway watchman on a Steam Railroad.  When a crew is finished with a day’s run, they pull onto siding and leave the steam locomotive in the care of an engine watchman. He cleans out the engine grates, fills the tender with coal, fills the engine boiler with water and maks sure that the firebox produces enough heat so that when the crew returns and is ready to get underway, the steam is immediately available. It was critical to avoid extremes in the boilers: too hot could result in an explosion, too cold and the water lines could freeze and burst.

The 1940 census says he worked 48 hours a week and earned 1600 a year.

Who was John married to lastly?  The 1940 census says Helen J, FamilySearch says Helen J. Fordham Allsworth.  Could his first wife's last name be Allsworth and his last wife have that as her middle name?  Seems unlikely to me.  John's obituary says he left behind Helen Ellsworth, Delle, UT.  Emma Bachman who was John's sister agrees: she says he married Helen Ellsworth.  So I think he married Helen J. Ellsworth (Bachman).  More research needed.

His death certificate lists him as an "Engine Watchman," on the Western Pacific Steam Railroad in Delle, UT. He is renting.  Delle was established in 1880 as a railroad village along the Western Pacific line, primarily as a water depot for steam engines in preparation for the trek across the famous salt flats.

Lanell Bachmana remembers visiting John in the 1940s. John was a "real rounder," lived in Delle, worked for So Pacific RR, fired engines lived in converted RR coaches, drank and had nothing to do with the church. He was living in an old passenger car on a siding in Delle, Utah.  John took Lanell out to an engine and let him pull the throttle and move the engine a  forward.  He was about six feet tall and somewhat thin.  At the time Lanell remembers looking into an empty box car where John threw his empty beer cans and other trash.  John fired the locomotives in the direction of Nevada and let Lanell take the engine forward a few yards.

John died at 69.

Documents related to John Rudolf Bachman:



1894-95 SLC City Directory

 
 
Wives: 
Emma: John married
1.  Nellie Fordham who dies
2.  Emma Florence Western who dies
3.  Helen Ellsworth who is alive at John's death
Familysearch says Nellie had the following marriages:
1.  Elliott Broom Brown 22 March 1897, Ogden, UT
2.  John Rudolf Bachman 1 Aug 1900, Ogden, UT
3.  Angus Scott 1904
     No children.













Ogd Standard, April 21, 1935



Ogd Stand, April 22, 1935








1. Nellie Fordham b 1878 - 1963 m. abt. Aug 1899 died 1904
2. Emma Florence Western (Sewell) 11 children 1860 - 1935
3. Helen Ellsworth wife at the time of his death
On the death certificate Helen J. Bachman is listed as his wife.

Hi, Which Bachmans are attending the Ogden 16th ward together in 1924? 

We have the second wives of two brothers John Peterson (second wife: Bertha Irene Clara Davis) and Jorgen Peterson (second wife: Ethel Claire Altman) 

We also have John Rudolph Bachman's second wife Emma Sewell.  In 1881 She married Edward Sewell and they had 11 children.  Her maiden name was Emma Florence Western (1860 - 1935). After her husband's death in 1922 she kept his last name, Sewell.   So John Bachman is her second marriage.  There you have it.  Three second marriages attending the 16th ward in 1924.  Kent


1890 SLHerald Oct3, 1890 John Bachman






 1899 SL Herald May 2,1899 John Bachman



1900 SLTribune Aug 2, 1900 John Bachman Nellie Fordham





1900 Ogden Standard aug 4, John Bachman








1908 SL Herald Feb241908 John Bachman





1915 Ogden Standard June 9, 1915 John and Joseph Bachman




1917 Draft registratio: 







1920 census:





John's profession in 1920 census:







1924 Ogd Stand Aug 3 



 1930 census:



 An engine watchman does the following:
  • Move freight, stock, or other materials to and from storage or production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships, or containers, by hand or using trucks, tractors, or other equipment.
  • Read work orders or receive oral instructions to determine work assignments or material or equipment needs.
  • Sort cargo before loading and unloading.
  • Attach identifying tags to containers or mark them with identifying information.
  • Maintain equipment storage areas to ensure that inventory is protected.
  • Record numbers of units handled or moved, using daily production sheets or work tickets.
  • Pack containers and re-pack damaged containers.
  • Stack cargo in locations such as transit sheds or in holds of ships as directed, using pallets or cargo boards.
  • Install protective devices, such as bracing, padding, or strapping, to prevent shifting or damage to items being transported.
  • Adjust or replace equipment parts, such as rollers, belts, plugs, or caps, using hand tools.
  • Carry needed tools or supplies from storage or trucks and return them after use.
  • Attach slings, hooks, or other devices to lift cargo and guide loads.
  • Adjust controls to guide, position, or move equipment, such as cranes, booms, or cameras.
  • Guide loads being lifted to prevent swinging.
  • Wash out cargo containers or storage areas.
  • Connect electrical equipment to power sources so that it can be tested before use.
  • Bundle and band material such as fodder or tobacco leaves, using banding machines.
  • Direct spouts and position receptacles, such as bins, carts, or containers so they can be loaded.
  • Shovel material, such as gravel, ice, or spilled concrete, into containers or bins or onto conveyors.
  • Rig or dismantle props or equipment, such as frames, scaffolding, platforms, or backdrops, using hand tools.
  • Carry out general yard duties, such as performing shunting on railway lines.

Emma Florence Western (Stewell) (Bachman) then married John Rudolph Bachman.  He lived in Eden, Weber, Utah.  Emma Florence Western Sewell Bachman died on 20 April 1935 at the age of 75 in Ogden, Weber,Utah and is buried in the Ogden City Cemetery in Ogden, Weber, Utah.

Emma Sewell Bachman Dead

 EMMA SEWELL BACHMAN DEAD Services Set Wednesday in Sixteenth Ward For L. D. S. Worker Emma Sewell Bachman, 75, wife  of John Bachman, died Saturday evening in alocal hospital after a seven month illness. She was born in Beaver, January 9, 1860 a daughter of John and Matilda Poole Western.  When a child her father died and her mother and family came to Ogden.  She had been a resident of Weber county Since that time.   With the exception of five years when she resided in Delle.  She was married to Edward Sewell, April 18, 1876. Who died February 22, 1922.  She was married to Mr. Bachman January 28,1926.  She was an active member of the L.D. S. Church. 

Surviving are the husband and the following sons and daughters:Arthur Sewell, Mrs. Asa West. Mrs Joseph Anderson, all of Ogden;  Mrs John Gibson of West Ogden; Benjamin Sewell of Salt Lake City; Mrs Oscar Allred, Los Angeles; Leonard Sewell, Esconido, Calif;  35 Grandchildren and 20great grand children.   

Two half brothers . Alex McFarland and Archibald McFarland, both of St. Anthony, Idaho andone half sister, Tillie Jones of Hooper.   Services will be held at tow o’clock Wednesday in the L. D.S. Sixteenth ward chapel under direction of Bishop John Gibson. .  The body may be viewed at the residence of a daughter, Mrs. John Gibson 756 West Twenty fourth street, Tuesday eve from 6 –8
The cards in this database serve as an index to “prior service” record files for employees of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Prior service refers to employment with the railroad before 29 August 1935, when the Railroad Retirement Board took control of most railway employee pensions. Employees who retired before 29 August 1935 will not be included in the records, unless they were rehired again sometime after 29 August 1935.
For more information on abbreviations on the cards above and how to locate the prior service files themselves, please consult this Brief Guide to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company’s Prior Service Records at the Kansas State Historical Society.

Item located in Kansas Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Avenue Topeka KS 66615-1099
785-272-8681

The railroads also had an important role in Utah's canned milk industry, which produced both evaporated and condensed milk. In 1904 Utah's, and especially Cache Valley's, dairy industry received a major boost when Sego Milk Products Company opened a condensing plant in Richmond, north of Logan. In 1925 Sego built a processing plant in Hyrum. The Borden Company opened its milk-condensing plant in Logan in 1916. The Morning Milk Company opened a condensing plant in Wellsville in 1923, and sold it to the Carnation Company in 1946. The Sego plant in Richmond was served by the Oregon Short Line, as was the Morning Milk plant in Wellsville. The Sego plant in Hyrum was served by a spur of the Utah-Idaho Central electric line. Borden's Logan plant was served by both the Utah-Idaho Central and the Oregon Short Line.

Current RR in Richmond: There is an old huge plant in Richmond right next to the tracks, but the siding has been taken up.  The next road north use to have an old Wig Wag style crossing singal, but it is now gone too.  Note the working on the crossbuck, "Railroad Crossing, Look Out FOr The Cars".  The signal at Richmond was removed in the summer of 1998.


Ogd Standard, April 21, 1935
Ogd Stand, April 22, 1935

1940 census:



Delle is a small unincorporated community in Tooele County, Utah, along Interstate 80 near the Bonneville Salt Flats. The town has never had more than a few residents and has served primarily as a filling station along the I-80 corridor (and U.S. Route 40 corridor before it). Since the completion of the freeway, the town has essentially become a ghost town.

Delle was established in 1880 as a railroad village along the Western Pacific line, primarily as a water depot for steam engines in preparation for the trek across the famous salt flats. It was originally named Dalles Spring, from a French word referring to water, but railroad personnel later shortened the name for telegraphic efficiency. It possessed a water tower, a reservoir and numerous homes where railroad employees and their families resided from at least 1920 until the  1940s. The inhabitants were primarily Irish, Scot and Greek immigrants. Water was obtained from springs located as far as twelve miles away in nearby mountains (Delle Ranch located along the east bench of Skull Valley being the primary) and piped to the site. After diesel powered engines were introduced, Delle continued as a site station for railroad employees in charge of track upkeep between Wendover, Utah and Salt Lake City. As of the 1950 United States Census, the population was 174.

During the 1950s a filling station and small motel were constructed. The railroad homes were demolished, and the railroad abandoned the site.

Delle was owned by local businessman Karl Wm. Winsness Jr. for most of the 1970s, and water was hauled in by truck from Grantsville. Karl was injured in a propane explosion while remodeling the motel and cafe in the early 1980s.

Delle is ten miles east of Low and sixty-five miles west of Salt Lake City near I-80. It was established in 1880 as a maintenance camp and dispatch center for the Western Pacific Railroad where it crossed the Great Salt Lake Desert. Today it is a gas station, cafe, and siding only. An early name was Dalles Spring but this was shortened to Delle by railroad personnel for telegraphic efficiency. "Dalles" is French and refers to water.



2014 Delle, UT

Remains of the 10,000 gallon capacity water tower next to the Dell tracks.  John Bachman filled the steam engines here.


View from the Delle water tower toward the west, 2014


View from the Delle water tower toward the east, 2014


Remains of Delle buildings from the 1940s























Photobucket











Ogden Ogden Standard-Examiner, The 11 Apr 1944



Photobucket







Death certificate:

Photobucket



Mountain View Cemetery, Eden, UT:



Research:


Emma: "Mother gave birth to her fourth child, John Rudolf, October 19, 1875." The death certificate says 1876 is the date of birth.


John was a "real rounder," lived in Delle Utah, worked for So Pacific RR, fired engines lived in converted RR coaches, drank and had nothing to do with the church. His WWI draft registration lists his birth year as 1875, Emma says 1876. The 1920 census lists him as a "lodger" and a RR Car Inspector and says his parents were from Switzerland and says he was single. His death certificate lists him as an "Engine Watchman." It appears that he had three wives. Nellie died, Emma died and he is listed in the 1940 census as living with Helen J. Ellsworth.  

One interesting fact about him is that his second marriage was to a widow who had 11 children.  So he was the stepfather to 11. 




Notes:
 Lanell Bachman remembers visiting him in the 1940s.  He was living in an old passenger car on a siding in Delle, Utah.  John took Lanell out to an engine and let him pull the throttle and move the engine a few feet forward.  He was about six feet tall and somewhat thin.  At the time Lanell remembers looking into an empty box car where John threw his empty beer cans and other trash.  Joseph fired the locomotives in the direction of Nevada.