I would like to start a new endeavor here -- finding and recognising the deaths of railway men killed in the course of their duties. Much of the wealth and history of McLean County came from the railroads, but what was the human cost? The deaths are gruesome ones. Men were run over by the cars, crushed between the cars or died of massive blood loss from accidental amputation. Decades would pass before any regulations stemmed the stream of deaths.
Oscar Sheldon was a yardmaster, seemingly a very responsible position. Oscar's tombstone in Evergreen Cemetery indicates that he was also a member of Company I of the 3rd New York Cavalry in the Civil War. This portrait from his visiting card was created during the Civil War. One source states that the decorations on his shoulder indicate he was a lieutenant. In the 1870 census he was a salesman and had a wife, Jennie and one little daughter, Lillie. One mention in the Pantagraph indicates Oscar was working for Joseph Scibird in 1870. Scibird had just sold out his photographic studio and Sheldon was collecting the debts. Census records indicate Oscar was just 41 when he died and Jennie was 30 at that time. Both were from New York. Other records indicate his wife returned to New York, where she is buried.
