Lonnie Wheeler 1883-1956
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| Lonnie & Anna Wheeler |
Born: 28 Jan. 1883, White Co., IL
Died: 27 Mar. 1956, Wayne City, Wayne Co., IL
Buried: Thomason Cemetery, Wayne City, Wayne Co., IL
Married: 21 Dec. 1904 at Jacob Erkman's home
Anna Erkman
Born: 29 Oct. 1883, Herald's Prairie Twp., White Co., IL
Died: 6 Nov. 1975, Albion, Edwards Co., IL
Buried: Thomason Cemetery, Wayne City, Wayne Co., IL
Records:
1900 - June 2 - IL, White Co., Mill Shoals - census:
Wheeler, Nathan, b. Jan. 1856, 44 md. unknown number of years, b. IL, father b. KY, mother b. IL, timber inspector, owns mortgaged home
Rebecka, b. June 1858, 41, md. unknown number of years, 2 children, 2 living [mistake 3 children listed in this census], b. IL, father b. IL, mother b. IL
Verna, daughter/sister, b. June 1860, 39, md. 1 year, 0 children, b. IL, parents born IL [sister is written over daughter]
Vernet [Lonnie], son, b. Feb. 1881, 19, b. IL, parents born IL, day laborer
Vernon [Donnie], son b. Jan. 1883, 17, b. IL, parents born IL, day laborer
Allen, William, son-in-law, b. July 1886, 18, b. IL, father b. TN, mother b. England, telegraph operator
1904 - Dec. 21 - IL, White Co., Herald's Prairie, Jacob Erkman's home:
Mr. Lon Wheeler and Miss Anna Erkman were united in marriage at the home of the bride 1 1/2 miles east of Enfield yesterday evening. Rev. C.B. Whiteside performing the ceremony.
Mr. Wheeler is the son of Mr. W.N. Wheeler, of Mill Shoals and Miss Erkman is the daughter of Mr. Jacob Erkman, of Enfield township.
Quite a number of guests were present and a number of nice presents were received. They go to Mill Shoals this afternoon where they will make their future home.
Marriage Certificate witnesses: Jacob Ehrhardt, Verna Allen
Guests: Alonzo Bolen, May Jordan, Ernest Jordan, Hattie Hays, Lena Ehrhardt, Jacob Ehrhardt, Ruth J. Hayes, Carrie Ehrhardt, Donald Wheeler, Sophia Erkman, Maggie Dietz
1910 - May 23 - IL, White Co., Enfield Twp., census:
Wheeler, Lonnie, head, 27, md. 1 time, 5 years, b. IL, father b. IL, mother b. IL, works on farm
Anna, wife, 26, md. 1 time, 5 years, b. IL, father b. Germany, mother b. Germany
living next to Fredericka Erkman, Anna's mother
1920 - Jan. 19 - IN, Marion Co., Anderson - census 220 Noble Street:
Jordan, Ernest, head, owns, mortgage, 35, literate, b. IL, parents b. IL, laborer, motor co.
Sophia, wife, 34, literate, b. IL, parents b. Germany, spoke German
Freda M. daughter, 9, attended school, b. IL, parents b. IL
Wheeler, Lonie, brother-in-law, 36, literate, b. IL, parents b. IL, laborer, motor co.
Anna, sister-in-law, 36, literate, b. IL, parents b. Germany, spoke German
Erkman, Henry, brother-in-law, 30, literate, b. IL, parents b. Germany, spoke German, laborer, moter co.
Edna, sister-in-law, 22, literate, b. IL, parents b. IL, laborer, motor co.
Harold, nephew, 3 4/12, b. IL, parents b. IL
1930 - April 2 - IL, White Co., Mill Shoals, census:
Wheeler, Lonnie, head, owns home valued at $1000, 47, md. 21 years, b. IL, father b. IL, mother b. IL, engineer steam sawmill
Anna, wife, 46, md. 21 years, b. IL, father b. Germany, mother b. Germany
Rebecca F., mother, 66, b. IL, father b. MO, mother b. IL
1940 - April 6 - IL, White Co., Mill Shoals, census, east side of state highway:
Own home valued at $1800
Wheeler, Lonnie, 57, md. completed 6th grade, b. IL, lived same home in 1935, overseer, farm
Anna, wife, 56, completed 6th grade, b. IL, lived same home in 1935
Rebecca, mother, 78, completed 6th grade, lived same home in 1935, answered supplemental questions: father b. IL, mother b. IL, speaks English, no social security card, age at first marriage 19, number of children born 5.
1942 - Illinois, White Co. - World War II Draft Registration:
Lonnie Wheeler of Mill Shoals, White Co., IL, age 59, b. White Co., Jan. 28, 1883, Illinois
Name of Person Who Will Always Know Your Address: Anna Wheeler, Mill Shoals, IL
Employer: A.J. Poorman, Fairfield, IL
Place of Employment: Mill Shoals, White Co., IL
White, Height: 5'8", 165 lbs. blue eyes, brown hair, ruddy complexion
1956 - March 27 - IL, Wayne Co., Wayne City - article about Lonnie Wheeler's death :
Lon Wheeler Victim of Train Crash - Turns into path of long freight in downtown area
It was time, and past, to plan for spring. Take those chickens for instance. Some of the older ones should be sold and replaced with younger stock.
Lonnie Wheeler, 73, of Wayne City, a retired factory worker and former overseer of the A.J. Poorman farms, told his wife he thought he’d just drive down to the poultry house and see about it.
He drove slowly along Robinson st. beside the southern Railway Co. tracks. He approached the Main st. intersection and stopped for the highway.
Then he eased his 1950 Mercury sedan into a right hand turn, over the railroad tracks – and directly into the path of a 93 car through freight thundering along at 45 miles per hour.
He was killed instantly. The time was 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.
“I saw the car making the turn, slowly,” James E. Madley, Princeton fireman, testified at the inquest yesterday. “I thought he was going to stop. I thought he saw the train. But then he seemed to speed up a little as if he was trying to get away.
“The man looked up at me just before the collision.
“I hollered for emergency brakes. The whistle was going full blast and had been for some time. The bell was ringing and the light was on. I don’t know why he couldn’t see the train.”
The car was demolished. Mr. Wheeler was dead soon after help reached him and before he could be removed from the front seat. He uttered no word.
The train, its wheels tearing at the rails, stopped, Mr. Madley said within 31 or 32 car lengths. This would be about a quarter of a mile.
At the inquest yesterday afternoon in the Richardson Funeral Chapel Ace Draper, a Wayne City trader, testified he was only a few feet from the crossing when the accident occurred.
He said he, too, saw the car stop at the intersection and turn into the path of the train. He said the engine hit the automobile as the rear wheels were about the middle of the track.
Mr. Draper, however, insisted that he did not hear the train whistle as he walked toward the train immediately before the crash.
“I saw the signal lights flashing at the intersection,” he said, “but that didn’t mean anything. Men had been working on the tracks and the signals had been flashing all day. I went through the crossing myself four or five times with the light on and the bell ringing – and no one was there and no train was coming.”
Later Mr. Draper testified he believed the train must have been going 65 to 70 miles an hour. He said the engine, a four-unit diesel, stopped near the home of Roy Rainwater eight blocks away.
But W.I. Higdon who lives near the scene testified he was standing in his front door when the accident occurred. He said:
“I saw the car coming onto the track, moving slowly. I thought he was going to get across. I knew the train was approaching, I heard the whistle. I couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t see the train. I thought at first he was going to stop before he went onto the tracks.”
A.W. Ragan, white-haired Princeton engineer and veteran of 43 years of railroad service, testified the train was going 45 miles an hour.
He said he didn’t notice the car until it turned toward the tracks. “When I saw he wasn’t going to stop I put the brakes on. The whistle had been blowing for some time.”
“Could he have seen the train until he made the righthand turn at the intersection?” asked C.L. Wood, a juryman.
“He could see it after he turned west,” Mr. Ragan answered.
“That would be a little late,” Mr. Wood observed.
It was Mr. Wood who drew from Mr. Draper the 65 to 70 mile speed estimate.
Ernie Richardson, deputy coroner and Wayne City funeral director, testified he was at his desk near the railroad when he wasn’t sure about the whistle. He said he heard the trains so often he paid no attention to the whistle.
He testified that, in addition to minor injuries, Mr. Wheeler suffered a broken neck, broken back and crushed chest, any one of which could have caused his death.
The jury, sworn in by Coroner Bob Johnson, brought in a verdict of accidental death and added:
“The jury recommends that the Southern Railroad install more prominent and better visible warning signs east on Robinson st.”
The jury reached its verdict within a few minutes and the entire inquest was completed within a little more than an hour.
Members of the jury in addition to Mr. Wood were Curtis Lee Englebright, Roy Austin, Connie Allen, Chal Thomason and Don Wells.
Both the engineer and fireman testified they did not return to the accident scene after the crash but stayed with the locomotive. The train conductor was at the scene.
Mr. Ragan told the Record that this was the first crossing death he had been involved in since he became an engineer in 1942.
Neither he nor any of the other trainmen were involved in other railroad – car collisions that have occurred in this area during recent months, Mr. Ragan said.
Funeral services for Lonnie Wheeler of Wayne City, formerly of Mill Shoals, were conducted at 2 p.m. today at the Richardson Chapel in Wayne City.
The Rev. Cameron Harmon, pastor of the Methodist Church in Wayne City, was to officiate with burial in the Thomason Cemetery there.
Mr. Wheeler was killed at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday in a railroad-car collision in the heart of Wayne City’s business district.
He was born Jan. 28, 1883, in White county, the son of William Nathan Wheeler and the former Rebecca Frances Taylor. He was married at Enfield in 1904 to Anna Erkman, who survives.
Also surviving is a foster daughter, Trixie Ann Erkman; one brother-in-law, Henry Erkman of Wayne City and a sister-in-law Sophia Jordan of Evansville.
Mr. Wheeler was employed for nearly ten years by Airtex Products Inc. before his retirement. Previously for many years he was farm overseer for A.J. Poorman, Fairfield banker.
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| Trixie (Erkman) Lathrop |
William John b. 11 Feb. 1914, d. 11 Feb. 1914, buried Thomason Cemetery, Wayne City, IL
Bernice Iona b. 14 Jan. 1918, d. 14 Jan. 1918 buried Thomason Cemetery, Wayne City, IL
Trixie Erkman - Anna (Erkman) Wheeler's niece that they raised
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| Infant Son & Dau. of L. & A. Wheeler |
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