Mary Delongoroska and the Silent Train

Mary or Marianna (Delongoroska) Sinaka, 2nd great grandmother of my ex-husband, was born in Prussia (sometimes shown as Poland, other times as Germany) about 1832. She married Joseph Sinaka (presumably in Poland, since their child Walter is shown as being born there around 1870). 

It's unclear exactly when Mary and her family emigrated to the United States, but by the fateful day of 25th of August 1892, she was living in Browntown in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware. While I know nothing about their circumstances here in the United States, I would assume they were not very well off, because on this day Mary and her 5 year old grand-daughter were near a bridge picking up coal by the side of the railroad track, ostensibly to be used for heating their home.

Mary was 60 years old and deaf. I'm sure she was used to the train coming by each day, and knew when to expect it. But on this day, depending on the newspaper account you believe, the express train to Washington was running anywhere from 15-30 minutes late and was coming around the curve at a decent clip. Her grand-daughter heard the train coming and tried to grab her hand an get her off the track. I'm surprised Mary couldn't feel the rumble of the train approaching, but maybe she thought she had enough time. We'll never know what might have been running through her mind. In any case, Mary didn't understand the danger the child was trying to warn her of and didn't cooperate. The train was a silent giant bearing down on them. Ultimately, the child had to let go of Mary and had the wherewithal to save herself.

The Evening Journal, Wilmington DE
25 Aug 1892 Page 1

Mary was killed instantly by train number 51, engine number 75 of the the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (P.W.&B.) It's gut wrenching to see the descriptions of what happened to her. "Her legs were crushed" and she was "considerably mangled". Then, almost like trash on the side of the road, The Evening Journal said her "remains were gathered up and brought to the hospital room" at the railroad. Later the coroner had them taken to the morgue.

The Morning News, Wilmington DE
26 Aug 1892 Page 1

The coroner held an inquest. The jury determined it was an accidental death and I'm quite sure it was. They didn't need an inquest to figure this out. Mary didn't intend to get run over in front of her 5 year old grand-daughter, and the conductor certainly didn't set out to intentionally hit her. Mary was blamed for her carelessness and for trespassing on the railroad's property. While I certainly understand the blame ultimately fell to her for being on the track, it's heart breaking to think she died while trying to scrounge some coal, most likely to keep the family warm. And with no liability falling to the railroad, thanks to the inquest, her family was left to deal with the aftermath on their own. 

Her husband Joseph must have been devastated. They came here for a new life, a better life, but Mary lost her life. He eventually passed away in 1912. I've been unable to determine which child was with Mary. Walter didn't have any children born at the right time to have been 5 years old (unless it was one of his 3 children who passed away before the 1900 census...the first census I've been able to find him in). More likely, he had siblings who also came to America and it may have been one of their children. Regardless, the trauma suffered by the poor innocent girl must have been unimaginable. She tried (and failed) to save her grandmother and barely escaped being hit herself. I can't even conceive what must have been going through her mind as she stood alone, scared and traumatized on the side of the track with the remains of her grandmother in front of her. I can only hope her family told her over and over it was not her fault. While I hope she was able to move past it, I suspect the images probably haunted her the rest of her life. I'm not sure that's something anyone could get over. The train conductor must have been impacted as well. I'm sure at the time, people being hit by trains was not uncommon, but I would imagine it was still very difficult knowing what happened, even if it wasn't his fault.

Below is the best and most thorough account of the accident I've found. There were numerous articles written, but most were short on anything but the grizzly details.

Delaware Gazette and State Journal
01 Sep 1892

I still have much research to do on this branch of our family and I hope I'll find more on Mary. I follow the blog A Family Tapestry, written by Jacqi Stevens, and I know from her experiences, Polish family history can be very challenging to research. I'm not sure how much I'll learn, or when, but it seemed fitting tonight to honor Mary...an immigrant who came here for a better life...and ended up losing her life instead.

Note: Newspapers from 1892 are in the public domain and are no longer under copyright. For more information on copyrights read this wonderful post by The Legal Genealogist

Image by Steve Brandon from Pixabay