Herbert Benson Heller^[1]

1858 - 1943  (85 years)

• Name	Herbert Benson Heller
  Born	25 Jun 1858	Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1901	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Moulder
  Residence	1942	50 Queen St. W., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-82758
  Died	19 Nov 1943	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Buried	Crown Cemetery, Puslinch Township, Wellington Co., Ontario   [3]
  Person ID	I82758	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Adam Heller,   b. 7 Jan 1836, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 3 Aug 1922, Port Elgin, Saugeen Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 86 years)
  Mother	Jane Ann Benson,   b. 1834, , USA ,   d. 30 Jul 1906  (Age 72 years)
  Married	15 Jul 1855	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Family ID	F24418	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret Fraser,   b. 31 May 1871, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1 Aug 1964, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 93 years)
  Married	14 Feb 1894	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  Children	1. Harold "Harry" Heller,   b. 19 Dec 1894, Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 19 May 1964, Freeport (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 69 years)   2. Adam Heller,   b. 11 Mar 1897, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   3. William John Heller,   b. 30 Mar 1899, Port Elgin, Saugeen Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 5 May 1966  (Age 67 years)   4. Gertrude Morganna Heller,   b. 6 Apr 1902, Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1998  (Age 95 years)   5. Donelda Alberta Heller,   b. 25 Oct 1912, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 2 Dec 2008, Cambridge, , Washington, New York, United States  (Age 96 years)
  Last Modified	12 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F21561	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  FATAL RAILROAD WRECK ON THE ELMIRA LINE Fireman Jones Killed Instantly, While Engineer Mitchell, Still Clinging to the Lever, Escapes Without a Scratch. OVER THIRTY PASSENGERS MORE OR LESS INJURED. Walter Jones, Elmira, fireman, killed. Herbert Heller, St. Jacobs, finger broken and arm dislocated. Louis Lienz, Waterloo, face badly injured and otherwise bruised. The scene of the accident was about a mile south of the Heidelberg flag station [close to Farmers' Market in 2009] and two miles north of the Waterloo depot. Through the Clemmer farm [Lot 11, German Company Tract] there is a long curve and just as the end of it was reached, the tender left the track, followed by the engine and passenger and baggage car. At this point there is an embankment of about ten feet on each side of the track. Probably the most fearful and distressing railway accident that has ever occurred in Waterloo County took place on the Elmira branch of the Grand Trunk Railway on Saturday evening. Never, as long as the twenty-five or thirty passengers and train hands live, will they forget the trip. The most miraculous feature of the accident being the marvellous escape of Engineer Mitchell who clung to the lever, while the tender left the rails in rounding a curve and his favorite iron horse plunged after it down the embankment ten feet below. When things came to standstill, he was still at his post, suspended by his arms from the lever and all he had to do was to let go and drop to the ground. The women and children were taken to nearby farm-houses and the men who had limbs broken were carried into the baggage car until medical assistance arrived. SENDING FOR HELP Mr. Clemmer, the farmer who lives close by, was notified of the wreck and immediately hitched up his horses and drove to Waterloo and spread the news. The physicians were all summoned as well as the B & W Hospital [Berlin & Waterloo] Ambulance which was telephoned for. AUXILIARY ARRIVES When the auxiliary train arrived, the first work was to take the passengers on the wrecked train to their destination which was done, the St. Jacobites arriving home about 11 o'clock and the Elmiraites an hour later. The Auxiliary men laid a new track in the place of the old one which had been badly torn up, the ties being strewn in all directions. The baggage car was first placed on the rails and by eight o'clock Sunday morning the passenger car was turned right side up and put on the rails and taken to the Waterloo station. The work of placing the engine in a movable position required the steady work of thirty men all day Sunday and it was about eight o'clock before the wreck was cleared and the track put in a passable condition. ON THE TRAIN Among the passengers on the train were the following: John Linder, Geo. Bulmer, contractor; Mrs. Menno Snider, Jacob L. Umbach, Mr. Linder, Elmira, Miss Jenny, Southampton; Fred Filsinger, Mr. and Mrs. Lenz, two sons and twin daughters, Waterloo; J. Steiss, Fred Zarnke, Otto Zarnke, Mrs. F. Zarnke, Miss Huehnergard, Jacob Fries, John Fries, Berlin; Wendell Bauman, Herb Heller, St. Jacobs and others who names have not been learned. THE INQUEST The body of the fireman was brought down by the auxiliary to Shinn's undertaking establishment about 3: 30 o'clock Sunday morning. An inquest was called by Coroner Dr. J. H. Webb for 11 o'clock Sunday and the jury was sworn in: S. B. Bricker, foreman, Geo. C. Peppler, Robert Stuart, Edgar Fischer, J. Hoffman, J. R. Kaufman, Walton E. Raymo, Julius German, Menno Devitt, Marcus Lewis, Henry Niergarth, W J. Krueber, W. J. Marshall, Ezra Strasser. The jury viewed the body and then adjourned until four o'clock Monday afternoon. Immediately after the Inquest, Coroner Webb and Dr. Noecker performed a post-mortem examination after which the undertaker, Mr. J. K. Shinn, was given charge of the body. At 3 o'clock the casket with the corpse was conveyed to Elmira, where friends awaited its arrival. The injuries to the body were a scalp wound, a blue mark across the forehead and around the neck, caused by the window sashes of the cab striking these parts and severe bruises over the hips, where he was crushed between the cab and the tender. THE DEAD FIREMAN Walter Jones, the unfortunate fireman, was born in Stratford and was aged 25 years. He was married but seven months ago to a young lady from Brampton. He was a fine fellow, tall and rather slender and always deporting himself like a gentleman. He was much thought of by Engineer Mitchell. He has been in the employ of the Galt and Elmira branch for over a year. His grief-stricken widow has the deep sympathy of the surrounding community. He was a member of the Canadian Order of Forresters and Brotherhood of Firemen. The funeral will be held at Stratford on Tuesday morning. CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT There are several theories. Some maintain it was the spreading of the rails while others think that the tender being light, struck a slight jog in the rails and jumped the track. The most likely cause in the minds of the train employees is the latter. The line is a comparatively new one and it is not likely that the rails would spread at this time. The inquest determined that it was an accident, cause unknown. It is estimated that about 4000 Waterloo Countyites visited the scene on Sunday. Excerpts from The Daily Telegraph, Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario, Monday, September 8, 1902 __________________ HELLER, HERBERT BENSON "BERT" A farmer in Puslinch for many years, at his home on Queen St. West in Hespeler, early on Friday afternoon, November 19, 1943, in his 86th year, after a long illness. In recent years, Mr. Heller had not been in good health. Born at St. Jacobs, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Adam Heller, he was the last member of the family. By trade he was a moulder but he spent many years on a farm in Puslinch, and was well known in the community. While on the farm on the 2nd concession, he started a small moulding shop and later moved this business to Hespeler, carrying on for some years in the old Karch Foundry, where the Riverside Foundry is now located. In his younger years, he was well known as a rifle shot and took an interest in the military organizations. In 1933, he was presented with long service medal at Guelph, where he was a member of the Wellington Rifles. He was also a member of the Hespeler Rifle Association. Survived by his wife, Margaret Fraser; three daughters, Mrs. Matt Siegle, Mrs. John Clemens and Mrs. Jack Marquis all of Hespeler; three sons, William of Guelph; Harold of London; and Howard, who is serving overseas with the Canadian forces. Funeral on Mon., Nov. 22 at 2: 30 from the Stager and Co. Funeral Home, Queen St. West in Hespeler. Rev. William Weir, minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church conducted. Pallbearers: Jack Watson, Rex Thomson, Daniel Quinnell, Albert Logan, Harry Gorman and William Dunn. Interment in Crown Cemetery, Morriston, where the service was under the auspices of the Canadian Legion, of which Mr. Heller was a member. A Celebration of Lives Obituaries of Puslinch Township, Wellington Co., Ontario Vol 1, Anna Jackson & Marjorie Clark Used with kind permission of Marjorie Clark

  
  

• Sources

  [S3108] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, 020771-25. Matthew William Siegle, 37, occ. Pattern Maker, b. Puslinch Twp, res. Hespeler, son of Charles Siegle (B. Waterloo Twp) and Mary Woods married Gertrude Morganna Heller, 23, occ. Housekeeper, b. Guelph Twp, res. Hespeler, daughter of Herbert Heller (B. Waterloo Twp) and Margaret Fraser, Witn: Jean Heller and E. Pearl Lloyd both of Hespeler, 2 September 1925 At The Manse in Hespeler [S143] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1901, Hespeler (Village) D-2 Page 11. [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/217962627. [S6] Church Records - ON, Waterloo - Bindeman, F. W. - Card Index Kitchener Public Library. Adam Heller, blacksmith of Woolwich married 15 Jul 1855 in Berlin by banns to Jane Ann Benson, of Elora Twp. wit: George Heller of St. Jacobs & William Neugard of Woolwich [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/217962730.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 25 Jun 1858 - Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 14 Feb 1894 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Moulder - 1901 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1942 - 50 Queen St. W., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 19 Nov 1943 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth