Friday P.M.Dear Aunt Emma.
O! this is such a terrible time, twenty poor men lying dead in this city from that terrible accident; and three of them men whom we all loved, allmost [sic] like Brothers, and dear Charlie one of them O! it seems allmost, more than we can bear, it is just too appalling to think of. I fear for its result upon S.T. he poor man was at the depot when the the [sic] bodies or injured ones were brought in, and he cannot forget the sight poor Charley was covered with bandages, his face covered but he could not see, yet he was conscious, and being under the influence of Morphine he did not realize his pain as much, he talked all he could & tried leave his affairs, & his last words were to tell S.T. how much he loved him, he gradually sank away gone after about five hours, he was so brave through it all, asked for Mr Morgan & when told they could not find him said "poor Tom," he said, "they were siting [sic] side by side when the crash came," but Mr. Morgans death must have been instant we think, as he was so burned he was only identified by his ring & collar number.
Poor Grandma Wellman was spared this shock, & he has gone to her so soon. Bertha is keeping up bravely, but there is plenty left to care for her, Charley provided for her & the children through insurance & his home the funeral will be tomorrow private services at each home, & public service together at the Church hundreds of Telegrams have come to us full of sympathy, those two men were unusually popular universally loved, poor Sam! how he will miss them, & he so devoted to Charly, I dont know what will be done, strange Providence is this, but if only we can cling, & not lose hold of the Almighty arm, He will take us through in peace, but it is hard for poor weak mortals to say "Thy will be done."
I will send you papers, but I allmost wish I did not have to.
With love to Uncle George Abbie & much for yourself,
I close lovingly Mina.[Charles Henry Wellman was Emma Cogswell Turner's nephew; his mother was Emma's sister. His wife's name was Bertha. Charles died in a Mentor, Ohio train wreck on June 22, 1905. The train ran into an open switch and jumped the track, landing in a ditch. At least nineteen people died in the wreck, including Charles, general manager of the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Engineering Company in Cleveland, and Thomas Morgan, who also worked for the company. S.T. is Samuel Thomas Wellman, who was Charles Henry's half brother. Grandma Wellman is Emma's sister Mary Abigail, who passed away on Jan 2, 1905. Mina is S.T.'s sister.]