James Nugent was an Irish immigrant, who settled in Sandusky, Ohio.
He was killed in a tragic railroad accident on September 13, 1879. According to
the Sandusky Register of September 15, 1879, five men were returning from their
day’s work on the B and O Railroad, on a hand car. They saw the switch train of
the Lake Shore Railroad approaching. When they applied the brakes on the hand
car, rain on the tracks prevented the brakes from working properly. James Nugent was killed
instantly, and Michael Cassidy was injured seriously. The other three men were
able to jump off the hand car.
Rev. R.A. Sidley officiated at the funeral of James Nugent,
and burial was at St. Joseph’s
Cemtery. James Nugent left behind a wife, Eliza Nugent, and two young sons,
Thomas and James. Mrs. Nugent sued the railroad for damages for her husband’s
death, and in 1885, she was awarded $3000. The case went to the Ohio Supreme Court
before it was finally settled.
Though the monument for James Nugent has 1880 for his death
year, all other records indicate he died in September of 1879. May he rest in peace.
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