Here is an interesting Ball Watch Co. sleeper I found on eBay for $9 a couple of weeks ago. It is a Pass cardholder from the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen convention held in Buffalo New York in 1905.

Back cover

It came with an interesting card concerning the merits of using 17 & 19 jewel watches in railroad service:

Modern Operating Judgment

When General Managers of railroads and other operating officials are considering up to date machinery and equipment for their systems they demand strength, simplicity, durability and light cost of maintenance -- experience teaches that complicated machinery is both dangerous and expensive.
As a means of safety and economy, such officials are recommending the desirability of their men purchasing and using in-service 17 and 19 jewel watches -- further jewels are recognized as unnecessary complicating the mechanism and increasing its liability to wear and injury at the cost of strength and durability.
When selecting a watch for railroad service, carefully study all the points of safety involved, and make sure that you are not persuaded to purchase a hat full of jewels and trouble -- choose a strong, simple mechanism that can always be depended upon for reliable and correct time and that can be maintained at light expense.

The Pass cardholder contained a roster of the delegates to the Seventh biennial convention of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen held in Buffalo, New York on May 5, 1905 there were 713 registered delegates at this convention who would have received these convention souvenirs.

These pass cardholders would have been a good way for Webb C. Ball to advertise his B. of R.T. Standard watches.

Larry

Thanks Lindell here is a business card from the original owner of the watch inspection cardholder
George P. Beeler

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Convention photo Buffalo, New York, May 1905

Larry

I don't think you have ever posted one thing I didn't wish I owned. Whenever you post something I start thinking I should just give all my stuff to Larry, we have the same taste in items & I will never have the collection you do!

Here is George Phillip Beeler's WWI Draft Card, he was born in Kansas.

Tom

Hello Tom:

Thank you once again for adding some genealogy to the owner of this Ball item. There are a few other people in the picture holding their Lodge No. Cards, now I have a list of the delegates names, it will be interesting to see what we can find out about them.

Larry

Hi Larry

If you want to either post or email me some names I will see what I can find.

Tom

Here is a Delegates convention medal from Lodge 577 it's been in my collection for a few years now, now that I have a roster of the delegates I find out it belonged to H.A. Adams, from Kansas City, Missouri, maybe Tom can find this some more information on him.

Larry

Larry
Do you know he was from Kansas City or just a member out of that lodge?

I found a H.A. Adams in the 1920 census living in Salina Kansas, he was born about 1884 in Pa. & he is listed as a railroad engineer.

Tom

Hello Tom:

Yep yes I believe he would've worked out of Kansas City, Missouri. And working as a trainman, it would be very doubtful that he would be a locomotive engineer.

Larry

Larry

I will see if I can find another HA Adams.

This might be the right one mentioned in the July 1915 issue of "The Railroad Trainmen" published by the BofRT.

Hello Tom:

You might have the right one there, he shows us the Financer of Lodge 577 in the June 1905 Directory of the Railroad Trainman, it shows his address in Kansas City, that might help you.

Larry

I finished compiling a spreadsheet on the Delegates that attended the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Buffalo Convention in 1905. I have enlarged some portions of the official Convention Photo and have found some of the delegates here is a photo of two of them standing under the street lamps on the left-hand side of the photograph they are from left to right Delegate A. Edlund from Lodge 281, Kansas City, Kansas and
Delegate A.B. Canfield from Lodge 68, Ogden, Utah, now let us see what our History Detective Tom can find out about these men.

Larry

Larry

You gave me some hard ones here.

So far I haven't been able to locate anything on Edlund, I assume to be a delegate you would have been employed by the railroad right?

A.B. Canfield in the 1900 Federal census was living in Ogden Utah with his wife Helen. He was born about 1875 in Utah & is listed as a railroad brakeman in the census.

I think I found A. Edlund, in the 1900 Federal Census for Kansas City Kansas there was a Alfred Edlund born July 1873 in Ma, he is listed as a brakeman. He is married to Lula, they have a daughter Mildred age 3 & a son Raymond 10 months.

In 1910 he is still in Kansas City but is listed as a pilot Railroad, I am not familiar with the term pilot dealing with the railroad.

This is from the 1908 Kansas City city directory

Here is his city directory listing in 1905, the year of your photo.

Great work Tom, yes delegates must be members of a Lodge, and the Lodge must be in good standing in order for the delegate to receive his credentials to represent his Lodge at the international convention.

Alfred Edlund shows as a pilot on the Missouri Pacific Railway in Kansas City. In a large terminal like Kansas City where many different railroads operated, pilots were used to bring trains safely in and out of the terminal, especially for crews that were unfamiliar with the characteristics, and rules of the location.

Larry

How cool is that? Borrowing from maritime terminology! The job is very similar, a difficult job of navigation handed over to an expert on the local peculiarities. That makes a lot of sense.

Thanks for the info Larry, I had wondered what that term meant, I think it is the 1st time I ever saw that listed for a railroad worker.

I am ready for more names.

Tom

I see that H.A. Adams served on one of the Convention Committees the "Reports of Grand Lodge Officers"

Here is another photo showing the following delegates from left to right wearing cap from Lodge 709 Minot, North Dakota, Brother C. W. Gates, behind him from Lodge 91 Savanna, Illinois, Brother William Carrell, and to the left of the man holding a scroll in the front center from Lodge 69 Oswego, New York Brother John Fitzgibbons.

Nothing yet on C.W. Gates.

William Carrell in the 1900 census for Savanna, Carroll, Illinois was born about 1871 in Pa. & is listed as a brakeman. He is married to Jennie & has two daughters. By 1920 he is still living in the same location but now is listed as a conductor on a steam railroad. His wife is still with him but the children are not listed, his mother Amelia is living with them

There was a John Fitzgibbons listed in the 1930 census for Oswego, Oswego, New York who was born about 1869 in New York, he is listed as Leg. Rep. Bro. R.R. Trainmen

Great work once again Tom, a lot of the delegates were Lodge Officers, and Officials, and many states had Legislative Representatives who lobbied for safer working conditions for their membership.

I've attached a photo showing some of the Grand Lodge Officers the two men with mustaches, and overcoats sitting on both sides of the man with a bowler hat in the middle are on the left A.E. King Grand Secretary-Treasurer, and Paul H. Morrissey Grand Master to the right.

This is such a great photograph, the more I look at it, the more I find, sitting a couple rows back from the Grand Lodge Officers is a delegate holding a baby. This child would be over 105 years old now.

Albert E. King was born Sept. 1860 in New York. In 1900 he is living in Cleveland Ohio & is listed as the Secretary Treasurer Trainmen, he is married to Myra S. (06/1860 NY). Also living with them are daughters Pearl (12/1884 NY) & Irene G. (06/1890 NY)

From "The Railroad Trainmen, Volume 25 1908

Patrick H. Morrissey was born Sept. 11, 1862 in Bloomington, Illinois. In 1880 he took his 1st position as the clerk to the master mechanic of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. The same year he became a freight & passenger brakeman & was later promoted to freight conductor on that road. In 1885 he resigned & accepted a position as clerk in the Grand Lodge of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Three years later he resigned & took a position with an insurance company.

At the convention held at St. Paul, MN in 1889, he was elected to the office of the First Vice Grand Master of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.

The 1900 census for Galesburg, Knox, Illinois shows he was born Sept 1863, he is listed as Grand Master of B of RT. He is married to Anna K. (08/1865 Il.)there is a daughter Helen M. (08/1899) & mother-in-law Helen Brechwald (05/1836)living with them.

Mr. Morrissey apparently died in Nov. 1916. This is from the Hamilton Evening Journal Hamilton Ohio 11/29/1916

Here is an interesting bit of information from the June 1905 Railroad Trainmen that had an article on the conventions highlights it's about a presentation of a Ball PRT Standard pocket watch.

part two