Lost Laborers: The First Burials at St. Joseph Cemetery

Kate Rhea

On a clear, cool night in September of 1883, eleven men arrived on the riverbank in downtown Shreveport to begin their shift, working as hired hands for Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railway. Three young boys, who had been hanging around watching the men as they helped build a throughtruss railroad bridge over the Red River that autumn also showed up that night. At around 8 o’clock, the city was rocked by the sound and force of a powerful explosion. Citizens from the riverfront to Market Street took to the streets to see what had happened. When help arrived, nine out of the fourteen accounted for that night were missing and presumed dead. It would be 48 hours before the body count was made official and 137 years until the victims’ final resting places would be honored.

The tragic incident was a boiler explosion, the cause of which would be debated by experts and never officially decided. It left aghast the citizens of Shreveport and beyond; dramatic headlines such as, “Blown to Eternity,” graced the front pages of faraway publications including The Detroit Free Press, The Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times, shocking readers with the tragic and all too common tale of dangerous work during the Second Industrial Revolution.

Of the fourteen men and boys who showed up for the night shift on September 22, 1883, seven were wounded, one was left miraculously unharmed, five died upon impact or possibly drowned after being blown into the river, and one would succumb to his fatal wounds days later after recounting the harrowing tale.

As the coroner investigated, Abe Gilliland, the only man of color on the job, revealed the series of events of that night from his deathbed. William Thomas, a newcomer on the job, was told to fire up the engine on the boiler as the other men prepared for a long night of hard labor. Minutes later, Thomas noticed steam leaking from a bolt on the boiler – a terrifying sight for an engine operator. He shouted to the foreman W. W. Martin, who ordered everyone away except Abe Gilliland, who was told to put out the fire in the boiler to relieve the pressure. Seconds after Gilliland removed the first piece of firewood out of the belly of the boiler, it exploded, sending all but one of the men and boys soaring violently into the Red River. The three boys, Henry Holman, Willie Watts, and Willie Jones escaped alive, although injured, terrified, and powerless to help the men dying in the river. Martin the foreman survived nearly unscathed. Josiah Watkins was blown into the river, but landed near a driven pile which he held onto as he waited for help. Abe Gilliland was found still on the boat; he was mortally wounded and taken to his home near Butler’s Hill, north of town where he later died. A. D. Wilson and unnamed others were badly injured, but survived. The bodies of John Burke, John Malloy, Al Humphreys, James Summers, and William Thomas were recovered on Sunday after an exhaustive search.

The morning after everyone was accounted for, Pete Scully, contractor for V., S. & P., visited Reverend Joseph Gentille at Holy Trinity Catholic Church to purchase plots for the men to be buried. Rev. Gentille had recently fulfilled his dream of purchasing land to establish Shreveport’s first, and still its only, Catholic cemetery and Scully would become his first paying customer, purchasing Lot 4 of Block 2 between cemetery roads that would later be named “Blessed Virgin,” and “St. Catherine.” Al Humphreys’s body was sent back to Mason City, IA for burial, but the other men were buried at St. Joseph Cemetery later that day, Monday, September 24th, 1883, at the solemnn and well-attended funeral.

No stones were ever placed at the gravesites, no memorial was ever conducted in the 137 years since the tragedy that lead to the first burials at St. Joseph Cemetery. As the Diocese of Shreveport moves forward with restoration plans, we hope to raise money to memorialize these brave men who were tragically struck down while working to make Shreveport better. In the spirit of renewal and remembrance that comes with the start of a new year, we’re reaching out to the Catholic community to help support the placement of footstones and a memorial plaque so that the story of that long and dreadful night will live on in the hearts and minds of our community forever.

“Remembering the dead, caring for their tombs and prayers of suffrage are testimony to confident hope, rooted in the certainty that death does not have the last word on human destiny, as humanity is destined for a life without end, that has its root and its fulfillment in God.” — Pope Francis @ Angelus, St. Peter’s Square, Nov. 2, 2014

To donate, contact Kate Rhea at the Catholic Center, or e-mail krhea@ dioshpt.org for more information.