This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Drysdale Clements
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/IQB.2ACE/58.57.63.64.68.1
Message Board Post:
I don't know if you've seen the Drysdale Family Plot in the Mason Cemetery,
Virginia City. The location description would be the northwest corner, row one, East side,
site #184.The inscription on his tombstone reads on the east face:
Wm. Drysdale, Died June 20, 1880 Aged 50 Ys 8 Ms A Native of Scotland
the next side reads:
Margaret Clements, 1851-1937
In case you didn't have the details on the accident, from the Territorial Enterprise
in reference to Mr. Drysdale's death the following was printed:
A Scotchman by birth, William Drysdale worked for the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company
when his fatal accident occurred. About 9:00 A.M. on June 16, 1888, he was transporting
timber with John Hanna and Andrew Fitzgerald on a double decker cage to the 1300-foot
level. The men would secure the lumber on the top level, but held the timber in place as
they moved it from level to level.
As the cage moved to the 1300-foot level, one of the planks slipped from William Drysdale
grasp and swung outward catching a wall plate. The cage suddenly jarred, throwing its
guild off and catching Drysdale between the timber and the side of the shaft.
William Drysdale suffered a fractured collarbone; several broken ribs and a pierced left
lung, causing internal hemorrhaging. He lived five agonizing days before dying on June 21,
1888. He was married with six children.