Sidney Lloyd Bates, Elvyn E. Dougherty, Marvin B. Seng, and Charles O. “Coyl” Johnson were the victims of the DeAutremont brothers’ crime on October 11, 1923. All four are described as “faithful employees” who were “respected and beloved by those who knew them.” (Southern Pacific Bulletin, November 1923)
In this letter, Chief Special Agent O’Donnell from the Southern Pacific Company responds to a request from district attorney Borden for the personal records of Engineer Sidney Bates, Fireman Marvin Seng, and Brakeman Charles Johnson, all employees of the Southern Pacific Company. (Southern Oregon Historical Society LIB2016.4.1)
Sidney Lloyd Bates, engineer for the Southern Pacific Shasta Division, was shuttling Train 13 to its destination when he was forced off the engine and shot by the DeAutremont brothers. Born December 30, 1871, in Norwalk, Ohio, Bates was 51 years old at the time of his death. Bates was a veteran and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers labor union. He was also a member of several fraternal organizations, including the Dunsmuir Lodge No. 297 of Free and Accepted Masons, the Cyrus Chapter of the Royal Arch of Yreka, and the Dunsmuir Pyramid No. 22 of the Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots. He had worked for Southern Pacific since 1894 and had received promotions and merits for unusually good work during his tenure with the company. Bates was residing in Dunsmuir, California, with his wife at the time of the tragedy. He is buried at Sunset View Masonic cemetery in El Cerrito, California. (Courtesy findagrave.com)
Elvyn E. Dougherty was the United States mail clerk killed in the Train 13 mail car explosion. Dougherty was 35 years old and was residing in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and son at the time of his death. The Alturas Plaindealer of October 19, 1923, reported that Dougherty was preparing for a vacation at Lakeview to hunt ducks just prior to the tragedy. He is buried in Reno, Nevada. (Southern Oregon Historical Society)
Elvyn Dougherty as a young mail clerk. (Courtesy of the Dougherty family)
Dougherty was survived by his wife Blanche (left) and his son Ray (right), pictured here later in their lives. (Courtesy of the Dougherty family)
Marvin Benjamin Seng was working as the fireman on Train 13 when he was shot by the DeAutremont brothers. Seng was born in Oklahoma in 1900. He was living with his wife Charlotte Seng and young daughter Marjory in Dunsmuir, California, at the time of the tragedy. Seng was a member of the Mount Shasta Lodge No. 312 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen. Only 23 years old at his death, Seng’s obituary in the Dunsmuir News notes that he was “one of the popular young firemen of this city.” He is buried in Dunsmuir, California. (Courtesy ancestry.com, Oregon Death Records, 1864-1970/i. Salem, Oregon: Oregon State Archives)
Marvin Seng’s gravestone at the Dunsmuir, California, cemetery and detail of the logo of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Fireman and Enginemen. (Courtesy Bruce Shoemaker)
Charles Orin “Coyl” Johnson was an off-duty brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railway traveling as a passenger on Train 13. He was shot by the DeAutremont brothers as he advanced to the front of the train to offer aid following the explosion. Johnson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1886, but moved to Medford, Oregon, as an infant and proceeded to spend most of his life there. He was one day shy of his 37th birthday at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife Ruby; his two sons, Albert and Lavern, preceded him in death. Johnson was a member of the Order of Railway Conductors and the Order of Railway Employees labor unions out of Dunsmuir, California. He is buried in Medford, Oregon’s Independent Order of Odd Fellows Eastwood Cemetery. (Photo courtesy Emma Walruff)
