Kate Shelley
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroad heroine, and the first woman in the United States to have a bridge
Kate Shelley High Bridge
The Kate Shelley High Bridge is among the highest double-track railroad bridges in the United States. It is located approximately 3 miles west of the city of Boone, Iowa....
named for her. She was also one of the few women to ever have a train named after her, the Kate Shelley 400.
Background
Catherine Shelley was born in Loughaun, County OffalyCounty Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Transcriptions of Irish records show her parents, Michael Shelley and Margaret Dwan, to have been married on February 24, 1863. and Catherine to have been baptized on December 12, 1863. However, United States 1880 census records indicate she may have been born in 1865. Her grave site indicates that she was born September 25, 1865 and died January 21, 1912.
The family name was originally spelled Shelly, which is how Kate often wrote her name, but the spelling Shelley was later adopted.
Her father was a tenant farmer
Tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
in Ireland, living on 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) and farming 15 more. The family emigrated
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to the United States when Catherine was still a baby. They at first lived with relatives in Freeport, Illinois
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
, then built a home on 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) at Honey Creek, near Moingona, Boone County, Iowa
Boone County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 26,306 in the county, with a population density of . There were 11,756 housing units, of which 10,728 were occupied.-2000 census:...
and Michael became foreman of a section crew, building track for the Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
.
Michael Shelley fell ill and died in 1878. Margaret was in poor health, so Catherine – by now called Kate – helped support the family by plowing, planting and harvesting crops, and hunting. The 1880 federal census for Worth County, Iowa
Worth County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,598 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,548 housing units, of which 3,172 were occupied.-2000 census:...
showed 35-year old Margaret, 15-year-old Kate, both born in Ireland, and Mary (8), Margaret (6) and John (4), all born in Iowa.
The story
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
of Honey Creek, washing out timbers that supported the railroad trestle
Trestle
A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, especially referring to a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. In the context of trestle bridges, each supporting frame is generally referred to as a bent...
. A pusher locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
sent from Moingona to check track conditions crossed the Des Moines River
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
bridge, but plunged into Honey Creek at about 11 p.m., with a crew of four: Ed Wood, George Olmstead, Adam Agar and Patrick Donahue.
Shelley heard the crash, and knew an eastbound passenger train was due in Moingona about midnight, stopping shortly before heading east over the Des Moines River and then Honey Creek. She found the surviving crew members and shouted that she would get help, then started to cross the damaged span of the Honey Creek bridge followed by the Des Moines River bridge. Although she'd started with a lantern, it had failed, and she crawled the span on hands and knees with only lightning for illumination. Once across, she ran a half-mile to the Moingona depot to sound the alarm, then led a party back to rescue two of the engine crew survivors. Wood, perched in a tree, grasped a rope thrown to him, and came ashore hand-over-hand. Agar couldn't be reached until the flood waters began to recede. Donahue's corpse was eventually found in a corn field a quarter mile downstream from the bridge, and Olmstead, the fireman, was never found. The passenger train was stopped at Ogden, Iowa
Ogden, Iowa
Ogden is a city in Yell Township, Boone County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,023 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', which is a part of the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'....
, with 200 aboard.
The aftermath
The passengers who had been saved took up a collection for her. The children of DubuqueDubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
gave her a medal, and the state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
gave her another one, crafted by Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
, and $200. The C&NW gave her $100, a half barrel of flour, half a load of coal and a life-time pass. The Order of Railway Conductors gave her a gold watch and chain.
News of her bravery spread nationwide; poems and songs were composed honoring her. The railroad built a new steel bridge in 1900, and named it after her
Kate Shelley High Bridge
The Kate Shelley High Bridge is among the highest double-track railroad bridges in the United States. It is located approximately 3 miles west of the city of Boone, Iowa....
. It was the first and, until the Betsy Ross Bridge
Betsy Ross Bridge
The Betsy Ross Bridge is a continuous truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was originally planned as the Delair Bridge, after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by Pennsylvania Railroad , but was instead named for Betsy Ross, reputed creator...
in Philadelphia was opened in 1976, the only bridge in the United States named for a woman. The bridge was rebuilt by the Union Pacific Railroad from 2006 through 2010. The new structure can accommodate heavy trains, features two tracks and can handle two trains simultaneously at a speed of 70 mph. It was opened on October 1, 2009 as the new Kate Shelley Bridge, one of North America's tallest double-track rail bridges. http://www.progressiverailroading.com
Frances E. Willard, a reformer and temperance leader, wrote president Isabella W. Parks of Simpson College
Simpson College
Simpson College is a four-year, coeducational liberal arts institution situated in Indianola, Iowa, USA, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Simpson, which has been fully accredited by North Central Association since 1913, is a small school with approximately 1,400 full-time students...
at Indianola, Iowa
Indianola, Iowa
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,998 people, 4,748 households, and 3,261 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.7 people per square mile . There were 4,981 housing units at an average density of 542.1 per square mile...
, offering $25 toward an advanced education for Shelley. Mrs. Parks raised additional funds for Kate to attend during the term of 1883–84, but she didn't come back the following term.
She became a teacher in Boone County schools until 1903, when the Chicago & Northwestern named her stationmaster at the new Moingona depot, the original having burned down in 1901.
Later in life
In 1890, a ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
newspaper revealed that the Shelley home was mortgaged for $500 at 10% and was near foreclosure. An Armenian rug, woven in the display window
Display window
A display window is a window in a shop displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract customers to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in the front façade of the shop...
of a Chicago furniture store, was auctioned for $500, retiring the mortgage, and other Chicagoans donated an additional $417 before the state of Iowa voted Kate a grant of $5,000.
In July 1896, it was reported that Shelley had applied to the Iowa Legislature for employment in the State House as a menial, because she was destitute and had to support her aged mother and invalid brother.
Although there were apparently men interested in her, including the switchman in the yard at Moingona, Kate Shelley never married, and continued to care for her mother until Margaret died in 1909.
In March 1910, John Rosacker replaced Shelley as temporary agent at Moingona. She was too sick to perform her duties. On April 5, the depot again burned down. It was discovered that $8 was missing from the cash drawer, and in December, Rosacker admitted to setting the fire to cover the theft. He received five years imprisonment for the arson and theft.
Kate Shelley grew sicker and, in June 1911, doctors at Carroll Hospital removed her appendix
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. After a month in the hospital, she stayed with her brother John, and was reported a little better by September, but died on January 12, 1912 from Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
(acute nephritis).
Years later, the Chicago and North Western began operating streamlined passenger trains, and named one the Kate Shelley 400. It operated from 1955 to 1971, although the name was officially dropped in 1963.
Legacy
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...
's Union Pacific/West Line
Union Pacific/West Line
The Union Pacific/West is a commuter rail line provided by Metra and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois, and its surrounding suburbs...
are printed in "Kate Shelley Rose" pink.
The original high steel bridge is currently being replaced with a modern concrete and steel span that will also bear her name.
The Iowa poet and politician, John Brayshaw Kaye
John Brayshaw Kaye
John Brayshaw Kaye was an English-born American poet, lawyer and politician.-Life and works:John Brayshaw Kaye was born in Yorkshire, England, June 10, 1841, the fifth child and the fourth son of Abram and Mary Kaye, in a family of fourteen children...
, wrote a poem in her honor called, 'Our Kate', in his collection Songs of Lake Geneva (1882).