I am an avid genealogist. The past is very important to me. I spend a lot of time in cemeteries photographing tombstones to upload on the website FindAGrave.
I enjoy recognizing long dead people by putting memorials to them online. However, every once and a while something grabs me about a specific grave. It could be the name, or the dates or a ceramic photo. In those cases, I feel compelled to dig a little deeper. That's what this series of blogs is about: The tales behind those graves. Some of my subjects will be heroes. Some will be villains. Some will be victims. And some will linger in between, like most of us. However, don't be surprised if the tales are inherently tragic. These are grave tales. They all end in death.
I was recently at Ohr Knesseth Israel Anshe Sfard Cemetery with my lovely wife Deborah marking the locations of the graves of my previous subjects in this series using the GPS function on the Findagrave phone app. (Feel free to visit them and pay your respects!) She called to me when she spotted this ornate monument, saying "Sean, I found a young couple that died on the same day." Even before I saw the grave I knew it would be a grave tale. There's always a tragic story when a young couple dies together. I speculated that they probably died a house fire. Deborah said, "No, it was a car accident." She was correct. Here's the sad fate of Ernest and Dora Blumenfeld.
The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 21 Nov 1931, Saturday:
3 INJURED, 2 BADLY, IN AUTO, BUS CRASH
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Vehicles Collide On Washington Boulevard, Top Of Dead Man's Curve
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Three persons were hurt, two seriously early today when an automobile containing Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Blumenfeld, 1542 North Appleton street, was in collision with a Short Line bus on the Washington Boulevard at the top of Dead Man's Curve between Elkridge and Dorsey. One passenger on the bus, Fred Smith, of New Orleans, was cut on the mouth when he was thrown against a window.
Blumenfeld, 30 years old, was taken to St. Agnes' Hospital with a fractured skull and internal injuries, while his wife, Dorothy, 24 years old, was sent to the University Hospital with similar injuries. Both were unconscious. A blood-transfusion operation was to be given Mrs. Blumenfeld today in an attempt to save her life.
Bus Driver Arrested
Martin Luther Bewley, of Embreville, Pa., driver of the bus, was placed under arrest by State Policeman J.H. Doud and taken to the Halethorpe police station for an investigation.
Bewley told the policeman that he was bound to Washington with three passengers and had just reached the top of Dead Man's Curve when the Baltimore-bound machine suddenly swerved in front of him. Bewley said it was his opinion that the driver suddenly fell asleep at the wheel of the car, causing him to lose control of the car, which crossed the painted white line in the center of the road.
Following the crash, Bewley told the policeman, the other machine was pushed down the steep hill for some distance before he could bring his heavy vehicle to a full stop.
With two unidentified sailors and Smith, the bus driver said he extricated the injured couple from the wrecked car and stopped passing motorists to take them to a hospital. Dr. Hubert Gurley, 5142 Park Heights avenue, happened along a few minutes later and gave first aid. Smith stayed on the bus and later went to a Washington hospital for treatment.
Blumenfeld, a salesman, went to Washington yesterday on business and took his wife along for the ride, according to relatives, but left his two daughters Rene, 5 years old, and Beatrice, 8, at home in care of a maid.
Another Patient Arrives
Soon after Blumenfeld had been admitted as a patient at St. Agnes' Hospital a motorist brought Leon Rice, of 1236 Eleventh street, Washington, to the hospital. The motorist said Rice had been injured in an accident on the Washington Boulevard.
Police were trying to determine whether Rice was in the same accident. Blumenfeld's relatives said they did not know Rice, but that it was possible he was accompanying Blumenfeld home. The bus driver said he found only two passengers in the Blumenfeld machine.
Wow. That was an ugly crash. Obviously, although I knew the couple would soon die, they were still alive at the end of the story. I had to continue researching, if only to find out if the bus driver was indeed culpable for the accident.
The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 23 Nov 1931, Monday:
Funeral of Motor Crash Victims Held
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Mr. And Mrs. Ernest Blumenfeld Were Injured Fatally In Bus Accident
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Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Blumenfeld, who were injured fatally in an automobile crash Saturday, were conducted today at their home, 1542 North Appleton street, by Rabbi Moses L. Rabinowitz. Burial followed in the Hebrew Mount Carmel Cemetery, on the Philadelphia road.
Mr. Blumenfeld died last night at St. Agnes' Hospital, and his wife, Mrs. Dora Blumenfeld, died at the University Hospital, where she had been since the crash. The couple are survived by two daughters, 7 and 9 years old.
The couple were injured when their automobile collided with a bus near Elkridge.
Martin Luther Bewley, driver of the bus, has been released in $2,000 bail for a hearing on December 7 before Magistrate Frederick Gill. The hearing will be held in Elkridge.
Of course, then as today, an accident that serious resulted in a lawsuit on behalf of the children.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 04 Dec 1931 Friday:
VICTIM OF CRASH AWARDED $12,500
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Miss Lillian E. Klingstine Injured In Automobile Accident in 1930
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LAID UP FOUR MONTHS
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Two Suits Ask $85,000 Damages For Death Of Couple, Killed When Bus And Car Collided
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A verdict in favor of Miss Lillian E. Klingstine for $12,500 damages against Mose Edlavitch was returned by a jury in the City Court yesterday before Judge Eli Frank.
Miss Klingstine was injured seriously July 23, 1930, while riding in Mr. Edlavitch's automobile on the Old Annapolis road near Linthicum Heights. The car ran off the roadway and overturned. Mr. Edlavitch lives at 2313 Wichita avenue.
As a result of her injuries, Miss Klingstine, who lives at 3434 Virginia avenue, was incapacitated four months. She underwent a series of operations and treatments for her arm.
Roland K. Adams and Herbert R. O'Conor were counsel for Miss Klingstine.
$85,000 Damages Asked
Two suits, claiming a total of $85,000 damages for the death of Ernest I. Blumenfeld and Dorothy Blumenfeld, his wife, who were killed as the result of an automobile accident on the Washington Boulevard November 21, were filed in the Superior Court.
The suits were instituted against the Great Eastern Stages, Inc., on behalf of Beatrice Blumenfeld, 7, and Rena Blumenfeld, 5, daughters of the couple, and Hyman Blumenfeld, administrator of their estate. Isaac Lobe Straus and Harry Coller, attorneys, filed the suits, which charged the bus company with negligence. The accident occurred when a bus collided with the Blumenfeld machine at the top of Dead Man's Curve between Elkridge and Dorsey.The news in the following story didn't bode well for the Blumenfeld lawsuit.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 08 Dec 1931, Tuesday.
Hit By Auto As She Steps From Behind Trolley Car
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Mrs. Stella Salrokor Taken To Hospital With Possible Fracture of Right Leg
Struck by an automobile as she stepped from behind a trolley car, according to the police, Mrs. Stella Salrokor, 2223 Harlem avenue, was taken to Franklin Square Hospital last night with lacerations and a possible fracture of the right leg.
The accident occurred on Fayette street, near Carrollton avenue, at 7 P.M. John L. Lamkin, of Catonsville, driver of the automobile, was summoned on a charge of reckless driving.
Martin Luther Beuley, of Embreeville, Pa., bus driver whose vehicle crashing into an automobile on the Washington Boulevard November 21, killing Mr. and Mrs. Ernest L. Blumenfeld, of Baltimore, passengers in the car, was exonerated yesterday by Coroner Frederick Gill, of Elkridge.I could not find the results of the lawsuit, but on 15 April 1938, Beatrice and Rena received money in their guardianship accounts. They also received additional money in 1941.
In April 1942, I believe Beatrice married Cecil Levinson. Here's the photo.
She looked happy. I'm glad. In these blogs, I have often considered the loss felt by parents when a child dies. This time I was forced to consider the trauma these two girls must must have felt when they lost both of their parents. It must have been devastating. Somehow, I hope both of them managed to have long and happy lives.
Remember, there is a story behind every grave. You never know what you're missing when you walk past one...
Grave Tales:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Learn more about the book, click
Here.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An IntroductionThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The HouseThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is UsThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, ArrivalThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, MethodologyThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's TaleThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
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