James Charles McGregor

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: 9J2S-87Y
• _UID: 0D782A24DC2842CCA537A40DC09838C4C67E

Notes:

Died:
From the Lake County Independent, Friday, November 15, 1907

Death of Jas. McGregor

News of the death of James McGregor, who has been living in California for several years past, reached here last Friday.

He was killed in a railroad accident Thursday afternoon about three miles from his home in San Bernardino.

Mr. McGregor was well-known in Libertyville having resided here a number of years and was also a member of the village board. For a long time he was a conductor on the milk run between Chicago and Janesville. He belonged to a good Scotch family and has relatives in Libertyville, Waukegan, Wadsworth and Lake county. The remains reached here Thursday.

The funeral will be held Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock under the auspices of the Libertyville Masonic lodge. Burial in Lakeside cemetery.

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From the Lake County Independent, Friday, November 22, 1907

Funeral Services Jas. C. MacGregor

Remains Brought from San Bernardino and Buried at Lakeside Cemetery last Friday

James C. MacGregor was born in Hampshire, Scotland, June 27 1858. He came to America with his parents in 1872. They settled in Lake county, Illinois, where he resided until he moved to California three years ago. Mr. MacGregor was married at Millburn June 3, 1885, to Isabelle Sutherland. They came to Libertyville to live, he being employed as train baggage master on the C. M. & St. Paul Railway. They lived in Libertyville 19 years. After going to California Mr. MacGregor still followed the vocation of railroad service moving his family there and residing in San Bernardino. He met his death by accident while performing his duties as conductor on the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. A widow and three children survive him, Henry and Leslie are employed, Charlie still being at school. All are making their home with their parents. Also a brother, William, living at Seattle, Wash. and a sister, Mrs. Nelson Cole, of Corinne, Utah, who only are left of the large family. Mr. MacGregor's parents raised. Mr. MacGregor made many friends among his associates and co-workers being an active member of several benevolent societies, being raised to a Master Mason at Libertyville in 1893, taking the Chapter and Knight Templar degrees at Waukegan, also belonging to the Eastern Star and made a Shriner in Los Angeles. He belonged to the Baggage Men's Association, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and had been accepted to the Order of the Railway Conductors and was to have been initiated the Saturday following his death. All the above societies attended his body the funeral services conducted by the Blue lodge members of San Bernardino lodge No. 348, A. F. & A. M. at the Masonic Temple San Bernardino, Sunday, Nov. 10th prior to the departure of the remains for Libertyville. Mr. MacGregor was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, joining at the age of 19 the Warren church, bringing his letter to the Libertyville church in 1904 when Mr. MacGuffin was pastor.

The concluding funeral services were held from the Libertyville Methodist church, Friday afternoon, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. the pastor, Rev. H. F. Lawler officiating. The local Masonic lodge and the Waukegan Commandery in full uniform attended the service. They escorted the remains to the Lakeside cemetery where the body was laid to rest with the impressive ceremonies of the Masonic ritual.

Many beautiful flowers accompanied the remains in their long journey from San Bernardino, among them being a broken wheel from the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, a standard and wreath from the order of Railway Conductors, a Maltese Cross from the Knights Templar, and a beautiful piece from the Elks, of which Mr. MacGregor's son, Henry, is a member. These were added to by many tributes from Masonic orders, railroad men and other Libertyville friends. The funeral was a large ___. Thirty-one relatives were in attendance.

The pall bearers were: M. B. Colby, G. A. Wright, E. L. Davis, W. E. Davis, L. B. Hanby and Fred Croker.

Two men were killed in the accident that caused Mr. MacGregor's death. He and the brakeman. They were standing on the running board of a switch engine which backed off the end of a siding throwing them to the ground and before either could recover, the tank from the _____ slid upon them crushing _____ instantly. The verdict rendered by the coroner's jury on the case was a peculiar one owing to the fact that the verdict was split. Five jurors agreed that the deceased had met death from crushing injuries received in a train wreck. The remaining juror sent in a separate decision that the crew had made an error in reading the orders and that the train dispatcher should have notified the crew that the switch was out of commission.