COLLECTION NAME:
NNRy and KCC NMD Employee Profiles
Record
Employee Name:
George Benjamin Haviland
Profile Number:
EP-01-0020
Primary Job Title:
Conductor
Division:
Nevada Northern Railway
Years Worked:
~1908-1912
Description:
Haviland began railroading at the age of 17. Prior to coming to the NNRy, Haviland had worked for the Northern Pacific and the Oregon Short Line, both as a conductor in freight and passenger service. Throughout his railroad career he had many narrow escapes. On June 12, 1912, he was conductor on a freight train that had arrived back from McGill with Engineer Stewart on the locomotive. They attempted to make a flying switch when the ore car Haviland was riding started to tip. He tried to jump from the car but chose the wrong side, crushing him beneath the ore cars.
Born:
November 24, 1864
Died:
June 12, 1912
Hometown:
Washington, D.C.
Burial Place:
Billings, MT
Personal Biography:
George Haviland was a skilled and well liked railroader. He traveled west at a young age to work on the railroads making his way to Montana. He married Sarah Jane Hay on October 26, 1896 at Red Lodge, Montana. The couple would have four children. He was known for his genial qualities and upright methods and there was widespread sympathy for his wife and children after being killed in an accident in the East Ely Yard.. He was a member of the Order of Railway Conductors and a Mason. He was buried in Billings, MT in a ceremony overseen by the Maverick Hose Company.
George Benjamin Haviland
