Floyd W. Van Sickle | Genealogy Lady

BLOCK OF WOOD PLACED ON TRACK OF ROLLER COASTER
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wreckage was gone over and victims drawn forth.

Mrs. Floyd W. Van Sickle, of 70 Cherry st., was one of the first to be removed from the debris. She was alive and was taken to one of the booths on the ground where she was joined by her husband, who had not made the trip. Her death followed as she was being rushed to the City Hospital.

Another victim of the crash, Mrs. Agnes Kurth, was a friend of Mrs. Sickle and had accompanied her on the flight that ended so disastrously. Mrs. Kurth sustaining a broken leg and arm and sprained back. The Van Sickle and Kurth families had gone to the park together in Mr. Kurth’s automobile. While Kurth and Van Sickle made a trip around, their wives had seen to the comfort of little six year old Charlotte Van Sickle, who was too timid to accompany the men. Her timidity may have saved her life later for when she still refused to go her father and his friend cared for her while their wives entered the cars and were borne aloft.

“Roller Coaster Accident At Summit Beach Sends Three to Death, With Others Doomed,” Akron Beacon Journal, 8 July 1918, p. 13, col. 2.

A very special “thank you” is in order for the Special Collections Department of the Akron-Summit County Public Library. I emailed my request for more information regarding the roller coaster accident on Saturday and received the results in less than 24 hours. Since I received several days worth of information, I will be breaking the story down into smaller chunks for the rest of this week.

We are indebted to C.C. Yagerlehner for the following account of the death of his niece, who had moved to Akron, Ohio, a week before the tragic accident, which was the first serious accident that has ever occurred in the Yagerlehner family. Mrs. Robert [sic Roberta] Van Sickle was the oldest daughter of George F. Yagerlehner and was 26 years old. Mr. and Mrs. VanSickle with a party of friends were amusing themselves by making trips over a new giant roller coaster styled “Over the Top,” at Akron, Ohio. The men and the children had just finished a trip. The ladies had just started over the top on their trip and the car was plunging downward when a forward wheel broke, causing the car to leave the rail and plunge about 50 feet to the earth, killing three and fatally wounding several others. Burial was in Crown Hill cemetery, Indianapolis, Wednesday afternoon. Those from a distance attending the funeral were Grandmother Yagerlehner and Mr. and Mrs. John Yagerlehner from Clay City – Clay City News.

“Death,” Brazil Weekly Democrat (Brazil, Indiana), 24 July 1918, p. 4, col. 4; digital image, Newspaper Archive (http://www.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 28 December 2013).

THREE KILLED WHEN ROLLER COASTER DROPS

Akron, Ohio – Three persons were killed, and three fatally injured and eight seriously hurt when a train on “Over the Top” a giant roller plunged 50 feet to the ground at the local amusement park last night. The front wheels of the first car broke while making the ascent where the thriller commences. The crowd yelled in derision as the passengers frantically called for help. An infant in its mother’s arms escaped injury.

The dead and injured are: Mrs. Roberta W. Van Sickle, Ralph L. King, of Akron, and General Bailey, Tariff, W. Va.

Probably fatally injured: Clyde Keen, address unknown; Otis Smith, Akron; Dennis Glassford, Rockport, N. Y.; Harvey Biggins, formerly of Athens, Ohio, was injured.

The body of Mrs. Van Sickle, who recently moved here with her husband and child will be taken to the home of her parents in Indianapolis.

“Three Killed When Roller Coaster Drops,” Lima Daily News (Lima, Ohio), 8 July 1918, p. 2, col. 4; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : 28 December 2013).

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Photograph taken at the house of George F. Yegerlehner/Yagerline on Grace Street. Back Row: Unknown male (possibly Robert C. Yagerline), Mr. Van Sickle holding Charlotte, Mrs. Van Sickle Middle Row: Jewell (Ratcliffe) Yagerline, William O. Yagerline holding Dorothy, Floyd Van Sickle, Roberta (Yagerline) Van Sickle, George F. Yagerline Front Row: Elizabeth Louisa (Klein) Yagerline, Louis Yagerline, Hazel Yagerline, Margerite Yagerline, Laura Yagerline: Photograph from the collection of Hazel (Yagerline) Igelman in the possession of Eric Graham.

Children of George F. Yagerline. Photograph ca 1903. Digital image ca 2000s. Privately held by Eric Graham Ohio, USA. Eric scanned the images while visiting relatives in California. He shared the images via email with Deborah Sweeney in 2005. The location, condition and characteristics of the original photograph are not known. Back row: Robert C. Yagerline, Roberta (Yagerline) Van Sickle, William O. Yagerline, Louis A. Yagerline In Front: Hazel (Yagerline) Igelman

Roberta Elizabeth Yegerlehner was the oldest daughter, and second child, of George and Elizabeth (Klein) Yegerlehner. She was born 15 July 1892 in Indiana, most likely in Indianapolis. George was a blacksmith employed by the railroad, so he moved around a bit before settling permanently in Indianapolis. George and his brother Charles shared an address in Indianapolis as early as 1893.

Roberta married Floyd W. Van Sickle on 17 September 1909 in Indianapolis. They had one daughter, Charlotte, who was born in 1912. Floyd was a truck driver and a mechanic. He worked with his father and brother at Vansickle and sons on Hamilton Street in Indianapolis. The reason why Floyd and Roberta moved to Akron is unknown, but the result was tragic.