Joseph Victor Lustig

Obituary: Teutopolis Press - January 25, 1900

Joseph LUSTIG DEAD.

Injured in a Wreck at Toledo. Ohio, Saturday - Died at 2 am Yesterday

Below we give a clipping from the Newton Press, telling of the bad accident which befell Joseph Lusting Saturday.

Yesterday morning a message was received that Lustig had died. The body is expected to arrive here some time today and will be interred at Island Grove. The young man was well known here and had many friends among our citizens. He had only been engaged in firing since the first of the year.

Wheeler, Ill, January 23 - A telegram from Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, USA, states that Joseph V. Lustig, a fireman on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railway, was probably fatally injured Saturday. The engineer on another train went to sleep and rammed into Lustig's engine cutting off both legs and an arm. His condition is very critical, and but little chance for recovery.

The wounded man was About 23 years of age, a son of Martin Lustig, of Grove township, and was known as an exemplary lad with a host of friends before leaving this country, and since he went into railroading was one of the most trustworthy in that hazardous calling.

On receipt of the news Mr. Lustig, and son Will, the latter of Wheeler, left for Toledo. They wire back no encouraging hope.

Obituary: Teutopolis Press - February 1, 1900

Joseph V Lustig from the Newton Press

Joseph Victor Lustig, the son of Martin Lustig of Grove Township, was born on March 24, 1876 and died January 23, 1900.

The subject of this sketch was one of the familiar figures of the country surrounding his home, and until the last few months was always to be found near there. His father being one of the well-to-do farmers of this part of the country, he nearly always had work for Joe. Since the latter had reached his majority, however, he frequently sought employment in the neighborhood, which indeed was no task for him as he was devoted and attentive to his duties, wherever he was, and his neighbors soon observed his good qualities and his services were always in demand.

we would not do him justice, did we not mention some of his good habits. Joe was a growthy youth and he grew to be a man of more than ordinary size. Tall and straight, strong and active, intelligent and very quick in the conception of new ideas, pleasing in manners and always in good humor and happy, he was the idol of the community, among both young and old, and his name was the handy word of all of the children who knew him, and he was never known to ignore a child. So through was his devotion to the little folks that he wrote a letter and addressed it to one of is admirers "Master Dell Mason" since he entered the service of the Lake Shore Railway Co. in which he described his new job in detail, and earnestly requested the whole family to join in an answer.

He attended the public schools in Grove district and received a fair education: he also received instructions in the catechisms of the Catholic Church at their private school at St Joseph Catholic Church, and lived and died in the faith and was a true and devout Christian in precept and in practice. To meet him was to be favorably impressed; to know him was to love and respect him, and to deal with him was to learn to repose special confidence in his integrity. His associations were always good and his presence was happily greeted in everybody's home. He was generous and free hearted, yet he possessed a predisposition to acquire and accumulate some of this world's goods and he also possessed a natural turn for business which bespoke for him success in whatever avocation he might chose to gain a livelihood. We confess our inability to do justice with the pen to the deceased and humbly bow our head to the will of the Almighty God; yet we feel keenly the loss of one whose future was certainly promising and bright.

"The King of Shadows loves a Shining Mark.

"The deceased leaves a Father, well stricken in years, three sisters, Mrs Rosa Grace, Mrs Tillie Lux and Clara, Three brothers, Wm, Martin and Joseph, two uncles, Joseph and Victor, and several cousins and a sweetheart to mourn his demise, all living in north Muddy and Grove Townships except the later who resides in Joliet where she is employed as a cashier in one of the leading business houses of that city.

About Oct 1st, last, the deceased accompanied by some of his neighbors went to view the great northwest, traveling through Iowa and Minnesota; he secured a position for a short time and while working in the country was favorably impressed with its resources and purchasing a tract of the fertile prairie land on favorable terms started for Illinois. He stopped in Chicago to visit some friends among whom was S F Lux who formerly resided in Grove township but since December '82 has been in the employ of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Ry as an engineer. Mr Lustig, possessing all of the qualities necessary for efficiency and trustworthiness and thus enjoying the confidence of his employers, at the request of Mr Lux applied to the company for a firemanship on an engine; having letters of recommendation from former employers and being personally known to Mr Lux, the latter carefully vouched for him in every way and his application was considered and accepted in the short span of seven days from its receipt in preference to several applications which had been on file for several months. Mr Lustig being notified of his success in securing a job that seemed to be the stepping stone to fortune at once started for the company's headquarters to be assigned to his place. There being a vacancy in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, USA, he was sent there to enter on the discharge of his new duty, which was his first effort in railroading.

He began work on the 4th day of January, 1900; got along smoothly and soon acquired some knowledge of the work and his employers spoke in very complimentary terms of him to Mr Lux. But at 3 o'clock on the morning of the 20th inst., while at his post on duty a freight train came dashing into the yards; the engineer being asleep, failed to observe signals, ran into an open switch and into the switch engine from the rear, catching the deceased on his feet, throwing him down and elevating the tender of the switch engine and opening a space between the engine and the tender, allowing the deceased legs to pass between the engine and the tender and catching his arm between the tank and cab. He remained in this position for two hors, with both legs and one arm broken and crushed, until a wrecking crew could be brought to his rescue. He stood in pain until about twenty minutes before he was rescued, when he fainted and was taken to St Vincent Hospital for dead. When a surgeon arrived, a short time afterward, Joe recovered from the shock and his brother Will and his father were sent for and when they reached Toledo fond him improving and some hope of recovery was entertained but at 12 o'clock monday night, he began to sink and at 2 o'clock Tuesday morning he died.

His remains were turned over to the undertaker who placed them in an elegant casket and prepared them for the journey back to to his old home. The Lake Shore Ry Co, gave the entire party free transportation from Toledo Ohio, via Chicago and the i C Ry., to destination, arriving at Home on Thursday pm, his friend and associate, S F Lux, accompanying the body on its trip to the scenes of their boyhood.

On Saturday morning after the funeral services, conducted by Father Stephen, of Teutopolis, in the presence of more than four hundred sympathizing neighbors, friends and relatives, all that was mortal of Joseph V Lustig was laid to rest in the Cemetery at St Joseph's catholic Church. The bereaved family have the sympathy of the entire community in their great affliction.

Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep.