NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG5579.AM: Charles P. Philbrick, 1851-1929
Diary: 1893
Wymore, Gage County, Neb.: Railroad worker
Size: 1 volume
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Born on August 6, 1851 at Manchester, New Hampshire, Charles P. Philbrick lived in Boston, Massachusetts until he was nine years old. He moved with his family to Doniphan, Kansas in 1860. Philbrick started his railroad career in the fall of 1868 as a “machinist helper” with the Central Branch railroad at Atchison, Kansas. He joined an engineer corps on the Atchison & Nebraska line in 1870 and was assigned work as an axman, chainman, and roadman. In 1880 Philbrick went to work for the Western Union Telegraph Company and helped complete the telegraph line into Columbus, Nebraska. Over the next several years, Philbrick worked as a road master for the Southern Kansas Railroad and Santa Fe Railroad.
In 1887 Philbrick went to Nebraska City, Nebraska as a train and road master for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. In 1889 he moved to Wymore, Nebraska and served as train master until 1909 when he became the “Train Rules Examiner.” He continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1923 when he moved to California.
Charles P. Philbrick died at his home in Downey, California on October 22, 1929. According to the 1910 census, Charles Philbrick and his wife Florence had five children: Carrie, Anna, Charles P. (Jr.), Ruth, and Eugene. Note: For additional information, Charles Philbrick’s obituary appears in the Weekly Wymorean newspaper (Wymore, Nebraska) on October 31, 1929. (See NSHS Reference Room for microfilm.)
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one item, a daily diary from 1893, kept by Charles P. Philbrick of Wymore, Nebraska. The diary entries generally consist of short observations of the weather, the engine number he was on, etc. Other entries contain information regarding happenings on that day’s route, track conditions, train accidents and derailments, local news and politics, etc. The end of the diary contains information on Philbrick’s personal expenses, property, etc.
DESCRIPTION
Diary, 1893
ADDED ENTRIES:
Burlington & Missouri River Railroad
Gage County (Neb.) — History
Philbrick, Charles P., 1851-1929
Railroads — Nebraska
Wymore (Neb.) — History
Revised 11-02-2007 TMM
