As much as we’d like to think the 19th century was a kinder gentler time, the truth is that everyday life was filled with close calls.
People frequently dashed out of the way of fast-moving horses, streetcars and trains.
And, as is reported in the article below, they weren’t always successful.
Chicago Daily News, 09 Sept 1894 page 1
Something to keep in mind if one of your Chicago ancestors suddenly disappeared.
where2look4ancestors 
I’ve had learned of more than a few ancestors, including little children, who were killed this way. Awful.
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Yes, awful. And the details included in the article. The poor family who had to read that!
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I had relatives who died as the result of a runaway buggy accident.
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In my family, the same Drake side even, we had two railway car deaths. One fell somehow and was run over, which I think was suspiciously strange. How do you fall in front of a train? The other was working on a coupler or something and his legs were ran over and severed. He apparently bled out. But that’s freaky – 2 in the same family!
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