October 4, 2022 was a beautiful Fall day in Chicago. What do I do on beautiful fall days? Go to a cemetery, of course. What cemetery do I visit? I have many "favorite" cemeteries on my list but this time I returned to my most favorite, Chicago's beautiful and historic Rosehill Cemetery.
I had a photo request from one of my Find a Grave friends who lives out of state. I went to the office at Rosehill and found that the grave I was looking for was in the unusually named "Diamond L" section of Rosehill. Why is it called "Diamond L"? See for yourself:
I found and photographed the graves my friend had requested with no problem. Then I looked around at other graves in the area to see if there was anything interesting, and at Rosehill there always is. Section Diamond L is one of the so-called "Jewish Sections" of Rosehill. This is a Jewish section but you will not see any Hebrew lettering on any of the tombstones. The Diamond L Section mostly contains the graves of Jews who had assimilated into Christian society. Although they had not actually converted, they looked on their Judaism as a culture rather than a religion. There is a section for Orthodox Jews at Rosehill, but it is not Section Diamond L.
Not too far from the road I saw the Kusel Family monument:
At the top of the monument I saw the following:
Sylvan Kusel's tombstone is in front of the monument:
He died in 1916. Too early to be a World War I casualty, also too early to have been a victim of the Spanish Influenza. So what caused the death of Sylvan Kusel just short of his 20th birthday? The Chicago Tribune from October 24 had the answer.
Before we look further into the accident that killed Sylvan Kusel and three of his friends, let's see what we can "dig up" about Sylvan and his family.
Sylvan Charles Kusel was born November 20, 1896 in St. Louis, Missouri, the only child of Isidor J. Kusel (1865-1934) and Cora Canmann (1872-1963).
Sylvan's father Isidor Julius Kusel was born in Chicago in 1865. During his career he was involved in a myriad of different businesses. He started his career as a traveling salesman for a cotton goods house. In 1890 he formed the Missouri Telephone Manufacturers Company. In 1897 he started the Eureka Electric Company in Genoa, Illinois. In 1906 he founded the American Car Equipment Company and was president of that company until 1909 when he organized the General Rail Equipment Company. He was at one time associated with the S. K. Smith Leather Goods Company and was also the founder of the Woodstock and Sycamore Traction Company.
Sylvan's mother, Cora Canmann Kusel was born in 1872 in Missouri. She was one of eleven children. Her father Mark Canmann was one of the pioneer merchants of St. Louis. Isidor Kusel and Cora Canmann were married on March 17, 1896 in St. Louis.
Sylvan Kusel makes his first appearance in the US Census of 1900. The Kusel family was living at 387 Oak Street in St. Louis. That address no longer exists in St. Louis today. Cora's parents lived next door at 389 Oak Street. The Kusel family consisted of Isidore (35 years old), Cora (25), son Sylvan (3) and servant Anna Nelson (19), an Immigrant from Sweden. Isidore listed his occupation as "President". Isidor said his father was from Belgium, and his mother from Pennsylvania. Cora said her father was from Germany, and his mother from Austria. Isidor and Cora told the census taker they had been married for four years, had one child, and that child was alive in 1900.
By the time of the 1910 US Census the Kusel family had relocated to Chicago. They were living at 3636 South Michigan Avenue. The Perspective Math and Science Academy occupies that spot today. The family consisted of I.J. Kusel (45 years old), Cora (35), Sylvan (13) and "Servant/Maid" Ella Stabbs (26). Isidore lists his occupation as "Broker of Railway Equipment." Cora told the census taker that they rented their home, were married fourteen years, and that they had one child who was still living in 1910.
After graduating from high school Sylvan Kusel enrolled at the University of Chicago, Class of 1917. While at the U of C he was part of a theatrical group known as The Blackfriars. After receiving his undergraduate degree Sylvan stayed at the University of Chicago, enrolling in the Law School.
While attending the University of Chicago, Sylvan Kusel rented an apartment at 5470 S. Greenwood Avenue in Chicago, within walking distance of the University:
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| 5470 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago |
While attending law school, Sylvan also volunteered at a Maxwell Street settlement house, teaching English to poor Jewish immigrants. Like many assimilated Jews of the era, in addition to English, Sylvan was also fluent in Yiddish and German. The press of the time referred to people like Sylvan who were wealthy and educated but volunteered their time to help the less fortunate, as "Philanthropy Workers."
That brings us to the night of October 23, 1916. It was a Monday, and the temperature in Chicago was in the upper 40s with a driving rain. Sylvan had gone to the settlement for his evening tutoring the immigrants and met up with friends. They were advertising executive Hugo J. Warner (31 years old), his wife Henrietta Warner (30), and cousins Lillian Klausner (30) and Jennie Klausner (22).
At the end of the evening Hugo Warner offered to drive everyone home. Newspaper accounts do not list the make or model of his car but referred to it as a limousine. The occupants were Hugo and his wife Henrietta, Lillian and Jennie Klausner, Sylvan Kusel and another settlement volunteer Sarah Bernstein.
After leaving the Maxwell Street settlement, they drove east on their way home, talking about their successful evening at the settlement. Newspapers said the car was proceeding at "a moderate pace due to the thickness of the weather." Mr. and Mrs. Warner were in the front seat as was Sylvan, The other three were seated in the back seat.
The Twelfth Street bridge was a drawbridge, as many bridges in Chicago are, to this day. It was said that the west approach to the Twelfth Street bridge had always been considered a dangerous one, owing to the skeleton iron work which made it difficult to see if the drawbridge was open. It had previously been the scene of a number of accidents, but there was no barrier to halt traffic when the bridge was up. There was a bridge tender stationed at the bridge at night, as well as a signal bell and light that engaged when the bridge was up. Unfortunately neither the bell nor the signal light was working that night, and the car plunged into the river before the bridge tender could do anything to stop it. Here are two photos of the Twelfth Street bridge from that era:
Witnesses hastened to notify the police, and they and the bridge tender rushed to the river's edge to help in any way they could. Sarah Bernstein was the first to appear on the surface, and Henrietta Warner followed in a moment. The tugboat Walter Cahill was in the area at the time of the accident and steamed over immediately to offer assistance. Both women bravely fought the river's currents until men from the tug pulled them to safety. They were rushed by police ambulance to Cook County Hospital.
A Chicago Police Boat was summoned and worked for hours using grapples to try to raise the car containing the four bodies without success. Some of the crew on the police boat declared they saw a man in midstream when they first came on the scene. The police called out that they would rescue him, but exhausted, he slipped beneath the water without a sound.
Mrs. Warner, was in the front seat with her husband and Sylvan Kusel, said that after the car plunged into the water she fell forward among the gear at the bottom of the machine. Her clothes were caught in the pedal apparatus and she tried but failed to wrench herself free. "Then," she said, "someone, I don't know whether my husband or Mr. Kusel, began to pull my clothes free. An instant later, the hands working under the water thrust me clear of the car and I came to the surface."
After midnight, while the police boat was methodically searching the water with grapples, an automobile sped up on the bridge and stopped. A man, with a woman faltering on his arm, stepped out, and together went over to the bridge rail.
"My son! My son!" moaned the woman, stretching her arms toward the river. "Our only boy," said the man brokenly, drawing his wife more closely to him. Then when they woman's grief seemed imminent to overpower her, he guided her gently back to the automobile, and they drove away.
The couple were Mr. & Mrs. Isidor J. Kusel, parents of Sylvan Kusel, the University of Chicago student who died in the plunge. Mr. Kusel is the manager of the Strongheart Novelty Company. He declared his son would have graduated from the law department of the university next June.
The body of Hugo Warner was recovered from the Chicago River by the Chicago Police Department the next day, October 24. After ascertaining that the three remaining bodies were still trapped in the car, the city sent diver Harry Halvorsen down to recover them. Halvorsen was known for his work in recovering bodies from the Eastland tragedy in July of 1915. Halvorsen was successful in recovering the bodies of Sylvan Kusel and the two Klausners.
The funeral for Sylvan Kusel was held Thursday October 26. Here is the Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of that date:
Sylvan was buried in Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery, in Section Diamond L, Lot 57:
His parents had a beautiful monument erected over their family plot:
Sylvan Charles Kusel - Lost as his life was just beginning - May he rest in peace.
The Rest of the Story:
After the accident there was an outcry that something be done about the hazardous draw bridges in Chicago. Here is an article on the aftermath of the accident from the Chicago Tribune of November 15, 1916:
The 12th Street (now Roosevelt Road) bridge over the Chicago River was finally replaced in 1928, and rehabilitated in 1994. It is still a drawbridge.
As mentioned above, Sylvan Kusel was buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. His friend Hugo Warner is also at Rosehill - in Section T:
The Klausners are both buried at Jewish Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois at Gate #31 - Free Sons of Israel:
Jennie Klausner:
Lillian Klausner:
After a series of financial reversals, Sylvan's father Isidore J. Kusel took his own life on April 8, 1934:
My grandmother is Ella Staabs, who worked as a servant for the Kusels and got to know Sylvan. While I knew the details in your blog, I found the story you wrote of Sylvan Kusel well written and well documented.
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