Too Early for OSHA

By Eilene Lyon

Though my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis (1877-1953), passed down a lot of family history, she made a glaring omission: her own birth family. She wrote a brief story about her father, Robert Ransom, who died when she was six. But she left no tales about her mother or siblings. Everything I know about them has come about through my normal, painstaking research.

Her next oldest sibling—born in 1874 in Hartford City, Indiana—was Albert Frederick Ransom, who went by the name Fred Ransom. Between the 1880 census and 1914, I have not had much luck finding records for Fred. There are a couple news mentions of him as a student in Independence, Kansas, in the early 1880s. By 1890, Fred had moved to Moscow, Idaho, with his mother and siblings.

Clara saved a couple photographs of Fred, one dated 1896 and another dated the following year, both likely taken in Moscow. I think her label on the latter image may be incorrect.

Fred doesn’t appear to be enumerated in the 1900 or 1910 censuses. According to a letter written by his oldest brother, Jim, Fred spent some time mining near Baker City, Oregon, around 1901.¹ In 1914 and 1916, he is listed in the Moscow city directory, working as a clerk in his brother Arthur’s pool hall, The Pastime.²

For unknown reasons, Fred then decided to leave the northwest to settle for the remainder of his life in Los Angeles. He worked at a variety of jobs, including as an accountant. However, one occupation proved to be quite dangerous.

I’ve come across a number of gruesome work-related accidents in my years of family history research, much of it occurring in the late-19^th and early-20^th centuries. It wasn’t until 1970 that President Nixon signed the bill that authorized the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).³ Since 1971, this government agency has significantly reduced the incidence of fatalities, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace.⁴

In early 1918, 44-year-old Fred had a job at the Woolwine Metal Products Co. at 2421 E. 8^th St.⁵ His residence at the time was a rooming house at 1259 E. 6^th St. (neither of these buildings exist today).⁶ I haven’t learned much about the company and its products, but one thing they produced was canteens for the military. They also made boxed fuel and water cans for the running boards of early model cars.

On April 24, Fred was working at a bar-press metal cutter and both hands got caught in the machine.⁷ It severed the fingers on his right hand completely and nearly severed them on his left. Rushed to hospital, Fred came under the care of a daring 29-year-old physician working for the city as a deputy police surgeon. Dr. George A. Zorb sewed Fred’s fingers back on, endeavoring to restore the use of his right hand.⁸

In September 1918, Fred filled out his World War I registration form. The interviewer noted that Fred’s third and fourth fingers on his right hand were amputated at the outer knuckle. This suggests that for the most part, Dr. Zorb succeeded in repairing Fred’s hands. At that time he worked as an inspecting clerk at West Disinfecting Co. at 174 S. Central Ave., still in the same general neighborhood.⁹

Fred Ransom never married or had any known children. He continued his peripatetic work life around the east-central city area. In the early 1930s he was washing windows. ¹⁰ He took another accounting position in 1932. By 1937, Fred was living with his brother Jim at the home of Jim’s daughter and son-in-law, Bertha and Lee Royer. Another work injury led to Fred’s death. The nature of the accident isn’t clear, but it resulted in an injury to his left arm. This led to fatal septicemia.¹¹

I can relate to you what Fred did and where, but unfortunately, these facts reveal little of the man’s personality, his likes and dislikes. I did find one other news item, a letter written to the editor. He was not the only Fred Ransom in Los Angeles, but the other known Fred used a middle initial.

Fred was a registered Republican, as his father and grandfather had been before him. The sentiments expressed in this letter lead me to think that in today’s political climate he’d more likely be a Democrat.¹²

Feature image: Fred Ransom in 1896 (University of Idaho Special Collections)