Edward J. STAFFORD

                   Note from Hazel Morrison Moor. Birth Order Not Certain, Nor name of Spouse.

From the Bangor Daily News, Wednesday, July 31, 1929 comes the following
article:

                     "TRAIN WRECK AT MILFORD
                               -
                     But It Was 56 Years Ago.
                       Ed Stafford Now the
                          Only Survivor

    The passing of July 26 recalls to the minds of older inhabitants the Milford
bridge train wreck which occurred 56 years ago and also the fact that only one
survivor of the wreck is now living.  The survivor is Edward L. Stafford,
retired Maine Central engineer.
    In 1873 locomotives were fired with wood and after the run from Bangor to Old
Town the engine was run to Milford to wood up.  The entire train crew of
engineer, fireman, conductor and two brakemen, all helped handle the wood.
While in Milford a young cyclone struck that vicinity and carried away the
wooden railroad bridge and because of the fact that there was no rain with the
wind the engineer could not see because of the dust and ran the engine off into
the river. The engineer and conductor were killed. The fireman, Ed Stafford and
the two brakemen, the Elder brothers, managed to crawl out of the river.
    Mr. Stafford remembered that the passenger train from the east was about due
and ran up the track just in time to flag it thus saving many lives.  Ed
Stafford, as he is known to many railroad men, carries scars today received in
that wreck.
    After Mr. Stafford became engineer he was in several other wrecks, the
head-on crash at Orono, cattle train wreck at the old European and Northern
roundhouse, and the Bar Harbor Ferry disaster.
    Mr. Stafford retired in 1922 after 52 years of service and with the record of
never having a wreck blamed to him.  He lives in Bangor during the winter bu
spends the spring, summer and fall working his farm on the northern most point
of Verona Island where he welcomes his many friends."

    The information in the article provides (1) His middle initial (2) an
estimated age in 1929 of somewhere between 75 (If he began work at 16) and 80
(if he started as late as 21):(3) Began work in 1870 (1922 - 52 = 1870). This
would place birthdate somewhere between 1849 and 1854 using the ages of
between 16 and 21 as reasonable reference points.

His name listed on the birth record of Frank Morrison son of Edward James Morrison and annie Sarah Stafford