WILLIAM F. HELM, Chicago, Illinois.
William F. Helm is one of the Erie's engineers who has tried several vocations in life and has been eminently successful in each venture. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, February 23, 1856, and is the son of Frederick Helm, now deceased, who was a fisherman and owner of several large lake barges operating on Lake Michigan. Mr. Helm secured a good education, and on leaving school began work in a cotton mill in Chicago, where he ran a cotton machine for a number of years. Resigning this position he went on a bakery wagon as a salesman, working at this for eight years. He then became proprietor of a bakery, which he ran successfully for five years. In 1884 he sold his bakery advantageously and accepted a position as fireman on the Belt Line Railroad of Chicago. He fired for this company for a year and a half, and then entered the service of the Chicago & Erie, for whom he fired until 1890. In January of that year he was promoted to engineer, and since that date has run a switch engine in the Chicago yards, having fully demonstrated that he is an engineer whose services are valuable to the company.

On July 20, 1878, Mr. Helm was married to Miss Amelia Barton, daughter of Dr. Louis Barton of Chicago, and they have three children, Reuben B. Helm, aged 19, a very clever and industrious young man, now clerking for the Essential Oil Company, dealers in all kinds of drugs; William L., aged 11, now attending school, and Alberta C., the youngest, a charming little miss of 5 years. Mr. Helm is a member of Lake Lodge No. 302, B. of L. E., and owns a nice two-story residence at 5617 Shields avenue.

Excerpted from: "American Locomotive Engineers, Erie Railway Edition," H.R. Romans Editor; Crawford-Adsit Company Publishers, Chicago, IL 1899.

WILLIAM HELM
Suspended 10 days from June 15th, 1889 for running by semaphore just south of 81st Street and ran into the side of Belt Railway train, June 10, 1889.

SOURCE: P. 192, Chicago & Erie Railroad Employment Summary Book, ledger book covering @ 1880-1905. Donated to this site courtesy of Nick Pappas. Transcription by Jim Sponholz (c) 2007.

From the November, 1905 issue of the Locomotive Engineers' Monthly Journal, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers:
Chicago, IL, on Oct. 1, 1905, Reuben, son of Brother William Helm, member of Div. 302, was killed by falling off engine into canal.