Erie Railroad Employee Rosters - Kent Division

MARION, KENT, AND DAYTON, OH PERSONNEL RECORDS (POSTED MAY 31, 2011)
This listing is a transcribed index from employee records presently in the custody of the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society (ELHS). It covers about 1,000 Kent Division employees of the Erie with start dates between 1895 and 1947. These records include summaries for each employee of commendations, suspensions, eye test and rules examination results, basically the nuts and bolts of life on the railroad. Copies of the actual records are available although access to some is limited, per the ELHS. The index is a portion of a larger document that was put together by Curtis Springstead in his painstaking review of each record. For further information, please contact Curt at [email protected]. I am most grateful to the ELHS and to Curt, descendant of the famous Erie locomotive engineer, Harvey Springstead, for their work in preserving these records and willingness to make them available to researchers.

1915 CINCINNATI DIVISION ROSTER OF CONDUCTORS AND TRAINMEN, MARION, OH (POSTED NOVEMBER 20, 2002)
The "Cincinnati Division" roster lists names of 245 Erie employees eligible to work in the First and Second Districts of the division. The source of this information is an "advertising roster" published in 1915 by R.W. Drake. There may be mispellings of names, as is common in rosters of this sort. The index contains names of employees (positions were not given in the roster), as well as seniority dates on the Division. On October 1, 1915, the Cincinnati Division was renamed the Kent Division, so some of these employees also show up on the Kent Division roster listed below.

1918 KENT DIVISION PERSONNEL ROSTER (POSTED JULY 9, 2002 - LAST UPDATED NOVEMBER 27, 2002)
The Kent Division roster lists names of 583 Erie employees working in the job categories of "Conductor-Trainman" and "Engineer." The source of this information is an "advertising roster" published, judging from the advertising, in Marion, OH. The publisher is unknown, as is the original owner of the copy I worked from in producing the index. That individual used the roster to keep track of employees, and there are numerous notes penciled in the margin regarding specific workers (the latest dated note appears to be from 1923). I have transcribed the notes in the Comments column of the index as written, and I can neither vouch for nor against their accuracy. There also may be mispellings of names, as is common in rosters of this sort. In addition, I have added links for transcriptions from the 1920 census (which has its own problems with spelling of names and legibility) for some of the individuals whose identities can be reasonably confirmed. Finally, a link to a map showing Division stations in 1906 is at the bottom of the file. (PHOTO LEFT - Samuel Jones, veteran division Locomotive Engineer)

1945 KENT DIVISION ROSTERS, TRAIN AND ENGINE CREWS
The files below were transcribed from an advertising roster published by the Marion (Ohio) Merchants and Manufacturers. These rosters from Jan. 1, 1945 list operating employees active on the Kent Division.
1945 Conductors and Brakemen Roster Kent Division, 431 Employees Listed (POSTED MAY 18, 2005)
1945 Engineers and Firemen Roster Kent Division, 271 Employees Listed (POSTED MAY 18, 2005)

KENT DIVISION (AND DAYTON BRANCH), ERIE LACKAWANNA RAILROAD
These 1976 rosters list operating employees active on the EL's Kent Division, headquartered in Marion, OH. Many of these men began their careers as Erie employees and continued as EL employees following the 1960 merger with the DL&W.

The first roster lists Conductors and Trainmen. The second lists General Roster employees, yard and road. I am greatly indebted to former Erie and EL conductor Carl E. Freshour for contributing these rosters and for helping me to interpret the footnotes.

MARION, OH SHOPS ROSTER, ERIE-LACKAWANNA RAILROAD, JANUARY, 1976
This 1976 roster lists the names of shop employees at Marion shop, including Machinists, Boilermakers, Electricians, Tender Repairers/Carpenters, Pipefitters, Painters, Firemen/Oilers and their helpers and apprentices. Although from the post-merger period, most of these men began their service as Erie employees. From the webmaster's collection.