One occurred west of Philadelphia after the civil war. The explosion happened in the bleaching tank room of the Coralville Paper Mill. The human tragedy occurred towards the end of a twelve hour shift, so perhaps the workers were tired or thinking about their families at home. Tragically, several men were killed. The force of the explosions were so great that a three ton tank sailed in the air. It resembled a flour bag before it landed in the river. Nathaniel Gilmore was also thrown high into the air with his pitchfork. Both were found together about 100 feet north of the paper mill. Frank Chiba also was air born and was found west of the boilers. Walter Sinton struck a paint shop across the street from the mill. His body went through…show more content… Our main Rex family line left the Philadelphia area for New York. John Rex was grew up in Roxborough after his father’s tragic industrial accident. He grew up with his brothers around the old blacksmith shop and farms. His brothers found work in the mills. However, After witnessing two of his brothers die early death from mill related lung problems hi did not follow their lead. (Some of his brothers worked in the paper Mills their entire life). John moved to nearby Conshockton to work with the local telegraph company delivering messages on his bike. Conshockton was a densely populated town. An ideal place to start a telegram service. Conshockton was John Rex's connection to his future wife, Hannah Binns. Her family arrived from England and found jobs as painters. Hannah Binns was a quiet woman who caught John Rex's eye. (See the Binns family line) John moved up the chains in the western union telegraph company as an executive. John received a promotion and transferred the family to Brooklyn after 1894. At the time modern City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then an independent city), Manhattan and outlying areas. John went from Mill town to an executive in one of the largest most successful companies in one of the most exciting cities in the world.
