Today in Wheeling History: December 21--Alice Ophelia Smith Bullard, wife of prominent Wheeling businessman Reuben J. Bullard, dies in tragic streetcar accident (1903).
Alice Ophelia Smith Bullard (1852-1903) was born in Clarington, Monroe County, Ohio on April 28, 1852. She married Reuben James Bullard Jr. in 1872 and became an active member of Wheeling's community. The Bullards made their home in Park View, and Reuben was the head of the Bullard Printing Company, one of Wheeling's respected businesses. Alice was a devoted Methodist and active worker at the Fourth Street Church. The couple had several children, including Dr. E.S. Bullard, a well-known local dentist, Maud Edith Bullard Robinson (1876-1960), whose husband Ralph D. Robinson was editor of the Ohio Valley Times in Martins Ferry. On December 21, 1903, while returning from Christmas shopping at J.S. Bedillion's grocery store near Elm Grove, Mrs. Bullard was struck by Wheeling & Elm Grove Railway Company Car #21 at the foot of Pryor's Hill. Being hard of hearing, she didn't notice the approaching car while crossing the tracks. The impact caused severe head trauma and severed one of her limbs. Despite being quickly transported to Elm Grove where Dr. Cracraft was summoned, she lived only a few minutes after the accident. A coroner's inquest held two days later ruled the death accidental. Alice Bullard was buried in Stone Church Cemetery.
To learn more: Wheeling Intelligencer (https://shorturl.at/YpJSS), Wheeling Daily Register (https://shorturl.at/Igps6), Find a Grave (https://shorturl.at/kfYr1)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling Daily Register, West Virginia & Regional History Center
Alice Ophelia Smith Bullard (1852-1903) was born in Clarington, Monroe County, Ohio on April 28, 1852. She married Reuben James Bullard Jr. in 1872 and became an active member of Wheeling's community. The Bullards made their home in Park View, and Reuben was the head of the Bullard Printing Company, one of Wheeling's respected businesses. Alice was a devoted Methodist and active worker at the Fourth Street Church. The couple had several children, including Dr. E.S. Bullard, a well-known local dentist, Maud Edith Bullard Robinson (1876-1960), whose husband Ralph D. Robinson was editor of the Ohio Valley Times in Martins Ferry. On December 21, 1903, while returning from Christmas shopping at J.S. Bedillion's grocery store near Elm Grove, Mrs. Bullard was struck by Wheeling & Elm Grove Railway Company Car #21 at the foot of Pryor's Hill. Being hard of hearing, she didn't notice the approaching car while crossing the tracks. The impact caused severe head trauma and severed one of her limbs. Despite being quickly transported to Elm Grove where Dr. Cracraft was summoned, she lived only a few minutes after the accident. A coroner's inquest held two days later ruled the death accidental. Alice Bullard was buried in Stone Church Cemetery.
To learn more: Wheeling Intelligencer (https://shorturl.at/YpJSS), Wheeling Daily Register (https://shorturl.at/Igps6), Find a Grave (https://shorturl.at/kfYr1)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling Daily Register, West Virginia & Regional History Center
RSS Feed
