Robert “Robbie” Booth Bessent was born on this day in 1883. He was the adopted son of Colonel and Mrs. J. C. Bessent.
Robbie worked as a fireman for the Norfolk and Western Railroad. He had been working for the railroad for two years in 1904, when he was killed in a horrible freight train crash near Bassett, Virginia.
Freight train No. 85 was rounding a curve when the train jumped the track, making a complete wreck of the entire train. The train was composed of 24 heavily-laden cars, drawn as a double header, at a point in the curve near a culvert several feet deep.
The box cars piled one upon the other, then burst into flames. Winston-Salem residents, George May and Robbie Bessent, were killed and burned instantly. Engineer Stull was injured and died a few hours later.
The wreck was such a catastrophe that diagrams were printed in the newspaper to show graphically the route of the train and the position of the cars.
Adding to the disaster was the result of an investigation that found that bolts were removed from the rods connecting the rails. Detectives speculated that the intention was to wreck the train and rob passengers.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
