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Archiver > ROOTS > 2005-11 > 1130947878


From: "Kith-n-Kin" <>
Subject: RE: [ROOTS-L] Census Question RE panama canal zone 1910
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 09:11:18 -0700
In-Reply-To: <ff05fb6e0511020113na02eac4o47ce1036fd8f06be@mail.gmail.com>


This from Wikipedia: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/John+Frank+Stevens

"John F. Stevens built the Great Northern Railroad in the United States United States of America and was
chief engineer on the Panama Canal.

Stevens was born in rural Maine and had little formal education. He learned surveying and went west as a
young man, where he worked as a junior engineer surveying and building railroads. By the age of 33, in
1886, Stevens was principal assistant engineer for the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, and in
charge of building the line from Duluth, Minnesota to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

In 1889, Stevens was hired by James J. Hill.

Although he only had nine years of formal schooling, by the time he had finished (he was forced to leave
school in 1852 due to the death of his father), he was adept at algebra, geometry, land surveying, and
English. His particular talents for English and mathematics would be critical later in his life as a
locating engineer for the Great Northern Railroad. He discovered the Marias Pass over the Continental
Divide and Stevens Pass.

Stevens left the Great Northern in 1903 for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad, where he was
promoted to vice-president. Then, in 1905, at Hill's recommendation, he was hired by Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt.

Stevens' primary achievement in Panama was in building the infrastructure necessary to complete the canal.
He rebuilt the Panama Railway and devised a system for disposing of spoil from the excavations by rail. He
also built proper housing for canal workers and oversaw extensive sanitation and mosquito-control programs
that eliminated yellow fever and other diseases from the Isthmus. Steven successfully argued the case for
a sea level canal, convincing Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt
of this change.

Stevens resigned from the Canal project in 1907, as the focus of the work turned to construction of the
canal itself. As a railroad engineer, Stevens had little expertise in building locks and dams, and
probably realized he was no longer the best person for the job.

Among his subsequent engineering projects, Stevens spent five years (beginning in 1917) in Russia
reorganizing the Trans-Siberian Railway Trans-Siberian Railway or Trans-Siberian Railroad."

So, it is possible, Phil, that he was not at the canal in 1910, unless he was just "hanging around" -- I
suggest you look elsewhere for him.

Regards,

Pat (in Tucson)
Nosco vestri atavi est ingredior intellego vestri ego
(To become acquainted with your ancestors is to begin to comprehend your self)



On 11/1/05, <> wrote:
> Hello list , Wondering this : was a Census taken of the Canal
> workers in 1910 ?
> If so , Where is it ? , What state is it under ?
> are you wondering why I ask this ? , ok i`ll tell , I am trying to
> locate the Census record for John Frank Stevens , Chief Engineer on
> the Canal constuction , Which was
> being build 1890 to 1914 , Phil
>
>




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