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Tanaka, Tanjiro
Buried in Empress Cemetery, but unmarked and unknown plot.  Probably in "Block A" aka Potter's Field, in the southwest corner of the cemetery.
b. abt 1889, Japan
d. 1916-Jun-21, Empress, AB

The proper spelling of his given name is "Tanjiro".  It is spelled incorrectly in the Alberta Death Register (Tanegiro), and the Empress Express news article (Tarejrio).

Empress Cemetery Tree on Ancestry.ca
     https://www.ancestry.ca/family-tree/person/tree/201433125/person/332660308945
Find a Grave
     https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/280585782
Alberta Death Register #2439, page 6 of 8, left side, line 21.
     https://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/sites/default/files/2018-11/deaths-ta-1877-1918.pdf
The Empress Express, June 29, 1916
     https://archive.org/details/EPE_1916062901

Available here 

 Tanaka, Tanjiro, Empress Express, 1916-06-29, Page 1.jpg
 Tanaka, Tanjiro, Certificate of Cause of Death.jpg
 Tanaka, Tanjiro, Registration of Death.jpg
 Tanaka, Tanjiro, Alberta Death Register 2439.jpg
 Burial Records (1916-1917).jpg
 Cemetery Register 1916-1917.jpg
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It is interesting to note that the Certificate of Cause of Death says he had "Two fractures of base of skull".  It is difficult to imagine how he got TWO fractures by falling off a slow moving train.  If the police (RNWMP back then), investigated his death, there are no records of it now.  My request to the RCMP for information got a response with them saying,
"Unfortunately, we were unable to locate records which respond to your request.  It is likely that any RCMP records that may have existed were purged in accordance with records retention policy."

The date of death is given on his death certificate, 2016-Jun-21.  The Empress Express article gets that correct, while the Empress Cemetery Register gets it wrong, saying 2016-Jun-24.
The date of burial is either 2016-Jun-24, as given by the Empress Cemetery Burial record, or 2016-Jun-25, as given by the Empress Express article.

The Empress Express, June 29, 1916, Page 1

Falls From Engine;
     Is Found Dead
     ---
     Tarejrio Tanaka, employed as a wiper at the C.P.R. roundhouse, was found dead on the tracks alongside the C.P.R. cinder pit on Wednesday, June 21st.  The body of the deceased, who is 28 years of age and is a Japanese by birth, was found at 1:30 am.  It is surmised that death was caused as the result of a fall from the tender or one of the engines, deceased striking the back of his head on the rails of the track.  A post mortem examination conduncted by Dr. E. C. Chandler, revealed two fractures at the base of the skull, which had caused death.  Burial arrangements were carried out by Messrs. Pullen and Galloway.  The body was interred on Sunday, June 25, in the Empress cemetery.  A representative of the Canadian Nippon Co., Ichino Yamato, was here on Saturday, to dispose of the dead man's affairs.

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Bruce A. Johnson - Empress, Alberta, Canada.
Last Updated: 2025-Dec-05       Go to Empress Cemetery page