Walsh died on November 18 , 1869 from injuries sustained when struck by a train while walking along the tracks . He is buried in the Chippiannock Cemetery , Rock Island . His insect collection , numbering 30,000 specimens , was purchased by the state of Illinois and stored in the " fireproof " facilities of the Chicago Academy of Sciences for safekeeping . Nevertheless , almost all of Walsh 's collection was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Benjamin Dann Walsh