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Note: 133-g7Le7 Augusta7 Wright Leggett born November 14, 1851
died December 30, 1903
married September 5, 1871 to Elisha Brooks Pease
born December 24, 1848
died August 16, 1895, in Detroit, Michigan
Children (Pease) 2(?): 1 boy, 1 girl
i. Percy
ii. Elizabeth, b 1897, d Dec 30, 1903 with her mother Augusta7 in a fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago., Ill.
The fire at the Iroquois Theater was one of the most disastrous in the nation and the Extra edition and follow-on editions of the Chicago Daily Tribune were totally devoted to the tragedy. It was three days after the fire that the bodies of Augusta7 and her daughter Elizabeth were identified.
Headline of the December 31, 1903 Chicago Daily Tribune, 16 pages; FIRE IN THE IROQUOIS THEATER KILLS 571 AND INJURES 350 PERSONS. I have copies of these papers.
[LotLL is in error here; Augusta had one child, Percy, who in turn had a daughter, Elizabeth. So Elizabeth was Augusta's grandchild, and both perished with Grace, Elizabeth's mother, in the Iroquois Fire.]
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was born in Roslyn, Queens County, Long Island, New York 14 November 1851. Augusta died 30 December 1903 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, at age 52. Augusta died in the Iroquios Theater fire with her daughter-in-law and her grandaughter. 602 people died in this tradgic event. Her body was interred at Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
She married Elisha Brook Pease 5 September 1871 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. They were married at the home of Augusta's parents - 169 Elizabeth Street.
Elisha was born 24 December 1848 in ---. Elisha died 16 August 1895 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, at age 46.
Augusta "Gussie" Leggett and Elisha Brook Pease had the following child:
112 i. Percival Seaman "Percy"20 Pease was born in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan circa 1872. He was born at the home of his grandparents, Augustus & Eliza Leggett - 169 Elizabeth Street. He married Grace Camp --- in ---. Grace was born --- in ---. Grace died 30 December 1903 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, at age 29. Grace died in the Iroquios Theater fire with her daughter and her mother-in-law.
Her body was interred at Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
Send email to preparer: kalamcc@AOL.com :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
GRAVEYARDS of CHICAGO
Montrose Cemetery
Sacred to the Memory of
600 People Who Perished
In the Iroquois Theatre Fire
Dec 30 1903. Erected by the
Iroquois Memorial
Association
1908
The Iroquois Theatre was a mere five weeks old that day in 1903. Located on Randolph between State and Dearborn, it was a magnificent palace of marble and mahogany, a "virtual temple of beauty", and had been advertised as "absolutely fireproof". On the afternoon of December 30th, an audience of 1,900 was present to see Eddie Foy and Annabelle Whitford in the musical comedy "Mr. Blue Beard". The crowd consisted of mostly women and children.
As the orchestra played "Let Us Swear by the Pale Moonlight" during the second act, a malfunctioning arc light ignited the muslin drapes. The fire quickly spread to the backdrops hanging above the stage, pieces of which then fell toward the performers. The actors fled; Eddie Foy soon returned and urged the audience to remain calm and in their seats.
The crew tried to lower the asbestos curtain between the stage and the audience. Midway down, it stuck - the cheap wooden tracks had caused it to jam. As the stage collapsed, the audience panicked and ran for the twenty-seven exits, only to find most of them locked. Those in front were trampled and crushed against the doors, which opened inwards.
By the time firefighters arrived, the auditorium was silent. Five hundred and seventy five were dead; at least 25 more would die from their injuries.
The Iroquois fire prompted new safety standards nationwide. Under the new laws, exits had to be clearly marked; be openable from the inside at all times; and open outwards.
It had been the worst theatre fire in the history of the United States, and had the highest number of deaths of any fire in Chicago, surpassing even the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It ranked as the worst disaster of any kind in the history of the city until the overturning of the Eastland in 1915.
More victims of the Iroquois fire are in Forest Home and Graceland.
http://www.graveyards.com/montrose/iroquois.html
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"The screams of the children for their mothers and mothers for their children I shall carry in my memory to my dying day." -- Frank Slosson, Secretary-Treasurer of the Bain Wagon Works, survivor.
It is difficult to present the tragedy of Eastland disaster, within the historical perspective of the city of Chicago, without also bringing focus on the Iroquois Theatre Fire, as there are many similarities between these two catastrophes. In both cases, mostly women and children were killed in a situation that should have been filled with joy and celebration. Each tragedy killed their victims within minutes many from those trying desperately to avoid their own demise. And in both disasters, the families of the victims received no restitution or compensation.
It was a chilly Wednesday, December 30th, 1903. Downtown Chicago had been hit squarely with the icy fist of winter. People hurried about their day, filled with dreams and hopes of what the coming year would bring. The past year had been plagued with numerous strikes, economic depression, and ever-increasing crime. Children were out of school for the holidays and looking forward to an enjoyable matinee performance at the newest theatre in town, The Iroquois Theatre. In fact, the six-story tall Iroquois had only been open for five-weeks and was described as a magnificent palace of marble and mahogany, a "virtual temple of beauty", and had been advertised as "absolutely fireproof". The theater was equipped with an asbestos curtain, which could be lowered to separate the audience from any fire on stage.
Located on 24-28 W. Randolph Street, between State and Dearborn, the theater could seat 1,724 customers. But today's matinee, 1,900 people filled the theater to 'standing room only' capacity to see vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy, Annabelle Whitford and a performance troupe of 500, in the musical comedy, "Mr. Bluebeard". Foy, ridiculously dressed in drag, kept the audience laughing happily through the frolicking first act. After a short intermission, Joseph Dillea's pit orchestra struck up the first bars of a tune called "In the Pale Moonlight" as the second act started about 3:15pm with the chorus on stage, singing and dancing.
Out of sight, suspended by ropes high above the stage, were thousands of square feet of painted canvas scenery flats. On a catwalk, amid the scenery, stagehand William McMullen saw a bit of the canvas brush against a hot reflector behind a calcium arc spotlight. A tiny flame erupted. McMullen tried to crush it out with his hand but it was two inches beyond his reach.
Quickly the fire spread. The on-duty fireman tried desperately to stop the blaze, but was only equipped with two tubes of a patent powder called Kilfyres, which was completely ineffective on the fire. Foy had just walked onstage when an overhead light shorted and sparked, splashing rivulets of fire onto a velvet curtain and flammable props.
When a bit of burning scenery fell among the singers, they fled from the stage in a rush. The orchestra played on as Foy ran to the footlights and tried to calm the crowd. "Everything is under control," he said just as a mass of burning debris fell at his feet. He shouted to the stage manager to drop the theater's asbestos curtain. To his horror, the protective curtain snagged a projecting light fixture and jammed in its wooden tracks. The frightened singers and dancers, waiting backstage, fled from the stage door at the rear of the theater. That singular act sealed the Iroquois' doom. The sudden draft of icy air rushed in through the open door, billowing the flames under the partially-lowered asbestos curtain. The fireball reached over the heads of those on the first floor like the arm of a demon, spanning the 50-foot gap to the balconies. Everything combustible ignited instantly. With one accord, the audience made a rush to the doors.
"A sort of cyclone came from behind," Foy reported. "And there seemed to be an explosion." As the stage started collapsing, the audience bolted for the twenty-seven exits, only to find many of them with iron gates covering them. Some of the gates were locked, while others were unlocked but opening them required operation of a small lever of a type unfamiliar to most theater patrons. Other doors opened inwards. Those in front were trampled and crushed against the doors by the onrush of humanity.
In darkness, the living clawed over bodies piled 10 high around doors and windows, especially in the stairwell area exits from the balcony to the main floor. Other fatalities occurred as fire broke out underneath an alley fire escape, causing people above the fire to jump. The first to jump died as they hit the hard pavement. Later jumpers landed on the bodies and survived. Patrons also jumped from the balcony to the main floor of the theater with the same effect. Within fifteen minutes, it was all over. By the time firefighters arrived, the auditorium was silent. Firemen snuffed out the blaze within half an hour, but hope did not survive.
Five hundred and seventy five were dead; at least 27 more would die from their injuries. Families were devastated and torn apart, women and children suffering the most. Among the 500 performers and backstage personnel, only the tightrope artist caught high above the stage died. A temporary morgue was set up nearby to allow friends and relatives to identify the victims. Many of the victims were buried in Montrose, Forest Home and Graceland cemeteries in Chicago.
The Iroquois fire, with 602 casualties, was the deadliest blaze in Chicago history, second in the United States and fourth worldwide. In the United States, the disaster was unmatched even by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which killed 250, or the 1942 Coconut Grove night club blaze in Boston, which claimed 490 lives.
A coroner's inquest began within a week. Over two hundred witnesses testified. It was a national sensation, exposing unbelievable laxity on the part of the theater and city officials charged with public safety. Hearings revealed that 'complimentary' tickets motivated city inspectors to ignore the fire code and let the theater open. Theater principals, building owners, Chicago Mayor Carter H. Harrison and others were indicted, but those cases eventually were dismissed on technicalities. The only person to serve a jail term was a tavern keeper whose nearby saloon was used as a temporary morgue. He was convicted of robbing the dead.
Not one of the injured survivors or victims' relatives ever collected a cent of damages.
Mayor Harrison shut down 170 theaters, halls and churches for a months-long re-inspection that left 6,000 people unemployed. Under the new laws, the fire code was changed to require theater doors to open outwards, to have exits clearly marked and fire curtains made of steel. Also, theater management were now required to practice fire drills with ushers and theater personnel.
The Iroquois, which sustained only light interior damage, was repaired and reopened less than a year later as the Colonial Theater. In 1926, it was torn down to make way for the Oriental Theatre.
FURTHER READING Lest We Forget: Chicago's Awful Theatre Horror by D.B. McCurdy (1904). Memorial Publishing Company.
The Great Chicago Theater Disaster: The Complete Story Told by the Survivors by Marshall Everett (1904). Publishers Union of America.
Almanac, Chicago Daily News (1905,1906). Annual Report, Chicago Fire Marshall (1903). Iroquois Theater Fire, Chicago... List of Victims, Cook County Coroner.
History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago. by Frank A. Randall (1949). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. pg. 222.
MRC Clipping File: Fires--Chicago--Iroquois Theater Fire. http://www.eastlandmemorial.org/iroquois.shtml Listed among the victims:
Pease, Mrs. Augusta
552 East 49th Street Chicago IL 55 F Pease, Elizabeth
6140 Ingleside Ave. Chicago IL 7 F Daughter of P.S. Pease. Pease, Mrs. Grace
6140 Ingleside Ave. Chicago IL F Wife of P.S. Pease. http://www.eastlandmemorial.org/iroquois5.shtml#P
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Chicago Death Trap
The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903
Nat Brandt
Introduction by Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn
February 2003
cloth, 0-8093-2490-3, $25.00
240 pages, 6 x 9, 48 illus.
Illinois / History / Theatre
Read excerpts
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Chicago Death Trap vividly tells the story of a theater that wasn`t properly designed despite its owner`s public claim that it was absolutely fireproof.` So many safety rules were willfully ignored that in retrospect it is not surprising that the Iroquois disaster remains the deadliest fire in the history of any American city. Brandt . . . deftly lays out the story of a tragedy waiting to happen in a city with a corrupt government and greedy businessmen. . . . In the one hundred years since the fire, the worldwide horror and anger over the Iroquois calamity has faded away. But Brandt`s carefully documented, readable account reminds us what all the shouting was about.
Chicago Sun-Times
This chilling narrative provides a minute-by-minute chronicle of one of the most physically and psychologically devastating disasters of the twentieth century. . . . Packed with eyewitness testimony, this gripping account takes on a sense of dreadful immediacy as theatergoers, players, rescue workers, and victims' family members recount the grisly horrors of that afternoon and its aftermath. This superior piece of historical investigative journalism will keep readers turning the pages until the bitter end.
Booklist
Journalist [Nat] Brandt has written a riveting narrative of a tragedy that affected not only Chicago but the entire world. Public libraries will want to consider this readable book for their disaster collections while academic libraries that collect Chicago materials will find it essential.
Library Journal
Nat Brandt has unearthed a plethora of interesting, off-beat, and unusual tales and facts that balance a methodical minute-by-minute account of the most horrific building fire disaster in Chicago history. . . . The depth of research Brandt brings to the topic is the best compilation of historical material dealing with the fire and its subsequent hearings that I have ever read.
Richard Lindberg, author of Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago
[F]ew who pass through [the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theater's] doors realize that the building sits on the site of one of the most horrific tragedies in American history: the Iroquois Theatre fire that claimed the lives of six hundred and two people, over two-thirds of them women and children, on the afternoon of December 30, 1903. As Nat Brandt`s fascinating narrative reveals, this is a multilayered story that illuminates many aspects of life in the city and on the stage. Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, from the Introduction
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On the afternoon of December 30, 1903, during a sold-out matinee performance, a fire broke out in Chicago`s Iroquois Theatre. In the short span of twenty minutes, more than six hundred people, two thirds of whom were women and children, were asphyxiated, burned, or trampled to death in a panicked mob`s failed attempt to escape. A century after the firethe deadliest in American historyNat Brandt provides the only detailed chronicle of this horrific event to assess not only the titanic tragedy of the fire itself but also the municipal corruption and greed that kindled the flames beforehand and the political cover-ups hidden in the smoke and ash afterwards.
Advertised as absolutely fireproof, the Iroquois was Chicago`s most modern playhouse when it opened in the fall of 1903. With the approval of the city`s building department, theater developers Harry J. Powers and William J. Davis opened the theater prematurely to take full advantage of the holiday crowds, ignoring flagrant safety violations in the process. During the matinee on this particular Wednesday, all 1,724 seats were filled and an additional two hundred people were standing.
Midway through the second act, a spark from a defective light ignited a drop curtain and the blaze spread quickly to the scenery. Roof vents designed to handle smoke and heat were sealed off, and the fire curtain snagged before it could shield the audience from danger. A blast of gaseous fumes shot across the auditorium from an open stage door and asphyxiated hundreds of theatergoers almost instantly. Others were trampled or burned to death in the panic that ensued as they struggled to escape through locked exits, succeeding only in piling body upon body as the flames closed in.
For days afterward, Chicago mourned as relatives and friends searched hospitals for missing loved ones. The aftermath of the fire proved to be a study in the miscarriage of justice. Despite overwhelming evidence that the building was not complete, that fire safety laws were ignored, and that management had deliberately sealed off exits during the performance, no one was ever convicted or otherwise held accountable for the enormous loss of life.
Lavishly illustrated and featuring an introduction by Chicago historians Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 is rich with vivid details about this horrific disaster, captivatingly presented in human terms without losing sight of the broader historical context.
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Veteran journalist Nat Brandt is the author of ten previous books, including The Man Who Tried to Burn New York and The Town That Started the Civil War. The former editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, Brandt was also an editor for The New York Times and managing editor of American Heritage. He is the cocreator of the PBS television series Crucible of the Millennium, for which he also served as head of research.
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Excerpts from Chicago Death Trap . . .
The youth running the elevator to the top-floor dressing rooms, Robert Smith, could not see and could hardly breathe as he guided the elevator up to the sixth floor. He found one chorus girl there, then stopped at the fifth floor to take on others. The smoke was so thick that he had to search for the girls and then drag them into the elevator. The elevator itself had caught fire and was burning near the control lever. To start the car, Smith had to put his left hand into the flames. But he managed to get the elevator down to the main floor of the stage. (p 35)
James J. Hamilton, a trunk handler, was leading a group of ballet members to another coal hole in the rear of the building. He broke the cover with his bare hands, then lifted men and women in their costumes through the opening. Some of the men were still wearing their helmets. Incredibly, one supernumerary insisted on carrying his spear with him, but Hamilton threatened to brain him if he didn`t drop it and move quickly through the escape hole. (p 39)
Seated six rows from the back of the parquet, Harold C. Pynchon and a schoolboy friend also tried to escape by what they took to be an emergency exit on the north side of the theatre, but they, too, could not get the door open. The two youths turned and fought their way into the Grand Stair Hall, only to find that one of the doors to the lobby was locked, as well. Pynchon kicked through the glass panel of the door and squeezed through it. His friend never made it. (p 47)
George E. Smith and his wife were trying to make their way around the crush of people when Smith spotted, to his left, a young girl raise her arm, then sink down as some people fell on her. Caught by the fallen bodies, the girl nevertheless was able to give Smith one arm, then the other. He pulled her free. But in the struggle, her clothes were ripped off. Smith and his wife led the girl, naked and bruised, to safety. (p 48)
Mrs. W. F. Hanson made it out of the theater only because someone seized her. A man presumably, but she never knew who it was. Dazed, she was tossed and dragged along an aisle and lost consciousness. But everyone else in her theater partyeight relationswere killed. (p 53)
For Harriet Bray, what was supposed to be her Christmas present turned into a dreadful nightmare. Clothing and hair singed, the eleven-year-old girl had to jump the remaining twelve feet to the ground from the fire escape. Her father caught her in his arms. I`ll always remember,` she said, crawling beneath the legs of the horses who pulled the fire equipment, how they stood motionless in the face of all that chaos.` (p 56)
Never before, and never since, have so many persons been killed in a fire in America. In terms of the toll of human lives, the Iroquois Theatre fire wasand still isthe worst fire in the nation`s history. In all, 602 men, women, and children died as a result of the conflagration. The toll was so extraordinary that the Cook County coroner`s office, too overwhelmed to perform a postmortem on every individual, took the expedient of declaring that, no matter how badly burned or mauled the victims were, the all had died of asphyxiation.
An initial list of victims, prepared by the office of Coroner John Traeger in the latter part of January 1904, before more than thirty more victims died of their injuries in hospitals, bears the names of 570 individuals. Most300were Chicago residents, but the rest came from as many as twelve states other than Illinois and as many as eighty-five other cities and towns, mostly in the Midwest. As might be expected, they represented a cross-section of the holiday matinee audience. Of them, 420 were female, 150 male. (pp 8687)
http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/titles/s03_titles/brandt_chicago.htm
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