Frances Ann Maddox Leach

Frances Ann Maddox Leach was one of eight children born to Wesley Harvey Maddox and Eliza Ann Grove.  Her husband George Woodward Leach died around eighteen months after their wedding, and Frances did not remarry.  Frances lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Estelle and John W. McCaslin, at 5747 Drexel in Chicago.

Mrs. John W McCaslin Hurt and Her Mother Killed

Among those who were injured in the fire at the Iroquois theatre at Chicago last week was Mrs. John W McCaslin, whose husband was for many years a resident of this city. Her mother, Mrs. F A Leach, formerly a resident of the southern part of Wells County, was killed in trying to escape from the theatre. Mrs. McCaslin was seriously hurt but will recover.

Mr. and Mrs. McCaslin were married at Bluffton in 1893 and went to Chicago where they have since lived. He is an instructor of penmanship in a business college in that city. No trace of the body of Mrs. Leach could be discovered until Sunday when it was found at the Cook County morgue. She is a sister of Dr L E Maddox, of Montpelier, and he searched for her corpse several days before his efforts were rewarded. The condition of her body leads to a belief that she was suffocated of gas. Although she was burned about the face it is not thought that they were serious enough to cause her death. The remains were brought to Montpelier for burial on Tuesday. Her daughter, Mrs. McCaslin, was able to attend the funeral.

Source: The Warren Tribune, Friday, Jan. 8, 1904

Funeral of Mrs. Leach
Held at the Home of Dr L E Maddox
Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday at two o'clock at the home of Dr L E Maddox on South Main Street, occurred the funeral of Mrs. Frances A Leach, well known here and a victim of the Iroquois theatre fire at Chicago. A large number of relatives and friends were present and the services, conducted by Rev Brown, were very touching.

Mrs. Leach was about fifty-one years of age. She was reared at Montpelier and was the widow of Geo W Leach. The latter died about thirty years ago when his daughter, Mrs. Stella McCaslin, was but a few months old.

In 1896, Mrs. Leach went to Chicago to make her home with her daughter, Mrs. McCaslin. On last Wednesday they went to the theater to see the new playhouse and to obtain a little relaxation. In common with the others, they did not dream of the fate which was in store for them, and they did not realize their danger until the flash came that blotted out the life of Mrs. Leach and severely burned Mrs. McCaslin.

The body of Mrs. Leach had been placed with the unidentified dead. It was numbered '7'. The remains were so disfigured that they were recognized only by the teeth, a single lock of hair which had not been burned from the head and a pair of shoes which bore the mark of a Montpelier store (Henderson's). The body was identified by Mr. William Maddox and Dr L E Maddox, and they were almost overcome with horror when they made the discovery.