Benjamin Moore

"Three out of four generations of the family of Benjamin Moore, a grocer at 119 West Fifty-Ninth street, wiped out of existence with eight at the family reunion dead and only one surviving of a party of nine relatives who attended the theater..." (The Inter Ocean)

[Extract from the 80th Adams-McKain Reunion News, Vol. 1, No. 8, Sturgeon Bay, WI, 1 Jul. 2000.  www.adams-mckain.com/Newsletters/Vol_1No8_2000.pdf, from Jill McMullen]

FOUR GENERATIONS PERISH IN CHICAGO IROQUOIS THEATER FIRE 30 December 1903

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin (Kittie Sayles) Moore were two of the eight relatives who died in the fire. Kittie's mother was Phebe H. Kinney, who married Harvey S. Sayles. The Sayles were prominent early settlers in Oceana County, MI, with Kittie the first white child born in a township of Oceana Co. Although Kittie may have had other siblings, only the Honorable W.N. Sayles of Grand Rapids, MI, and N.G. Sayles, a merchant of Scottsville, are mentioned in the Hart Journal News articles of 8 Jan 1904 and 9 Jan 1904:

"The Iroquois Theater was patterned after the Opera Comique in Paris, France, which also burned 25 May 1887. The Iroquois Theater opened in November 1903 for the first performance 32 years after the great Chicago fire of 10 August 1871, which burned for 31 hours and destroyed 17,450 buildings, cost $200 million, and killed 250 people - in contrast to the Iroquois Theater fire which killed 602 people and left a host of other people injured. The damage to the theater was insignificant but it includes the props, gutted backstage, and scorched upholstery on seats.

The majestic Iroquois Theater was marble, mahogany, glass, and gilt, with the advertised claim that the theater was fireproof; however, much of the equipment had not been installed, the interior was filled with combustible material including wooden seats stuffed with hemp and covered with plush velveteen. The performance of "Mr. Bluebird," staring Eddie Foy (Edward Fitzgerald), required 280 backdrops of oil-painted canvas, gauze-draped lattice work, and floodlights. The fire started just before the second act when a floodlight ignited the drapery about 15 feet above and to the rear of the stage. Although the performers tried to do something, it was ineffectual because no one cut down the burning scenery. The fire door only came down part way and a draft from an open backstage door sent a huge fireball under the curtain, over the orchestra, and out to the audience. Although there were 30 exits, many were unmarked, locked or frozen shut. One group got to an outside balcony only to find there was no way to get off the balcony, until painters in the next building laid planks across, making a bridge, thus saving 12 lives. Although the fire fighters came in 10 minutes of the first alarm and had the fire out in 15 minutes, the fire is known as the worst fire in American history.

Most of the people who died were in the first and second balcony where all the 900 seats were full and people were standing in the aisles.  The "high society" audience was mainly of parents and children on a Holiday Theater party. Although there were 9 in the Moore party, only Lena (Moore) Hanson escaped death. B.D. McCurdy in his book, "The Great Chicago Fire 1904," on page 197 records Lena's description of her experiences: " I cannot tell how I got out of the theater. I remember starting for one of the aisles when the panic was at its height. I was separated from my friends. We had a row of seats in the second balcony. Suddenly someone seized me and I was tossed and dragged along the aisle and I lost consciousness.  When I came to my senses I was in a store across the street.  Every one of my companions had perished. We were all related by marriage."

The eight in the Moore party that died are: Roland McKay, age 6, his grandparents Joe & Nell (Moore) Bezenek, Lucille Bond, age 10, her grandfather Benjamin & Kittie (Sayles) Moore, Sybil, age 13, and her mother Mate Moore.  There were 36 states, 86 cities/towns involved in the 602 deaths. The identification of victims was a monumental task and sme of the Moore relatives from Hart traveled to Chicago to claim the bodies.

It took 75 hours of searching from morgue to morgue and it wasn't until 1 January 1904 at 8 p.m. that the last body of Kittie Moore was identified. The weary party finally returned to Hart on 3 Jan 1904 at 4:30 a.m. on a special train carrying the 8 coffins, which were transferred to Joslin's Undertaking Rooms, where they were placed in a circle with Roland in the middle. The 8 were buried at the Hart cemetery at 10 a.m. and a memorial service for them was at 2 p.m. on 5 Jan 1905 at the Congregational Church in Hart with Rev. Frederick Bagnall officiating. The song "Lead Kindly Light" was sung at the memorial service -- a song sun at most of the funerals of all the victims.

Will J. Davis, president and general manager [of the theater], was charged with manslaughter and many witnesses gave testimony about the events. The major of Chicago, Carter Harrington, was also held responsible as well as others who functioned in an official capacity. Theaters worldwide were affected by the fire and the Iroquois fire led to the adoption of the first national fire codes for public buildings "lest we forget."

From "History of Oceana Co. 1882," presented by mygenweb.org/oceana: "BENJAMIN MOORE, lumberman, came to Hart October 21, 1866, and has resided there ever since.  He immediately commenced the erection of his hotel, which was opened June 16, 1867, being the first hotel in the village.  In 1873 he leased it to Tyler Carmer for eighteen months, but has for the last few years rented it to Mr. Bailey.  In the Spring of 1872 he erected a sawmill at Mears, which he has run ever since. Mr. Moore is of an inventive turn of mind, and patented in 1870 a valuable invention for clamping window sash, and has also made a valuable improvement on mill dogs.  He has by industry and steady application to business acquired a competency."