Maude Ganong Smith

On December 30, 1903, cousins in their early thirties, Nellie English Hart and Maude Ganong Smith, took Maude's teenaged daughter, Maurine, to a theater matinee. They rode a train into Chicago from Barrington, IL  and went to the much publicized Klaw and Erlanger pantomime, Mr. Bluebeard.  It was being performed at Chicago's newest playhouse, the Iroquois Theater on Randolph Street.

Maude was the daughter of Catherine "Kate" Harper Ganong (1834–1921), and Nellie the daughter of Catherine's late sister, Sarah Harper English (1839–1903). Maude had grown up in Hampshire, IL and Nellie in Atkinson, Illinois, about two hours distant. Close enough to see one another at holiday gatherings.

When a stage fire spread to the auditorium, all three perished.