A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
He is Find A Grave memorial #152417534.
From Andreas, A. T. (1884). History of Chicago: From the earliest period to the present time. Chicago: A Great Conflagration.—Up to the year 1858, the most destructive fire which Chicago had suffered occurred October 19, 1857. It entailed upon the city not only a great loss of property, but a distressing loss of life. The fire originated in a large brick store, Nos. 109 and 111 South Water Street. Though reports and rumors as to the origin of the conflagration are conflicting, the weight of testimony goes to show that in a room in the second story of the building four abandoned men and women were indulging in a drunken carousel, and one of their number overturned a lamp. The flames spread rapidly in all directions, and in a very short time the occupants of the building, among whom were other men and women of ill fame, were pouring out of their disgraceful haunts. Some escaped to the street; others leaped from the windows to adjacent buildings, and thence reached the ground. So far as is known, no, lives were lost in this locality. The scarcity of the water supply, and the inability of the Fire Department, made the progress of the flames a complete triumphal march, and it was not long before some of the finest and most costly business edifices in the city were heaps of ruins. Nearly half a million dollars worth of property was destroyed, and twenty-three lives were lost. Early in the morning, John B. Dickey, foreman of “Liberty" Hose Company No. 6, was in the act of getting a new lead of hose to bear upon Edward Hempstead's wholesale grocery building, on South Water Street, when the rear and side walls of the structure fell, instantly killing the unfortunate fireman. Shortly after this accident, a terrible casualty occurred on Lake Street, by which several lives were lost, and which caused the greatest consternation. A large number of persons were engaged in removing dry goods from the four-story brick store occupied by Mr. Barnum, when suddenly the roof and upper floors came down with a terrible crash, burying some twenty men beneath the ruins; and, a moment after, a portion of the side walls also fell in, adding still more to the horror of the scene. Instantly the most intense excitement prevailed, and the people rushed wildly around the burning building, in the vain effort to save, if possible, the lives of those beneath the ruins. The fire was so intensely hot that no one could enter the building. As soon as practicable, streams were brought to bear, and after a short time a crowd of men rushed in and began to search for the bodies among the hot bricks and burning rubbish: This was a work of great danger, as the walls on either side were tottering and liable to fall any moment; and indeed, when they did come down, many persons had a narrow escape from being buried with those for whom they were searching. The dangerous portions of the walls left standing by the fire were thrown down by means of ropes passed across them, and the work of rescuing the bodies was systematically commenced. Before dark the bodies of the following had been recovered: Timothy Buckley, member of Hook and Ladder Company No. I; Auguste Wolf, Hook and Ladder Company No. 3; E. R. Clark, of the firm of Clark & Metz, stove and tin ware dealers; Dudley C. White, employed in Joseph Fisk & Co.'s hardware store; John Tar, gas-fitter, with Gerould & Co., Jean Jungers; H. S. Bradley, jeweler. The bodies, as fast as recovered from the ruins, were carried to the grand-jury room in the court-house. Coroner Hansen at once summoned a jury of inquest, and the following additional bodies were identified: Marcus D. Grants, of Lady Washington Hose Company No. 5; Matthias Marsh, clerk with Beckwith & Co.; John A. Raymond; D. C. Emerson, a painter; Ezra H. Barnum, of the firm Barnum Bros; John High, retired merchant; Lawrence Griebel, sailor; John Keegan; Alfred H. P. Corning, clerk with Merchants‘ Loan and Trust Co., cousin of Erastus Coming, of Albany, N. Y.; Abram Bogart, foreman for Campbell & Co., silver platers. On the evening of the 20th, the various officers of the Fire Department met at the Comptroller's office, to make arrangements for the burial of their dead comrades. The obsequies were fittingly observed on the 21st.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
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