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Thirty-two-year-old Canadian, Annie Hedges Bergch (b.
1871), and her eleven-year-old son Arthur James Bergch
Jr. (b. 1892) lost their lives during an afternoon
matinee performance of Mr. Bluebeard at the Iroquois
Theater on December 30, 1903.
Anna was the daughter of James and Mary Lumber
Hedges, both born in England. She and Arthur
Jr. were the wife and son of Arthur Bergch (1862-1942),
a former student at Notre Dame University and in
1903 vice president at tobacco
wholesaler E. Hoffman Co. at 187 Madison in Chicago.
A second child, Edward George Bergch (c1899-), did
not attend the theater. In 1903 Annie and Arthur had
been married for twelve years and the family lived at 4926 Champlain
Ave in Chicago.
Arthur junior attended the Willard elementary school
in Chicago.
Annie's body was found at Sheldon's Undertaking and identified by her rings and
Arthur's by his pocket knife. Their bodies
were not recognizable.
A double funeral was held at the family home on Monday, January 4, 1904
and burial was at Oakwoods Cemetery in Chicago.
Creigier's workers found three items belonging
to Annie in the debris taken from the theater. There
was a 3.5-carat diamond that had been set in a pin,
a diamond ring and opera glasses marked "Arthur to
Hannah, 1901.
In the years after the fire
Edward, a toddler at the time of his mother's death, went to
live with his mother's
parents, Mary and James Hedges. Edward's World War I
draft registration card information is a clue to
what his brother Arthur might have looked like as an
adult. Edward, in
1917 a dry goods salesman, was described as 5' 11,
of medium build, with brown hair and blue eyes.
He later became a superintendent at a plumbing
supply house. His 1920 marriage to Eulalie Maloy ended in 1924 but a son resulted from the
pairing.
Arthur Bergch remarried in 1905, to widow Belle M. Ikerman
Oliver, and moved to Milwaukee where he worked as a
traveling salesman in the construction industry.
No evidence that his boy Edward ever lived with him
but it might have been the best solution for all
involved.
After the death of her daughter and grandson, followed by the loss of
her husband James (see below), Edward was probably a balm for grandmother Mary Hedges' grief.
Annie's
father, James Hedges, a contractor and hide exporter
who helped organize the
Iroquois Memorial Association, committed suicide
in February 1906. There was a minor problem with one
of his construction projects but his family said he
had been behaving oddly since the deaths of his
oldest daughter and grandson.
Sometimes the name Bergch was misspelled as Burgch and Bergh.
Two of four perished
Ella
Dubois made her 2nd solo trip to the theater
Dorothy Gould was 3
years old when her parents died at the Iroquois
Other discussions you might find interesting
Story 1040
A note about sourcing. When this
project began, I failed to anticipate the day might come when a
more scholarly approach would be called for. When my
mistake was recognized I faced a decision: go back and spend years creating source lists for every page, or go
forward and try to cover more of the people and circumstances
involved in the disaster. Were I twenty years younger, I'd
have gone back, but in recognition that this project will end when I do, I chose to go forward.
These pages will provide enough information, it is hoped, to
provide subsequent researchers with additional information.
I would like to
hear from you if you have additional info about an Iroquois victim, or find an error,
and you're invited to visit the
comments page to share stories and observations about the Iroquois Theater fire.
