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German immigrants, thirty-one-year-old Emil Nicholas Epsen (b.1872) and
his twenty-three-year-old sister,* Rosie Espen
(b.1877), lived with their parents at 305 Osgood
Street in Chicago. (With street name and address
changes, it was later designated as 2338 Kenmore —
today part of the DePaul University campus, at the
site of the Richardson Library.) Emil and Rosa were
two of four children born to Moses "Mo" Espen
(1844-1917) and Dora / Dorah Espen (1842-1934).
Moses and Dora were married in 1870, and the family
immigrated to America in 1883 or 1895.
Funeral services
The double funeral, attended by four hundred friends and relatives, was
held in the chapel at Furth & Company funeral home
at the corner of Thirty-Fifth and Grand. The
service, conducted by rabbi
Emanuel Schreiber, included portions in Hebrew,
English and German.
Emil and Rosie were reportedly buried in Waldheim
Jewish Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois (though it
has yet to be substantiated with grave marker
photos).
Emil had served as Master in his Ancient Free and
Accepted Masonic Lodge No. 437 in 1903, the
twenty-fifth man to occupy the position since the
group's founding in 1864.†
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He was to have received a "Past Masters" medallion from the group five days
after the Iroquois disaster on Monday evening,
January 4, 1904. Instead, the awards program was
postponed so members could attend his funeral.
Making a living
Moses Espen was a wholesale clothing representative
with offices at 630 W. Madison. Son Emil founded and
around 1900 sold his tailoring business to go to
work as a buyer for The Fair department store. The
two oldest Espen girls, Sophia and Jenny, worked at
The Fair as clerks then.
In the years after the fire
Six months before the Iroquois Theater fire Mo and Dora announced the
engagement of their middle daughter, Sophia, whose
wedding took place three months after the fire.
Sophia Espen Marblestone (1876-1914) would have
three children, naming her first-born daughter after
her sister Rosie.
Sophia passed in 1914, and Mo followed in 1917. Dora
moved in with her last surviving child and her
family, Jennie Espen Eichen (1875-1941), with whom
she lived for the rest of her years.
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Discrepancies and addendum
* One period report had Emil as husband and wife and
another as uncle and niece; all other newspaper
reports, as well as the 1900 U.S. Census and
genealogical research, report them as brother and
sister.
Rosie was also referred to as Rose and Rosa.
† The lodge is still in operation, celebrating its
150th anniversary in 2015.
Hope to find photos of Emil and Rosie.
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