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A group of teenage girls from upper-middle-class
families in Chicago's Humbolt neighborhood formed a
club to coordinate their literary activities. In a
reflection of a more innocent time, they named it
Femina Pleasure Club (FPC).
Twenty-year-old Mabel Hunter was the
president, and thirteen-year-old Abbie
Raymer was the treasurer.
On December 30, 1903, nine club members,
together with one of their mother's and two of their
sisters, attended a Mr. Bluebeard
matinee at the city's new Iroquois
Theater. Intending to purchase seats in
the second-floor balcony, they
accidentally purchased seats in the
third-floor balcony. Nine in the party
survived America's worst theater disaster that day,
and four perished.
Femina Pleasure Club members who died at the Iroquois Theater
May lived at 69 North Humboldt Ave. She was
the daughter of Chicago attorney and New
York native August Marx (c1849–c1925) and
Anne Eiles Marx (1854–). She had a brother,
Frank Marx, and two sisters, Gussie Marx
(1887–) and Nana Marx (1883–). In 1904 May's
father, August Marx, was chairman of the
first annual memorial service for Iroquois
Theater victims and served as an officer in
the organization for several years.
Became the lead plaintiff during attempted
prosecution for four years, her mother
becoming something of an activist on her
late daughter's behalf.
The first indictments were charged against
Davis,
Noonan and
Cummings for manslaughter in the deaths
of Viva and
Margaret Berry. (Some reports instead
named Emma Berry as a prospective co-lead
plaintiff.)
Wisconsin-born Viva was the daughter of Iowa
natives, insurance salesman James C. Jackson
(1849–1929) and Maude Robinson Jackson
(1868–1917). Her father found her body at
Rolston's Mortuary. She was buried at the Forest
Park Cemetery in Chicago. Her mother Maude became a
playwright and pageant producer in later
years.
Hovland was inaccurately spelled Haveland in
some 1903/1904 newspapers.
Leigh was a student at the Yates school. She
was the daughter of salesman Norwegian John
Peter Hovland (1863–1946) and Minnesota
native, Anna Lien Hovland (1862–1920), and
cousin of Clyde Thompson, who also died at
the Iroquois.
Leigh had one sibling, older sister Edna
Beatrice "Eva" Hovland (b.1887 Minnesota),
who survived the Iroquois fire (see left).
The Hovland family lived at 31 Humboldt
Blvd.
Before moving to Chicago, the Hovlands lived
in Albert Lea, Minnesota. John Hovland
worked in the clothing industry, employed by
Carson, Pirie, Scott, general manager of
garment manufacturer, F. Siegel & Bros, and
later as a co-owner with his son in law in a
coat manufacturing firm,
Sardeson-Hovland-McCohn Co. John Hovland
served as a secretary in the Iroquois
Memorial Hospital association.
Leigh's father found her body at Jordan's
mortuary. Leigh was buried with her parents
in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.
Clyde was a University of Wisconsin freshman
visiting relatives in Chicago for the
Christmas holiday. He was the nephew of John
and Anna Hovland, cousin of their daughters,
Leigh and Edna Hovland, with whom he
attended the theater.
Clyde was the oldest son of Ole T. Thompson
(1855–1919) and Sophia Hovland Thompson
(1856–1918), who made their home at 520 Egan
Avenue in Madison, South Dakota, with
Clyde's two brothers and a sister.
Some 1904 books and newspapers inaccurately
reported that Clyde and his
thirteen-year-old cousin, Leigh Hovland,
were engaged. Clyde's body was taken to
Cleveland's mortuary and identified by his
uncle, John Hovland.
Abbie was one of three children born to Mary Jane
Gallagher Raymer (1862–1945)▼1 and Canadian, Walter
John Raymer (1864–1935), a Chicago alderman and
manager of the Chicago branch of the
Connecticut-based American Pin Company, makers of
the Puritan pin. Abbie's mother and two sisters were
in a separate theater party, seated on the ground
floor, from which they escaped, reportedly as the
first to emerge from the theater. Her sisters were
twelve-year-old Alice Raymer (1890–1979) and
ten-year-old Ellen May Raymer (1892–1946). None of
the Raymers were sitting where they intended when
entering the theater. Both parties wanted seats in
the dress circle but Abbie's group instead were
seated in the third-floor balcony and Mary and the
girls were on the ground floor. Walter Raymer
learned of the fire while in a meeting at City Hall.
He ran to the theater and soon found his wife and
two younger daughters but could not find Abbie. The
search for his daughter through morgues and
hospitals went on for many hours before he learned
she had escaped and taken a streetcar home.
Two years after the fire, in 1905, Abbie was
attending the Lewis Institute with two others of her
fellow FPC Iroquois survivors, Edna and Mable
Hunter.▼2 The Raymers lived at 1738 Humboldt Blvd.
In the summer of 1913 Abbie traveled to England
aboard the Carmania. Five years later, at age
thirty, she died and was buried in the Mt. Carmel
cemetery. I don't know the cause of her death but
deaths from the 1918 influenza epidemic crested in
Chicago that month.
A newspaper reported: "One of the Iroquois
sufferers, Miss Lillian Ackerman, a student of
the Northwest division High School, is seriously
burned about the head and face and will lose her
eyesight."
Lillian did not lose her vision. Six years after
the fire, she spent the summer teaching housekeeping
to tenement children. By 1922 she was teaching at
the Lake View High School in Chicago, by 1930 was an
elementary school principal, and retired in 1953.
She was the daughter of German immigrants, realtor
Henry Ackerman (1846–1976) and Barbara Ackerman
(1855–).
One 1904 newspaper reported that she carried a
child out of the Iroquois, climbing over one of the
accordion gates, which would have been impossible
unless the child was clinging to her back as she
climbed over the gate. Though not permanently
blinded, her burns were severe and her parents were
first to file suit for $20,000 in damages. In 1909
the family received a $750 settlement from Fuller
Construction, one of only thirty-five awarded. The
family lived at 836 Armitage.
Sixteen-year-old Florence N. Nicholson (1887–1932)
Florence was the daughter of salesman James
Francis Nicholson (1858–1906) and Ellen "Nellie"
Joy Nicholson (1859–1906). She had three sisters
(Mabel, Jessie and Evangeline) and a brother
(James Jr.). The family lived at 230 Humboldt
Blvd.
Florence remained in the Chicago area, marrying
William Joseph Malooly (1885–), a foreman at the
Edison company, and raising six children.
Misspelled as Haveland in some 1903/1904
newspapers, Edna was the sister and cousin of
Iroquois fatalities Leigh Hovland and Clyde
Thompson (above).
LIke her sister, Edna was born in Minnesota. She
married Wisconsin native, coat manufacturer,
Orville Almond Sardeson, and they had two
children.
Eighteen-year-old Edna Sloan Hunter (1885–1955) and her
twenty-year-old sister, Mabel Hunter (1883–1948)
Edna Hunter was seriously burned, requiring twelve
square inches of grafted skin. The skin was
donated by her classmates. (See accompanying
story.) The Hunter girls lived at 85 Humboldt.
Blvd. in Chicago with their parents, both
Ohioans, wool merchant Samuel Sloan Hunter
(1850–1909) and Josephine Estelle Whitaker
Hunter (1851–1917), three brothers, Samuel
Taylor Hunter (1876–1927) Paul Laubie Hunter
(c.1877) and Thomas Wayne Hunter (1891–1964).
Samuel Hunter was a traveling salesman, and the
family frequently relocated; each of the five
children was born in a different state.
In 1905 Edna and Mable attended the Lewis
Institute with fellow FPC club Iroquois survivor
Abbie Raymer (left). As adults, Though it
was predicted in her lawsuit that Edna's
facial scars made it impossible for her to
find a husband, she married a
Arthur H. Granger (1867–) of
Westport, Connecticut. Mable, who may
have felt for a while that her primary
identity was "the sister who wasn't burned"
became a translator.
In 1909 Edna received a $750 settlement for her
injuries from
Fuller Construction, the company that built
the Iroquois Theater. It was one of thirty five
such settlements made by Fuller, comprising the
totality of victim compensation for the Iroquois
Theater disaster. It was substantially
less than the $25,000 suit she brought
against Fuller that was dismissed.
January, 1904 newspaper story
about Edna's skin grafts
[Note that the term
"cuticle" was used as a synonym for
epidermis in the early 1900s.]
"FIVE GIVE UP SKIN TO SAVE
BURNED GIRL
Three Young Women and Two
Men Allow Seven Square Inches of Cuticle to
be Taken From Arms.
With their arms bared to the keen edge of
a surgeon's knife, five young friends of
Miss Edna Hunter, who was seriously burned
In the Iroquois theater disaster,
unflinchingly and willingly gave up strips
of their cuticle in order that their
companion might go through life unscarred.
Altogether seven square inches of akin were
taken from the contributors and grafted on
the ear, scalp, and throat of the
unfortunate girl. Miss Hunter's ear was so
badly burned that it had granulated and It
was found necessary to cover the member with
skin and mold It back into some semblance of
an ear. The persons making the sacrifice
were brought In one at a time and the thin
layers of cuticle taken off with a
razor-like scalpel In the experienced band
of Dr. Carl Beck.▼3 The operation was
performed with the greatest dispatch, so as
to minimize the time the skin would be
exposed.
Before the operation the
arms of the girl who underwent the ordeal
were washed with an antiseptic wash and then
bandaged to prevent contamination. While
this was going on the patient was put under
the influence of ether.
The first to bare her arm
to the knife was Miss Bessie Sloan, from
whom two strips of skin were taken, this
being applied to the ear of the patient. The
others followed In quick succession, the
operation consuming one hour. Those who gave
their cuticle for the operation were: Bessie
Sloan, Washington Boulevard. Lela Sloan,
sister of Bessie. Howard Sloan, brother of
Bessie. Louise Taylor. 1767 Humboldt
boulevard, Samuel T. Hunter, brother of the
patient. May Ackerman. whose sister was
badly injured in the fire and Florence
Nicholson also offered their services, but
they were not needed. Miss Hunter was
reported very strong after the operation and
Dr. Beck feels assured her recovery will be
complete.
Miss Hunter was a member of the FPC club of
eight young women who attended the theater
on the afternoon of the fire. Of these, two
lost their lives, Viva Jackson and May Marx.
Others of the party were Lillian Ackerman,
who was injured; Abbie Raymer. daughter of
Alderman Raymer, Florence Nicholson, and
Edna Hovland. Miss Hunter Is the daughter
of Samuel S. Hunter, a woolen merchant at
175 Dearborn street."
Edna's injuries
as testified by her physician, Dr. Henry
Harms
Edna's $25,000 civil suit against Fuller
Construction and the Iroquois Theater was
the first civil case called up by the
courts, the honor falling
on September 27, 1905 to recently appointed district judge
Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The case
was scheduled for October 18, 1905 but a
deposition was taken from her physician, Dr.
Henry Harms on April 21, 1905, because he
would be in Europe in October.▼4
Despite a
scandal during voir dire, a jury was
seated, however judge
K.M. Landis dismissed the case on November 3, 1904▼5 and Harm's deposition was
never heard by a jury. We are able to learn
about her injuries thank to the deposition
being safeguarded these many years by the
National Archives in Chicago. I am
grateful to Jeremy Farmer of the the
National Archives for calling my attention
to the
430-pg online documents.
Following is a transcript of Dr. Harm's description of Edna's injuries.
Q State your name, Doctor. A Henry
Harms. Q You are a physician and surgeon?
A Physician and surgeon. Q Of what
medical institutions are you a graduate?
A The regular college, Rush Medical College,
and Germany, Berlin. A What college in
Germany? A Post Graduate College; they
have courses there, but I graduated here.
Q How long have you practiced medicine in
Chicago? A Since February, 1888. Q And
what is your office and residence now? A
27 Humboldt Boulevard
_________________________ Q Now, Doctor,
will you describe in your own way what
condition you found the plaintiff in when
you were called to treat her and what you
did for her?
A I was called on the
evening of December 30th, 1903, to 61
Humboldt Boulevard, the home of Miss Edna
Hunter, to attend Miss Edna Hunter. On
examination I found her hair scorched and
severe burns and blisters over the whole
face, especially on the right side, and over
both hands up to the wrists, especially on
the back part of the hands. I cut off her
hair and found several severe scorched
places on her scalp, burnt to a crisp. After
using the ordinary measures to relieve the
severe pain of blisters forming after these
burnt wounds I left the house, was called in
the middle of the night to administer to her
for severe pains that she suffered from the
severe burns. I have attended her since from
the 30th day of December, 1903, to the first
day of May, 1904, almost continuously,
sometimes two or three times a day, later on
every second or third day, having in
consultation Professor Dr. Carl Beck, of
Chicago, several times, and after a month
and a half, or almost, we decided that skin
grafting was necessary to heal the extensive
burns of the face and especially of the
right ear, which had to be amputated at the
upper third on account of gangrene having
set in after the severe burning.
Q
Very well. Have you seen Miss Hunter
recently?
A. Yes, sir. I have seen
her last week.
Q How is her present
condition as to being scarred?
A She
is disfigured for life time, severely
disfigured for life time.
Q How long,
Doctor, did the acute conditions last that
you have referred to in the ear - or, not in
the ear, but of the right ear?
A
Well, the acute condition, if you might call
it, lasted only about ten or twelve days;
then gangrene had set in and we had to take
off the upper third of the ear, and the
second stage of the burns lasted for another
ten weeks.
Q The upper portion. After
you removed the upper portion of the ear did
it heal up properly?
A. No sir; that
is, it formed a superficial scare which had
to be opened ultimately, later on, and skin
grafting resorted to.
Discrepancies and addendum
1. Early newspapers reported that Abbie's mother organized the Mr. Bluebeard
outing but Mary Raymer was quick to make a public denial. Amidst
a torrent of newspaper
inaccuracies, Mrs. Raymer's denial seemed punctilious but the denial may have been directed by
Chicago prosecutors. (Today the host's family would
have spent years defending their assets from the
parents of their daughters friends.) Abbie's Iroquois theater party included Viva Jackson and May Marx who
became the lead plaintiff's when the city took Iroquois management to court.
Any blurring of culpability would have been
unwelcome. In 1904 Mary Raymer donated a
Guardian Angel statue to her high school alma
matter, Josephinum Academy, in appreciation for
her family's escape from the Iroquois Theater.
2 The Lewis Institute was a
junior college that merged with the Armour Institute
in 1940 to become today's Illinois Institute of
Technology (IIT)
4. Dr. Henry Harms (1866–1848)
was a native of
Germany, thirty-seven years old, married with
one child. He remained in Chicago until at
least 1909. Sometime thereafter the family returned to Germany.
5. Despite eight changes in the
declaration, the Edna's case rested on the
plaintiffs failing to comply with Chicago's
highly flawed building ordinance. Landis
gave her attorneys 30 days to revise their
declaration yet again but could not justify the
cost of holding the jury over.
Teenagers Irma
Weiskopf and Lilly Doerr died at Iroquois Theater
Other discussions you might find interesting/p>
Story 1139
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.
