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In 1903, Joseph McClelland (b.1872) and Rena E. Knopp (b.1884) celebrated their
wedding engagement with a trip into the city for some shopping
and an afternoon matinee at Chicago's elegant new playhouse, the
Iroquois Theater on Randolph St. Both were from Harvard,
Illinois, a small town in McHenry County, Illinois, about and hour
and a half northwest of the Chicago loop. They had tickets to return
home to Harvard that evening, and relatives went to the station
to meet their incoming train. Joseph and Rena did not arrive,
however, and family members instead learned of a horrific
theater fire in Chicago.
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Identifications
A group of the couple's relatives traveled to Chicago to find their
bodies. Joseph's brother (or uncle), George
McClelland, and Rena's father, Robert Knopp,
searched the morgues for two days before finding
them at separate morgues.
Rena's body was identified by the name of a
Harvard shoe merchant's name printed in her
shoes. A fur and engagement ring had
been claimed by would-be thieves but when her
mother was able to give authorities a name
stitched into the pocket of the fur, police
retrieved it The ring was never found.
A locket that may have been Rena's was retrieved
from the theater but it is not known if her
family saw the newspaper notice below and
claimed the locket. Rena was a
common nickname for Irene, of which there were
five among Iroquois victims.
This list appeared in the January 1, 1904 issue
of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. There
were still one hundred eighty unidentified
bodies that morning and police hoped family
members would recognize their loved one's
belongings.
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Rena taught at a rural school in the Harvard area.
She was the daughter of Robert C. Knopp (1860–1916)
and Augusta C. Benneweis Knopp (1865–1947). Her
father, a farmer, was from Germany and her mother
from Illinois. The family line was carried on by
Rena's brothers, Menzo Frederick Knopp (b. 1892),
who married Vera Katherine Gher (1890–1978) and
had a couple of children, and Lester J. Knopp of
Chicago. Rena's mother, Augusta, remarried in 1920
to William C. Wittmun, a widower with three sons.
A group of the couple's
relatives traveled to Chicago to find their bodies.
Joseph's brother (or uncle), George McClelland, and
Rena's father, Robert Knopp, searched the morgues
for two days before finding their bodies at separate
morgues.
Rena's body was identified by her shoes, in which
were printed the name of a Harvard shoe merchant.
Rena's fur had been claimed by would-be thieves, but
when her mother was able to give authorities a name
stitched into the pocket of the fur, police
retrieved the fur. Her engagement ring was never
found.
Rena taught at a rural school in the
Harvard area. She was the daughter of Robert C.
Knopp (1860–1916) and Augusta C. Benneweis Knopp
(1865–1947). Her father, a farmer, was from Germany,
and her mother was from Illinois. The family line
was carried on by Rena's brothers, Menzo Frederick
Knopp (b. 1892), who married Vera Katherine Gher
(1890–1978) and had a couple of children, and Lester
J. Knopp of Chicago. Rena's mother, Augusta,
remarried in 1920 to William C. Wittmun, a widower
with three sons.
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