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Two female employees in the Iroquois Theater's
maintenance department were on duty Wednesday afternoon, December 30, 1903. They
worked as attendants in the ladies' room. During the performance of Mr.
Bluebeard, they slipped into the second-floor balcony to watch a bit of the
second act. When a fire broke out on the stage and spread to the auditorium, the
doorway through which the women had entered the auditorium was soon blocked with
theatergoers. The more experienced employee quickly headed to a fire escape exit
(door #31)
and, in minutes, was safe on the ground in Couch Place alley behind the theater.
The second woman, her path probably blocked as the crowd closed in, did not
follow her companion and became one of nearly six hundred fatalities.
Margaret Devine
Twenty-two-year-old Margaret
Devine (b. 1881) lived at 95 Kendall St. She was one
of five children born to Mary Cunningham Devine
(1845–1915) and Michael Devine (c1830–1882). Her
body was identified by her sister, Nellie Devine
Christopher, at Buffum's Funeral Parlor. and
was buried in the family plot in Mt. Carmel cemetery
in Hillside, Illinois. Margaret's widowed mother
and sister did not have the money to bury Margaret,
and the matter was referred to Chicago Mayor
Harrison by John J. McGrath (1852–1904) of 404
Paulina St. Harrison turned the matter over to Simon
Mayer (1871–1953), secretary of the police
department. Victim funds had been offered by a few
individuals and organizations.†
In 1910 one of Margaret's
sisters, Mary Jean Devine Vivian, named her only
daughter after Margaret.
Katherine Halpin
Forty-one-year-old Katherine
"Katie" Collins Halpin (1858–1933) lived at 720 W.
14th. She was the widow of teamster Thomas Halpin
(1844–1901), an Irish immigrant who, at death, had
left her with five children age six to twenty,
Josie, Hanora, George, James, and Nellie. She had
lost five children prior to 1900. Katherine was the
daughter of Hanora /Hannah Hayes Collins (1833–1904)
and Dennis Collins. (1833–1913)
She described her escape from the Iroquois Theater
(above) during her testimony at the coroner's
investigation in January 1904.
Discrepancies and addendum
Margaret was one of two Iroquois maintenance workers to die in the fire. The
other was
Ragna Anderson.
Coincidentally, another Iroquois Theater victim was
named
Margaret Devine Evans, a woman from Quincy,
Illinois, who attended the theater with her sister,
Clara Devine, and daughter, Mabel Evans. Sometimes
Clara Devine is cited as the woman who worked at the
Iroquois, but in court, Katherine Halpin testified
that her companion at the Iroquois was named
Margaret Devine.
That said, I am not satisfied with the information
learned about Clara Devine, and cannot say that she
did not also work at the Iroquois, only that
Margaret Devine definitely did, and perished.
Notices I've found in Chicago, and other newspapers
about Clara Devine do not state that she was an
Iroquois employee, only that she lived in Chicago
and was the sister of Margaret Devine Evans.
* McGrath was president of the Chicago chapter of
the national association for stationary engineers
and Chicago's chief sewer inspector.
† Reported promises of donations from:
Dr. Lueger, burgomaster of Vienna, promised to
create a fund in appreciation of donations from America during the Viennese Ring Theater fire
Sir Thomas Lipton of London promised $1,000 to victims
Hammond Elevator Company promised $500
Charles O. Robinson, Marshall Field, and the Service club donated to the Samaritan hospital
Lola Armour, wife of Jonathan Ogden Armour, heir to Armour Meatpacking donated $500 — to theater performers
Louisa
Rubly and her daughters Ida Weimers and Mattie Fieser
The Dee family of Chicago
Chicago Iroquois Memorial
Hospital
Other discussions you might find interesting
Story 2671
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.
