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Thirteen-year-old Bennett F. Butler, his mother, Lucretia E.
(Taylor?) Butler (b.1851), and an eighteen-year-old cousin,
Flora L. Taylor, lost their lives at the Iroquois.
Their seats were in the dress circle (second floor balcony).
Flora survived for a day and died at St. Luke's
Hospital. She was sometimes referred to in
1904 newspapers as Clara Taylor, sometimes as a niece, and sometimes as an
adopted daughter. Chicago issued a burial permit for Flora Taylor.
I suspect she was a niece.
Lucretia and Frank were originally from New York.
In 1900 Lucretia's
mother, Scottish immigrant Elizabeth Taylor (b.1815),
and two nephews, William J. Taylor (b.1882) and
Ralph C. Taylor (b.1884) lived with the Butlers.
Flora may have been William's and Ralph's sister but
she was not a member of the household at that time.
I would very much like to learn the names of
William's, Ralph's and Flora's parents. Taylor
was the name of three other Iroquois victims.
I do not know if they were relatives of this family.
Lucretia's
husband, Frank S. Butler, and daughter, Lulu
(b.1884), did not attend the matinee. In 1903 the
family lived at 649 Michigan St. in Evanston, IL.
The family had Lucretia and Bennett buried in Rosehill Cemetery
in Evanston, Illinois. Flora's burial place is
not known. |
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The Inter Ocean
newspaper, January 2,
1904
"BOY'S BODY IS IDENTIFIED BY LETTER FROM TEACHER
"By
means of a letter written by his Sunday school
teacher, friends identified the body of Bennett
Butler at Horan's undertaking establishment
yesterday. Bennett was the 14-year-old son of
Mrs. Frank S. Butler who, with her niece, Miss Clara
Taylor*, lost her life In the Iroquois theater fire.
"Mr.
Butler, exhausted by the terrible search which
resulted in finding the bodies of his wife and
niece, was kept at home by his physicians. The
Sunday school companions of the dead youth took up
the search when the father's strength failed. At
Horan's they found the body scorched beyond
recognition. A letter signed by Arthur Morgan, a
teacher In the South Presbyterian Sunday school,
Evanston, was the only clue to his identity. Mr.
Horan had embalmed the body, as be had the rest of
the unidentified remains, to preserve them for
identification as long as possible.
"The
funeral of Mrs. Butler, her son and her niece will
be held at the Butler home. 619 Michigan avenue, at
2 o'clock this afternoon. The burial will be at Rose
Hill."
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