Iroquois Theater last adventure for Ella and Louise

The Kavanaugh sisters were from Springfield, Illinois. The identity of their parents is uncertain with some genealogy researchers citing Patrick and Ellen Kavanaugh and others citing John and Ellen Kavanaugh.

Ella

Louise

Forty-six year old Ellen Mary Kavanaugh Cantwell was born in 1856 and was called Ella.

Forty-six year old Margaret Louise Kavanaugh O'Donnell was born in 1857 and was called Louise.

In 1877 Ella married New York native, Thomas A. Cantwell (1847-1920), an American Civil War vet who became a postal clerk.

In 1886 Louise married Irish immigrant, Patrick P. O'Donnell (1850-1914). Patrick's family first settled in Springfield, Illinois; he came to Chicago around 1872.

There were conflicting stories about the identification of Ella's body.

One list reported that her body was identified by her husband, Thomas, but the Everett disaster book said she was identified by a cousin named James H. Roche. (That may have been James H. Roche, a plumber born in 1857 in Pennsylvania, married to Annie.). A newspaper reported that her body was found at Buffram's funeral home.

There were conflicting stories about the identification of Louise's body.

The Inter Ocean newspaper reported that her husband, Patrick, identified her at a morgue on the basis of a ring he had given her for Christmas. The Everett disaster book said she was identified by Coroner Traeger who directed that her body be taken to the O'Donnell's home on Woodlawn Ave. If the Traeger story is correct, that suggests her body was not so badly burned as to make identification difficult.

Following a double funeral at Louise's home, Ella and Louise were buried in Calvary Cemetery in the Evanston, IL where most of the family was buried.

Ella's husband co-founded the Eagle Brewing company in 1891. The company ended in receivership in 1897. He was also a lumber merchant and twice served as a Democratic state senator. Ella and Louise's husband were each former brewers

Louise's husband co-founded the O'Donnell & Duer Bavarian Brewing company in 1882. In 1903 It produced sixty thousand barrels.

Ella had no children of her own but raised three children from her husband's prior marriage to Sarah Gallagher.

Louise gave birth to six children in nine years, all of whom were living at the time of her death, aged six to fifteen.

Ella and Thomas rented at 733 W. Adams St. in Chicago. That structure was many years later razed to make way for the Kennedy Expressway.

The O'Donnell's owned their home at 4629 Woodlawn Ave, northeast of Washington Park. I was not able to find a photo but it was probably large. The lot size was 120' x 170' and the home was said to have sold for $35,000 (around $900,000 today). It may have been built by the man who owned it prior to O'Donnell -- an attorney named Patrick W. Snowhook.

In 1900 one of Louise's nephews from Springfield lived with them -- Robert Riordan (1882-). He was the son of their sister, Emma Kavanaugh Riordon.

To care for their large home and many children, Patrick and Louise employed three live-in servants, all from Ireland – a coachman, cook and maid. By 1910 Patrick had trimmed that back to one. He died in the home in 1914 and four of his children continued living there until at least 1920. Today there is a vacant lot at the address.

In 1894 Ella and Thomas's oldest son, Thomas Jr., nicknamed "Allie," was shot to death by a bartender when he and an accomplice tried to rob a saloon.

Another of Ella and Thomas's sons, Robert E. Cantwell, became a prominent Chicago attorney and was said to have represented over five hundred murder defendants. He was most notorious for knocking out a baseball umpire at a Chicago White Sox game.

Daughter Loretta "Retta" married a fellow named Tisdelle who was twice accused of fraudulent financial activities in banking and real estate.

At his death, Patrick left $175,000 to each of his surviving five children, "to be held in trust 40 years." With inflation, that would be about $4.5 million today.

Patrick and Louise's youngest daughter, Helen, graduated from the University of Chicago in 1916.

Two of their sons were on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Discrepancies and addendum

Grammar teacher in Piper City, IL, Helen M. Kavanaugh, a cousin of Ella and Louise, was visiting in Chicago and planned to attend the Mr. Blue Beard matinee too but was unable to get a ticket.

Tragedy has a way of deepening both bonds and chasms in family relationships. For the husbands of the Kavanaugh sisters it would be the latter.

In September, 1905, two years after the fire, a case made it to probate Key to safe deposit box stolen from Ella's purse while she awaited buriel court, brought by Thomas Cantwell against his brother in law, Patrick O'Donnell.

Cantwell accused O'Donnell of having sent one of his sons to pilfer a key from Ella's purse in the hours immediately after the Iroquois fire (while the purse was held at the morgue or in the coroner's office -- reports varied). According to Thomas, Patrick then went to the bank and removed documents from a safety deposit box shared by Ella and Louise.

The bank manager was supposed to restrict box access to a court-appointed administrator to whom was given a password with which to identify himself and the box was marked so as to alert bank personnel that special access restrictions were in effect.

Cantwell claimed that the bank manager intentionally looked the other way for a short time, thereby granting O'Donnell unsupervised access to the box.

Patrick said Cantwell's accusation was fabricated but admitted that he had gone to the bank and attempted to access the box. He claimed the bank prevented him from doing so because he did not know the password. If he testified as to his reason for trying to access the box, it was not reported in the newspaper.

The bank claimed no knowledge of the situation but admitted that the manager who had been on duty at that time had been fired for drunkenness a year after the suspected box pilfering.

Newspapers did not report whether the dismissed bank manager, or another bank employee, testified as to whether O'Donnell had unsupervised access to the box.

In January, 1906, the judge ruled that since there was no proof the will or promissory notes existed, O'Donnell could not be held liable.

The missing promissory notes were written from Patrick O'Donnell to Ella Cantwell for $9,000 (or $18,000 – reports varied) and Ella's will reportedly left $20,000 in unidentified property to one of Ella and Louise's sisters who was described as "poor."

If Patrick was guilty of removing documents from the box, he might have grabbed Ella's will to be on the safe side, in case it made specific reference to the promissory notes. O'Donnell was said to be a millionaire, but $18,000 in 1904 would be nearly a half million dollars today, thus a tempting sum for even a wealthy man.

It seems possible that Thomas and Patrick may have had a combative relationship prior to the deaths of their wives, perhaps a by-product of their mutual past involvement in the brewing industry. If so, without the sisters to keep the animosity in check, conflict might have been inevitable.

Bank manager did not restrict access to safe deposit box On the other hand, Cantwell and O'Donnell might have concocted the deposit box caper as a mutually beneficial solution. Cantwell's son, a celebrated defense attorney, was certainly capable of helping to craft a scenario that minimized the chance of prosecution. The disappearance of the will and promissory notes meant that Cantwell did not have to cough up $20,000 from Ella's estate to give the sister and O'Donnell didn't have to pay $18,000 to Ella's estate.

I was unable to learn how Ella Cantwell came to have such a large sum to loan her brother-in-law.

Pilfering the safety deposit box was obviously anticipated by Ella and Louise's sister, Emma Kavanaugh Riordan. Reportedly it was she who informed the bank that the box should only be opened by a court-appointed agent. As the sister who was slated to receive the $20K inheritance from Ella, her vigilance in protecting Ella's will is understandable.