On December 30, 1903 seven members of the Van Ingen
family from Kenosha, Wisconsin attended the Mr.
Bluebeard matinee at Chicago's newest playhouse,
the Iroquois Theaater. Two were injured and five
perished: Elizabeth (b.1894), Grace (b.1880), John
(b.1885), Margaret L. (b.1890) and Edward L. (b.1884).
The injured parents were Henry Schmalz Van Ingen Sr.
(1847-1924) and Emma Lawton Van Ingen (1852-1932).
The children were buried in the old Dutch part of
the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Westchester County,
New York, the family's hometown. Henry and Emma
had also lived in Newport, RI where Emma’s parents
lived. |
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The Van Ingens had two other
children, one who died in childhood and Henry
Schuyler Van Ingen Jr. (1878-1962). Henry Jr. was
to join his family for dinner at the
Wellington Hotel after the matinee.
Henry Van Ingen Sr. was retired from coal industry
engineering and management. In an odd coincidence
his offices were at one time located in a building
on the Iroquois Theater site. His brother, E. H. Van
Ingen, was a prominent wool importer in New York.
The Van Ingen family received
two of thirty-five $750 settlements from Fuller
Construction, the company that built the Iroquois
Theater.
more later |
