This is a very long post, but contains, in part, fascinating accounts of the survivors. This is the first mention I've seen that Mrs. Hughes possibly fell (to her death) coming down the rope of bedsheets, because she had lost the use of one arm years earlier in an accident. Note also the that Mrs. Wood was sister to Blandina Dudley Miller.
Genesee Flats Fire Summary
Utica Weekly Herald,
March 10, 1896A HOLOCAUST.The Genesee Flats in Utica Burned. ..
FOUR LIVES WERE LOST.Sixty Families Rendered Homeless
Loss will read nearly Half Million
Thrilling Escapes
Aged Woman Dashed to Death
and Three Persons Perish in the FlamesThe Genesee Flats building in this city
was burned Tuesday morning. The follow i n g
people lost their lives:
Mrs. Hugh Hughes, 70 years old.
Crushed by falling from the fourth
Story. Died within an hour.
Mrs. Sarah Miller Wood, 45 years old.
Miss Mary Brandegee Wood, 16 years
old.
.N o b l e Hopkins, 69 years old.
The number of injured, considering
the perils through which the 176 persons
in the building passed, is small, and
t h e i r injuries slight. Most of those in-
jured suffered from cuts on the hands
received while climbing down the iron
fire escapes.
The destruction of the seven-story
building was complete. Only the front
wall, braced by its ten bay windows,
projections and small portions of the
cross walls, remains standing. All the
other parts of the great structure were
reduced to a mass of ruins, which are
piled high within the rectangle that it
covered.
It was shortly after 5 a. m. that the
janitor of the flats noticed a flickering
l i g h t in the cellar under the apartments
of John F. Luther. He opened
the cellar door and an immense volume
of smoke rolled out. The owners of the
building were at once notified, and an
'a l a r m sent in at 5:10 from box 3-1, corner
of Oswego and Genesee streets. The
w h i s t l e in the power house in the rear
aroused the sleeping inmates. This
alone prevented one of the worst holocausts
that ever happened. The entire
fire department was called out at 5:15
o'clock by the general alarm of ten taps.
The flames, once fanned by the westerly wind
which prevailed, went up through
t h e center of the building near the ele-
vator with terrible rapidity. At 5:20
o' c l ock the fire was eating up towards the
roof and gradually spreading with
t h e wjnd towards ttie northeast corner
of the building. The firemen could do
n o t h i n g except to save the inmates.
From the north and south entrances
half-clothed people came streaming out,
t h e i r arms filled with whatever they
grabbed in their hasty exit. The balconies
in the center of the building up
to the third floor contained many of the
tenants, who looked to the aerial truck,
stationed i n front of the main entrance,
as their only chance of escape. Five
persons were taken from the third (floor) at
one time, and it was while preparing to
get to the ground in this manner that
Mrs. Hughes lost her life. The fire continued
to spread, and soon, the building
was burned out from top to bottom.
Them followed the f a l l i n g i n of the rear
walls. At 6:30 o’clock the building that
hours before populated by 176 sleeping
persons w a s simply a mass of wreckage,
save for the shorn a n d fire beaten front
wall, which stood grimly above the smoking
debris.
www.home.roadrunner.com/~windsweptpress/genesee ruins.jpg[/img]
One of the most terrible incidents of
t h e fire, and one which caused the greatest
shock to the hundreds of people who
were working for the safety of the inmates
and watching the scene, was the
fatal fall of Mrs. Hugh Hughes, mother
of Mrs. A. L. Aldred. Mrs. Hughes lived
with Mr. and Mrs. Aldred on the fifth
floor. When they were aroused, escape
had apparently been entirely cut off,
except by way of the front balcony. Mr.
Aldred made a rope of bed clothes, and
succeeded in lowering his wife to a
place of safety. He next turned his attention
to Mrs. Hughes. She had scarcely
reached the fourth story balcony when
her hold upon the rope loosened, and she
fell to the sidewalk, striking with great
force upon her head and shoulders. She
was taken to the home of H. C. Albright.
Drs. Simmons and Powell made an examination
of her injuries, and found
that the bones of her shoulder and arm
were crushed. Her jaw bone was broken
and she received other injuries. The
surgeons quickly announced that her
injuries were fatal. She died at 7:15.
Her daughter. Mrs. Aldred. was prostrated,
and was removed to the home of
some friends.
Mrs. Susanna Hughes was the widow
of the late Hugh Hughes, who died in
Utica 17 years ago. Her husband is remembered
by the older Welsh people as
a musician. She was born in Montgomeryshire,
Wales. May 28. 1826. She was
educated in Liverpool and was there
married. She came to the United States
in 1854. Coming to Utica at once, she
resided at 33 Spring street till her husband
died. Subsequently she lived with
her children. Mrs. Seymour Van Valkenberg,
Mrs. Aldred, with whom she was
at the time of the fatal fire; also a son.
David B. Hughes, in New York. . Mrs.
Hughes was of a cheerful disposition,
and the e v e n i n g before her death, having
both her daughters with her, seemed,
more than unusually happy. By an accident
some years ago. she bad lost the
use of one arm, which itself explains her
inability to escape from the burning' building by a rope.
Mr. and Mrs. Wood and their daughter.
aged 15. lived on the upper floor in
the center of the building. They were
awakened by the blowing of the whistle,
and after putting on what clothes they
could, the trio left their rooms to effect
an escape. Following Mr. Wood, the
mother and daughter passed out into the
corridor. Mr. Wood, it is said, left them
standing in the hall while he went back
to the rooms for some valuables, and
when he returned the mother and
daughter were gone. Mr. Wood thought
they had passed down the stairs with
some of the fleeing tenants, and he then
set about getting to the ground. When
he reached the ground no traces of his
family could be found, and it is highly
probable that after wandering about the
smoke-filled passages the mother and
daughter became overcome with smoke
and fell to t h e floor in a stupefied condition.
During the fire several spectators
saw the figure of a woman at a window
on this story for a few minutes, and then
she sank out of sight. This was probably
Mrs. Wood or her daughter.
Mrs. Wood was a daughter of Mr.
Rutger B. Miller of Whitestown. and a
niece of the late Governor H«ratio Seymour.
She was about 45 years of age
and married Mr. Wood about 20 veers
ago. At that time Mr. Wood was a resident
of Morristown, N. J., and a practicing attorney
in New York city. They resided in Morristown
until Mr. Wood's
health failed a number of years ago. and
then went to Riverside. Cal.. where Mr.
Wood conducted an orange ranch. Last
summer they were with Mrs. Miller at
Whitesboro, and this winter engaged
apartments in the Genesee. Besides her
mother, she leaves a brother. Henry S.
Miller of Whitesboro: four sisters. Miss
Blandina Dudley Miller. Miss Helen L.
Miller of Whitestown, Mrs. Andrew H.
Green of Syracuse and Mrs. Jewett, wife
of Rev. Mr. Jewett of New York. Miss
Wood was in her 15th year, and was an
attendant at Mrs. Piatt's school.
(Mrs. Wood was a sister
to Blandina Dudley Miller!)
tinyurl.com/cw6lbkThere is no doubt as to the death of
Noble Hopkins, another tenant on the
seventh floor. Mr. Hopkins was in his
69th year. During the evening he visited
with his daughter. Mrs. Minnie A.
Rtter on a floor below. About ten
o'clock -he returned to his apartments.
As far as can be ascertained, this was
t h e last seen of Mr. Hopkins. He prob-
(b l u r r e d )
Mr. Hopkins was born in Vermont. For
several years he was engaged in the boot
and shoe business in this city, and was
a member of Utica lodge. No. 47. F. and
A. M. and the commercial travelers' association.
He leaves a daughter. Mrs. Rutter.
The Genesee flats were occupied as follows,
the numbers of unoccupied rooms
being omitted:
No. 1—Franklin T. Wood, wife and
two children. *
No. 2—Charles H. Thorn and wife, and
daughter. Miss Sophie Thorn, Mrs.
Thorn's' mother. Mrs. Mason.
No. 4- -C A. Sheffield and wife.
No. 5—John A. Goodale and wife and
son. James H, Goodale.
No. 6. S.D. Latcher, wife, child and
servant.
No. 7—R. L. Fairbanks and wife.
No. 8 L. M. Algase. wife and child.
No. »—Miss Alethea M. Led lie, and
Mrs Anuie E. Dawson
No. 11—C. K. Hoagland and wife.
No. 12—W. A. Bussey. wife and child.
No. 13—Ex-Senator S. S. Lowery and
wife.
No. 14—Mrs. Anna Arnold and daughter.
May.
No. 15—A. Abelson. wife, two children
and servant.
No 1 6 - E . E. Roberts,
daughters.
No. 18—George B. and C. Mason Thorn.
No. 19—Eugene Stearns and wife.
No. 20—G. R. Norton, wife and daughter.
No. 21— Misses Julia and Martha Jos1in
No. 22—Rev. J. F Leland and wife.
No. 23—Misses Belle, Lillian and Mary
Weaver.
No. 24—Miss Caroline Harris and servant,
Maggie McCarney.
No. ^5- A. Lewis, Mrs. Walker and
daughter.
No. 26—Mrs. E. M Hsrter and Walter
Harter. *
No. 27—W. A. Balch and wife. Misa
Mrytle Balch, and Mrs. Batch's brother,
Carlos Stone. Clinton.
No. 28—Dr. T. H. Bradish. wife and
son, Mrs. Kemble.
No. 29—Cafe
No. 30—Dr. F. H. Brewer, wife, three
children and servant.
No. 31—O. W. Meff and D. St. John.
No. 32—Clinton H. Bradley. H. L. Ridings.
No. 33—G. Fred Emblev and wife.
No. 34—Thomas Kelley, engineer: J.
A. Jones, elevator man of the flat, and
Rev. G. N. Smith. Jr.
No. 35—W. H. Cummlng8. wife and
child.
No. 36 - Office occupied by help in cafe,
Mrs. Crenin. Mrs. Huldah Taylor. John
Losh, Ambrose Beander, colored.
No. 37—Exra R. Pugh and son and Mr.
Pugh's sister. Miss Margaret Williams.
. No. 38—J. S. Buck and wife. Miss
Cleveland, school teacher, and Miss Kos-
No. 40—J. A. Clark, wife and child,
Mrs. Devine and servant.
No. 41-Mrs. Regina McQuade and sons.
W. J. and Theodore McQuade.
No. 42—Dr. Ulrey and wife. Dr. A. S.
Thomas.
No. 43—Mrs. R. Clarke and daughter.
No. 44—G. W. Griffith, wife and child.
No. 45—Jason A. Crandall and wife.
No. 46—J. K. Doan. wife, two children
aAl servant.
No. 47—F. J. Hughes, wife and two
•children.
No. 49—Mrs: George Fowler, Mrs. Eva
Fowler.
No. 50—J. F. Luther, wife and two
children, servant. Gertie Horton.
No. 51—James A. Potter and wife and
Mrs. Potter's nephew. Burt Butler.
I
No. 52—D, E. Darrow and wife.
No. 55—S. C Davis and daughter. Miss
Minnie Davis. •
No. 56—J. B. Wood and wife and
daughter. Mary B. Wood, /
No. 57—M. W. Sheldon, wife and
child.
No. 58—Mrs. M. E. Rutter, SOB and pervant.
No. 61—A. L. Aldred and wife, and
Mrs. AJdred's mother. Mrs. Hugheu.
No/W—Mfs. Frances E. DeLong.
No. 63—Miss Bailey. Miss Thomas.
No. 64—Mrs. H. C. Butcher and daubster.
No. 6?—J. P. Tuckerman. wife and
child. ,
No. 66—C. B. Knight, wife and chili.
No. 67—H. K. Van Si*e. wife and
child, and Mrs. Van S i x e s sister. Mrs.
George Chadwick of Chadwicks. *
No". 68—S. N. Ruggles. wife and son.
There were 176 people in the ill-fated
building—87 women. 23 children and 66
men. The escapes from the burning building
were i.i many instances marvelous.
Men and women groped -thro the smoke
in the north and south ends of the building
and finally succeeded in getting to
the ground. Others worked out onto the
balconies and were brought to the
ground by the aid of the aerial truck.
Men emerged supporting half fainting
women with their hands cut and covered
with blood, and after seeing that
their loved ones were in safety returned
the building to see what they could
save. Few, however dared to enter the
building after they once got out.
James A. Potter, with his wife and
nephew, occupied a flat on the second
floor in the center of the building. When
they were aroused and tried to escape
thro the stairway they discovered that
avenue was shut off and that the fire
was rapidly approaching their apartment.
Mr. Potter Jumped from the balcony to
the ground in safety, and then told Mrs.
Potter to jump. The distance waa about
20 feet and as she descended she was
caught by Mr. Potter. Both escaped in-
jury, except that Mr. Potter severely
sprained his left ankle. Mrs. Potter suffered
from the shock. Both were taken
to the residence of Charles A Nicholson
on South street and Dr. Broome summoned.
They secured none of their effects
and barely escaped with their
lives.
Jason S. Crandall. with his wife, who
has been an invalid for several years,
lived over Mr. Potter. Mr. Crandall’s
daughter. Mrs, Darling, was in New
York. Mr Crandall carried his wife in
her night clothes thro the halls, groping
his way io the main stairway and out
thro a rear entrance in safety. Mrs.
Crandall was taken in a fainting condition
to Mr. Wood's residence, No. Clinton place,
where she was kindly cared for and attended
by Dr. Booth.
Later in the day Mr. and Mrs. Crandall
went to the residence' of a relative,
Thomas Davis. No. 59 Whitesboro Street.
Mr. Crandall did not see anyone while
escaping from the building and there
was no signs of fire then. The halls,
however, were completely filled with
smoke.
Banker James A. Goodale and wife,
accompanied by their son. succeeded in escaping
without much difficulty. One after another they
managed to get down the north stairway to the
ground. They encountered Mr. and Mrs. Hussey
and their baby trying to get out and all escaped
safely.
Mrs. Rutter and her son succeeded in
bringing some silver, and several purses
of money, when they escaped. They
were cared for by C. W. Wather. across
the street, and l a t e r taken to the residence
of Captain David Jones, on Rutger
Street. Mrs. Rutter possessed a very
valuable collection of painting and brica-
brac, which was insured for only
$1,500. Her loss will be very heavy.
Dr. and Mrs. Brewer. with ther three
children, escaped with but little clothing.
Miss Ledlie and Miss Dawson saved a
watch, sealskin sacque. and some valuable
papers, but everything else. was destroyed.
Dr. Ulrey and his wife were among
the last to leave the building. Their
apartment was on the seventh floor, and
the corridors were filled with smoke
when they commenced to descend. The
party, numbering seven, finally reached
the ground by the north entrance, several
women in tbe party being almost
in a faint. Dr. Ulrey's hands were covered
with blood. In the party were
George Fowler. Mrs. Eva Fowler and
their guest. Miss Kate Denin of Saratoga,
and Dr. Thomas. They first tried
to get help _from the firemen
from the balconies, ,but
they failed to attract attention. They
finally put damp clothes over their heads
and bodies and commenced to descend
in safety. Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Wood were
aroused by Mrs. Fowler and Mrs. Wood
and her daughter started to leave with
Dr. Ulrey's party. Mrs. Wood went a
short distance with the party and then
left them and that was the last time she
was seen alive.
Mrs. Susanah Clarke and her daughter
escaped from the building before the
alarm was sent in. They secured nothing.
Arthur Clark and family escaped in
safety, but the servant, Lillie. suffered
so from tbe smoke and excitement that
she had to be carried from tbe building
in an unconscious condition.
Ex-Senator and Mrs. S. S. Lowery had
a narrow escape from their apartments
on the s i x th floor. Mrs. Lowery escaped
down tbe rear fire escape, but in so doing
inhaled considerable smoke.
Mr. and. Mrs. Fred Embley escaped
half clothed. Mrs. Embiey's hands were
badly blistered getting down the flre
escape.
Those who were located on the first
and seconds floors, except adjoining the
main entrance, had no difficulty in es-
caping, and some succeeded in taking
considerable clothing and other effects
with them. Those on the upper stories
barely escaped with their lives.
Hibbard K. Van Sise. teller of the
Oneida National bank, tells the story of
his escape as follows: "I was awakened
by the whistle and getting up. threw the
curtain and saw people running on the
Clinton Place side. I awakened my wife.
As soon as I had partly dressed I opened
the hall door to see if there were any
s i g n s of fire there. The hall was filled
with smoke and I closed tbe door again,
but not before I stumbled over two people
who were lying on the floor. From
there I went to the f r o n t of the building
and opened the door onto the balcony
and saw the light of the flre, the engines
and the crowd. By that time my wife
and little daughter were dressed. I went
from there to the back door of the hall
and tried to get to the fire escape. The
hall was so dark and filled with smoke
that I was unable to find the fire escape
door. I took a towel, soaked it with
water, held it over my nose and tried
again. As I stepped into the hall that
time, I collided with someone. Not
knowing the location of tbe flre escape
and finding that the smoke grew more
dense I came back into the flat and shut
the door. From there I went to the balr
cony again. The aerial truck had just
arrived. My wife and daughter and Mrs.
Van Size's sister, Mrs. Chadwick, were
also on the balcony. Seeing that nothing
could be done to help them I swung over
the balcony and dropped to the third
floor balcony. From this point I was
enabled to get the attention of a member
of the truck- company. They put up
a ladder, and as soon as it was in place
a fireman gave me a small rope, which
after being fastened to the balcony. I
threw up to Mrs. Chadwick on the
fourth balcony. Mrs. Van Size threw it
to the fifth balcony, where A. L. Aldred
tied it. His wife came down on the rope.
Then Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Aldred's mother,
came down to the fourth balcony on the
rope. That is where she fell. All came
down the rope to the third floor, and
then down the ladders to the ground."
Mrs. Van Size said: "Mrs. Hughes
came from the fifth to the fourth balcony
after her daughter. As she swung on to
our balcony. I said to her. 'Hold on!' 'Oh.
I can't” she said faintly. She struck
astride the balcony rail. Her head
dropped on her shoulder and she seemed
to faint. I held her until her weight was
pulling me over. Then I let go. She slid on the
rope to the ladder and struck the latter in the
middle of her back. She
rolled or slid down the ladder
and was caught by the men at the
bottom. When she struck the fourth
balcony I think that she was hurt. Her
strength seemed to be exhausted." ,
Exra R. Pugh. whose apartments
were on the second floor, was aroused by
his sister at five o'clock. Mrs. Griffith,
who lived next door, pounded on the
door, and shouted that a relative, who
was visiting her was missing. Upon opening
the door into the hall, Mr. Pugh
saw that his escape by the stairs was cut off.
He succeeded in clothing himself
with the exception of his vest. From
t h i s he took his watch, but overlooked
$50 in money which of course went up in
smoke. Mr. Pugh's sister cautioned him
to keep cool and pack up his valuables.
In the mean time she packed hers, or
thought she did. When she opened her
satchel she fouud her effects to consist
of a gingham apron. The family escaped
by means of a ladder.
J. P. Tuckerman. with his wife and
daughter, occupied apartments on the
second floor. They were awakened by
smoke, and at the last moment were
rescued with ladders. Mr. Tuckernmn's
personal loss will be very large. He had
a collection of curios gathered from all
parts of the world and valued at $5,000.
The Misses Joslyn lived on the seventh,
in the third apartment from the
north. Miss Julia loslyn had time to
partly dress. Her sister, who occupied
the same room with her, was aroused by
her with some difficulty. When they entered
the hall it was smoky, and their
neighbors had been aroused, and were
rushing to and fro. The Misses Joslyn
had no difficulty in getting out by one of
the main staircases, altho in the Smoke
and panic the danger was great. The
scenes which ensued at that hour were
varied. One man. seemingly a stranger
to all, rushed thro the halls, dragging
behind him a big trunk. As soon a « t h e
door of the Joslyn house was opened be
dragged the trunk into their parlor.
"You cannot save that." said some one.
"I must.'" he shouted. 'there is money
in it!" "Take the money out." said one
of the cooler persons. And then they
left him.
Mrs. Delong. whose flat was on the
s i x th floor close to the elevator, awoke
at a cry of fire from voices in the rooms
below her. She arose from her bed,
dressed herself and hastily gathered into
a bundle a few valuables and one or
two articles of clothing. She had
finished these preparations when the
whistle on the engine house sounded the
alarm. Going out into the ball, which
was then filling with smoke, she opened
the rear door and stepped out on to the
fire escape. The opening of the door
created aa additional current, and the
smoke whirled in and around every passage
in an instant. Mrs. DeLong is an
elderly lady, but she unhesitatingly
grasped the iron rounds of the ladder
and climbed down. On the first story
platform of the escape- the final ladders
were hoisted from the ground to
prevent burglars or other miscreants
from entering. She could not lower the
section, and in no other direction in the
big area to the rear and the right of the
building was there a single person in
sight. Mrs. DeLong did nor wait for help.
She leaped on to the ice below, and
strange as it may seem, sustained no in-
jury.
The generosity and kindness of the
neighbors was everywhere commented
upon. The residence of H. C. Albright
was transformed into a temporary hospital
and everything in the house was
placed at the disposal of those in need.
Clothing was furnished some: shoes to
another, cut and injured hands of those
who had tried to fight the flre were rudely
dressed with linen. The parlors were
filled with several persons who had
fainted. Everything possible was done
by the members of the family to relieve
the sufferings of all. The parlors of
the house were nearly ruined, and
blood stains were in evidence everywhere.
The residences of C. A. Talcott. Mr.
Mather. Mr. Abbott, Mr. Gilbert and others
on Clinton street were readily
thrown open to the burned out people.
Carriages were in great demand, and the
poorly clad fire sufferers were taken to.
the home of friends or relatives or some
hotel.,
The fire undoubtedly started in the
cellar, under the apartment of John F.
Luther, near the main entrance. Some
claimed that the employes of the building
refused to turn in the alarm at first,
rather trying to fight the flre with tbe
meager facilities at hand. Word was
first sent to No. engine house, then to
Chief Dimbleby. and then to the chemical.
The big whistle in the apartment
power house was blown, and this speedi
ly aroused all the sleeping inmates, and
after some delay, an alarm was sent in.
quickly followed by the general alarm of
ten taps. It was 5:30 before the entire
department was on the. scene, and the
services of the firemen were useless then
for fire fighting purposes.
The destruction of the colossal building
in less than two hours has been expected
by many. Its construction was
such that it has not been regarded as at
all safe in case of fire. and there were
some things about the building which
made it resemble a "fire trap." The
woodwork and dooring thro'out the
whole seven floors were as brittle as
could be and furnished choice food for
the flames. The: house has always bean
well patronized and so successful was the
venture that the owners, Northrup &
Latcher. now have in course of construction
another flat on the opposite side of
the street, adjoining the residence of
Charles W. Mather. The burned build-.
ing is said not to have been fire proof
and was not erected in such a sound manner
as a building of its importance
should. There are accommodations for
70 families in the building and the rents
have ranged from $22 and $23 per month
upwards.
The disastrous fire is being used as a
sound argument by many citizens for
the necessity of building inspectors,
whose duty it shall be to prevent the
shooting up of such architectural skeletons,
unless they are finely built and
surely fire proof. Mayor Gibson has advocated
the appointment of such an official,
and it is highly probable that he
will take some decided action in this regard
in the near future. Chief Dimbleby
made an inspection of the building
two years ago, and at that time warned
the proprietors of the danger of fire in
the building. He said that if a blaze ever
started in the basement, where it was
discovered there was not water enough
in this locality to quench it. •H i s prediction
has been fulfilled.
The Genesee flats, as shown on Sanborn's
map, published for the use of insurance
companies and agents, and intended
to show the interior construction
of buildings, is accompanied by the following
explanation: "Admission refused.
Seventy tenements. One elevator."
No firewalls are shown on the map. "Admission
refused" means that when the
inspector called he was not allowed to
enter the building to make an outline of
the interior for publication.
Blazing cinders were carried by the
high winds to long distances. Residents
of Oneida street were obliged to stay
close by their houses to watch them under
the shower of fire that fell. This
watchfulness was rewarded in several instances.
(barely legible comments about the roofs of several
homes, owners mentioned by name.)
Ladders were procured and by
use of snow extended conflagrations were
stayed. A cinder unobserved lighted on
t \he roof of the piazza of A. Luddington's
house, 119 Oneida street. Suddenly a
flame was discovered by people standing
near. Without disturbing the inmates
a man climbed to the roof by a post and
smothered the flre.
The building" itself was worth about
$120.000. outside of the furnishings belonging
to the firm of Northrup £ Latcher.
Ths insurance on the building.
which goes with a Mutual life loan of
$115,000, covering, both the Genesee and
Reynolds property of the firm, is as
follows:
(Here follows a long list of insurance companies
and amounts of coverage for the building and
tenants.)