Person:William McLaughlin (8)

Died in the Chicago Iroqus (sp) Theatre fire of 1903.

(Research):McLaughlin, William L. . Chicago IL M Nephew of Mrs. Frank W. Gunsaulus, died at 9:30pm at Presbyterian Hospital.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago, IL Oct 15, 2003Actors portraying figures involved in the century-old Chicago Iroquois Theater fire will tell tragic stories Sunday as the Oak Park-River Forest Historical Society hosts its 12th annual cemetery walk, 'The Tale of the Tombstones,' in nearby Forest Home Cemetery.The fire at the brand-new Iroquois Theater, touted as fire-proof, killed 602 people on Dec. 30, 1903, when stage lights apparently ignited a stage curtain. In-rushing air fueled the fire when back doors were opened to let smoke escape. Audience members, mostly women and children who were watching a matinee, tried to leave the theater but found some doors locked and others that opened inward trapped them inside. Many were trampled and overcome with smoke.William Lancaster McLaughlin, who was in town visiting friends, became a victim of the fire and is buried at Forest Home. A costumed actor will tell his story on the walk.'He was in Chicago visiting for a wedding,' said Laurel McMahon, Historical Society president. 'He was a student at Ohio Wesleyan College and he and his chums decided to take in the theater offering. It was the most luxurious theater around.'The theater opened that November, McMahon said. The original production was still running on Dec. 30 when the fire broke out.'It was particularly tragic because it was a matinee performance over the Christmas holiday so a lot of students were on break,' McMahon said.McLaughlin 'tried to rescue people but in the rush he was overcome,' she said. 'He was carried out to a nearby restaurant (serving as a makeshift emergency room). He had been burned badly enough he knew he wasn't going to make it.'Charles Drechsler, an early Oak Park resident and undertaker who helped to bury victims in Forest Home Cemetery, also will be portrayed in the cemetery walk.'He'll tell the story of his life and how he was so much more than an undertaker. He was a furniture maker and later a car dealer. He used to race his horse down Washington Boulevard,' McMahon said.The ledger at Drechsler, Brown and Williams Funeral Home, which is underwriting the walk this year, shows that Charles Drechsler handled funerals and burials for four people who died in the theater fire.'It's still the worst theater disaster in the states,' McMahon said.The story of Samuel Fallows, presiding bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church who was passing by the Iroquois Theater and helped fire victims, will be told on the walk by an actress portraying his wife Lucy.'He happened to be walking past the Iroquois Theater when the fire broke out,' McMahon said. 'He was comforting victims. He later spoke out vehemently in the press (for improved fire safety). He had dramatic comments about the fire, saying it was far worse than anything he saw in the Civil War.'source:http://www.taphophilia.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=346

http://www.eastlandmemorial.org/iroquois.shtml

1. ↑ Margaret Storer Scott. Margaret Storer Scott Neice to William Field (1866-1948), Recipient: RonField, Author E-mail: msscott@newbernnc.com.
2. ↑ Los Angeles Times, The.