1883 — Jan 10, Fire (suspected arson), Newhall House (Hotel), Milwaukee, WI –~71-~90

–71-90 Blanchard.*
— ~100 Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register., “Events of 1883.” 1884, 321.
— <100 Childs. A History of the U.S. In Chronological Order…1492…to...1885. 1886, p. 253. -- ~90 Wisconsin Historical Society. Dictionary of WI History, “Newhall House Fire (1883).” -- 82 Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “Editorial” (Newall Fire). 1-15-1883, p. 1. -- >80 Iowa Postal Card, Fayette, IA. “Later News.” 4-17-1883, p. 2.
–64-80 Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, WI. “Milwaukee. Two More Bodies…” 1-18-1883, p.1.
–60-80 Oshkosh…Northwestern, WI. “Grim Death…Newhall House…Dead…at 60-80.” 1-10-1883, 1.
— 79 Racine Advocate, WI. 1-25-1883, p. 8.
— 75 Racine Advocate, WI. “A Milwaukee Dispatch of Jan. 19.” 1-25-1883, p. 6.
— 72 Tchakirides, William I. “Newhall House Fire.” Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. 2016.
— 71 Associated Press, “Atlanta Tragedy Beats Milwaukee Blaze of 1883,” Dec 7, 1946.
— 71 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 322.
— 71 Country Beautiful. Great Fires of America. 1973, p. 116.
— 71 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 656.
— 71 Safety Engineering. “Firemen’s ‘Death Zone’ in Milwaukee.” V26/N5, Nov 1913, 343.
— 71 Simonds, W. E. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 87.
— 71 Ward. “Hotel Fires: Landmarks in Flames…,” Firehouse, March 1978, p. 41.
— 71 Willsey and Lewis. “Milwaukee,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, p. 514.
— 71 Wisconsin History Day By Day. “January 10.”
— ~70 Jackson Sentinel, Maquoketa, IA. “A Sickening Record…Disasters….” 2-8-1883, 6.
— ~70 Waukesha Freeman, WI. 1-25-1883, p. 13.

*We cite nine sources for a death toll estimate of 71, which we use for the low-end of the range we use. We cite a similar number of sources for estimates above seventy-one. We choose to use the estimate of approximately 90 deaths noted in the Dictionary of Wisconsin History, Wisconsin Historical Society.

Narrative Information

Country Beautiful. Great Fires of America: “Recognizing the com¬mercial necessity of fine accommodations in the business district of the community, civic leader and capitalist Daniel Newhall built a grand hotel, the Newhall House, to replace the ruins of the United States Hotel [destroyed by fire in 1854]. It was a six-story structure made of the famous cream-colored bricks in the popular, but retrospectively quaint, “gingerbread” style of archi¬tecture. Although proclaimed as Wisconsin’s largest and finest hotel, the Newhall House, for all its predicted prosperity, did not do well. It passed through a series of owners, each determined that he could make the three hundred room structure a success, but no one could make it profitable.

“The hotel had its share of small fires, and its structural shortcomings were made public knowledge by editorializing newspaper reporters. Ample fire escapes were noticeably absent from the design as were enclosed interior stairways. When elevators were added in 1874, the elevator shafts were unprotected…. Local insurance agents later [after a fire in 1880] refused to insure the building because they considered it to be a firetrap. The inside woodwork was very dry and the partitions were not filled in with brick. And the large building provided only two fire escapes. Furthermore, because guests at the hotel had been considerably panicked in the 1880 blaze, the hotel staff was instructed not to arouse and alarm guests in “minor” fires.

“On the night of January 9, 1883, exactly three years after the 1880 fire, the hotel was occupied by forty maids, laundresses and kitchen help and about three hundred guests, including the midget stage attraction General Tom Thumb, his wife and en¬tourage. The night staff at the hotel consisted of a watchman, night clerk and elevator man.

“At approximately 4:10 a.m. on the morning of January 10, the Newhall House was again on fire. The cause was never discovered but the folklore of the day determined it was arson. The fire appeared to have started near the elevator on the ground floor, and the unprotected elevator shaft served as a chimney to stoke the flames and proved to be an excellent means for transporting the flames upward to engulf all six floors. Alarm box 15, located near the scene, was pulled, and the crowds and the equipment began to arrive.

“The fire was well beyond control as attempts were made to rescue the screaming, terrified inhabitants. The upper floors had such an intricate pattern of hallways that it was nearly impossible to escape from the maze. A description of the scene emphasized the hopeless panic and confusion:

“The unfortunate inmates were in many cases only aroused from their slumbers by the noise of flames and found their escape already cut off. Men, women and children rushed up and down the halls in the dense suffocating smoke, missing in their frantic efforts the stairways and windows leading to the fire-escapes.”

“With the fire at their backs, the guests began to jump. Telegraph wires surrounded the building and many became cut and entangled in them before meeting their deaths on the pavement. The wires also seriously detained rescue and fire-fighting efforts. Some people tried to jump into an outstretched can¬vas held by citizens, only to receive fatal injuries….

“Hook and Ladder Company No. I was the first to arrive on the scene and promptly began fighting the blaze with the temperature four degrees below zero….Most of the servant girls on an upper floor did not even have a chance of escape and were killed. The extension ladder failed, but Herman Stauss and another fireman, George Wells, tried to rescue as many as possible by making a ladder bridge from an adjoining building to the burning hotel. The ladder spanned twenty feet above an alley. Stauss made several trips across the perilous bridge, saving sixteen girls. He became a hero and received tokens of appreciation from across the country.

“General Tom Thumb and his wife escaped injury but a member of their troupe was killed. A leading Milwaukee businessman and his wife jumped from the third floor and were fatally injured. In all, seventy-one people lost their lives at the Newhall House fire, the most deaths in a hotel fire until 1946.” (Country Beautiful. Great Fires of America. 1973, p. 116.)

Tchakirides: “The deadliest fire in Milwaukee history occurred at the Newhall House hotel on January 10, 1883 on the corner of Michigan Street and Broadway. Firemen who battled previous fires at the hotel, one of Wisconsin’s largest, dubbed it a “tinder-box.” The inferno originated in the opulent structure’s wooden elevator shaft and took over twenty-six hours to extinguish. Seventy-two people died, many jumping from their rooms…” (Tchakirides, William I. “Newhall House Fire.” Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. 2016.)

Wisconsin Historical Society/Margaret Gleason: “Milwaukee’s Newhall House, one of the state’s largest hotels, burned in the early morning of January 10, 1883. The blaze apparently started in the elevator shaft and spread quickly through the old wooden structure. By the time the fire was discovered the flames were out of control, and the staff failed to arouse many of the guests and employees. The firemen broke their extension ladder on the electric wires that hung next to the building. The hotel had had several fires over the previous years and was considered a “tinder-box” by the fire department. About 90 persons perished in the blaze, many of them jumping from upper floors of the six-story structure. Among the rescued guests were “General Tom Thumb” and his wife, famous entertainers. The hero of the day was a volunteer fireman named Herman Stauss who carried a ladder to the alley, and with the help of a bystander raised it and swung it from the roof of an adjacent building to a fifth floor window. Across this insecure “bridge” he carried or led to safety 10 of the 50 servant girls who were sleeping in the fifth floor rooms.” (Wisconsin Historical Society. Dictionary of Wisconsin History, “Newhall House Fire (1883).”

Wisconsin History Day By Day: “January 10, 1883: The Newhall House in Milwaukee burned, killing 71. Included among the people rescued was General Tom Thumb of P. T. Barnum circus.” (Wisconsin History Day By Day. “January 10.”)

Newspapers

Jan 10: “Milwaukee, Jan. 10. – The Newhall House, a six-story brick building, corner Michigan street and Broadway, burned to the ground this morning. The fire was discovered at 4 a.m. In less than half an hour the whole building, long designated as a ‘death-trap’ was enveloped in flames. Scenes of utmost terror prevailed, the inmates of the doomed building jumping by dozens from the upper stories, covering the stone sidewalks with lifeless bodies.

“Shrieks of the unfortunates filled the air in a heartrending manner, the people below being unable to render any aid. Quite a number of terrified guests and employees of the hotel appeared at the windows, and seeing the distance to the ground, fell back to perish in the flames. The employees of the hotel, which accommodated 300 guests, numbered 86, mostly lodgers in the sixth story. They exit by way of the roof was cut off by fire, and two stand pipes with fire ladders were not available for same reason. Very few were saved by jumping on the canvas.

“All the stores and offices on the ground floor with the contents were destroyed. They were on the Michigan street side, the offices of the Mutual Union Telegraph Company, H. J. Baumgartner’s sign painting shop, Goetz’s barber shop, Burdick & Armitage, job printers. On the Broadway front ere the Manufacturers Bank, Metropolitan Plate Glass ins. Company, Insurance Agencies of Chas. E. Craim, Wm. T. Durand, G. P. Hewitt, C. T. Hibbard & Co., F. W. Montgomery & Co., B. Weil, West & Myers and L. A. Wheeler; J. H. Watson, agent of Canada Southern road, offices of Nelson’s coal yard, and offices of the Merchants Dispatch line. A number of wholesale establishments on East Water street were damaged by fire and falling walls of buildings. Among them, Wm. Oramer, Banker, Goodyear Rubber Co., Lewis Schadegg & Co., wholesale wine, Jas. Morgan, dry goods, Zimmerman Bros., clothing….

“The fire department called for assistance from the Soldiers’ Home, but Gen. Sharpe refused to send a steamer, at which indignation is great….

“The jumping cloth did little service. About a dozen unfortunates attempted to jump, but rebounded on the perfect maze of telegraph wire which surrounded the two fronts of the building. Appeals for aid piled out, but little could be done.

“Shortly before the Newhall House alarm, a part of the department was called out to a small fire about three miles distant, and before the department was in working order the hotel was one blazing pyre.

“Tom Thumb got out of the front entrance. His wife was taken down the fire escape by a fireman….

“The hotel was built by Daniel Newhall and association in 1857. It cost $155,000. Total cost including furnishing $277,000….

“Chief clerk Tice, who had a narrow escape, says there were 110 boarders, and 90 employees in the hotel. So far 56 are unaccounted for.

“The number of dead will reach 50 to 60, and 20 to 30 wounded. So far 23 bodies are in the morgue, and nine more are in places near the ruins. Identification comes in slowly….” (Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, WI. “Grim Death…Destruction…Newhall House…Dead Placed at 60-80.” 1-10-1883, p. 1.)

Jan 12: “Milwaukee, Jan. 12. — A force of about one hundred men under the supervision of the board of public works was set at work tearing down the tottering walls and then clearing away the debris looking for bodies. The clearing away is now in progress on the Broadway front, the bricks and timbers being thrown into the street. Broadway, between Wisconsin and Michigan streets, is closed to traffic, and the entire pile of ruins will be moved. The men are working in gangs, and have been sworn in as special police. Every article of value found is taken in charge by the authorities.

“Shortly before 12 yesterday the gang working on the corner of Michigan street found two ladies close together, so badly mangled as to be unrecognizable. They were the bodies, evidently, of persons who had jumped from the windows at that corner, just in time to be caught by the falling walls. None of the firemen or spectators remember seeing two persons jump, but the fact that they lay on the pavement with no debris under them, proves that they must have jumped, instead of having fallen with the wall….The finding of the two bodies so near the edge that hadn’t before been seen, has given rise to the idea that there are at least a hundred bodies in the ruins. It will take several days to remove the debris….

“Lizzie Angland, the dining-room girl who escaped from the dormitory by rushing through the flames in the halls, and was carried into the street by Lieut. Rockwood of the police force, is more seriously burned than was first supposed. It appears that she inhaled the flames as she ran, and internal injuries from this source are such that the chances of recovery are slight. She has been delirious since the fire.

“Theodore B. Elliott, of the law firm of Jenks, Elliott & Winkler, who suffered injury while escaping from the hotel to the Marble hall building, died at the Kirby house at 8 o’clock last night. Mr. Elliott was a widower and has a daughter 12 years of age residing at Minneapolis.

“John Faley…it has been ascertained perished in the flames. He was an electromagnetic physician in attendance upon James Ludington at the hotel.

“The young German girl at the morgue unidentified is supposed to be Minnie Haeger, a sister of Dr. Graettinger’s first wife.

“Annie Casey is supposed to be the name of the middle-aged lady at the morgue unidentified.

“It is remarked as a singular fact that, although Landlord Antisdel was riding about the city all day, neither he nor any member of his family visited the morgue to set to rest from personal knowledge or through personal effort the doubts that exist concerning the identity of the unrecognized bodies referred to above. The housekeeper of the Newhall also had failed to appear at the morgue at dark, although Coroner Knepper sent for her early in the day. As the housekeeper attended to the hiring of the female help she is an important factor in the matter of identification.

“Coroner Knepper will impanel a jury to-day and begin the inquest Saturday. He proposes to make the investigation a most thorough one in every particular…..

“There were 110 guests and sixty-seven employes in the building. Of these twenty have so far been identified among the dead, forty-eight are missing, and sixty-seven are known to be saved, leaving forty-two unaccounted for, who are supposed to be in the ruins….” (Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The Newhall Fire.” 1-12-1883, p. 1.)

Jan 15: “The burning of the Newhall house with the appalling loss of life, brings to notice the following advertisement with very recently appeared in a Milwaukee paper:

Newhall House, J. F. Antisdel & Son, Proprietors. Great Reduction in Rates. Note – Bake and Dwight’s patent fire escape provides means of exit from every floor in case of emergency. The hotel employes are kept in constant training as a fire department and every floor is supplied with water and hose.

“In the face of the claim made in this advertisement the Newhall house had the poorest provision for fire escapes of any hotel of its size, in the United States; and this fact made the loss of life greater by two or three score than was ever suffered by the burning of any other hotel in this country. There was actually no fire escapes that were practical, and as to the employes acting as a trained fire department, most of them went down in the holocaust, and the other few barely escaped with their lives….The lost is now put at 82.” (Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “Editorial.” 1-15-1883, p. 1.

Jan 16: “Milwaukee, Jan 16. – The following is the record of the dead, so far, from the Newhall house disaster: Taken to the morgue, 16; recovered from the ruins, 21; since died, 8; dead, not taken to morgue, 5. Total. 50. This does not include the fragments of bodies found. About forty persons reported missing are yet unaccounted for, which swells the list to 90. It is almost a sure thing that over 100 people lost their lives by the calamity.” (Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The Newhall Fire.” 1-16-1883, p. 1.)

Jan 18: “Milwaukee, Jan. 18. – Two bodies and several pieces of bodies were recovered from the ruins this morning, making 45 in all. Of these four were identified since the search began, which with the 10 originally at the morgue makes 23 identified dead and 64 dead in all. The search will be finished to-morrow.

“Sheriff Bentley who accompanied Scheller, returned from Madison this morning, refusing information of any kind. Reasons are very strong of Scheller being in Dane county jail. The district attorney stated to the press agency that Scheller’s preliminary examination will not be held till after the inquest is finished, which will take fully a weak. In the absence of the statement promised by landlord Antisdell to the press it is positively impossible to figure at the number of bodies yet in the ruins which is supposed to be from 12 to 15, which would make the total number of victims from 75 to 80.

“The bodies of D. H. Martelle and Robert Howie, the two Wisconsin Central conductors taken from the Newhall ruins, have been identified. The remains of Martelle were placed in an elegant coffin yesterday and funeral services were held at the temporary morgue, after which the remains were placed on the train for Evansville, where they were buried today. The remains of Robert Howie were taken to Waukesha yesterday and buried beside those of his first wife. Services were conducted by Rev. G. Watson and Edward Savage. Among the family from abroad were Mrs. Jennie Gray of Green Bay, and Mrs. Agnes McCormick of Iowa, sisters, and William and James Howie of Milwaukee, brothers. Miss Elsie Barnes, Mr. Howie’s fiancée, was supported by a brother of the deceased.” (Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, WI. “Milwaukee. Two More Bodies Rescued from the Ruins. Scheller Probably in Dane County Jail.” 1-18-1883, p. 1.)

Jan 19: “Milwaukee, Jan. 19. – Scheller, the alleged Newhall House incendiary, was brought back to jail quietly this morning. It is now settled beyond a doubt that he never left the city, but was concealed in the house of one of the deputies of the sheriff. The reason for this action is hard to find. Evidence that Scheller removed some of his stock the day previous to the fire, accumulates. It has now come to light that he even removed the balls of seven billiard tables before the fire. The value of stock secreted, so far, is about $1,000. Search in the ruins this afternoon resulted in finding one body, making 46 bodies recovered, and leaving three still to be accounted for.” (Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, WI. “Scheller Returned to the Jail in Milwaukee. Evidence Accumulates of his Removing Stock before the Fire. One more Body Found, Making 46 in all.” 1-19-1883, p. 1.)

Jan 19: “A Milwaukee dispatch of Jan. 19 says: ‘The remains of three persons were taken from the ruins of the Newhall House yesterday, and it is believed four bodies are still in the debris. The total loss of life by the catastrophe is now placed at seventy-five.” (Racine Advocate, WI. “A Milwaukee Dispatch of Jan. 19.” 1-25-1883, p. 6.)

Jan 20: “Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 20. – Two more bodies were taken from the Newhall ruins yesterday, making forty-seven recovered. A committee of physicians has been appointed to make a report on the unidentified dead.” (Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The Newhall House.” 1-20-1883, p. 1.)

Jan 22: “There is a loud call for the passage of laws to prevent such holocausts as that of the Newhall House. Almost every person has his little remedy, no matter how inconsistent it may be with the rules of architecture or the dictates of common sense or experience. Yet there are some precautions which ought to be adopted and which should be provided for by law, and they should
apply alike to hotels, theatres, churches, school-houses, tenement houses, and buildings used for manufacturing purposes where a large number of hands are employed. Avenues of escape within the reach of all should be provided for by law; elevators should be encased in brick walls; and buildings should be constructed with regard to safety from fire. But no law can be trusted to accomplish anything permanent which does not also contain ample provision for its enforcement.
It must be made the duty of someone to oversee the construction of buildings; it must be made the duty of someone to make regular inspections of buildings. A law which does not make these provisions will be no more effective than a prohibitory liquor law in a state or community where popular sentiment does not sustain it. Our legislature should not act hastily in the matter. Architects and builders and city officers of experience should be called before its committees and scientific and practical measures evolved from their testimony and ten adopted and enforced.”
(Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, WI. “Prevention of Fires” (Editorial). 1-22-1883, p. 2.)

Jan 25: “The committee appointed to examine the bodies as they were taken from the ruins of the Newhall House fire have completed their unpleasant work and made their report. It was a ghastly one in every respect. Forty-eight bodies have been found and examined, making the death list swell up to seventy-nine. Most of the bodies are burned beyond recognition and are to be buried to-day with public ceremonies.” (Racine Advocate, WI. 1-25-1883, p. 8, col. 2.)

Jan 25: “As nearly as can be estimated there were seventy lives destroyed in the Newhall fire. The hotel register and other records were unaccountably lost so that the exact number of fatalities will probably never be ascertained.” (Waukesha Freeman, WI. 1-25-1883, p. 13.)

Jan 27: “Another body, the 49th, was dug out of the Newhall House ruins yesterday which was overlooked by the regular searching brigade. It is not improbable that others are still buried in the
debris that escaped the workmen when the search was made.” (Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, WI. 1-27-1883, p. 4, col. 4.)

Jan 31: “Milwaukee, January 31, — At the inquest in the Newhall House disaster, today… [the] president if the Newhall House Association, testified that the hose on every floor was sufficient to flood it, besides which there were, he said, 200 pails of water standing in various parts of the house.” (Syracuse Morning Standard, NY. “Newhall House Fire Facilities,” 2-1-1883, p.1, c.4.)

Feb 27: “George Scheller has been indicted in Milwaukee for burning the Newhall house on the 10th of last January. While the action of the grand jury does not imply that Scheller is guilty, it nevertheless indicates that there is sufficient evidence against him to warrant an indictment.”
(Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. 2-17-1883, p. 1, col. 1.)

Mar 24: “The trial of Scheller, charged with firing the Newhall House, will commence April 10th.” (Stevens Point Journal, WI. 3-24-1883, p. 4.

Apr 10: “Milwaukee, Wis., April 10. – The April term of the Criminal Court opened this morning. The case of George Scheller, the alleged Newhall House incendiary, which is the first case on the list, will be taken up this, afternoon and is expected to occupy fully three weeks. An acquittal is generally looked for.” (Boston Daily Globe. “Scheller on Trial at Milwaukee.” 4-10-1883, p. 10.)

Apr 11: “By Associated Press. Milwaukee, April 11. – The prosecution in the Scheller case opened with C. D, Nash, President of the Newhall House Company, who described the house and its exit. He was followed by John Autisdal, proprietor, who corroborated his statements, and told of the meeting with Scheller on Michigan street when Autisdal ran from the burning building. He said Scheller’s actions for some time previous had been bad, the accused having drank a good deal and gambled. It came out that Scheller was offended with Autisdal for sending his (Scheller’s) wife from the hotel….The firemen and the shopkeepers occupying the basement were examined as to what was there of an inflammable nature. It developed that once before there was an incendiary fire in the basement near Scheller’s coal bin and Scheller’s father-in-law, Bour, who recently died under circumstances pointing to suicide, had refused Autisdal and others admittance.” (Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “The Burned Newhall House.” 4-12-1883, p. 1.)

Apr 13: “Milwaukee, April 13. – A sensation was caused at the Schiller trial this morning by the testimony of Linchan, chief engineer of the Newhall House at the time of the fire, who said he was recently approached by J. C. McKinney, attorney for Schiller, and a saloon keeper named Adam Roth, who asked him to swear that the fire was caused by a gas jet in the bottom of the elevator shaft, as the testimony would clear the accused. It was shown that Schiller’s debts were over $4,000. It was proved that he attempted to borrow $50 from Dr. Crocker before the fire.” (Lawrence Daily Journal, KS. “The Schiller Trial.” 4-14-1883, p. 2.)

Apr 17: “Milwaukee, April 17. – George Scheller, accused of setting fire to the Newhall House on the morning of January 10th last, was to-day acquitted by the jury. Five ballots were taken and only one of the jurors was [suspect one or more words omitted] gave in because Judge Mallory instructed that if there was any doubt in his mind he must give the prisoner the benefit of the doubt. The court room re-echoed with cheers when the verdict was announced.” (Helena Independent, MT. “Scheller Acquitted.” 4-18-1883, p. 1.)

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