1959 — March 15, Fire, Farm House (10 children and farmer), Cross Hill, SC             —     11

–11  Bugbee. “Fire Protection Developments in 1959.” NFPA Quarterly, 53/3, Jan 1960, 78.^[1]

–11  Florence Morning News, SC. “Farmer, 10 Children Perish as Home Burns.” 3-16-1959, 1.

–11  NFPA. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959,” NFPA Quarterly, July 1960, p. 16.

 

Narrative Information

 

NFPA:  “Dwelling of Daniel Byrd; Cross Hill, S.C., March 15, 1:00 A.M.; 11 Killed: 1 Adult, 10 Children.

 

“A family of nine children and their parents lived in a three bedroom tenant farm house. On March 10, the mother took her 3-year­-old child to the hospital for treatment of a heart ailment. She remained with the child. The mother’s sister came to keep the household operating. Two nieces, 13 and 8, also came. On the night of March 14 the father (aged 32) came home intoxicated. The sister left about 11:00 P.M. About 1:00 A.M., March 15, a neighbor a mile away saw flames leaping from the roof of the Byrd home. The burning house collapsed minutes after his arrival. It is thought that the father somehow accidentally started the fire at the wood stove. His body was located near the stove. Further details are not available….The oldest child killed was age 13; the youngest, 6 months.”  (NFPA. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959,” NFPA Quarterly, July 1960, p. 16.)

 

Newspaper

 

March 16:  “Cross Hill (AP) – A Negro tenant farmer and 10 children perished in a house fire here Sunday. Laurens County officers said it was the worst fire tragedy in the county in their memory. The small frame residence of Dan Byrd Jr., 32, just inside the limits of this rural town of 500, was the funeral pyre for him, eight of his children and two of their young friends. The flames destroyed the five-room structure before volunteer firemen could reach the scene. The building was a smoldering ruin of gaunt chimneys and blistered bedsteads. Officers said a wood stove in the five-room dwelling may have been responsible for the blaze. The mother of the Negro family, Mrs. Sarah Byrd, was in Greenwood visiting a hospitalized daughter, Katherine, 3.  Mrs. Byrd and Katherine are the only survivors of the big family.

 

“The eight Byrd children aged 1 through 10, who perished were Sarah Bell, Johnny Lee, Benny Lee, Willie Lee, J. W., Shirley Marie, Jacqueline and Dorothy Mae.  The visiting children who died were Helen Mobley and Dorothy Ann Wilson.”  (Florence Morning News, SC. “Farmer, 10 Children Perish as Home Burns.” 3-16-1959, 1.)

 

Sources:

 

Florence Morning News, SC. “Farmer, 10 Children Perish as Home Burns.” 3-16-1959, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=56496889&sterm

 

National Fire Protection Association.  “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, July 1960, pp. 7-38.

 

 

 

 

[1] Bugbee, Percy. “Fire Protection Developments in 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, No. 3, Jan 1960, pp. 177-180.)