A review by __karen__
The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy by Stewart O'Nan, Alice van Straalen
5.0
Review posted December 13, 2013:
This is the true story of how hundreds were injured or killed during the July 6, 1944, performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, CT. The author provides an immense amount of detail, painting a vivid picture of events before, during, and after the fire. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Certainly, the fire was an important historic event in New England (not unlike The Station fire in Rhode Island in 2003), and perhaps even more tragic because so many of the victims were children.
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From the Hartford Courant, April 5, 2019:
"Medical examiner seeks to exhume two victims of the Hartford Circus Fire in hopes of identifying them after 75 years
...Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill is seeking to have at least two of the bodies exhumed in hopes of answering a question that has haunted a family for years — whatever happened to Grace Fifield, a 47-year-old woman from Newport, Vt. who went to the July 6, 1944, afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers Circus and was never seen again."
The Medical Examiner will attempt to match two of the Circus Fire victims to a descendant's DNA. If that's not successful, they will use online genealogy databases to attempt a match (not unlike the research process used to identify the Golden State Killer).
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhumation-20190405-aozz27askrc6rfrsmisb5pd5di-story.html
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From The Hartford Courant, 6/27/2019:
(75 years later) "The living survivors of the Hartford circus fire still carry the scars from the tragic day. Hear their stories in this interactive oral history."
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-living-survivors-of-the-hartford-circus-fire-20190627-vrr7uu2qibdljky5da3qo66yr4-story.html
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From The Hartford Courant, Sept. 11, 2019:
With hopes of unraveling a 75-year-old mystery, medical examiner’s bid to exhume two unidentified victims of the Hartford Circus Fire gets OK from judge
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhume-granted-20190911-3u2no7oiwbe2hpdrjd3hswptei-story.html
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From The Hartford Courant, October 7, 2019:
State medical examiner says (10/7) exhumation of two circus fire victims was successful, DNA testing is next step.
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-hartford-circus-fire-exhumation-20191007-om45f6haznfizp3ktgnmnpr7nu-story.html#nws=true
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From The Hartford Courant, July 7, 2020:
(Connecticut) Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said Tuesday that experts were unable to extract viable DNA from the exhumed bones of Hartford Circus Fire victims, leaving the identities of five souls buried in a Hartford cemetery a mystery.
They had been buried under one memorial that said “Their Identity Known but to God.”
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-circus-fire-no-identity-20200707-dsmdwnrzjvcrzeiixzjd3t3ooi-story.html
This is the true story of how hundreds were injured or killed during the July 6, 1944, performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, CT. The author provides an immense amount of detail, painting a vivid picture of events before, during, and after the fire. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Certainly, the fire was an important historic event in New England (not unlike The Station fire in Rhode Island in 2003), and perhaps even more tragic because so many of the victims were children.
-----------------------------------------------------
From the Hartford Courant, April 5, 2019:
"Medical examiner seeks to exhume two victims of the Hartford Circus Fire in hopes of identifying them after 75 years
...Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill is seeking to have at least two of the bodies exhumed in hopes of answering a question that has haunted a family for years — whatever happened to Grace Fifield, a 47-year-old woman from Newport, Vt. who went to the July 6, 1944, afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers Circus and was never seen again."
The Medical Examiner will attempt to match two of the Circus Fire victims to a descendant's DNA. If that's not successful, they will use online genealogy databases to attempt a match (not unlike the research process used to identify the Golden State Killer).
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhumation-20190405-aozz27askrc6rfrsmisb5pd5di-story.html
-------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, 6/27/2019:
(75 years later) "The living survivors of the Hartford circus fire still carry the scars from the tragic day. Hear their stories in this interactive oral history."
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-living-survivors-of-the-hartford-circus-fire-20190627-vrr7uu2qibdljky5da3qo66yr4-story.html
-------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, Sept. 11, 2019:
With hopes of unraveling a 75-year-old mystery, medical examiner’s bid to exhume two unidentified victims of the Hartford Circus Fire gets OK from judge
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhume-granted-20190911-3u2no7oiwbe2hpdrjd3hswptei-story.html
--------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, October 7, 2019:
State medical examiner says (10/7) exhumation of two circus fire victims was successful, DNA testing is next step.
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-hartford-circus-fire-exhumation-20191007-om45f6haznfizp3ktgnmnpr7nu-story.html#nws=true
---------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, July 7, 2020:
(Connecticut) Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said Tuesday that experts were unable to extract viable DNA from the exhumed bones of Hartford Circus Fire victims, leaving the identities of five souls buried in a Hartford cemetery a mystery.
They had been buried under one memorial that said “Their Identity Known but to God.”
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-circus-fire-no-identity-20200707-dsmdwnrzjvcrzeiixzjd3t3ooi-story.html