Turning Angel Statue of Natchez

It's said that the angel watching the graves of 5 young women in Natchez, Mississippi moves on its own. That it will turn and watch cars driving by. It's said to be most noticeable at night as headlights shine on it around the bend of the road. On June 23 2020 someone vandalized that statue rocking it back and forth until it fell off its pedestal estimating the damage to be $40,000. 

The story behind the deaths of the women start at the Corner of Main and South Union St. in Natchez,  where the Natchez Drug Company was. It was originally the Temple Opera House but was purchased by John H. Chambliss and made into the Natchez Drug Company. An accident will bestow the five-story building.

On March 14, 1908, a gas explosion caused the whole building to collapse. That morning workers of the company complained about a gas smell and a plumber, Sam Burns, arrived that afternoon to look for the leak. He had used a candle and searched the basement. The light from the candle would cause a gas explosion.

The shock from the explosion could be felt for several blocks, and buildings shook. Some even thought it was some sort of earthquake. A second and third explosion would follow crushing the adjoining buildings.

There were still people in the building and many would survive, but 9 people would lose their life. Those who lost their lives were Cleaveland Laub (25), Uriah Hoskins, Eliza Kitteringham, John Carkeet, Luella Booth (teenager), Mary “Lizzie” Worthy (12), Carrie O. Murray (22), Inez Netterville (teenager) and Ada White (teenager). 

None of the deaths were easy. Cleaveland a pharmacist for the Drug Company would be found under a mattress likely trying to protect himself from the flames that would eventually kill him. Uriah a carpenter working on the third floor died when he jumped out of the window to escape the fire. He had died from impacting the ground. Eliza and John were both bystanders who had died due to the explosion. John was standing in front of his own building and flying timbers would penetrate his legs later causing him to die in his home.

John Chambliss would feel guilty about the explosion and tried to share condolences with those who lost their loved ones. He would buy a lot in the Natchez Cemetary and pay for 5 of the girl's burials. Luella, Mary, Carrie, Inez, and Ada would be buried together. The tombstones would simply state their last names, but he would commission of a stone angel to watch over the young ladies. 

SOURCES:

Atlas Obscura

Historic City of Natchez

The Vintage News June 30, 2022

And Speaking of Which

Murder of Silene Eaddy

 

On April 15, 2004, around 7 to 7:30 p.m.15-year-old Silene Eaddy left her home in Hopkins, South Carolina. She was supposed to walk around the corner to the neighbors home. It was unknown where she went and what she was doing.

Fire Fighters would respond to a brush fire at a wooded area at the intersection of Pincushion and Montgomery Roads on April 17th. They would discover a girl lying face down who had been set on fire. It had been Silene. She had been beaten and her lungs had soot in them leading them to believe she was still alive when she was set on fire. Investigators believe that she knew the person or persons who killed her. It's believed that she was set on fire to destroy evidence.

She was described as a "sweet, but lost child" and seemed to have changed after her foster father died. Friends would look for advice from her. She wanted to find her biological mom and didn't feel she fit in. She had run away several times from home. She was starting to hang around the wrong people.

SOURCES:

Richland County Sheriff's Department

The State

WIS News 10

December 30, 1903 Iroquois Theater fire Jane Doe

Image created by Charles N. Landon and published by the Tacoma Times

On December 30, 1903, the play Mr. Blue Beard was playing at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago Illinois. During the second act, the curtain was caught on fire possibly by an electrical short circuit. This made several of the theatergoers go into a panic. Some were calmed by the fact of an actor trying to keep them calm. But the theater was burning down around them so many tried to escape.

The fire extinguishers that the theater had were meant to be thrown at fires on the ground and were useless against this fire as it rose. Three exits were forced open but unluckily lead to unfinished fire escapes. Some of the doors opening caused the fire to increase. Many people were trampled, crushed and asphyxiated in the fire.

Even though the theater claimed before the fire that it was "absolutely fireproof" it was not. It had been noted by several people including the fire department captain, and the editor of Fireproof Magazine that it was not.  In fact, it was hazardous as the theater did not follow the ruled. The fire warden was warned, but because they knew the owner would ignore it. Unfortunately, the carelessness of the owners caused 602 people to die.

One of the victims were never identified.

The victim was a white woman around 50-year-old. Her face was still recognizable when she died. She is buried in Montrose Cemetary in Chicago.

SOURCES:
Unidentified Wiki
Wikipedia
Find a Grave