New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-12-11
THE DEATH ROLL COMPLETED.

I'M 'SAll NULL tOAl BblbD'
NAMES or PIT or THE IDENTIFIED DEAD AND 81
or THE UNRECOGNEZED BODIES RECoYERED-A
TOTAL OF 27l LIVES KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN
SACRIFICED.
The list below gives the names Of all the persons
absolutely known to have been lost at the Brooklyn
fire. few more were reported by excited friends
to the police missing from their homes, but where
no other moro convincing proof was shown that the
person reported known to have gone or intended
gong to the thcater Tuesday night the name has
been omitted For every name. given below The
TRIBUNE reporters have fognd an actual body /;
every name has been inquired about ut the former
home, and it may be set down absolutely correct,
even to the photography Of the names. There may
have been Others than those named who were lost
on the occasion of the burning but there is GER
tanly no one named in the list who not actually
burned.
The amount Of labor necessary to the compila-
ton, arrangement, and confirmation of this list no
person unacquainted with the details of reporting
can possibly understand. IL fills small space, but it
required the constant labor of IL active men for "a
working hours 10 complete t in such form would
Justify THE tribune in claiming accuracy for it..
IL was early discovered that in the excitement Of
the moment the police and corOners records of the
names must necessarily become in almost cKtrcably
confused if not at corrected. The lists OF the
missing were made up originally from the names
reported by agitatcd and fearful friends,
taken down hurTicdly and often misspelled.
The same person reported lost by
different friends at different station-houses, and
often recorded under very differently appearing
names. As an illustration the name OF the boy
Artura Arneo published IN eight different
FORMS not one OF which was correct and 1t was
only by sending 10 the house at which he lived re-
i. III d tI,o thn ma
and facts could be learned from his French-speakng
Italian parents. The names of those identified at
the Morgues were given TO the coroners by wildly
excited friends under circumstances of the greatest
mental disturbance on the part of the clerks and
frantic grief on the part Of the nlormans. The re-
sult of course was a mass of names Incorrectly
speled and duplicated and Implicated thus exagger-
ating the extent of the loss of life. For instance,
George Kraft was reported twice. once correctly
and a second time George Craft. burton was
reported also as llurtOn. and oliermah as
Honerman. There were errors growing out Oh inc
familiarity of sound and the fact that certain names
can be properly begun with different letters Inc
case OF William Deshaw, which was also reported
William ID. Shay illustrates another source OF ne
ouent errors in tho original lists THE TRIBUNE
recognizing the importance ola correct llst-nd the
public wish TO know precisely how many perlshed
and who they wcre-undertOOk tnc "oIh VI "ahihs
an alphabetical list each name of which should DO
verified.
To do this three reporters were set to work Writing
each name on separate slip of paper, all the slips
being az uniform size These were then gathered III
alphabetical order The whole City OF Brooklyn was
dstricted and ten assigned to visit each ana
every house from which person was reported TO pe
missing. Two Others were assigned to the Morgues'
with directions to get tho names and particulars
about each person identified. The reports OF THESE
twelve men were finally examined by the three Ill
charge of the lists and corrections, ADDITIONS ana
eliminations made. The lists when finally pasted
together and handed to the printers 10 DO sou III
tyne woud have stretched entirely across the Guy
Hall Park, distance of fully 300 feet Inc brooh
lyn and New-York directories the official list OF
burial permits; the advertised death notices III tho
papers; the notices of Lodge meetings held In
memory of lost Masons and others, and dozen
other sources of confrmatory intelligence were ap-
pealed to. Nothing was left undone TO insure ap-
soute accuracy, and there is no doubt IL mas peeh
secured r
The number of names thus gathered is 25A' INC
number of bodies officially reported by the coroner
rs found was 276. In the list, the names ol 1noSo
not recognized are printed in ltallc le'terS VI
these there are "a. The whole number OF Dodies
buried by the city in the circular pit at Greeh"oou
was 1O2. All the others were buried from private