Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-04-07
TENEMENT HOUSE HOLOCAUST.
Nine Persons Burned to Death at Roches-
ter, Pennsylvania.

ROCHESTER,, Ia, April I.-Ih6 most
frightful calamity that has ever beiallen
this place occurred early Monday morn
ing and as q result nine lives were lost
Pctween the Rose building, corner of
Brighton and New \ ork streets, and tine
railroad crossing We're n row of cheap
tenement houses, the first floors Of
which were occupied by business houses.
Shortly after midnight fire was discov-
cred in the lower building and an alarm
was given. The fire gradually spread
to the second and third houses and in q
very few minutes all were i'll flames.
But few of the citizens were on the
scene unit the fire was well under
headway AMI efforts were made to ave
property, but with poor effect, as the
buiidinls being Of highly inhammable
material burned rapidly,
But One Escaped.
In the midst of the hottest part of the
fire an Italian girl, about rs years Of age,
appeared at the window Of one Of the
burning buildings and leaped toward
the ground. two of the tiTemen catching
her before she struck the ground Ee-
tween her sobs she stated that all her
father family We're yet IN the burning
house, but as the flames now had full
control of the building, it was impossi-
BILE to save them, and seven persons per
ished in the Italian family The I oms
occupied by the Italians were in the cen
ter Of the building and when it was
found that lives had been lost a careful
inquiry was made regarding the occu-
pants of the first building to take fire,
1t was inhabited by shoemaker
named Edward j. Keene, with a family
consisting of a wife and three children.
None of the family cou'd be found for a
time but during the height of the ex-
citement Mrs. keene, with two of her
children. arrived from Pittsburg on
train Ne ,, 1t was then feared that
Mr. Keene and eldest son, Walter, IA boy
of years of age, were lost, Brave men
at once went to work among the broken
timlers anl ston discoyerel the charred
remains of father and son close together
but burned to unacceptable mass.
The corpses, with those of the Italians
that have been recovered, are lying in a
stall at J. ayes livery stable
The victims.
The names of the victims are.
dward j. Keeue, 80 years old: his
son Walter, years.
Buttieto Ceapio, Is years; wife Annie,
35 wears: son John, II years daughte-
RiSa, years,
Victoria Ceapio, brother, and Joe
Romino; ages unknown.
The nine bodies are so badly burned
that they are unrecogni abe.
There has also been $500 in gold found
among the ruins. which belonged to tho
Italians. The italian girl, The only one
saved, SAID there was $500 still I'm the
ashes
1t is thought that the Italians became
so confused that they could not find tHe
stairway which was "A narrow one, aud
TO reach it required the opening Of two
doors in the rear of the building. and
they burned to death.
The Italians were very intelligent and
worked in the Rochester tumbler works.
The fire oril mated in keenes XII chen.
All the household goods together with
Edwards tea store, Halls millinery
store and Keens shoe shop are de-
stroyed. There is insurance on all the
stores. The buildings belonged to john
L. SIM h, and were not insured.