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From: Linda Kush <>
Subject: Re: [COOK-CO-IL] Immigrants and the Great Chicago Fire 1871
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:16:45 -0800 (PST)


This is a fascinating article and a fascinating question.

In contrast, both sides of my father's family came to Chicago from 2 different regions of Poland immediately after the fire.

The Lamichs landed in New York on Dec. 26, 1871, and their new baby was baptized in Chicago in January 1872.

The Kushes arrived in New York on Jan. 2, 1872. A family story says they were detained for some time before being allowed to proceed to
Chicago. The story attributes the delay to the Chicago Fire, but the father had also become ill on the ship and never recovered. He died in Chicago in October 1872. Perhaps they were screened for health issues and the story got twisted over time.

I wrote to Chicago historian Perry Duis (author of Challenging Chicago and other books) about this. He
said any fire-related restrictions on traveling into the city were lifted by November 1871.

I had always imagined that the fire actually inspired my ancestors to come. They may have had friends who said there were a lot of construction and clean-up jobs to be had. I wondered if it was like Alaska Pipeline jobs in the 1970s.

I've also looked for some big national event in Poland in fall of 1871 that might have driven these families away, but have found nothing specific.

This article gives me food for thought.

Best wishes,
Linda in Boston







--- On Tue, 1/25/11, <> wrote:

From: <>
Subject: Re: [COOK-CO-IL] Immigrants and the Great Chicago Fire 1871
To:
Date: Tuesday,
January 25, 2011, 2:21 AM




http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4125/is_200310/ai_n9303339/

The link above is to an article about the rebuilding of Chicago after the fire. It makes sense that the conditions made it a preferable option for the immigrant non-English-speaking women and children to return to Europe until the situation stabilized.

Dee

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