little miss 1565

Little Miss 1565 is the morgue designation given to a young girl who died in the Hartford, Connecticut circus fire of 1944. The fire took place during a performance on July 6, 1944. It is regarded as one of the worst fire disasters in U.S. history. Over 160 people died, many more were injured. The tent had been coated with paraffin for waterproofing and went up in a matter of minutes. No one is sure what caused the fire, although the tragedy was the subject of a lengthy investigation. People said one of the things they would remember forever was the screams of people as they burned to death, but no animals were killed or hurt in the fire. The sounds were coming from inside the tent. Many of the victims were not burned but trampled or suffocated in the chaos. One of these was the child now known around the world as Little Miss 1565 or Little Miss Nobody. Unclaimed by relatives, her body was photographed and the picture circulated in newspapers. She was then buried near the fire memorial in Hartford's Northwood Cemetery. Two police investigators, Sergeant Thomas Barber and sergeant Edward Lowe, spent the rest of their lives trying to identify her. In 1991, after decades of intensive searching, arson investigator Rick Davey concluded that Little Miss 1565 was Eleanor Emily Cook of Southampton, Massachusetts. Eleanor had attended the circus that day with her mother, Mildred Cook, and her brothers, Donald and Edward. Mildred was badly burned in the fire and after months of recovery was not willing to pursue the pain and suffering of locating Eleanor, preferring to think of her as missing or having amnesia. She was not convinced that Little Miss 1565 was Eleanor. However, the mystery girl was disinterred and reburied in the Cook family plot alongside Eleanor's brother Edward. There is still controversy as to Davey's findings, and other experts point out discrepancies between Eleanor Cook and the girl in the photograph. Family members continue to work with Connecticut State Police.