Shortly before 6 a.m. on December 4, 1880, a deadly fire broke out on the fifth floor of the six-story Kearsarge cotton mill off Hanover Street in Portsmouth, NH. #thismonthinhistory #145yearsago
Reportedly, an employee was cleaning the piping with a “piece of waste” when it came into contact with a gas jet, igniting. When the worker dropped the flaming waste onto the oil-soaked floor, the fire quickly spread, blocking the staircase. Trapped employees had to leap over the blaze, which resulted in several people being severely burned. During the escape, others were trampled.
Spinner James Greenwood (1827-1880) was reported missing. On January 12, 1881, his remains were found among the ruins. An emigrant from Blackburn, England, James and his family lived on McDonough Street in the 1880 census. His wife, Ellen Whalley, and his three eldest children (Nancy, 26, Margaret, 18, and Nathan, 14) all worked in the cotton mill. He was laid to rest in Harmony Grove alonside three of his children who had died young.
Two other English immigrants suffered severe burns: Nathan Wood (s) and William Warburton.
By age 12, Nathan (1849-1880) had worked as a cotton piecer in England. In Portsmouth, he and his wife, Lydia, worked at the Kearsarge Mills. They resided on Cornwall with their three young children. Six days after the fire, he succumbed to his wounds, age 31.
Born in Stockport, William (1851-1926) arrived in America as a child with his family in the 1850s. He and many family members worked in the mill. He survived his injuries, later becoming a Portsmouth grocer for 22 years.
When the fire broke out, about 40 to 50 people were in the building, but within 20 minutes, the mill would have been in full operation, which could have resulted in more casualties.
Nearby buildings were damaged, including the Freewill Baptist Church (The Pearl). At the jail on Islington, Sheriff Kent had devised a plan to move its 10 prisoners to police headquarters. Windswept embers sparked small fires across the city. The financial loss topped $400,000, and the destruction devastated the Portsmouth economy, leaving 300 to 350 operatives jobless.
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