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A long-overlooked document adds a vital missing piece to the Eastland Disaster story.

For over a century, the full account of what happened when the SS Eastland capsized in downtown Chicago has remained incomplete—not because we didn’t know what happened--but because the stories of so many of the people involved were lost, overlooked, or never told.

In this episode, I share how I stumbled on a forgotten 156-page coroner’s inquest from 1915—led by Cook County Coroner Peter Hoffman—that’s been missing from most Eastland history sites and books. It’s packed with survivor testimonies, real-time emotion, and names you’ve probably never heard… because they’ve been left out.

I first came across a two-page summary tucked inside a set of insurance claim files for Eastland victims—people who had been insured through the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, or PRCUA. I found them on FamilySearch, and that tiny breadcrumb led me to something big: the full 156-page coroner’s inquest, hiding in the University of Minnesota’s digital archives… practically in my own backyard. And now? I’m bringing it to light.

Resources:

Transcript of Testimony Before the Coroner's Jury, July 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, on the body of Kate Austin and all others lost by the overturning of the Excursion Steamer Eastland while tied to the dock at Clark and S. Water Streets in the City of Chicago, July 24,1915

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