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This week, we return to Edith Franklin Wyatt’s July 26, 1915 article, Hawthorne, A City of Sorrow: Community Hushed by Death. Wyatt interviewed families and clergy whose lives had been touched by the Eastland Disaster, yet many of those individuals—and Wyatt herself—have been largely forgotten in 21st-century versions of the story.

This time, we meet the only Lutheran pastor Wyatt interviewed. She identified him as “the German Lutheran pastor Dr. Miles.” Sounds straightforward enough, right? Not exactly. Tracking down “Dr. Miles” and his church turned into a historical scavenger hunt that was far more difficult than I ever expected.  But I love a good scavenger hunt! 

Tenacity pays off — I found the key to unlocking the mystery. It’s one that I guarantee most have never heard of: the Lutheran World Almanac.  Though it sounds as if it's right out of Lake Wobegon, it really was a thing.

With that clue, “Miles” becomes Reverend Louis J.C. Millies of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Cicero, and newspaper records from the Chicago Daily Tribune and later local coverage help rebuild his biography and his congregation’s connection to the Eastland disaster. 

Along the way, I take a brief detour and share how working with coincidence, serendipity, synchronicity, and intuition, and honing mad research skills can be a winning combination when trying to restore long-lost history. As Martin Luther once said, “This is most certainly true!” 

If Chicago history, the Eastland disaster of 1915, and practical genealogy strategies for breaking through brick walls are your thing, this episode may be right up your alley.

Resources:

• Edith Franklin Wyatt, “Hawthorne, A City of Sorrow; Community Hushed by Death,” Chicago Examiner (Chicago, Illinois), July 26, 1915.
• A City of Sorrow, a Voice of Fire — Edith Franklin Wyatt & the Eastland 
• The Scars That Wouldn't Heal: Two Priests, Two Parishes
• Jones, Henry Z., Jr. Psychic Roots: Serendipity & Intuition in Genealogy. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993.  
• The Lutheran World Almanac and Annual Encyclopedia for 1922. Edited by O. M. Norlie. New York: Lutheran Bureau, 1922.

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