Survivor List
(last names beginning with "A")

Nearly 7,000 circus fans attended the afternoon show on July 6, 1944, and many were fortunate enough to survive the blaze. Here are the names of some of the survivors, and also the names of those who helped or are otherwise associated with the Hartford Circus Fire, though they may not have been in attendance during the tragic performance.

Names are sorted by "last name first"; in cases of women who got married after the circus fire, their name in 1944 is used when known. The search function at the top of the each page can also be used to search the entire website for a name or term.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L -M - N - O
P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Abbott, Daniel; 41 Ashwell St, Hartford
  • Injured, on Municpal Hospital casualty list 7/10/1944 at 9am.
Abel, Walter C. (adult); Blue Hills Ave, Hartford
  • Member of Hartford Police Department since 1926, working in the Vice & Liquor Division at time of the circus fire.  July 6, 1944 was his day off; he was coming out of Spinelli's and saw smoke from the area of the circus grounds and he drove to the circus grounds with his wife. 
Acquaviva, Charlotte (4); Beacon St, Hartford
  • Attended the circus with her mother Mrs. Joyce Acquaviva and a neighbor's child, Barbara Kolb (5).  They sat on the opposite side from where the fire started; they saw the first flames in the far right corner from where they were seated.  Mrs. Acquaviva fell down on their way out, and Charlotte stayed with her while Barbara crawled between people's legs and escaped on her own.  The Acquaviva's would also escape.  
  • Barbara Kolb's story can be read here: Personal Accounts - Page 9.  
  • Charlotte M. Acquaviva, 73, passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. [link to obituary / back-up link]
Acquaviva, Joyce (Weaver) (30); Beacon St, Hartford
  • Attended the circus with her daughter Charlotte and a neighbor's child, Barbara Kolb (5).  They sat on the opposite side from where the fire started; they saw the first flames in the far right corner from where they were seated.  Mrs. Acquaviva fell down on their way out, and Charlotte stayed with her while Barbara crawled between people's legs and escaped on her own.  The Acquaviva's would also escape.  
  • Barbara Kolb's story can be read here: Personal Accounts - Page 9.  
  • Joyce (Weaver) Acquaviva, 87, beloved wife of the late Philip J. Acquaviva, died Friday, (March 16, 2001). [link to obituary / back-up link]
Adams, Florence R.
  • Attended the circus with her husband and three children, sat on the South side of the big top about three rows from the front.  They saw fire to their left and they rushed down the steps and ran to the exit, all got out safely. CFM 
Adams, Rosaline C. (38); Canton
  • Attended the circus with her son, Thomas E. Adams, and an unnamed pregnant friend. All survived. Died in 1999.CFM 
Adams, Thomas E. (almost 3); Canton
  • Attended the circus with his mother, Rosaline C. Adams, and an unnamed pregnant friend of his mother. All survived.CFM 
Addison, Oliver C. (adult); Middlefield, CT
  • Oliver was working alone at McGovern Company, next to the circus grounds, and around 2:40pm he walked outside to light a cigarette.  He looked toward the circus tent and saw a column of dense, dark reddish fire, deep orange, and bound on each side by a heavy column of black smoke.  He observed cone-shaped fire, and the flames were blown by the breeze which pushed them over the top of the Big Top.  The canvas sidewall of the Big Top hung straight down as the top burned.  Oliver rushed inside and phoned for police and fire departments, and when he came back out and tent was near gone.
  • Oliver Addison's testimony to Commissioner Hickey
Aerborer, Gerald; Bristol
  • Injured, on Municipal Hospital casualty list, July 10, 1944 at 9am.
Agata, Marce (12), 13 Village St; East Hartford
  • On the "Missing List", Friday, 7/7/44.THC 
Ahern, Dorothy
  • Injured, on Municipal Hospital casualty list, July 10, 1944 at 9am.
Ahern, Lambert
  • Injured, at New Britain General Hospital, on the July 10, 1944 casualty list.
Ahern, R.J. (adult)
  • Hartford Police Department officer, was detailed to keep people off the circus grounds on July 6 from 3:40pm to 6pm, then went to the Garden Street entrance of E.B.McGurk Co. and kept people from entering that property until 11:45pm. 
Akin, Ethel (16); Hartford
Albrecht, L. (adult)
  • Hartford Police Department officer, helped with recovering lost articles on the circus grounds after the fire. 
Aldridge, Robert C. (6); West Hartford
  • Survivor of the 1944 Hartford circus fire, Robert Carl Aldridge, 81, went home to the Lord on Nov. 23, 2019. [obituary / back-up link]
Allegretta, Dolores (minor); D137 Charter Oak Terrace, Hartford
  • Awarded $1,000 by the arbitration board for injuries received in the fire.THC
Allegretta, Dorothy (36); D137 Charter Oak Terrace, Hartford
  • Injured, at St. Francis Hospital, on the July 10, 1944 casualty list.
Allen, Barbara (3); 54 Woodbridge Ave, East Hartford
  • Attended the circus with her parents Rita and Raymond Allen, and her cousin Carol Ann Gay. The group sat in the Northwest Bleachers and they all escaped safely.  
Allen, Edward N.
  • Chairman of the Hartford Red Cross chapter, called one of the "key men in the mobilization of the state's disaster relief forces and their direction" by Governor Baldwin.THC 
Allen, K.C. (adult)
  • Hartford Police Department officer, assisted with removing bodies and moving fire hose on July 6 from 3pm to 5pm, then was assigned to traffic detail. 
Allen, Raymond J. (adult); 54 Woodbridge Ave, East Hartford
  • Attended the circus with his wife Rita, their daughter Barbara, 3, and their niece Carol Ann Gay, 4.  The group sat in the Northwest Bleachers.  When they noticed the fire, they escaped safely by dropping underneath the bleachers and going under the sidewall canvas.  Raymond went back and helped a woman whose foot was caught in the bleachers and she was hanging upside down.  
  • Raymond Allen's statement to police.  
Allen, Rita (adult); 54 Woodbridge Ave, East Hartford
  • Attended the circus with her husband Raymond, their daughter Barbara, 3, and their niece Carol Ann Gay, 4.  The group sat in the Northwest Bleachers and they all escaped safely.  
Allen, Stephen (adult); 88 Buckingham St, Hartford
  • Stephen at first bought general admission ticket, and when he got inside he purchased an upgrade to a reserved seat in Section Y, row 12, seat 14 - on the left side in rear part of tent.  He was in the 3rd seat from side where animal runway was located in the exit.  Stephen watched the lion and bear set in the cage directly in front of him, and when the act finished and last bear was being pushed thru the chute, he saw a 2-foot wide patch of fire between the bleachers and the reserved section on the south side of the tent near the Main Entrance.  He grabbed a boy and jumped over the animal runway and ran out the exit where the runway was, then ran out through the bushes and came out near ticket wagon as the firemen were arriving in their trucks. -1944 witness statement
  • Stephen Allen's statement to police. 
Anderson, Mrs. Alice E.; 37 Bonny View Rd, West Hartford
  • Awarded $8,500 by the arbitration board for injuries received in the fire.THC 
Anderson, Alden E. (60); 37 Bonny View Rd, West Hartford
  • When escaping the circus fire, Mr. Anderson jumped from the grandstand, landed on his feet and slipped, twisting his body.  He was awarded $10,000 by the arbitration board for his injuries, which included fractured vertebrae. 
  • Had been at home since the fire, moved to Hartford Hospital Tuesday, July 12, upon doctor recommendation.THC 
Andersen, Cora E. (adult)
  • Went to the circus with her children Joy and Hans, and their grandmother Hansine Andersen. All of them survived.CFM 
Picture
Anderson, Donald (13); Columbia
Andersen, Hans (5)
  • Went to the circus with his sister Joy, mother Cora, and grandmother Hansine. All of them survived.CFM 
Andersen, Gustav (adult)
  • Went to the circus with his grandson, Geoffrey Wilson, and both escaped the burning big top.  They were separated during their escape, but met up with each other hours later.  Read Geoffrey Wilson's full story here: Circus Fire Experience
Andersen, Hansine (adult)
  • Went to the circus with her grandchildren Joy and Hans Andersen, and their mother Cora. All of them survived.CFM 
Andersen, Joy (6)
  • aka Joy (Andersen) Petersen.
  • Went to the circus with her brother Hans, mother Cora, and grandmother Hansine. All of them survived.CFM 
Andrews, Jean (13); Windsor Ave, Wilson
  • Jean Andrews, daughter of Mrs. Helen W. Andrews, had been reported missing, found to have escaped unscathed.THC 
  • Attended circus with friends Maxine Huntington and Constance Carlton, who also survived the fire. The girls were seated high on the  bleachers when the fire broke out, and all prepared to jump except Maxine, who froze. Constance delivered a hard slap to the face of Maxine, and they all jumped to safety.
Argenta, Patricia (10); Stafford Springs
  • Patricia and her father both survived the Hartford circus fire.  
  • Patricia A. (Argenta) Tiziani, 90, of Stafford Springs, CT, passed away peacefully on September 15, 2024 at Orchard Grove Nursing Facility in Uncasville, CT. [link to obituary / back-up link]
Arnold, Mrs. Claire (adult); 99 Simmons Rd, East Hartford
  • Attended the circus with her two sons David (4 1/2) and George (3 1/2), and Barbara Tulman (14). The group sat in the Northeast Bleachers, in the corner near the animal runway at the East end of the tent. Mrs Arnold saw a burst of flame at the top of the Southwest bleachers.  People were trying to go out the exit near the bleachers but were forced back by animal handlers because of the lions in the runway.  All members in Mrs. Arnold's group held hands and made their way out of the tent single file through the northeast exit, which was partially obstructed by the animal runway. She noticed that people exiting the tent behind her were burned. 
  • Mrs. Claire Arnold's statement to police. 
Arthur, Betty (28); Wethersfield
  • Elizabeth "Betty" (Williams) Arthur, age 99, died June 18, 2015 at home.  Betty survived the Hartford Circus Fire by escaping down a guide rope of the burning tent while eight months pregnant with her first child.[full obituary]
Ashline, M.A. (adult)
  • Hartford Police Department officer, on July 6th he was detailed to keep the crowd away from the circus ruins and assisted with carrying out the injured from 3:15pm to 4:30pm, then he was assigned to sidewalk traffic detail. 
Atkins, William (13); 14 Greenhurst Rd, West Hartford
  • Attended the circus alone, sat in the Southwest Bleachers about halfway up and 20-feet from reserved seating Section A.  As the animal act finished, with one or two cats still in Ring One, William noticed the people in his bleacher section start rushing toward the bottom. He looked thru the bleachers and saw flames sat the bottom of the canvas sidewall and spreading up the wall. Soldiers, circus employees and two sailors were telling people to keep calm.  William stayed in his seat until he saw the flames reach the edge of the canvas roof, then he walked down to ground level and watched everything for a few moments. He got caught up in the crowd going out the Main Entrance, and when he got outside he noticed he had someone else's blood on his shirt. 
  • William Atkins' statement to police. 
Austin, Helen A. (14); 16 Eastview St, Hartford
  • Attended the circus with Dianna Pivko; they sat in the Northeast Bleachers, about four rows from the top and almost at the edge of the bleachers near the animal runway. 
  • Helen Austin's statement to police. 
Avery, Mae (adult); Hartford
  • Attended circus with her daughter Sandra Avery, niece Janet Moore, and mother Martha Moore. All would survive except Martha.
Avery, Sandra (5); Hartford
  • Attended circus with her mother Mae Avery, cousin Janet Moore, and grandmother Martha Moore. All would survive except Martha.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L -M - N - O
P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Sources:

TWT: The White Tops magazine
WCF: Women and Children First by Donald H. Roy
CFR: Circus Fire Reminiscences (Manchester Public Library)
CFM: Circus Fire Memories
MEH: Manchester Evening Herald
TCF: The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan
UPI: United Press International
SDN: Springfield Daily News
JOWBR: JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry
THC: The Hartford Courant