Survivor List
(last names beginning with "J")

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.

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P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Jackson, Herman; 67 Bellevue St, Hartford
  • Marlion Jackson, administrator of the estate of Herman Jackson, 67 Bellevue St, Hartford, was awarded $7,000 by the arbitration board.THC ​
PictureRev. J. C. Jackson
Jackson, Rev. J.C. (76); 44 Pliny Street, Hartford
  • Pastor of the Union Baptist Church, calmed the crowd in his section of the tent, and carried several children out with him.AA 
Jacob, Mrs. Merle M. (33); 129 Washington St, Hartford
  • Was awarded $9,500 by the arbitration board for injuries received in the fire, including severe ankle and knee sprains, injuries to her back, spine, vertebrae and muscles, contusions and lacerations about the body, and severe nervous shock.  
Jakowski, Rich (4); Elmer St., Hartford
  • Attended circus with his father, Mr. Jakowski.
Jakowski, Mr. (adult); Elmer St., Hartford
  • Attended circus with his son, Rich Jakowski.
Johnson, Mrs. Claire (34); 501 Porter St, Manchester
  • Was awarded $4,000 by the arbitration board for injuries received in the fire, including burns to her arms, legs and scalp.
Johnson, Elaine (6); 501 Porter St, Manchester
  • Was awarded $1,000 by the arbitration board for injuries received in the fire, including burns to her arms.
Johnson, Fred Z. (70's); 7 South Main St, Manchester
  • Mr. Johnson was a personal chauffer to Frank Cheney, Jr., and attended the circus with Mr. Cheney's brother Paul Cheney. Both men survived.CFR 
PictureImage of Marilyn Johnson and Georgianna Barnes, courtesy of Lori Kelley.
Johnson, Marilyn (14); Canton, Conn. and Westfield, Mass.
  • ​Attended the circus with her aunt Thyra Smith, with whom she lived from a young age until after the circus fire, and her friend Georgianna Barnes, Georgianna’s mother Mrs. Helen Barnes, and another Barnes child.  The two women sat at the top of the bleachers, allowing the three children to sit together in the front row.  When the fire broke out to their left, Marilyn noticed that many people were running toward the fire because that was the nearest exit from their seats.  Thyra signaled down to them to run, and the three children ran almost the entire length of the tent before escaping through a slit someone made with a jackknife.  They ran to the car and waited for Thyra and Mrs. Barnes, and when the women did not show up, the children looked for a telephone to call for help.  Refused at the first house because the owner demanded payment to use the phone, they went to the next house and used theirs.  The children escaped without injuries; Mrs. Barnes was critically burned but survived, and Thyra Smith would be found among the dead on scene.
  • Married name Marilyn "Lynn" Miller
Johnson, Neil (3); 501 Porter St, Manchester
  • Was awarded $800 by the arbitration board for injuries received in the fire, including burns to his arms and leg.
Johnson, Sandra (12); Glastonbury
  • aka Sandra Johnson Blazensky. Went to circus with friend Betty Sherman, both survived.CFM 
Johnson, Mrs. Sumner; Terryville
  • Wife of Chaplain Sumner Johnson serving overseas, attended the circus with her two children and mother, Mrs. Kirby.
Johnston, Robert Everett (youth)
  • Attended the circus with his father Robert Frederick Johnston and cousin Dennis Almanza Tripp.  All of them survived the fire.  
Johnston, Robert Frederick (adult)
  • Attended the circus with his son Robert Everett Johnston and nephew Dennis Almanza Tripp.  All of them survived the fire.  Mr. Johnston left two days after the circus fire to enter the Army.  
Jolie, Annamay (11); Hartford
  • Married name: Annamay (Jolie) Potocki
  • As a student, Annamay and her class were involved in the circus fire.  She would later attend Hartford Hospital Nursing School and she worked in the nursing field until 1997.
  • Annamay Potocki passed away at her home on December 8, 2015.  [obituary]  
Jones, Phyllis (child); Hartford
  • Phyllis and her brother Raymond survived the Hartford Circus fire in 1944. 
  • Phyllis Ruth (Jones) Benoit passed away peacefully on May 28, 2022 at the Atria in Rocky Hill, CT. [LINK to obituary / Back-up LINK]
Jordan, Richard "Dick" J. (9) 
  • Richard was a survivor of the July 6, 1944 Hartford circus fire.
  • Richard "Dick" J. Jordan, 88, of East Hartford, passed away peacefully on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, at Glastonbury Health Care Center. [LINK to obituary / Back-up LINK]
Joseph, Stuart (10)
  • Stuart sat alone where the fire started.  He saw people running down the bleachers, but there were no exits for them because the lion cage blocked them.  He ran to the top of the bleachers as the fire approached, and a man helped him onto the tent rope and he slid down to the ground.​
Julian, Peter (3 1/2); 65 Mulberry St, Hartford
  • On the "Missing List", Friday, 7/7/44.THC 
Juliano, Daniel J.
  • Police Commissioner Daniel J. Juliano, a spectator at the circus when the fire started, was commended by State Police Commisioner Edward J. Hickey for his heroism which resulted in the saving of many lives.THC

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Sources:

TWT: The White Tops magazine
WCF: Women and Children First by Donald H. Roy
CFR: Circus Fire Reminiscences (Manchester Public Library)
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