This is a really famous photo of Little Miss 1565. This photo is credited from the book called, “A Master of Degree” by Don Massey and Rick Davey.  This photo of this little girl became the legend/icon from the horrible event that occurred on July 6, 1944. This day was a day that will never be forgotten.

 The famous Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed on a hot summer day in Hartford, Connecticut when a ghastly fire broke out that killed many people. Many innocent lives were taken too soon including the girl in the photo. The picture of this girl grabbed the attention of many people around that community and the world. She became insistently famous because of the fact that she was buried unidentified. No one ever claimed this little girl, so the city had no choice but to bury her without a name. The unidentified bodies were given a number by the city’s morgue. The number 1565 was given to this little girl; however, since she captured people with her beauty, she became known as Little Miss 1565. The little girl who died from the circus fire died with barley any marks or scratches on her face. It was clearly that she could be identified, yet no one claimed her.  There were several investigations that went on to determine who Little Miss 1565 belonged to. This story sadden detective Rick Davey, and he was determine to solve the mystery and give her a name. At the time, since no one claimed her, she was buried as Little Miss 1565.

The unforgettable event that took place on July 6, 1944 affected many people in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. A little girl captured the hearts of the community. She was the icon that reminded people of the circus fire disaster. The little girl who was barley marred in the face died with such beauty. The Mystery of Little Miss 1565 continued for over forty years after the devastating event. She became the important image from all the other deaths because of her beauty. Her beauty caught the attention of two detectives Rick Davey and Don Massey who spent years in search for someone who could identify Little Miss. This became the most controversial debate until this day of who Little Miss 1565 really. However, after hard work in searching through old records they have valuable evidence. The mystery of this unknown child was a tough case to solve.
The story began on July 7 when a woman name Emily Gill was in search for her missing niece, Eleanor Cook. Emily Gill was the sister of Mildred who was injured during the circus fire and was put in a hospital for her injuries. Mildred had two sons and one daughter. The only child that lived during the fire was Don Cook. Emily was in charge in search to see if she could identify the unknown bodies in hopes that one of them would be Honey, her niece. This was the second time where Emily has gone to the state armory in search for her niece. When she was shown 1565, she was conflicted because the little girl looked like her niece and had all similar features; however, the dental records of her permanent teeth was different. Emily thought that, “she had eight permanent upper teeth, but 1565 was said to have only two permanent lower incisors” (Massey and Davey, p.113).  There were other troubling factors about the mystery of the little girl such as the clothing she wore. Dr. Weissenborn was the doctor that did all the examination during that time period had reported her to be wearing, “a flowered dress and brown shoes” at the time of her death (Massey and Davey, p.236). However, a newspaper statement said that Eleanor Cook was in a red plaid playsuit. In Davey’s research he found in a report that victim 1565 was not wearing clothes and was covered by a blanket because the clothing was taken to a lab. This could have been one reason why Emily could not distinguish her niece because of the clothing. Other discrepancies that triggered interest was the age of Eleanor Cook. Information provided by the family said she was six years old; but the Dr. Weiseenborn reported her age to be between six and eight. Another discrepancies was her height. Davey believed that the family gave the wrong description of her height because they mention in a report that she was tall for her age however, he concluded that, “she could have been have four feet four at age six, and she was unlikely to be that tall at age eight” (Massey and Davey, p. 235). Yet another important piece of information was that the temperature from the fire was so high that it could have cause her facial features to shrink especially the area of the nose and ears (Massy and Davey, p.238). Also, a doctor have had done some hair sample analysis from Eleanor Cook hairbrush, and it seems to match with the mystery victim (Massey and Davey, p.240). Other reasoning for Emily misconception of identifying her own niece could have been of in denial that her niece was gone. Also because of the troubling effects from the many people who suffered by the fire. She could possibly not have had a clear mind in decision making.  Rick Davey long going re-investigation took him about nine years. Davey is confident in his theory that Eleanor Cook and Little Miss 1565 are the same person.