Thriller Thursday ~ All The Girls Jumped

My husband's great-grandmother, Golda Segal, immigrated to America in 1891. The family settled in Woodbine, New Jersey, which was originally established as a farming community for Jewish immigrants. But when that was not successful, Woodbine became a manufacturing center with a variety of factories providing jobs for new Americans.

Golda Segal was born sometime about 1869 in Russia. She worked in one of the factories in Woodbine in the 1890's. Golda was my mother-in-law's Bubbie (grandmother), and, as my mother-in-law tells it:

She [Golda] was in a fire and in those days they locked people in the factories so they wouldn't get out. When the fire happened, people told her to jump so she came out of the window to jump. There was a barrel or something on the ground and when Golda jumped, she fell onto this barrel, hit her head, and her eardrum burst. This caused hearing and speech problems for her for the rest of her life.

I have found several newspaper accounts of a factory fire in Woodbine on February 7, 1895, which is likely the one my husband's great grandmother was injured in.

From the Bridgeton (NJ) Evening News, February 8, 1895 from GenealogyBank:

TERRIBLE FIRE AT WOODBINE. Factory Buildings Burned and Many Persons Hurt. A Panic Among Employees - Rosa Litshetz Jumps From a Third Story Window - The Loss May Reach Fifteen Thousand Dollars  There was a big fire, terrible in its results, at the Russian Hebrew colony of Woodbine late yesterday afternoon, but the particulars are meagre and hard to obtain.
  The machine and tool factories were burned to the ground. The first account says that seven persons were badly injured and one woman was nearly burned to death.
  A later report says: One of the main building which were burned was a three story one. Forty five persons were in it. The fire happened late yesterday afternoon. A girl named Rosa Litshetz jumped from a third story window and was seriously injured.
  Several others jumped from windows and were somewhat hurt. Nearly all the employees were injured, either by jumping or fighting the fire.
  The factories have lately started up and the town had taken a sudden boom during the last two weeks.
  Great excitement prevailed during the fire and several persons were frozen by exposure.
  The loss by the burning of the buildings is estimated at between $12,000 and $15,000.
  A physician went to Woodbine from Millville by special car this morning. Several reporters of Philadelphia and New York papers, en route for the place, are on the down train, snow bound at Glassboro.