The Sodder Children

These are the pictures that were graciously given to me by Sylvia Sodder Paxton, the youngest surviving child from the fire on December 25, 1945.

This is the billboard the family put up starting in 1952.

Maurice Sodder, 14 years old on December 25, 1945.

Martha Lee Sodder, 12 years old on December 25, 1945.

Martha Lee1.jpg

Louis Sodder, 9 years old on December 25, 1945 (his birthday was in 5 days).

Jennie Sodder, 8 years old on December 25, 1945.

Betty Sodder, 5 years old on December 25, 1945.

I've written six non-fiction books, the most recent is Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York.