Catherine A. Lacy

Catherine A. Lacy, 1860-1896
Died in a House Fire
​
Buried in the IOOF Cemetery, Block 16, Lot 3, Grave 2

(Grave marker photo courtesy of the
​Pioneers’ Cemetery Association)

---

Catherine A. Lacy was born March 1, 1860, in Erinsville, Ontario, Canada. The name of the town is appropriate, since it was founded by Irish, largely Roman Catholic, immigrants. Catherine was the youngest of eight children born to Bryan Lacey and his wife, Ellen Clancy. The Laceys were farmers who had immigrated to Canada from County Wexford, Ireland.
 
While living in Canada, Catherine’s father seems to have Anglicized his name to Bernard. He died on January 23, 1878, and was buried in the local Catholic cemetery.
 
In 1881, Catherine was still living on the family farm near Sheffield with her widowed mother and several siblings. Her older brother James, however, had emigrated to the United States and was working as a miner in Virginia City, Nevada, possibly with a cousin named Bernard. 
 
Catherine seems to have joined James after he had moved to Phoenix, Arizona Territory. James passed away rather unexpectedly in Phoenix on January 1, 1896, of heart disease. He was buried in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery.
 
Catherine herself died just a few months later on May 15, 1896, of burns received in a house fire. Ironically, her apartment was located in a building behind the Phoenix Gas Works, previously owned by her brother James.
 
She had arisen early and lit a portable gas stove with a match to heat water for her bath. She may have left the stove or match unattended for a moment, for the curtains ignited. As she attempted to extinguish the flames, her robe also caught fire, enveloping her in flames. She tried desperately to get the door open but apparently the smoke was so thick she couldn’t find the doorknob. Passersby noticed flames, broke out the window and put out the fire, but by then she was unconscious and burned almost beyond recognition. She died an hour later. 
 
After a Catholic funeral service, Catherine Lacy was buried near her brother in the IOOF Cemetery. Neither one of them had ever married.
 
© 2025 by Donna L. Carr.  Last revised 15 February 2025.

​If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!