A little trivia, but important it you can't find you ancestor. http://www.ask.com/web?q=Peshtigo%2C+Wisconsin&qsrc=0&o=0 On October 8, 1871 (the same day as the Great Chicago Fire), a prairie fire driven by strong winds totally consumed Peshtigo along with a dozen other villages, killing 1,200 to 2,500 people and charring approximately 1.5 million acres (6,000 km²). This fire, known as the Peshtigo Fire, is the deadliest in American history. 1871 - Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan. The Great Chicago Fire is the most famous of these, having left nearly 100,000 people homeless, although the Peshtigo Fire killed as many as 2,500 people making it the deadliest fire in United States history.