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Brace Memorial Lodging House, Jane Hanihan, Jane Hanrahan, Jennie Hanihan, newsboys' house, suicide
On March 30, 1894, The Sun provides a little more detail about Jane Hanrahan’s disappearance:
Maybe This Was Jane Hanrahan.
Jane Hanrahan, who disappeared from the Newsboys’ Lodging House at New Chambers and Duane Streets on Monday morning last, may have been the girl that two deckhands on the steamboat City of Lawrence say they saw jump off the Battery wall on that morning. The City of Lawrence was rounding the Battery at 6:10 o’clock. Deckhands Peter Maloney and Michael Connery happened to be standing on the forward deck, when, as they say, Maloney saw a woman who wore a white apron and had a dark sack over her head instead of a hat, walking toward the Liberty dock. She walked out on the pier, and after standing for a moment on the edge of the wharf plunged into the river. The men did not report this to the Captain.
It was 5 1/2 o’clock Monday morning when Jane Hanrahan left the House. She wore no hat, and had a sacque thrown over her head. Before leaving she cut off her hair. She also left her trunk, trinkets, and jewelry behind.
City Hall Park 1899 
Hello, I was wondering if you had any information on Spot Conlon. I’ve always wanted to find a real picture but all I’ve been able to find for years is one news article mentioning him once. Thankyou, Kelly Glass
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Good question! The Sun, which has some of the best strike coverage, only mentions him twice (July 21 & 22) and the Brooklyn papers don’t mention him at all, at least by name (a line in the Brooklyn Eagle’s July 21 article could reference him, or it could be any other newsie from Brooklyn).
I have found newspaper references to a Jack “Spot” Conlon from Marshfield, WI, in 1943, who served in the Pacific during World War II as a part of the 135th Medical Regiment Band. However, I doubt he was the same person, judging by the dates. In a photograph that accompanies one article, the 1943 Spot Conlon appears to be in his 20s or maybe early 30s. The 1899 Spot Conlon would be closer to 60 in 1943, depending on how old he was during the strike.
Research would be a lot easier if the Sun reporter had included a first name, an address, or if other newspapers had mentioned him as well, like they had with Kid Blink. I do have a magazine I’m trying to hunt down, that supposedly includes pictures of the newsboys strike, but haven’t had much luck yet. (I’m currently working on creating some new sections for the site with sources currently in my possession, so haven’t done a lot of searching for it recently.)