Frank Cattani, mayor and life-long resident of Ladd, Ill., will speak to the Bureau County Genealogical Society on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Genealogical Society’s building located at 629 S. Main St. in Princeton. The public is invited to attend this free presentation.
Cattani will talk about his recent trip to Italy with his family. While touring Italy, they stopped in the small town of Fanano where his mother’s family originated. They were greeted by Fanano officials and residents and were shown a memorial to the Fanano immigrants who died in the Cherry Mine disaster on Nov 13, 1909. They also toured a Fanano museum and visited his mother’s ancestral home. Cattani will also talk about his own grandfather’s experiences in the Cherry Mine disaster fire.
On Nov. 13 in 1909 in Cherry, Ill., a fire was started when a kerosene torch ignited a wagon of hay resulting in the third deadliest mine disaster in the U.S. That day 259 miners and boys perished in the fire.
The Genealogical Society invites the public to view its large collection of historical and family records for Bureau County and other areas.
The Bureau County Genealogical Society will be closed from Dec. 21, 2025, through Jan. 4, 2026, and will reopen at 10 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2026.
