Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser

Palladium office, Boston, January 3.

A fire broke out in this town last evening, in one of the centre brick buildings of a block in Broad-street, on the east side, a few rods north of India wharf. The alarm was given a little after 9 o'clock in the evening, and the citizens assembled with the engines, &c. in a few moments, but the flames raged with violence, and all that was combustible in the building where the fire commenced, was consumed. The contiguous houses, were however protected. The house burned was four stories high, and two rooms deep. An idea seems to prevail that the fire commenced in the rear room of the third story, by some use of oil over the fire in preparing quills—'dutching quills.'

This fire, in the melancholy destruction of human life, has been more remarkable than any other we recollect in Boston. The house, it is said, was inhabited by a great number of persons—and among other parts the 4th story was tenanted. From hence, a lad named Jackson, about 12 or 14 years of age, escaped from the flames, lowering himself down by the spout. A woman named Taylor having no other hope for safety, threw herself from the same story, and was so much injured that she soon died afterwards. Mr. Patrick Jackson, his wife, and an aged woman, and two children perished in the fire. What remained of the victims to the flames have been collected this morning, except the remains of the aged woman, for which search is now making among the ruins. Most of the furniture in the house was destroyed—and much belonging to the neighboring houses was greatly damaged. We understand the house destroyed belonged to Mr. Wm. Welch.