From the "The Village of Harlem: Its People, Homes and Business – 50th
Anniversary Souvenir 1856 to 1906"
"What was a part of Chicago's loss at the great fire of '71 was incidentally Harlem's gain in bringing a most estimable lady with its boundaries. Mrs. Charlotte Lau living in the city at the time of this great disaster was actually driven by the spread of the flames to the outer confines and became a citizen of Harlem. She vividly tell how that great conflagration drove her from her home on Sedgwick St. near Chicago Ave. on the cold night of Oct. 9th, 1871, to the prairies on North Ave., where the night was spent without shelter from the elements. The flames still pursuing, they were picked up by a wagon and carried to the West Side to Mr. Henry Myer's near the Haymarket. The city was still burning, and they feared the fire would reach them again. but they were assured of their safety by Mr. Myer who kept in readiness several teams and wagons with which to convey them further away. The next day they came to Harlem and stopped temporarily with Mr. T. T. Moore. Mr. Henry Lau, the husband of Mrs. Lau, was a carpenter, but with efficient business education he was engaged for a time as book-keeper for the Val Blatz Brewing Co. in Chicago. In 1873 Mr. Lau opened a saloon and restaurant at the corner of Harlem and Circle Aves., which he conducted until 1881. He died the same year.
"Mrs. Charlotte Lau was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, in 1831, and came to America in 1865, locating at Washington, D. C., where she lived for five years, and came to Chicago in 1870. She was married in Germany in 1856, and had three children. Those living are Mr. Henry Lau and Mrs. Anna Becker.
"While Mrs. Lau is now seventy-five years old, she is almost as active as a woman of thirty. She has a most pleasant disposition and is held in high esteem by her neighbors and friends. Her son, Henry, and son-in-law, Mr. Fred G. Becker, engaged in the wine business in the city and purchased the old well-known bottled beer business of Henry Bauenschien at 15 Franklin St., Harlem, which business they are increasing rapidly and supplying everybody with the famous Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co., Milwaukee beverage."