A Normal Disappearance
When James F. Sarsfield, a plumber at the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School, left Normal, Illinois, for the 1939 New York World’s Fair, he was never seen again. Produced and hosted by an aunt and her two teenage nieces, A Normal Disappearance blends family history, detective work, and small-town storytelling to uncover what happened to James — and why his mystery still matters today.
Episodes
In 1939, James F. Sarsfield, a plumber at the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School in Normal, Illinois, left for the New York World’s Fair and never returned. In this episode of A Normal Disappearance, hosts Andrea Munday, “Aunt Sissy", and her teenage nieces, Finley & Piper, introduce James’s case and their family’s special connection to the orphanage.
We travel back to 1939 to uncover what life was like in Normal, Illinois—the town James Sarsfield called home before his disappearance. From walking the orphanage grounds to digging through museum archives and family graves, we begin to piece together the world James lived in and the community he left behind.
After months of searching for documentation on James’s missing persons case with no luck, the team finally hits the information jackpot. They’re also joined by Irish immigration historian Dr. Kevin Kenny, who helps uncover the story of how James’s family first came to America.
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