Great Michigan Fire loss, animal deaths, and forest devastation has never been determined. Also unknown is the total number of human deaths. Some estimates put the loss of life at fewer than 500, but they were largely based on families reporting their members missing. In 1871 in Michigan there were hundreds to thousands of lumberjacks and salesmen spread out across the state, along with settlers in remote areas, making it impossible to total the loss. Because these fires happened in the day other estimates of the Great Michigan Fire death toll is lower than the Great Chicago Fire's estimated 250-300 dead. One speculation,
George Stanhope, 8th Earl of Chesterfield George Stanhope, 8th Earl of Chesterfield George Philip Stanhope (29 November 1822 – 19 October 1883) was the 8th Earl of Chesterfield, succeeding to the title on the death of his third cousin, the 7th Earl, in 1871. He was the son of George Charles Stanhope and Jane Galbraith. Stanhope married, firstly, Marianne Roche, daughter of William Roche, on 8 April 1856. Secondly, he married Catherine Jane Jarvis Bond, daughter of John Hildebrand Bond, on 7 March 1877. Thirdly, he married Agnes Payne, daughter of James Payne, on 7 December 1882. In 1841 George Philip Stanhope, 8th Earl of Chesterfield