There are certain other things to keep in mind in considering the narratives. The particular circumstances of different individuals not only shaped what they wrote, but whether they wrote at all, and for whom. What this means is that the available narratives are mostly those of native-born residents and visitors of some means and education, which leaves out a substantial portion of the city's population. Such people generally had greater means and opportunity to prepare an account than did the less well-to-do and less literate, and it was more likely that what they wrote would be published and preserved. (It is very possible that there are many narratives written by foreign-born residents and sent to relatives in Europe. One of these, by William A. Wieboldt, is included in the Library for this chapter.) There is, nevertheless, a qualitative range to the accounts that is determined by gender, neighborhood, and how directly and adversely affected the particular author was by the fire. Another important variable is age. In this regard, there is a significant number of vivid narratives either by children or by adults who were children at the time of the fire.