Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The Many Lives of Fanny Sweet (Part One)




Once in a while I come across these amazing stories full of twists and turns that could out-do even some of the best fiction novels. This story, in my humble opinion, would be among those few.  First and foremost, I would have never even known the name “Fanny Sweet” had it not been for my friend and fellow researcher, Amanda Trainor. She originally came to me with information regarding a lady named Mary McCormick who is buried at the Old City Cemetery in Sacramento. 

It was Mary’s life that she wanted me to delve into and solve a few mysteries surrounding her and her family. Once I started digging, I found another story, the story of her sister, Fanny. This one I just had to get to first, and so down the rabbit hole I went, and what I found was both equally astonishing and confusing. From each account to the next, it seemed that every recollection of incident in this woman’s life has been tainted with scandalous rumors, and yes, some downright lies. But one of the biggest lies about Fanny didn’t come from those around her, but was actually a concoction derived by Fanny herself.

Bear with me, while I attempt to fill you in on the many lives of Fanny Sweet…..

While wandering through the St. Louis Cemetery # 3 in New Orleans, Louisiana, among the many rows of crypts side by side you might easily walk past the one that belongs to Fanny Sweet, although no one would have ever known it before. You see, the crypt itself is marked “Tomb of Mrs. F.M. Hinkley-Mills,” with little to nothing else, besides the tiny writing on top, just below the broken cross that reads: “Aunt Fanny.” So even those who may have wanted to find her, couldn’t have, unless they were privy to certain research.

Mrs. F. M. Hinkley-Mills

If you were to Google search the name “Fanny Sweet, New Orleans,” you will find site after site and book after book, reciting basically the same information.  A woman, said to have been born in England, who traveled to America and lived many lives, and went by many different names. Her aliases include: Fanny Smith, Fanny Seymour, Minerva Seymour, Fanny Hinkley, Fanny Sweet, and Fanny Mills.  From a madam at a brothel, a lesbian cross-dresser, a Confederate spy, a thief, a murderer, a jealously violent woman and a practitioner of voodoo, there wasn't anything that she hadn't been accused of or given credit for.

Most of the writers who have chosen to mention her story like to throw in the mix that she was exceptionally tall, very unattractive and that she had a hairy upper lip. That, somehow despite her grotesque appearance by way of her sorcery and powers she seemed to seduce old and young men alike by taking advantage of them and stealing their money.

It sounds so unbelievable right? And yet, people have continued to publish this nonsense over and over in various books, publications and even on websites and blogs.

So how did all these unreal rumors and accusations get out there in the first place? Where did it all stem from?

Well, what happened was that someone had spread some very slanderous information about her way back in the mid-19th century, who that person was we will get into later in greater detail in this blog, and that information was published as a sort of expose’ about Fanny in a publication titled the True Delta. This one publication forever branded Fanny in a horrific light and found her guilty of all these atrocities in the “court of public opinion,” without giving her a platform to defend herself.

What I am going to do with this blog is go through her life and share with you the facts I have uncovered. That way you, the reader, can decide for yourself what to believe.  From the beginning you will see that this woman was not perfect, and she definitely did not live the best life but we owe it to her to get her story straight no matter what.   First and foremost let’s tackle the biggest lie – Fanny Sweet wasn’t really Fanny Sweet. She also wasn’t born in London as she had claimed most of her life (even in legal documents such as wills and marriage certificates).

Her birth name was actually Rachel Fanny Brown, and she was born on January 9, 1826, in Rome, Lawrence County, Ohio.  Her parents were Rebecca Smallwood White and John Jacob Brown. Their union produced eight children, three of which died during infancy shortly after birth.

Rachel grew up with four siblings: James (born 1816), Mary (born 1822), Sarah Henrietta (born 1824) and Charles Clinton Brown (born 1829).

James disappeared at the age of 22, in 1838, and was never seen or heard from again. Rachel’s father also disappeared (year unknown), and later on her mother remarried this time to a Mr. White. Her sister Mary Brown married a Mr. James McVey, while her other sister Sarah Henrietta** married a Mr. Swartwood who died shortly thereafter. Sarah would again remarry, this time to a Mr. John McCormick of Cincinatti. Rachel remained at the family homestead with her mother, step-father, and her youngest brother Charles at the time of her sister's marriage and move to Cincinatti. 

(**Sarah Henrietta McCormick (who would later change her name to Mary McCormick, for reasons unknown) came California in 1849.  Her story is one that deserves her own blog post as well, so I will leave that story for another day. )

According to the testimony by her brother Charles Clinton Brown in 1897, out of the surviving Brown children, Sarah Henrietta and Rachel Fanny were the only ones who strayed from the family, and down a dangerous path that led them into trouble.  It was around 1841-1842 when “Fanny” left her hometown and moved to Cincinnati to live with her sister, Sarah Henrietta.  Charles came to visit Fanny in 1844, and at that time she was living with a lady named Mrs. Seymour.  Fanny told her brother that Mrs. Seymour wanted to adopt her. Charles knew this would upset their mother and he told Fanny that she should keep her real name. Apparently she had grown very close to Mrs. Seymour, so much so that she wanted so badly to be her daughter. This is very important to remember in regards to the possible reasons why she chose to create for herself a new identity later. 

The Start of a Sketchy Past

The timeline of Fanny’s whereabouts after this is sort of sketchy. Some records indicate her to be in one certain place during a certain time frame based on vital records such as marriage and divorce, or death records. Still, the in between areas and her excessive travel back and forth with lack of records to prove makes her timeline a bit foggy.

So far I have ascertained that Fanny was living in Cincinnati with both her sister and then Mrs. Seymour during 1841, 1842, 1843 and part of 1844. She then left and went to work as a chambermaid at the Chapman House in Guyandotte, West Virginia, which is just across the river from Procterville, Ohio, where her mother was living.

This is where it appears that she came up with the idea of concocting an elaborate story of being from London. Perhaps she was trying to forget a traumatic childhood and start a new life away from the ties of her family, perhaps she wanted some excitement, or maybe she just didn’t want word getting back to her family of the sorts of people she was associating with. No matter the case, she came back from West Virginia with a whole new back story.

From that point moving forward she would claim that her real identity was Fanny Minerva Seymour (some reports also say Fanny Maria Seymour), and that she was born in London to a rich family but was orphaned at a young age. Some accounts she claimed she was sent to America to live with a family in Virginia, while some of the newspapers state that she claimed she had grown up in London and worked as a barmaid before making the journey across the ocean to America.  She even attempted to perfect a cockney accent as it was described, to give it more believability.

She was working there at the Chapman House, in West Virginia, until sometime between 1846 and 1847, when she married a man named Mr. Smith from New York. She must have stayed in New York some time prior to moving to New Orleans. The marriage didn’t last long though, because Mr. Smith died on December 27, 1847, a short time after moving to New Orleans. Fanny was sued by the undertaker for the amount of $80.00 for funeral expenses she didn’t pay up front.

At this point, she was penniless and alone in New Orleans. From the way it looks, it seems she more than likely got involved in prostitution during her first stay in New Orleans. It didn’t last long before she found her way back to Cincinnati again. It was alleged that she and her sister Sarah started running a brothel, in Bank Alley (or Bank Street) between 3rd and 4th Streets.

A witness in a later court battle, Edward Fulton testified in court that he met Fanny while she was “working” in Cincinnati and he became acquainted with both Fanny and her sister, who he claimed sometimes went by the name "The Stevens Sisters." This was in 1849, just before they left to California. The sisters first stopped in Ohio to tell their family of their intended move to California, this is when they brought a little girl named Cordelia** to their mother's home. Fulton's testimony that Fanny and her sister went by "the Steven's sisters" was later determined in court to be inaccurate and that part of her history has been discredited. She did however live in Cincinnati along with her sister, and Mrs. Seymour, but that was all the information that could be proven with the facts available. 

**(Little is known about who actually gave birth to Cordelia. She could have been Sarah's or Fanny's, no one has ever been able to determine for certain who her mother was. One newspaper reported after Fanny's death that Cordelia was Sarah's daughter but that Cordelia was left in Fanny's care and later brought to Ohio to be raised by Rebecca Smallwood White, the child's grandmother until later on when she moved to Sacramento to return to live with Sarah Henrietta McCormick.)

Then they set off on their journey across the country. Fulton claimed he had ran into Fanny by sheer luck in Sacramento in 1850, while playing at the Faro tables in her beau’s, Rube Raines establishment. According to the several sources, Fanny was running brothel known as The Palace, while Raines was running a gambling house known as The El Dorado.

Per Fulton’s statement, he had opened a faro bank in Rube Raines’ gambling house and one of the first people he faced was Fanny. She lived upstairs with Raines and her sister was at that time married to a man named Charles Green.  It seemed to be the perfect place for Fanny, the Wild West was still alive and well in Sacramento during the Gold Rush, and with it came an element of people she probably felt comfortable around. It was an incident here in Sacramento that proved to be the first of many highly publicized accounts that has given her an even more unsavory reputation. In some documented news sources they claim Fanny killed a man in Sacramento but again, that is not accurate. 

According to the local Sacramento newspapers of the time, on December 20, 1852, Fanny Seymour aka Fanny Smith shot a man by the name of Albert Putnam.

“ About 9 o’clock in the evening of the 20th, Albert Putnam, who was a stage driver on the Auburn road, in company with some friends, went to the Palace, a house of prostitution on 2nd street, between I and J, as he had often done, being in the habit of taking parcels there. The house is kept by Fannie Smith – as she is known. She was somewhat intoxicated and is known to be, when in that condition, a desperate woman. She demanded that Putnam buy a bottle of wine and he refused. They had a quarrel and during it he told her to ‘dry up,’ and threatened her if she did not do so.

She ordered him to leave the house and he refused to do so, unless his friends approved of it. She went to the back park of the house and one of his friends, who was acquainted with her violent disposition, advised him to leave. As he had just stepped outside of the door, she returned with a Colt’s five-shooter and fired at his back, the ball striking him just under the shoulder blade and passing through his body, lodging just under the skin in front.  He was taken to the City Exchange, on Second street by his friends.


La Grange, (Sac Union 1/14/12)
She ran out on the street in the meantime and inquired for a police man and the Marshal met her and took her to the station house. Crowds began to gather almost immediately on the streets and the opinion was freely expressed that she ought to be hung. The sentiment gained ground and the continually augmented crowd moved down toward the station house. As it was evident that their intention was to lynch her, several citizens hastened to the station house in advance of the mob and warned Captain Mace, who was in charge. He had a boat ready for the emergency and took Fanny out and deposited her on the prison brig, in the river.” --- Union, December 21, 1852

(By the way, the prison brig mentioned was called La Grange, and it was literally a floating jail. It sunk in 1859, and its remaining pieces are at the bottom of the river just below the I Street bridge.)
   
The article goes on to state that Fanny was admitted bail for $3,000.00, which Rube Raines helped her post. As fast as she was released she fled the country. And what became of her victim? Albert Putnam survived.

According to Fanny’s recollection, the event was entirely different.

(Her autobiography published in the South Western, January 8, 1862,  was written by her in the third person.)

First, Fanny claimed that the incident happened in the El Dorado, her boyfriend’s establishment, which, "The first floor was a coffee-house, and on the upper stories were rooms which she had the renting of, and for which she obtained large parties. They were used as the recorder’s court, mayor’s office, State treasurer’s office, masonic hall and law offices.”

“A politician, named Judge Ross, who had come to Sacramento, obtained the temporary use of one of her rooms from the lawyer to whom she rented it as an office……..They caroused in the building until 2 o’clock in the morning, which, naturally enough, caused the other lodgers to complain, and judge Ross was informed in the morning that such debauch must not be repeated in that building. Still, under the influence of his last night’s potations, he replied, in an insulting manner, that he would do as he pleased.  Next night, as if in defiance of propriety and the rights of others, he repeated his drunken carousal, apparently trying to make as much noise as possible…..”

As it were, the next day he was kicked out of his room. She assumed that it was out of anger and revenge that he paid his stage driver, Putnam to come inside and start destroying her property, and accosting her by slapping her in the face. She claimed she feared further violence, being without protection, and she drew a revolver and shot Putnam in self-defense.

Given the fact she had a history of lying about things, it is hard to sift through her statement without having some doubts about her honesty. Still, I wanted to show both accounts to prove there are always two sides to every story. I would like to think somewhere between both of those accounts, the true story might be hiding.

One thing I will mention though is that the newspaper account regarding this incident stated that Fanny was a beautiful woman, which contradicts most of the mean statements that I have found in recent books mentioning her story. In reality, she was actually a very beautiful lady. Probably not the best in moral character, but attractive nonetheless. 

And Fanny's story doesn't end there. Not by a long shot..... trust me, there's a lot more and I am just barely getting started. 


(J'aime Rubio, Copyright 2017-- www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Special thanks to  Alicia Borges for the photo of Fanny's crypt, 
and Amanda Trainor and John Marshall for their awesome help with research!! 
Sources for entire story will be at the end of the final blog post for Fanny Sweet. 


Monday, April 3, 2017

Corinne Elliott Lawton's Real Love Story Revealed!



Back in 2013, I researched and wrote about the true story of Corinne Elliot Lawton. You see, for over a hundred years there had been a lot of gossip and misinformation surrounding the circumstances of her death, that her story became somewhat of an urban legend or tragic love story.

After thorough investigating I had proven that Corinne did not commit suicide as many have claimed, nor was she heartbroken because of a forced marriage. In fact, Corinne died from illness in her home, surrounded by family at her side. Her mother notes all of this in her diary, even documenting Corinne's last breath.

One part of the story though had eluded even the best researcher, including myself, at least until recently. After speaking to Joanna Catron at the Gari Melchers Home and Studio in Fredericksburg, more of Corinne's story has come to light. Corinne was engaged to be married, but not to a man she didn't love. In fact, she was looking forward to her upcoming nuptials with none other than her sweetheart, Ulysses Wade from Screven County. Corinne's sister, Louisa "Lulu" Lawton Mackall wrote this in a notation found with the locket which was found in their mother's jewelry box. 

In my latest book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," I cover Corinne's story with a fine tooth comb, retelling it in detail, including the new evidence provided to me by Joanna Catron. Below shows the two photographs that were found inside of a locket that had belonged to Corinne. Ms. Catron at the Gari Melcher's Home and Studio gave me permission to use the photos in my book.

 DO NOT STEAL,COPY OR PASTE PHOTOS FROM THIS ARTICLE
  Gari  Melcher's Studio holds the copyright to the photo below.


Photos discovered inside of locket belonging to Corinne Lawton.
Photo courtesy of Gari Melchers Home and Studio, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Ulysses Wade was "born on March 9, 1845, to parents Payton and Elizabeth Wade. Historical books of the time show that he became a very prominent lawyer in Screven County, Georgia, and also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1877. The 1880 Census showed that he remained single, but by 1894, he finally married at the age of 49. His bride, English born Kathleen Marion, was only 25 years old. The wedding took place in Louisiana. Only three years later, on November 15, 1897, he passed away. He is buried at Bethel Brick United Methodist Church Cemetery in Sylvania, Georgia."--- from pages 176-177, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," by J'aime Rubio, Copyright 2016. 




Peek at page 179 of my book "Stories of the Forgotten" (COPYRIGHT PROTECTED, DO NOT COPY) 


So now that part of Corinne's story has finally been revealed to the world. Yes, she was going to get married. No, she wasn't unhappy. The saddest part of the whole thing is that she died before she had the chance to share her life with him. Something tells me though that Ulysses must have taken her death very hard, since he waited so many years to marry.

May they both rest in  peace together.

To read more about Corinne Elliott Lawton's life and the true details surrounding her death please pick up a copy of "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" on Amazon today! 

(Copyright 2017- J'aime Rubio)

Photos:
Photo courtesy of Gari Melchers Home and Studio, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia 
Photo of page 179 inside book, Stories of the Forgotten (2016), is copyrighted protected. 




Friday, March 3, 2017

The Hermann Mohr House in Hayward - Hidden History Revealed

Hermann Mohr House (Cronin House)
For those who grew up in or around Hayward, there are several historic family names that may be familiar including Meek and McConaghy. While the Meek House and the McConaghy House represent examples of the county's historic past, there is another historic home that has been literally abandoned and forgotten over the years.

The Hermann Mohr House (sometime's spelled Herman Mohr), otherwise referred to as the Cronin House, is situated at 2595 Depot Rd, in a little community known as Mt. Eden within Hayward, California. The home is just a short walk away from Mt. Eden Cemetery, where the real story behind the home starts. The backstory to this beautiful home starts with Herman's parents, Cornelius and Cecilia Mohr.

Cornelius was born on January 8, 1822, in Schleswig-Holstein, which is located at the most northern point of Germany, but at the time it was considered part of Denmark. Born of Danish-German ancestry, Cornelius came to the United States after spending many years working on whaling ships.
The City of Hayward's documented historical papers state that while in San Francisco, Cornelius took up carpentry and then joined a freight sloop at the San Francisco Bay. He later joined a threshing team on the Joel Russell farm in Mt. Eden, which is how he came to the area and worked hard to purchase his own plot of land to farm.

By 1856, Cornelius had purchased 200 acres from Joel Russell in order to raise cattle, horses and also grow barley and wheat. He became so successful in his endeavors he quickly accumulated a vast area of land which spanned from areas in Hayward, Pleasanton, along Niles Road, and all of the land where the Hayward Golf Course sits, too. Wide West Newspaper, dated May 10, 1857, notes the marriage of Cornelius Mohr to Cecilia Toaspern on May 3, 1857, which was officiated by Reverend A. Kellner. Their union produced seven children: Henry, John, Willie, Anna, Paul, Hermann and William.  Sadly, Cornelius and Cecilia would lose their first child at the young age of 8, when Willie Mohr died from what I assume was a childhood disease or illness of some sort in 1869. I could not find an obit for his death so the cause of death is uncertain.

Mohr Family Plot
By 1876, Cornelius had a beautiful Italianate home built on a 280-acre estate. The home still stands today next to Chabot College on Hesperian Blvd. Built with 25 rooms (14 of which were bedrooms), the property also consisted of a carriage house and cottage, stables and other structures. The stables were built to hold up to 32 horses. Among the structures on the property there was a blacksmith shop, a barn and a tank house.  (The size of property itself was reduced after 271 of the 280-acres were seized by way of eminent domain to construct the newer Chabot College in 1961.)

Cornelius Mohr worked hard as a farmer, land owner and a man who helped employ many new immigrants who came to the area looking for work. He also donated land for Mt. Eden Community Church, Mt. Eden Presbyterian Church and Mt. Eden Union Church (Protestant) as well as being a trustee for the Mt. Eden Grammar School District.

The Mohr family along with the community of Hayward suffered a great loss when Cornelius passed away in 1880, leaving a huge fortune behind to his wife and children.  Cecilia  passed away in 1891, and the rest of her surviving children inherited the family estate. Unfortunately Paul and John passed away in 1895, and then Anna passed away in 1897, leaving Henry, William and Herman left to inherit the bulk of the family business and properties to be divided among themselves.

Henry Mohr took the family's 685-acre estate in Pleasanton, including the beautiful the two story English-Mohr house set on the property. He cultivated grain and sugar beets on the land, but also bred Clydesdale horses, too. The home remained in the family's care until his daughter's deaths, after which the home was left abandoned and in a state of disrepair. Unfortunately, by the 1990's neighborhood delinquents burned the house down and the history of the home burned along with it.

William Mohr inherited the family farm on Hesperian Blvd (next door to Chabot College), He is remembered for his love of  hybridizing plants successfully, including iris, lilly, tulips and other species. Unfortunately he met an untimely death in 1923, when he and his wife, along with passengers in their vehicle were struck by a train on the Southern Pacific line just four miles north of Willows, California at a railroad crossing. During adulthood, his daughter Marian later took over the property with her husband and kept the home and farm going until the college was built around the property, leaving just enough land surrounding the home and structures to preserve the Mohr estate, which still remains today.

And finally, Hermann Jasper Mohr inherited a 280-acre estate in Mt. Eden. By the 1900 Census, he is listed as a farmer, but later he decided that he didn't want to continue the family business of agriculture. Instead, he chose to break up his share of the family farmland, subdivide it and sell it, in order to finance his passion in the arts and travel. And that is where the beginning of the story for this house starts.

Herman Mohr was born on November 7, 1869. His 1913 Passport application describes him as being 6 foot 1 inches tall, having blue eyes and light brown hair. He married Louise Katie Behrens in San Francisco on September 25, 1898. The couple did not have children.

Hermann Jasper Mohr House 

History of the Home

Designed by architect Thomas Newsom, the home on Depot Road was constructed for Hermann Jasper Mohr and his wife around 1900, and was nicknamed "The Sea Breeze." The May 23, 1900, edition of the Oakland Tribune mentions the home and states:


"Mt. Eden is a progressive little country town of ancient origin and has as thrifty and well-to-do people as any small town of its size in the State. Diversified farming is carried on here, and as good salt is produced from the salt beds and can be had anywhere. The improvements of the past two years are noticeable to a marked degree, there  have been erected one merchandise store, five as neat cottages as can be found in the county, and two mansions which are a credit to any community, Mr. Herman Mohr's "The Sea Breeze," and Miss Gading's fine two story dwelling. Mr. Mohr's residence is built upon the colonial style, and presents a fine appearance, while it is furnished within with electric lights and all the conveniences of a city residence."---

The 1900 and 1910 census records show the Mohr's residence in Mt. Eden, although their U.S. Passport records show that they also had residences in S.F. and later in Oakland. The couple traveled a lot.  By 1916, Louise's passport application alone states their intention to "travel to New Zealand, Australia, Java, Japan and China" that year. By 1920, their passport applications listed their primary residence in Oakland. That year they listed their intent to visit "Japan, China, French Indo China, India, Siam, Dutch East Indies, Straits Settlements, New Zealand, Australia, Columbia, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Argentine, Uraguay and Paraguay."


Hermann Jasper Mohr

Besides being avid world travelers, the Mohr's were also licensed attorneys (both Hermann and Louise). Hermann was also listed as a "Farmer & Banker." According to California Death records, cross referenced with the Social Security Death Index,  Hermann Mohr passed away on June 22, 1942 and was buried at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma. Ten years later, his wife passed away on February 11, 1952, at her home in Redwood City, California, after suffering from a long illness.  She was interred with her husband.

Louise Katie Behrens Mohr
It seems that at some point during the mid to late 1930s-1940s the home on Depot Road was transformed into a Sanitarium of sorts. Many assume that means that mentally ill people were treated or lived there, but that isn't always the case. Sanitariums during that time period were more like health resorts, while Sanitoriums were usually places for those with extreme illness (fatal to chronic) such as tuberculosis. Asylums were the type of places for the mentally ill.

I could not find any records online about the facility treating the mentally ill, so it is anyone's guess for now. I found several ads for jobs placed in various newspapers listing the facility as the Dar-Dell Sanitarium which was closely associated with the Dar-Dell Lodge in Berkeley. The last ad posted for the location on Depot Road I could find was dated 1976.

It appears that the facility was closed and abandoned either in the late 1970s or around 1980, until Horizon Services purchased the property and built their "Cronin House" facility on the same lot. That is how the name "Cronin House" has become associated with the property. The house has been closed up and dilapidated for many, many years which makes me think the hospital was shut down in the 70s rather than the 80's.

I spoke with someone who was born and raised in Hayward, who explained that he used to roam around the old building in the early 1980's, when his father was assigned to mandatory AA meetings at the newer building on the property. He said that he was very drawn to the old house and even attempted a few times to enter the empty, neglected home just out of sheer curiosity since everyone thought of it as a "haunted house." He said even back then in the early 80's it was in disrepair and forgotten.

It hasn't changed much if you drive by it today. It is very obvious that at some point the exterior of the beautiful home was remodeled, warping the original features of the home's design. The deteriorating rooftop, the peeling paint and dry-rot wood gives off an emotion of sadness. If only those walls could speak to us, and tell us the stories of that home's past.  But now you know some of the history of this property, including some of the Mohr family history as well.

Happy History Hunting!!

A forgotten treasure in Hayward's historic past!
(J'aime Rubio, Copyright 2017-- www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Photos of House and Cemetery, J'aime Rubio
Sketch of the home (courtesy of R. Boulware)
Herman Jasper Mohr and Louise Mohr's photos courtesy U.S. Passport Applications, 1920.
Thanks Roland Boulware and  John Marshall for your help with this! :-)

Sources:
Historic Context Statement for the City of Hayward; Social Security and California Death Index;
Family Search; Ancestry.com;  Findagrave; Census Records 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910;
California Great Registers; U.S. Passport Applications 1913, 1916, 1920;
"Do You Remember"- by Ann Homan, Independent, April 26, 2007;
Oakland Tribune, May 23, 1900; Feather River Bulletin, September 1972; The Argus, December 7, 1976; Santa Ana Register, July 24, 1923; San Francisco Call, September 29, 1898; Wide West, May 10, 1857; Pacific Rural Press, August 5, 1876; American Iris Society, William Mohr Medal.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

The Louisville Love Triangle - The Murder of Elizabeth Griffith

Elizabeth Griffith

"It was Christmas Eve, 1919, in Louisville, Kentucky. A young nurse by the name of Elizabeth F. Griffith was ecstatic. Her wedding was just days away, and she was about to become a new bride. Little did she know that this day would prove to be her last.

The story surrounding the death of Elizabeth Griffith is one shrouded in a complex web of mysterious unanswered questions, scandalous behavior and lies. It appeared that during my investigation into this case, every time it seemed as though I had found answers, I stumbled upon even more questions and clues. After countless hours of researching every avenue I could find, I felt it necessary to bring back Elizabeth’s story from the dark abyss of forgotten ones, and shed light onto this ever perplexing mystery.

Elizabeth Griffith was born on May 13, 1902, to parents Martha McLean and John Griffith of Louisville, Kentucky.  At the time of her death, seventeen year-old Elizabeth was working as an office assistant to a very prominent doctor in town, Christopher G. Schott. After her death, the newspapers brought up the fact that Elizabeth and Schott had briefly been engaged to be married, however the engagement was soon called off.

Stories seem to differ on just who ended the relationship, although Elizabeth continued working for Schott at his office, so it seemed to the unsuspecting eye that the break up was amicable. As time went on, Elizabeth started seeing another male suitor, George Jordan, an Army Captain who was stationed at Fort Zachary Taylor, in Key West, Florida.  The two hit it off, and eventually the pair were engaged to be married on Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, due to changes in his military responsibilities, Captain Jordan had to postpone the wedding by a few days. Jordan chose to travel all the way to Louisville to see Elizabeth to break the news to her in person. According to his statements, she was happy and excited about the upcoming nuptials and seemed to be alright with the wedding date change to New Year’s Day. When he left her to go back to Fort Zachary Taylor, she was alive and well.  Knowing the wedding was now a week away, Elizabeth continued on with her day as usual and went to work at the Dr. Schott’s office.  It wasn’t until after 3:30 pm on that day, December 24, when everything changed. 

It was around that time that Elizabeth’s body was discovered in a locked back room of Dr. Schott’s office with a bullet through the heart. The gun, a .45 caliber revolver belonging to Dr. Schott, was found next to her body. It was ascertained that she had been shot from above in a downward trajectory, having been on her knees at the time of her death. In the middle of possibly pleading for her life, she took one bullet to the chest. The person who allegedly found Elizabeth’s body was none other than Dr. Schott himself, who was then accompanied by his thirteen year-old neighbor, Laurene Gardner. Schott claimed that he and his little companion, Laurene came to the office after driving around town for several hours, delivering Christmas gifts. After returning to the office he noticed the back room door was locked.  Using his own key, he unlocked the door and found Elizabeth’s body in a pool of blood. Schott told the police that he was certain that Elizabeth had committed suicide.

Archived Drawing
Detectives investigating found no evidence of suicide, but instead believed that the lack of powder burns on her body, clothes or hands proved that she was murdered. They also discovered a newspaper clipping in her pocket, which led to even more questions.

The piece of paper had a headline that read: “Paying the Debt in Full”—with a lead pencil underlined sentence, “Who was it that took the pains to tell your husband about the one awful mistake you made in your life?”  Even more perplexing was the handwritten words on the margin of the clipping that read, “The man who persuaded you to make it.

This clue left detectives scratching their heads, but certain that it had something to do with Elizabeth’s murder. With this in mind, the police did not hesitate to arrest Dr. Schott for the murder of the young lady and held him on $15,000 bail until arraignment. When questioned, Dr. Schott claimed that he was innocent, but didn’t make himself look too good with his admission of his odd relationship with the deceased. The Chicago Tribune dated December 26, 1919 quoted Dr. Schott when he was questioned about his relationship with Elizabeth, saying:

The eternal triangle…It was just like many other love affairs. We had been good pals for more than a year and I am confident she loved me. Once, in my office, she saturated a cloth with chloroform and was found in a semi-stupor.” 

 In other words, besides  mentioning there was some sort of “eternal” love triangle, he was also attempting to sully her reputation by claiming that Elizabeth was getting high on the doctor’s supplies.  Interestingly though, Dr. Schott offered more information with that one statement than he would realize. This will be discussed later on in this chapter. According to his statement, Dr. Schott claimed he was happy for Elizabeth’s upcoming marriage and that he felt it would be a good “trial run” for the marriage he believed would take place in the future between the two of them. It was apparent that although he made remarks that Elizabeth was obsessed with him, it was clearly the opposite. Friends of Elizabeth said that she had ended the engagement with the doctor claiming she was actually afraid of him, and that she was too afraid to quit her job, at least until she was married. 

Investigating the dynamic of Schott and Elizabeth’s past relationship reveals much more. One of Elizabeth’s friends, Anna Boswell, did not like the doctor one bit, due to his bad reputation. This caused the two friends to avoid conversation about Elizabeth’s relationship with the doctor. Nurse Cohan, another close friend of Elizabeth, was quoted in the newspapers. She recalled one night when she, Elizabeth, Dr. Lee Botts and another young gentleman were out for dinner and a show.

We walked out First Street from Chestnut Street. At the drug store at First Street and Broadway, Dr. Botts went in and ordered a taxicab. The taxi arrived soon after and we all got in. Just before we started away though, a man stepped up to the side of the cab and peered in the window. Elizabeth exclaimed: “Yes, It’s me, George. It’s Elizabeth.”

 It was later explained to the group that “George” was a man that Dr. Schott had hired to shadow her everywhere. It seemed that the doctor had serious insecurities and trust issues, and this caused Elizabeth not only to resent him, but to fear him for his out of control jealous nature.  Could the good ole’ doctor have hired George to commit the dastardly deed, murdering poor Elizabeth?

During the inquest, some of Elizabeth’s letters to Dr. Schott were read to the jury. One was dated in May of 1919, while Elizabeth was in nursing school at the city hospital. It read: 

"Did you ever stop to think that the time would come when I didn't want to come back? You seem to think you can have me or leave me at will. I'll admit that I waited, hoped and prayed during my first three months that you would come back to me, but now it could not be if you wished it. Your unjust suspicions today settle the question forever. Didn't you tell me that you had a different girl every night, and  when I merely go downtown to supper you say that everything is not on the level? Had I never gone with any one and let you do all the going, you would have found some other excuse. They are nothing new........ It doesn't matter how deficient I was, it will be hard to find another girl to help you as I did and be as true as I was, considering everything, and I realize, too.  You just want to get something on me so you can go around and talk about me as you did Jennie Cole, and I have been good to you, too, but I see that it is all you are after. If that is gratitude and appreciation, well.”- "Elizabeth Griffith."

archived photo
By his own admission, Dr. Schott claimed that during his time engaged to Elizabeth, he hired a private detective to shadow her wherever she went, out of fear that she would be unfaithful. During the time he was being held, Dr. Schott remained somewhat arrogant in his stance. He even went on record for the newspapers intimating that he expected to be released immediately and “to be calling on patients again” by New Year’s Eve. “They have not even proved Miss Griffith was murdered,” Schott told the press.


The Richmond Times Dispatch offered a full page spread on their take of the story. This included  information that clearly pointed to the doctor as the best possible suspect and the theory of how it took place.

“More probable that this is the theory that Elizabeth Griffith– a high-spirited, courageous girl, as all her friends say– snatched the weapon from the doctor’s table and wielded it first herself in an effort to force her tormentor to cease the threats to go to her sweetheart with the stories of her past. A struggle followed and the weapon was wrested from Elizabeth’s hands. She fell to her knees to plead for mercy, but her prayers went unheeded, for a mad rage at this unexpected show of resistance nerved the hand that now held the automatic. The trigger was pressed, the muzzle spat fire and the ill-fated little bride-to-be was suddenly transformed into a ghastly bleeding corpse.”—- Richmond Times Dispatch.


 During the inquest, witnesses came out of the woodwork favoring both sides. Some claimed they saw the doctor coming to the office around the same time he claimed to have found her body.  Another person, a patient of Dr. Schott,  Mrs. Paul Stone claimed that she called the office about an hour before Elizabeth’s alleged time of death, claiming that Elizabeth was depressed and had mentioned she didn’t have anything to live for. She stated that Elizabeth told her that the wedding was postponed because her fiancé’s mother was out of town visiting his sister and he refused to be married without his family present.

 During an era when a sense of propriety was expected from everyone, it seems very unlikely that Ms. Griffith would have expressed her emotional state to a patient over the phone in a casual conversation. Not only would it be unlikely, but unprofessional for that time period. The only thing I could imagine was perhaps Dr. Schott had leverage on certain “witnesses” in his defense, and possibly threatened exposure of personal secrets had they not gone along with his story. After all, most people disclose personal information to their doctor that normally they would never share with others, and in a pinch the doctor could have easily blackmailed certain people to help aid in his alibi or defense.

It seemed that the doctor was shady, hiring men to shadow Elizabeth, and from her own letters to the doctor she mentions that he was trying to “get something” on her, in order to ruin her reputation. The newspaper clipping found in her pocket eluded to that very thing. But what was it that Dr. Schott knew about her that no one else did? And was that information something the doctor held over her head and threatened to take to her new husband-to-be?

Laurene Gardner
When it came down to questioning all the eye-witnesses in the case, not all stories matched up. William J. Ryan, a local baseball umpire, claimed that he saw the doctor leaving his office around 3:30p.m. This was the opposite of what Schott had previously stated. He claimed his arrival was around that time, which would put him at the scene of the crime at the time of Elizabeth’s murder. Whether Schott was there or not, he could have easily made that alibi, knowing all too well that he had hired someone to do the job for him.

Even more strange was the fact that an anonymous writer sent a letter to Dr. Schott’s attorney’s threatening to kill Mr. Ryan for his testimony against the doctor. The letter which was also published in the newspapers claimed that Ryan “needed killing,” and that he was only going to cause the doctor more problems. The letter was signed simply as “A Friend.”

Elizabeth’s sister, Kate Griffith was quoted in the newspapers explaining that she had called the office around the time that coroner’s claim Elizabeth had died, and that Dr. Schott had answered the phone at his office. She also was very insistent that Dr. Schott had some sort of hold over her sister and she was unsure why. With all these conflicting statements, it seemed the doctor’s story wasn’t adding up that well. He did have one trick up his sleeve. That was his little companion, thirteen-year-old Laurene Gardner. Her testimony at the grand jury hearing gave him an alibi.  I found it quite interesting that at the very same time the detectives were searching for more witnesses to question in regards to the case, a discomforting headline pops up connected to the story, “Girl Takes Life To Escape Going To Witness Stand.”  Could that actually be? Was there another girl, dead?

The Appleton Daily Post, for January 9, 1920, stated that a young lady by the name of Theodosia Saunders was found dead in her house. It was suspected that she took her life to avoid speaking to detectives or to Dr. Schott’s attorneys about her possible knowledge of Elizabeth’s death.  I tracked down several newspaper articles mentioning this tragic turn of events, all of which seem to be conflicting. Although some state that Miss Saunders killed herself to avoid being named a witness, others claim it was accidental, and that she had been ill with tonsillitis and was self-medicating. According to the papers, her personal doctor came by earlier in the day to check on her and left his medical bag there by mistake.  Later on, Theodosia’s mother found her body with a handful of chloroform soaked cotton. It was apparent that she had died from inhaling the toxic fumes.

Theodosia’s death certificate states it was accidental overdose of chloroform poisoning.  It is quite odd that she died the very same way in which Dr. Schott claimed he had once found Elizabeth in his office, as I previously mentioned.  Did Theodosia really accidentally overdose on the chloroform? Or was her death just as questionable as the way Elizabeth died?

This story seemed to take me even further down the rabbit hole with a sense of uneasiness along the way. How did Theodosia fit into the story? What did she know that perhaps cost her life?  

There were even more questions. 

What was the cryptic newspaper clipping found in Elizabeth’s pocket all about? Was that sent to her anonymously by an ex-lover? Or perhaps a jealous woman who had affections for one of Elizabeth’s male suitors? I found myself theorizing so many possible scenarios in both Elizabeth and Theodosia’s deaths.

Records indicate that Dr. Schott had been released from police custody a few days prior to Theodosia’s death, and newspapers relay that Dr. Schott did stop by Theodosia’s home to give her parents his condolences, so he obviously knew where she lived.  Was he that desperate to have been involved in her death, too? Or did her death have nothing to do with Elizabeth’s death, and was just merely coincidental?

After all the incriminating evidence and suspicious circumstantial evidence against the doctor, ultimately the grand jury accepted the alibi given to them by the little girl, Laurene Gardner. And what was a middle aged man like Schott doing delivering Christmas presents with a little girl like Laurene Gardner? That in itself struck me as very odd, and suspicious.

After dismissing all murder charges against the doctor, Elizabeth’s death slowly to faded in the papers, and over time became forgotten. 

Her friends and family could find no reason that Elizabeth would have killed herself. Her wedding was days away and her new life was in clear view. By newspaper accounts prior to her death, it shows Elizabeth’s personality to be adventurous, spirited and fearless. She was mentioned five months before her death as being a volunteer passenger on an  JN-4 airplane that was delivering newspapers to Shelbyville, Lexington and Frankfort. The pilot admitted that she asked him to perform stunts such as tailspins, flip-flops, nose dives and barrelrolls.  She seemed to be full of surprises and open to exciting new things. To imagine that someone as spirited as she was would end her life when she was fully capable of making any choice she wanted, just doesn’t add up.

It was so clear that she had been murdered, even the newspapers expressed their opinion of it; yet,  it seemed that Dr. Schott was out of the reach of the law.  How did he manage to get away with it?  Dr. Schott owned nine properties in town and the Gardner family rented one of those properties. In fact, they lived just next door to the doctor.  As I had mentioned before, perhaps Schott threatened his “witnesses” to help provide an alibi for himself.  Something as serious as threatening to throw them out on the street could have been used as leverage to persuade the young girl to lie to the grand jury, giving him a solid alibi. Of course, that’s just speculation. Again, he could have very well been with Laurene as he stated, all the while a hired gun could have been waiting for Elizabeth in the office.

And where does Theodosia fit into this story? Did she know something crucial to the case and thus she needed to be silenced, for fear that the truth could come out? Or was her death just a coincidence? It seemed so unfair to think that if Dr. Schott was responsible for ending these two young women’s lives, how was he was able to get away with it?

Fast forward to April 16, 1928. We find that Dr. Schott now has his own sanitarium for the treatment of opium and morphine addiction in Louisville, at the same location where Elizabeth’s heinous death had taken place only nine years earlier.  Schott is much older now, a heavy drinker and a tyrant of an employer.  Abusive to both patients and employees, even making inappropriate sexual comments towards women in public. It seemed the doctor’s true colors came out eventually with time and carelessness.  After verbally abusing the cook for misplacing a key, one of the male nurses on staff, Dan Newman, approached Dr. Schott and stood up to him, making it clear that his abuse toward his employees would not be tolerated. This did not sit well with the doctor and it immediately created tension between the two men.

This continued for several weeks. According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, dated April 17, 1928, after watching Dr. Schott bring in an unidentified woman, who was not a patient to the sanitarium, abusively dragging her across the floor and screaming to his employees to “put her to bed,” Newman had enough.  After some heated words were exchanged between the two, Newman felt his life was in danger, so he went to his room and retrieved his pistol to keep in his pocket for his own safety.

According to testimony by Newman, a drunk Dr. Schott had previously bragged that he had gotten away with killing Elizabeth Griffith many years ago, as well as knocking off a fellow physician, too. Perhaps after realizing he had once shared too much information with Newman, Schott felt that his livelihood was now threatened.  When the two met again that evening,  their argument started again. When Newman witnessed the doctor reaching into his own coat for what he believed was a weapon, the nurse was quick on the draw, pulling his own pistol out and shooting the doctor down, dead. After the deed was done, Newman called the police and confessed to the events that had taken place. A jury freed Dan Newman on June 14, 1928, dismissing the murder charge and citing that he had acted in self defense. One can only imagine that perhaps some of thejury members from the community, who remembered Elizabeth Griffith’s case, may have been relieved that justice had in a round-about way been served. After all, it was better late than never.

(Photo: Rob Mitchell)
(Photo: Rob Mitchell)
According to Robert Mitchell, Find-a-grave contributor and avid historical researcher, it was discovered that both Dr. Schott and Elizabeth are interred just a few feet from one another at Cave Hill Cemetery, in Louisville, Kentucky.  It appears that Elizabeth was buried somewhere in the cemetery in December of 1919, but that she was later moved to her current plot in March of 1920. The burial documents are in the name of Mattie Griffith, Elizabeth’s mother. Why or how Schott convinced Mattie to allow him a spot next to her daughter, the very man that so many were convinced caused her death is yet just another aspect to this unanswered mystery.  Sadly, it appears that even in death Elizabeth could not seem to escape the grasp of Dr. Schott."----- Chapter 14 of the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" - by J'aime Rubio

 (ISBN-13:  978-1523981175  ISBN-10:  1523981172)  Copyright October 17, 2016.  All rights reserved.  

All rights reserved.  J'aime Rubio identified as the AUTHOR and PUBLISHER of the work in accordance with all U.S. Copyright laws. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission by the author/publisher.



PHOTOS: Archived Newspaper Photos
Photos of Elizabeth's grave at Cave Hill Cemetery in Kentucky, by: Rob Mitchell

(Thank you Rob!!)