Secrets in the Creek, The Mystery of Ella Newton

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On the late afternoon of December 5, 1892, news spread quickly through Mount Vernon, New York, that the body of a beautiful young woman had been found, drowned in East Chester Creek. The circumstances surrounding her death at the immediate time were unknown. All that the Coroner and Police Department knew was that something terrible had happened.

When they found the lifeless body of this lovely young lady, it was noted that she was quite striking. Her slim figure, beautiful pale porcelain skin, and her glossy, raven colored tresses "hung loosely about her shoulders" as they pulled her body from the watery grave. 

She had been discovered in a swimming area of the East Chester Creek in Mount Vernon in the late afternoon approximately around 4-5 p.m. according to my research. Several newspapers mention that this was near the Webber's Hotel, although records indicate it was closer to the Invermere Hotel. Her body had been anchored down with a tight rope wrapped around her waist, and two heavy stones knotted to the rope to act as a weight to hold her down. The Coroner believed she had been in the water 36 hours, but I believe this was a typo in the newspaper and meant to read 3-6 hours given the time frame in which she was seen around town earlier before she disappeared.

On her person, inside the pocket of her dress the Coroner found these items:

1. $. 35 cents
2.  A pocket book 
3. A blank piece of paper with letterhead of the Mott House (Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson) that only had the word “Dear", written on it.
4. A business card that said “Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co., Silver Plated Ware, 36 East Fourteenth Street, Union Square, New York." The back of the card had handwriting that read :"6-46, Sat, Oct 22."
5. Part of an envelope that was addressed: Lulu Newton care of G.Newton, Merchant Tailor, 158 Tenth Ave, New York City. (Post mark date illegible.)  
6. Unused toothbrush (new) 
7. Sewn into the lining of the waist of the dress, a rabbits foot (a symbol of good luck).

The Chief of Police searched the area for any clues as to what exactly happened to this lady and came up with nothing.  However, allegedly hours later, two other men who decided to do some "amateur sleuthing" claimed to have discovered more evidence that the police allegedly missed and basically claimed to have solved the case.

George Clough, Proprietor of Invermere Hotel, and employee John Grace claimed that after the police left they did their own “investigating” of the premises where Ella was found. This is what Mr. Clough had to say: 

“I found tracks that were such as hers in the snow, leading towards the end of the horse railroad towards the merry-go-round.  None of the conductors or the drivers on the road remember her, so it is supposed she walked the entire distance. I followed the tracks back to the shed, where the merry-go-round is stored, through a hedge, and there picked up a small cake such as bakers sell.  A little further on, we came to the big willow tree on the bank of the creek that is a landmark. It had been recently blown over, and the roots standing up in the air leave a big hollow. In the hallow we found the coat and hat of the girl.  The coat was neatly folded and the hat had in it a white silk handkerchief*, with a long hatpin run through the whole.  There was also a crumpled paper bag, from Stubbin’s Bakery with some crumbs in it. This tree is on the bank of the swimming pool, and the girl could have stepped off into water plenty deep enough to drowned her. The tracks of the girl led directly to the place, and were unaccompanied by other tracks.”—Quote from George Clough in New York Times.  

(* It was later reported the handkerchief had the letter "K" embroidered on it.)

Now this would be great if the information is true but upon researching into this deeper, I found myself asking more questions about just who Clough really is and how and why he came up with all this information?  

First of all, the young lady's body was found late in the afternoon. The Coroner stated her body had been in the water 3-6 hours. As you continue reading this story, you will see that there was a witness who reported seeing her alive around 1 o'clock in the afternoon. So if she was dead anywhere between 3-6 hours and her body was found around 4-5 pm, there was not much sunlight left in the day for anyone to go "investigating" after police finished up for the day. In fact, if Clough was being honest that they had actually gone back hours later, they would have been wandering around in the dark. In that case, it was highly unlikely that they found anything at all. Also, how were they were able to track the lone female footsteps after the police had canvassed the area in the mud and snow, hours before? That isn't even logical.

By the next day, the body had been identified as Miss Ella Newton, step-daughter of George Newton, and daughter of Lucy Newton, of New York. Newton was a tailor and had married Ella's mother when Ella was only a baby. According to the 1880 Census, Lucy and Ella were both originally from Massachusetts, while Mr. Newton had came from England, but were now all residing in New York.

Cortland NY Standard, 1892

Ella's step-father came to Mount Vernon, identified her body and had her returned to New York for burial.  Upon inquest into her family life, it was mentioned by neighbors that Ella was a model girl who was "quiet, unassuming, pretty...and a devout Catholic." The family lived at 1787 Amsterdam Avenue in New York, just above his tailor shop for the last six months. Ella had a good relationship with her step-father but had a very complicated relationship with her mother. As several  papers reported, Lucy Newton was a very heavy-set, harsh and unpleasant person. She was overbearing, controlling, verbally and possibly physically abusive. She had complete control on her husband's business affairs, the household and most of all, her husband. 

According to Mrs. Alfred Newton, the Ella's aunt, there had been an argument between Ella and her mother on Sunday, December 4th, which prompted Ella to walk out of the house and over to her aunt and uncle's home. Ella's aunt told her that she was welcome to stay as long as she liked but Ella was determined to go out and find a job and make it on her own. She spoke of the argument she had with her mother, and that she wanted to go to Tarrytown or Mount Vernon to find a job. She stayed the evening of Sunday, December 4th, and after helping serve breakfast the next morning, she decided to leave. Her aunt begged her to telegram her mother, at least letting her know she was alright. She even gave Ella $.25 cents but Ella never sent any telegram.

THE DAY OF THE MURDER

It appears that once Ella left her aunt's home at 455 Seventh Avenue, New York, she rode the train 18 miles up to Mount Vernon. According to a man by the name of Mr. Kearn, Ella went directly from the train station to his tailor shop in town. Two years previously, her aunt had sent Ella there to work as a seamstress, although Ella didn't take to the job as well as she had hoped and quit. She came back hoping that Mr. Kearn could employ her again. Unfortunately, he told her business was slow and he had no jobs available for her. He did refer her to a lady by the name of Mrs. Meyers who ran the local employment agency.

Upon arriving at Mrs. Meyers' office, she was sent to call on Mrs. George Bard at 129 Sixth Ave. Mrs. Bard had inquired with Mrs. Meyers for a nurse. Not knowing her way around town, Ella went back to Kearn's to ask for directions to the address on Sixth Avenue and went off on her way. When Ella arrived, Mrs. Bard refused to hire her after being unable to provide a home address at Mt. Vernon. Ella returned back to Mrs. Meyers and explained what happened. She left disappointed shortly before 1 o’clock in afternoon, not saying where she was going. Only hours later, her body was discovered in the creek.  

So what happened to Ella Newton?

Coroner Frederick Drews was convinced that it was murder from the beginning, although autopsy physicians, Dr. Smith and Dr. Wiess were convinced it was suicide. One strange note though, Dr. Smith argued that Ella had been assaulted before her death, while Dr. Wiess claimed that he saw no sign of any sort of assault. At least a half dozen "Hawkshaws" (or detectives) got into the mix of this investigation hell bent that Ella had been murdered and were determined to help solve the case.

LET'S GO BACK TO THE CLUES

What about the rope that was wrapped around Ella's waist and anchoring her body in the creek?  The autopsy physicians reported that the rope was bound so tight that it left bruising around her waist under her dress.

 

According to a man named Sailor Jack, he and other “seafaring men” swore that the fashion that the rope had been tied to the stones could have only been done by a man or person with experience in sailing. The knot used was a typical seaman’s fashion used to anchor or secure a boat. They believed a young lady, such as Ella, who was raised indoors as the daughter of a tailor, would not have had any knowledge on how to tie the rope in such a way.   

Newspaper account reads: “There was a splice in the rope near the body such as sailors put in ropes . The whole formed an anchor such as sailors use in boats hereabout. But no such boat has lost its anchor,  as found up to this time.” 

The New York Times reported that the police mentioned they believed Ella had been assaulted, murdered and her body was moved in a boat and placed there to appear as if she walked up to the bank and jumped in. --- they were NOT convinced it was a suicide at all.

Police were searching every possible lead they had, which led them initially to James Meyers, Mrs. Meyers’ son. James was a 22 year old, 300 lb loafer, who spent most of his time drunk in saloons or passed out in the back of his mother’s employment office. 

Then there was the possibility of two African-American men by the names of Walter Landrine and Joseph Aaron Pugsley who both lived in Pugsley Hollow in New Rochelle just  a town away. 

The police arrested the three men and held them overnight under suspicion of murder, but all three were able to secure alibis for themselves which allowed their release. James Meyers claimed he was with his mother Monday afternoon, and his mother swore that it was true.  Landrine claimed he was working, loading potatoes until after 5 p.m. Monday night, while Pugsley’s odd alibi put him at Flynn’s Saloon in New Rochelle around the time of the murder.

The police continued on in their search for suspects, eventually suspecting two more men, a man simply known as “Mr. White,” and James Rafferty.  White was the keeper of the Sportsman’s Retreat, a saloon that was located only a half a mile from where Ella’s body was found. It was also located on Post Road which was on the Street Car Line where they thought Ella may have gotten off on Monday afternoon. It was assumed she may have inquired about employment at the Saloon and became the object of attention from some very vile men who may have followed her upon leaving. 

According to White, he was very upset to hear what had happened to Ella and even stated that if he found out who did it he would physically harm them.  Rafferty was only a suspect because of his big mouth. It seems that while drunk he made up some stories, including that he spent the night with Ella at the Mott House in Newburgh, which raised suspicion. But it was impossible that Ella spent any time with this gentleman in Newburgh because she had spent the prior evening with her aunt and uncle in New York.  More than likely he had read about the items found on her, including the letterhead of the Mott House when her body was discovered. So trying to sound important he probably made up lies about being with her.  Neither men were arrested or held on suspicion.

What about the handkerchief with the letter "K" embroidered on it? The only person mentioned in this story with a K in his name was Mr. Kearns who Ella visited twice that day. Could she have gone back to his home after leaving Mrs. Meyers? Did he possibly give her a handkerchief to wipe away tears of disappointment in not being able to secure herself a job? This is still a mystery.

INQUEST

During the inquest, Mr. Clough testified that he had previously worked for Simpson, Hall & Miller’s Co. in New York. He also stated that a fellow employee of the establishment, a gentleman named Albert Dimmock of Woodlawn, ran into him on the train 3 days before the inquest and the conversation of Ella Newton’s death arose. Dimmock told Clough that he knew Ella quite well and that she would regularly visit him at the store. District Attorney Hunt recalled the card found on Ella’s body from Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co., so he subpoenaed Dimmock to testify in the inquest. During the inquest, Ella’s step-father, George Newton, claimed that he didn’t believe that Ella made any trips to Simpson, Hall, Miller, & Co. at any time, but that Albert Dimmock once lived above their tailor shop at 1787 Amsterdam Avenue only about six months earlier. He also mentioned that she was friendly with Dimmock’s family and that she would spend time regularly at their home and even mentioned her planning to visit them in Woodlawn in the future. 

Upon testifying, Alfred Dimmock, a salesman for an agent office of Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co., claimed he had seen Ella often at her father’s tailor shop. He also said his wife was fond of her and after moving to Woodlawn, she wrote Ella a letter asking for her to come visit them and possibly work for them. He claimed that the card found on Ella’s body had been sent with the letter and the information on the back of the card was the instructions for her to meet them at the 125^th Street Station on Harlem Road for the “6:46 departure on Saturday, October 22.” He said that he didn’t think she got the letter, because she didn’t show. He also provided a letter from his employer, Charles Casper claiming he was working in the New York sales office on December 5^th, providing him a much needed alibi.

Ella’s step-father, George Newton, stated for the papers that he knew nothing of any proposed trip to the Dimmocks. This actually contradicts what he had stated before, that Ella would spend time with the Dimmocks when they rented the house above his tailor shop and that she planned to visit them. He also made a strange statement in regards to his feelings towards Dimmock. “ I have no feeling against Dimmock other than that expressed here tonight, that he deceived us in planning to take Ella away. We are friends and will be.”

Dimmock’s stated in the inquest that it was "an outrage" to bring his name into Ella's death. "I know nothing about it, and never had twenty words in conversation with the girl in my life.”— This also seems to be contradictory to what he told Mr. Clough on the train. 

  

A NEW CLUE

According to the New York Times, a boy named John Mandy of South Mount Vernon testified that he saw a hack (taxi carriage) that went down the Invermere Road the day of Ella's death. He also claimed that he saw a girl standing near the coal sheds as if in waiting for someone. He said the hack stopped and a man proceeded to get out of the carriage and was speaking to the girl, who he now believes was more than likely Ella. 

Despite this new clue into the murder of Ella Newton, something or someone seemed to be able to make it disappear. In fact in all my researching, I have never found such a story that the Coroner, the Police Chief and the District Attorney were certain that it was murder, yet in every step of the process others were attempting to discredit that theory. In this instance, by running with Mr. Clough's ideas they were taking the word of an ordinary citizen over the results of the original police investigation. An exception to this was the claims of another police officer, H.C. Beckwith, who went on the record claiming that he took Ella's shoe and went back to the scene of the crime a day later and followed the steps in the snow and mud that led him directly to where her body was found, stating that no other footprints were visible. Again, that is impossible, being that the day they discovered her body, there were many people walking around that area and the crime scene was basically tainted with foot prints after that time. Just like Mr. Clough who made such preposterous claims about going there hours after the police and finding her lone footprints in the snow and mud, this police officer's account is not only physically impossible but I would say is a lie. But why?

Was he paid off to make Chief Foley look bad?  Foley was adamant when Clough came the first time with his theory of finding Ella's coat and hat in the hollow tree that it was not there when he  investigated the scene. It had obviously been planted there later. Why was a fellow officer going by what Mr. Clough stated instead of his superior? 

Either way, the theory that anyone discovered "lone footprints" made only by Ella near the creek is not possible, unless the men who pulled her body from the creek, the police who investigated the grounds, Mr. Clough and his friend, and Officer Beckwith were hovering off the ground or flying because each and every one of them would have left sets of foot prints in the mud and snow. 

No, my friends, there is something terribly wrong with this story and sadly it gets worse...

On December 22, 1892 , despite the urging of District Attorney Hunt, Coroner Drews and Police Chief Foley, along with many other private detectives convinced that this was a murder, the inquest jury came back with a very odd verdict.  They didn’t rule it a suicide, but neither did they rule it a homicide. Instead, it was ruled that she “drowned by a person or persons unknown to the jury.”-- 

It was a big upset to everyone who had worked so hard to seek justice for Ella. With all the twists and turns to this story, I still find it quite odd that the man, G. Clough, who strangely claimed to have found new evidence to support the suicide theory, happened to be friends with Dimmock, who had lived just above Ella's parents tailor shop in New York.  How could so many people be so adamant that she was murdered, yet the jury chose not to lead to that conclusion? Could they have been threatened? Paid off?  

Could Ella's parents have been involved in any way? What about the envelope and the card found on her body? It appears as if Ella eventually received the letter Dimmock's wife had sent months earlier. Could she have found the letter at home, and upon asking her mother about it, that brought on the terrible fight that forced Ella to leave? We may never know for sure.

And now we are left with that unsettling feeling of uncertainty. Just who killed Ella that day? Who was the man she met near the coal shed? What did they speak about? How did she end up at the bottom of the creek with a rope wrapped around her waist, tied to stones in the fashion of a seaman's knot? Most importantly, why were so many people making such a stink to just brush Ella's death under the rug as a cut-and-dry suicide? Was there no compassion for this beautiful young lady? 

Ella died December 5th, 1892, nearly 122 years ago...and still we may continue to wonder forever, just who killed Ella, and most importantly, why?

Rest In Peace, Ella.

To read more about Ella Newton, and learn about other mysterious and bizarre stories of the past, please check out: 

"Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered." 

Now available on AMAZON! 

(Copyright 2014- J'aime Rubio, Dreaming Casually Publications)

Who Was The Beautiful Stranger?- Part 4

Continued from Part 3 - Who Was The Beautiful Stranger?

"After receiving a telegram from the undertakers in regards to the body found in San Diego, Joseph Chandler, Kate Morgan’s grandfather, replied : “Bury her and send me statement.”  It appeared neither Kate’s husband, nor her own family had any intention of coming to California to claim the body, or to positively identify it. Nearly two weeks after her death, Coroner’s Kellar and Stetson made the call to document the dead woman as being “Kate Morgan,” and ruled  the death was a suicide, stating  that “Mrs. Kate came to her death in this County by a pistol shot inflicted by her own hand with suicidal intent.”

The death certificate was dated December 12, 1892, with her burial date on the document dated December 13, 1892.  Unclaimed and never truly identified by family or friends, the funeral for the woman who died at the Hotel Del Coronado on November 29, 1892, said to be Kate Morgan, took place at Johnson & Co.’s undertaking parlors.  After the services the casket was taken and interred at the Mount Hope Cemetery.  The grave would remain unmarked for almost a hundred years until author Alan May had a headstone placed marking her burial spot.

From its very beginning, this story has too many twists and turns to count. Although several authors have tried their best to unravel this mystery, the complete answers still seem to elude us, forever seemingly just out of our reach.  Neither Lizzie nor Kate brought luggage with them when they left. According to Kate’s employer, Mr. Grant, she took only a satchel with her when she left. There is no accounting of where she went between leaving the Grant’s and ending up in San Diego an entire day later. 

Yes, Kate was known for using aliases as it would seem. She used the name Katie Logan for the Grants, and Josie Brown for the Howards, even mentioning her sister was a Mrs. Anderson, and having a brother who was also a doctor!

So what about the three trunks left at the D Street Depot in National City? At the time, the newspapers reported that they were still there at the depot. According to the article, one of the keys found in “Lottie Bernard’s” effects in room 302 matched a key to the trunk, but the employees at the depot could not open it without proper permission from the authorities. Interestingly, the Los Angeles newspapers later mentioned that the three trunks were eventually claimed by its owners; however, there is never any further mention of the trunks or whether the owners were connected to the woman who died.

In both situations, neither the families of Lizzie Wylie nor the families of Kate Morgan made any effort or attempt to positively identify the dead woman. Although Lizzie’s mother stated that she had family in San Diego and that they would come to identify the body, no one ever did. The same can be said for Kate’s family. 

Maybe Joseph Chandler believed the body was of his granddaughter, or maybe he felt bad for the unclaimed woman who was abandoned in death, which could have prompted him to pay for the burial. I have often wondered, if Chandler had truly believed it was his  granddaughter, why not have the body sent back for burial? Had she shamed the family that much that he wanted nothing more to do with her? And even so, you would think  that he would have at least wanted a proper marker on her grave, wherever she was interred.

The event where Lottie sent Mr. Gomer to wire requesting funds from Mr. Allen at the bank in Hamburg, is definitely a piece of the puzzle in favor of the Kate Morgan theory, since Allen was in one way or another related through marriage to Tom Morgan’s family.  Still,  it was a Mrs.  Bernard asking for money, not Kate Morgan. Allen stated that he went to school with her husband, who would have been Mr. Bernard. How would Allen have known that Lottie was Kate, especially given the vague telegram with no other mention of who she was? Oddly enough this could actually be just an interesting coincidence unless Mr. Allen was aware of Kate using various aliases.

Also, what was she doing there in Coronado in the first place? Who was this Mr. Anderson that she was planning to meet, or planning to confront? The woman in Coronado was said to have gone to the Hotel Brewster first before registering at the Hotel Del Coronado on Thursday, November 24, 1892. The clerk stated that she inquired if Mr. & Mrs. Anderson had checked in. When he told her no, she left abruptly, stating, “They must have gone on to Coronado.” 

Did Kate know a Mr. Anderson? Was his wife’s name Louisa? Is that how she acquired the tin that was found in her trunk in Los Angeles? And what about Joseph Jones? He claimed that the couple who he had seen, rode from Denver to Los Angeles and recognized the woman at the Orange station . He also saw her again at the hotel.  How could that be Kate, when she was in Los Angeles the entire time until leaving on Wednesday the 23rd?

Among the items found in room 302 was an invitation to the Hotel Del Coronado, signed by Lillian Russell and Louise Leslie Carter. 

"Denman Thompson, the Old Homestead. And "Frank" is written here four times, and "Lottie Anderson Bernard," and "Mrs. Lottie Bernard," "Lottie Anderson Bernard, Detroit," and then on this paper I found "I merely heard of that man, I do not know him." Here is an invitation — here is an invitation to the Hotel del Coronado, signed by Louise Leslie Carter and Lillian Russell."

Denman Thompson was a playwright and actor. He was very famous for his play, "The Old Homestead" which made it's debut in 1886. He was in the social circle of theatre actors and actresses. This stood out to me because of the second item in her belongings that also was tied to Theater folk. That was the invitation to the Hotel Del Coronado, which was signed by Louise Leslie Carter and Lillian Russell, both prominent and famous actresses of the time. Did Lottie have a personal invitation to the hotel, or could it have been clever advertising as author Terry Girardot suggests in his book? I have searched for ephemera for that time period connecting those actresses to any sort of advertising for the hotel and have come up with nothing. 

Another interesting thing to note was the mention of a telegram from Mt. Vernon from a Mr. Harry Bernard requesting a description of “Miss Bernard.” The same time this telegram came, another unidentified body of a woman in Mt. Vernon had  just been discovered, Miss Ella Newton, which is another chapter in this book.  Was this just a random coincidence?

It seems that there are too many factors to consider when trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. There are just too many missing elements to tie it all together to create a  clear picture.  We do not know for certain who Mr. Anderson was, and we do not know if Albert Allen, Joseph Jones or even Frank Heath were involved for that matter, or if any of them could have been “Mr. Anderson.” 

 The last part of this mystery that just doesn’t add up is the cause of death.  Only a fraction of the many writers who have researched this case believed that the woman found dead in Coronado was murdered.  Being that the death certificate states it was a suicide, most people take that at face value and accept it as the cause of death.  I, on the other hand, do not believe it happened that way.  Remember, Lottie had purchased a .44 caliber Bulldog pistol and two bits worth of cartridges at Nichol’s gunshop where Martines Chick worked in downtown San Diego. Then she went to Frank Heath’s store and asked about purchasing cartridges there.  The gun that was found next to her body was identified by Chick as looking similar to the gun he sold her on Monday the 28th, but he could not be certain. Still, the entry wound, and lack of exit wound on the body is consistent with shot of a .44 caliber Bulldog.

According to gun expert Bob Shell, the .44 Bulldog is a very low powered round and the bullet would not exit. “It would not cause extensive damage due to the low velocity involved.  As for rusting, it would rust fairly rapidly especially if there was no oil on it...... The process of bluing is just a form of rusting so overnight there would be a light coat of rust on it. Depending on a couple of factors, the 44 will leave a little larger hole then a 38 or 40.”   After speaking to Shell, he made it clear that the doctor should have been able to see the small differences.

“Depending on certain factors, the entrance wound could close up due to loose skin or other physical factors that the victim may have had.  In other words there is no cut & dry method to determine an entrance wound with similar size rounds."  

Shell also went on to state, “In all likelihood, she would have held the gun within six inches of her head. Further back would have increased the chances of not getting a good kill shot especially if she was not experienced with handguns. There would definitely be powder burns, and depending on what type of gun, they would be prevalent.   In 1892, both black powder & smokeless was used though the odds are she had black powder which would really leave a lot of residue, especially a larger .44 such as a Russian or .44-.40, both common.”

Dr. Mertzman examined the bullet entry wound, and never once mentioned any sort of powder burns on her head or marks on her hand which should have been noted in the inquest had there been any apparent markings or burns on the body.  This lack of information leads me to believe that someone shot her from a farther distance, just enough to leave her body free of powder burns. Another thing to consider in all of this is that the two bits worth of cartridges Lottie purchased were never found.

If she had planned to kill herself, in all likeliness she would have loaded the weapon in the privacy of her own room.  In 1892, two bits would have bought her 10 rounds.  We know that the cartridges were never mentioned to have been found on or near her body when her body was discovered. Also, when the coroner came to investigate her room, those items were not found in her personal effects. So where did the other bullets go? Nowhere in the inquest record did anyone state whether or not the pistol was examined to see if it had even been discharged or not.

Kate Morgan or not, I believe that the woman who died on the northwest steps of the Hotel Del Coronado on November 29, 1892, was murdered and did not commit suicide.  I could devote an entire book restating each and every fact and clue regarding this one story alone, and I feel that I would never truly solve this conundrum.                                   

Some of you will read the story and come to the conclusion that Lottie was definitely Kate Morgan, while maybe a few of you will even think she could have been Lizzie Wylie. And then there will be others, such as myself, who will never truly be satisfied with this story, and who will go on believing that the true identity of Lottie Bernard can never be a certainty, and the story behind her death, will more than likely remain a mystery for the ages. 

If by chance somewhere out there, perhaps in an old creaky and dusty attic, tossed beneath books and family heirlooms in an old trunk, there could be one more clue to this seemingly impossible case, then I hope to be alive to see that day. Until then, we must accept what information is out there now.

Was Lottie Bernard really Kate Morgan? I cannot say either way. In the end, the woman who died on the back steps of the Hotel Del Coronado was a beautiful lady who died much too young.  No matter who you believe it was who died that day, let us pay our respects to her memory. She deserves to be remembered just as anyone else.  Rest in Peace to the Beautiful Stranger a.k.a. Lottie Bernard, whoever you were."----

 from the book "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio (ISBN-13:  978-1523981175)

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

published blog in 2013, published book in 2016)

Sources: 

U.S. Census, 1860, 1870, 1880; Detroit City Directories, 1890, 1891; Transcript of Coroner’s Inquest, 1892; Certificate of Death, December 12, 1892; San Diego Union, (1892:  11/27, 11/30, 12/1, 12/2, 12/3, 12/7, 12/12); Los Angeles Herald, (1892: 12/1, 12/4, 12/9, 12/10); The Rock Island Daily Argus, December 5, 1892; Sacramento Union, December 3, 1892, December 5, 1892; The San Francisco Morning Call, December 2, 1892;  Los Angeles Times, December 1, 1892, December 3, 1892, December 4, 1892, December 8, 1892; U.S. National Library of Medicine; Correspondence with Bob Shell, gun expert; San Francisco Call, December 2, 1892, December 4, 1892; Salt Lake Herald, December 4, 1892; “The Ghost of the Hotel Del Coronado, The True Story of Kate Morgan”- Terry Girardot (by permission of the author).

Who Was The Beautiful Stranger? Part 2

Continued from Part 1. - Who Was The Beautiful Stranger?

"Sometime soon after speaking with Gomer and West, Lottie had managed to go down to the drug store again and spoke to Mr. Fisher. 
                 

“On Monday afternoon she came in again, and walked up and down the floor, and looked as though she was still suffering. I said, "It seems too bad for you to go over in town and you suffering from neuralgia in this stormy weather. " She said, "I am compelled to go. I forgot my checks, and I have got to go over and identify my trunks, personally. " She went out, and that was the last I saw of her until I saw her dead, lying on the steps."--T.J. Fisher.

On Monday afternoon, November 28th, Lottie ventured out to the Gaslamp quarter in San Diego’s downtown district.  The December 1, 1892, edition of the San Diego Union stated that Lottie took the electric motor to San Diego, also mentioning that she was so weak and frail that the conductor had to lift her off of the car. Based on the timeline that most people go by, it is assumed that Lottie first went to the ship chandlery store and spoke to Frank Heath, inquiring on how to purchase "cartridges" for a revolver, and that he told her to go to Chick's gun shop in order to find what she needed. But after looking carefully at the inquest report, I found that the times are off by an hour. 

Also, it seems strange that she would inquire about purchasing cartridges, when she hadn’t even purchased a gun yet, nor did she ask him about purchasing one. If we are to go by the times stated in the report, it shows that Lottie first visited N.D. Nichol’s gunsmith shop, where Martines Chick was employed. According to testimony by Chick and an eyewitness,  she arrived at the shop between the hours of 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the  afternoon.  After purchasing a .44 caliber bulldog pistol and two bits worth of cartridges, she inquired how to load and discharge the weapon, even asking if it was hard to pull the trigger. Chick showed her how easy it was, and she tried it. 

 W.P. Walters, who was in the store at the time, agreed that he saw a woman, who appeared to look just like the deceased, who had come into the store and inquired about buying a pistol. His testimony seemed to fit with Chick's testimony about her being there at that time. Walters claimed that he was concerned by the quiet demeanor of the lady and that she may use the pistol to hurt herself. He noticed her well enough and seemed so concerned about her that he asked the man outside the doorway if he had seen where she went from there.

"She went south on Fifth Street, and I stepped to the door, and asked a gentleman who was standing at the door where she went and he said she had went into the Combination, he thought. I stopped there a few seconds, and then I saw her go straight diagonally across to Schiller and Murtha's, and that is the last I seen."-- W.P. Walters.

According to the San Diego Directory, the ship chandlery store was located at 614-622 Fifth Street, and Schiller and Murtha's was located on the Southwestern corner of Fifth and H Street (where Market Street is now). That is the very same corner and same side of the street that the chandlery store was located. More than likely both business were probably next door to one another, therefore it could have been easy from where he was standing, to think she went into Schiller and Murtha's when in fact she had walked into Heath's store. 

 But if Lottie went into Heath’s store after she had already purchased a gun and ammunition, that leads us to another question. What was the real purpose of her visit to that particular shop? And furthermore,  if she went to the gun shop first, where she purchased a pistol and two bits worth of cartridges, why in the world would she visit Frank Heath’s shop to ask if he sold pistol cartridges, too?

According to the San Diego Directory, Frank Heath lived at 1560 Union Street in San Diego, not 1516 Union as the inquest had recorded.  Heath claimed that the woman who fit the description of the deceased had visited his shop on Monday afternoon between 4p.m. and 5 p.m. 

“She asked me if I kept revolver cartridges...I told her we did not, and directed her where she could get them...She came in and spoke to me three or four times before I could understand her, she spoke so low. She seemed a little nervous...she walked very slow, as if she felt sick, and she looked very bad, in her general appearance. She was well dressed.”— Frank Heath

There wasn’t much to his testimony, yet this one person’s quick recollection of his encounter with Lottie has always bugged me.  You see, Frank Heath is the only person in this story whose first name was written on a piece of paper by Lottie. Is it significant? There really is no way to know. It could very well be just a huge coincidence, but this one thing has continued to bother me. Why did the name Frank appear on an envelope in Lottie’s hotel room? And why was it written four times? In my personal experience, it when a woman writes a man’s name on a paper, over and over, it is usually an emotional reason, such as a love interest.

Did Frank Heath leave anything important out of his statement during the inquest hearing? Could he have known the deceased, and chose to omit that information? Could she have actually purchased the gun and then went to visit Frank Heath’s store in order to speak to him about another matter? 

                 

What could she have had to say to him? Did Heath know Mr. Anderson? Could she have been there asking about Mr. Anderson’s whereabouts?  That is one thing to ponder, although we will never know for sure.  Heath’s statement was short and gave very little information. Whether he was honest about it or willfully withheld the truth is uncertain. Unfortunately, that one name scribbled on an envelope in a dead woman’s room was never looked into further than the brief mention in the inquest.  We will never know just who “Frank” was, or why Lottie scribbled it over and over on a piece of paper before she died.

Physician and Surgeon, B.F. Mertzman was questioned during the inquest, giving the details of the examination of the corpse. The evidence, or lack of evidence to many claims by several writers is worth mentioning.

“I made an examination of the remains, and found a gun-shot wound in the right temple region, just between the ear and the out edge of the eyebrow, and about half an inch high up above that line drawn here. The ball entered into the brain, and that is the only opening I could find—no exit at all….I took a probe, and it entered almost at an angle, about that...a little forward and a little upward.”— B.F. Mertzman, M.D.

When questioned about the caliber of the gun, the doctor stated that he believed the gun shot wound was caused by a .38 or .40 caliber gun, and that it caused an internal hemorrhage. The doctor never mentions any powder burns on her skin. If she had been shot at such a close range,  there would have been evidence of this that even the rain couldn’t just simply wash away. Neither the doctor, the coroner, nor the staff from the hotel ever mentioned seeing any sort of burn marks on the face of the dead woman. 

And what about the theory that she was pregnant? Why did the doctor not mention anything about that in his statement? An unidentified doctor who was interviewed for the press,  stated that he had examined her and saw signs of pregnancy, but refused to give his name to the newspapers. Could she have been pregnant? Of course, anything is possible. But given the fact that the physician who officially examined the body left no mention of the possibility, there is no way we can ever be sure.

As the days went by, it became much more clear that no one could truly identify the deceased. No friend or family member came to identify or claim her body, so the speculation continued to spread that Lottie A. Bernard may have been an alias.

As I had previously mentioned in my blog several years ago, I had always firmly believed that Lottie was exactly who she said she was.  According the 1890 & 1891 Detroit Directory, there was in fact a Charlotte Barnard living at 351 High Street West. Since she literally disappeared off of any further directories I could find, and I found no other trace of her at the time, I assumed that could have been the link I was searching for.  

Unfortunately, it turns out that upon my reinvestigation of this case for this book, I found that the listing in the 1890 & 1891 Detroit Directory at 351 High Street West residence proved useless, as further research and cross referencing has shown this to be another Charlotte Barnard, and not the same “Lottie” that I had been searching for.

Although I was back to square one, I still felt very strongly that the identity of the woman found on the northwestern steps of the Hotel Del Coronado was out there somewhere just waiting to be discovered.  According to the newspapers of the time, there were two different women mentioned as possibly being the “Beautiful Stranger.” Their names were Lizzie Wylie and Kate Morgan. The question was, which one was she?

Within days, the staff, authorities and newspapers were growing more and more unsure of this woman’s identity. The story became even more perplexing when they received word from Detroit that a young lady by the name of Lizzie Wylie had gone missing several weeks prior, and who seemed to fit the young lady's description.  Mrs. Wyllie, Lizzie’s mother, claimed that she feared her daughter, after been fired from her job, had run away with a married man after the affair had come out in the open. 

Lizzie had been working at a book bindery company known as Wynn & Hammond in Detroit, when she started an illicit affair with her foreman, John Longfield.  After the affair had been made public, the company fired both Longfield and Wyllie to make an example of them. Not long after this happened, Lizzie's family claimed that a gentleman called their home and told Lizzie that he was leaving and going to California. Lizzie made some comments to her family that she may leave to go look for work elsewhere, even as far as California but never mentioned when she would be leaving. Her mother claimed that Lizzie told her she was going downtown to run errands and that was the last she heard of her. She didn't take anything with her, and was "penniless" the day she disappeared.

The authorities sent a sketch of the face of the deceased young woman to Lizzie's mother, where she confirmed that it was her "Lizzie" and that their family in Pasadena would arrive shortly in San Diego to properly identify her and recover her remains. Interestingly, there are no records that any relatives ever came to identify her. Had this young lady been Lizzie Wyllie, then where on earth was her male companion? Why was he not in Coronado with her when she died?

A telegram from Lizzie's sister arrived asking if the body of the girl in Coronado had short hair, a black corset and a large black hat. Although the girl found at the Coronado hotel did have a black corset and a large black hat, her hair was medium in length, not short. Also, the body found did not have pierced ears, while it was stated that Lizzie Wyllie’s ears were pierced.

According to newspapers, a man by the name of Joseph Jones claimed that he had seen the woman more than once. First, on the train from Denver to Omaha and then again at Orange in California. At the station, he saw the pair fighting and the lady pleading with the man before he exited the train, leaving her alone. Jones mentioned seeing the young lady again at the hotel, where he also was staying, and recognized her from the previous times on the train. "---- from the book "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio (ISBN-13:  978-1523981175)

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE WITH "PART 3 of "WHO WAS THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER?" 

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

published blog in 2013, published book in 2016)

Who Was The Beautiful Stranger? Part 1

"In all the years that I have been investigating and writing about the past, no one story has perplexed me as much as this case.  At one point, I had truly believed that I may have found a key piece of evidence pointing to the true identity of the “Beautiful Stranger,” whose body was found on the north steps of the Hotel Del Coronado on November 29, 1892, but after further research, even that has proven to be an unfortunate dead end.

There have been several books written about the mysterious guest who died at this historic hotel, but with each book comes different theories, over-the-top speculations and story line plots that lead to nowhere.  I have to admit, even I got caught up in my own possible theory for a time period, truly believing that I had figured out at least one part of this ever eluding mystery.

The morning after a terrible storm that swept through San Diego and relentlessly engulfed the small island of Coronado, the body of a woman was discovered on the north steps of the Hotel Del Coronado near the beach.  It was approximately 7:30 a.m., on November 29th, 1892, when one of the hotel employees came upon the ghastly sight. David Cone discovered the corpse while trimming the electric lights.

 “It was lying on the steps, with its feet towards the ocean, head on the steps, almost on the top step. There was blood on the step. The clothes were all wet, and the body seemed to have been lying there quite awhile, to have been dead quite awhile…..There was also a large pistol lying at the right hand side of the body.” — statement of David Cone.

Mr. Cone stated that he saw blood on the steps and noticed rust on the pistol.  While going to fetch help, he ran into the gardener. Curious about the discovery, the gardener went back with the Cone to view the body, then they both separated, going different directions around the hotel in order to notify the hotel management of the discovery.

The gardener, F.W. Koeppen's sworn testimony stated the same information, that the woman's body was found "laying along the steps in a sitting position, and after being dead, dropped over on the stairway." He also stated that he "noticed the pistol lying on one side." 

After instructing the gardener to cover her body with tarpaulin so that other guests would not see her,  Mr. Gomer, the hotel clerk, called upon the Deputy Coroner and the undertakers at Johnson's & Company to further address the situation. 

When Deputy Coroner H.J. Stetson arrived, he immediately looked over the corpse. He ascertained that she had been dead for about six or seven hours given the condition of rigor mortis present. It was the coroner who removed the pistol from the ground and collected it as evidence for further inquiry. As the undertakers came and removed the woman's body from the hotel, they placed her in a receiving box to take back to San Diego at Johnson's & Company mortuary.

The Coroner then went to investigate in room 302, where she had been staying for the past several days. Upon entering her room, he realized that the bed had not been slept in.

"I found that valise, and on the table I found this envelope she had addressed... Denman Thompson, the Old Homestead. And "Frank" is written here four times, and "Lottie Anderson Bernard," and "Mrs. Lottie Bernard," "Lottie Anderson Bernard, Detroit," and then on this paper I found "I merely heard of that man, I do not know him." Here is an invitation — here is an invitation to the Hotel del Coronado, signed by Louise Leslie Carter and Lillian Russell." He went on to say, "She had a purse on her person, that contained $16.50, and there was a little ring in the purse, a plain ring, and the key to her valise.”

Among the other things mentioned were some handkerchiefs that were stitched with what appeared to read "Little Anderson,"** along with her night dress hanging in the closet and a hat on the mantle.

  **Small stitching of the name Lottie on a handkerchief

  could have easily looked like the work “Little.”

Items also found in her room included a bottle of brandy, a penknife, a bottle of camphor, some quinine pills and a wrapped up paper with the writings that said "If this doesn't relieve you, you better send for the doctor," which was signed Druggist.

The Coroner went on to add, “In the grate in the room it looked as though quite a package of papers had been burned, it was all in ashes, you might say. Whether she had made them for a fire or what they might have been you could not tell, but they had all been burned.”

According to statements from staff at the hotel, Lottie A. Bernard arrived in the afternoon at the Hotel Del Coronado on Thursday, November 24th, 1892. The clerk on duty at the time actually registered Lottie, writing her name into the register. She did not sign in herself. After being shown to her room, the woman told the bellboy, Harry West, that she had been ill. He claimed she stated that she suffered from neuralgia, that she was very sick and also mentioned that she was waiting for her brother to arrive.

The next day, Lottie came down to the front desk to inquire as to whether or not her brother, Dr. Anderson had arrived. She did this everyday while she stayed at the hotel. She also asked Mr. Gomer for advice on how to obtain her luggage from the train depot, intimating that her luggage had been left at the D Street Depot in National City, because her brother was the one who had the appropriate checks to have them released.

Lottie claimed that she had lost contact with her brother when he departed from her at the Orange station, going either to Los Angeles or to San Francisco and she did not know what to do.  She also divulged that her brother was a doctor, and that he was supposed to meet her there in San Diego.

According to reports, Friday the 25th seemed to come and go without much notation.  However, when Saturday came along, there was a lot more to recall about Lottie.  A gentleman named T.J. Fisher, who lived at the Hotel Del Coronado and worked in the hotel drug store, stated that he first met Lottie Bernard when she came down to the drug store on Saturday, requesting something to relieve her suffering. He referred her to Mr. Fosdick, who was the manager of the store, who then told her she should see a physician.

Perhaps this is where Lottie acquired the small folded paper that the coroner found in her room which more than likely contained some sort of medicinal remedy to relieve her pain.  It was more than likely given to her by Mr. Fosdick, or even perhaps Mr. Fisher without Mr. Fosdick's knowledge, and that could be why the paper found in her room read, "If this doesn't relieve you, you better send for the doctor,"  signed “Druggist.”  Later on, Lottie called for Harry West, the bellboy, to go down to the drug store and get her an empty pint bottle and a sponge.

One theory about why Lottie requested an empty bottle and sponge was for the purpose to induce an abortion with the addition of using quinine.  What is interesting to note though is the fact that quinine is an “ineffective abortifacient, even when taken in toxic doses.” -  US National Library of Medicine

Although you can die from overusing quinine, it  seems that the “abortion”  theory several other writers have tried to insinuate doesn’t quite hold up.  Could she have attempted to use it for an abortion, based on the belief it would work? Yes, but we have no proof that she was actually pregnant except for gossip in the newspapers. The more likely reason that Lottie had the pills could have been for the purpose of relieving her pain, since quinine’s medicinal properties are used for analgesic purposes.

As far as a pharmaceutical pessary, medical science shows that if used properly they can effectively deliver pharmaceutical substances easily as the body absorbs the medicine through the skin of the vagina or rectum. Perhaps she had used that method before as a treatment for pain relief.  She had told the housekeeper and the bell boy that she was ill, not only with neuralgia, but also stomach cancer. She explained that her case was so bad that the doctor's had lost all hope for her. Was she telling the truth? Unfortunately, we will never really know because there was no thorough autopsy done on her body, leaving too many uncertainties that can never be answered.

According to the coroner's inquest, Harry West stated that by early Monday, Lottie had called for him to run a bath for her and bring her a pitcher of ice water. She remained in the bath for one to two hours.  Around noon she rang him back explaining that while she was in the bathroom, leaning on the tub, she slipped into it and wet her hair. She asked him to help her dry her hair as she was so weak and couldn't do it herself. She also requested a whiskey cocktail. While downstairs, West spoke to the hotel clerk Gomer about her condition prompting Mr. Gomer to go up to Lottie’s room himself and insist that she see a doctor. When Gomer arrived and found her lying in bed in agony, he suggested calling a doctor to check on her but she was completely opposed to the idea.  

"It was a very gloomy, dreary sort of day, and she was on the east side of the house without any fire, and I suggested that she have a fire, and be made comfortable. She said no, she was very comfortable, as good as she could expect.  She further told me that the doctors had given her up, that she had cancer of the stomach, and that her case was hopeless, but she told us in such an off-hand way that it did not appear suspicious to me, and I endeavored to find out something about her identity.

In Gomer’s testimony during the inquest, he also admitted that while in Lottie’s room, he noticed letters on the table. “On the table in her room were some letters.  I could not find out the contents of them without picking them up, and of course that was out of order. The only thing I saw on the table were some envelopes, addressed to herself and finally, after I found she was so much opposed to having  a physician, I just put the question to her, if she had got her baggage over, and then I asked her if she was supplied with funds, and she said yes.“—A.S. Gomer

It was then that Gomer asked Lottie about contacting her brother to appropriate more funds for her stay at the hotel.  Lottie informed him to contact G.L. Allen in Hamburg, Iowa, by telegram to request funds. He claimed that he left her room at about half past twelve and sent the telegram around one o'clock in the afternoon on Monday, November 28, 1892. That was the last time he saw her alive.

What I found quite interesting was the fact that Lottie continued to inquire at the front desk regarding whether her brother, Mr. Anderson had arrived. She seemed desperate, and didn’t try to hide the fact that they had separated at the station in Orange.  Mr. Gomer stated, “That is the way her story begun, Orange, she said Orange; her brother was obliged to leave her, to remain there, or go to Frisco, she didn’t know which, and that she came on alone from Orange, and that her brother would be along that afternoon. This was the day after her arrival, and everyday she inquired if her brother had arrived. She claimed that her brother was Doctor Anderson, and that the initials were M.C., I’m not sure about that.”— A.S. Gomer "
--- from the book "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio (ISBN-13:  978-1523981175)

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE WITH "PART 2 of "WHO WAS THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER?" 

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

published blog in 2013, published book in 2016)