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 3

Continued from Part 2 - Who Was The Beautiful Stranger?

"So was this gentleman that Jones saw, John Longfield?  I truly doubt it. You see, Longfield actually went back to his hometown of Cleveland to work when he left town, and he was not accompanied by Miss Lizzie Wyllie. In fact, Longfield's wife claimed that when she asked him about Lizzie, he explained that he was not with her, he had no idea what anyone was talking about and that Lizzie had went back to Canada.

Elizabeth Wyllie, Lizzie's mother, was from Scotland and had made her way to the U.S. through Canada. The newspapers mention Lizzie's sister as a May Wyllie however I believe she was actually Mary Wyllie who was born in Canada, which could have been where Lizzie was born, thus no records of birth in our U.S. databases. As for Longfield, if he is the same John Longfield that I traced, he was born in Cleveland and lived in Detroit.

According to census, marriage, birth and death records,  Longfield returned to Detroit and stuck around Michigan for the remainder of his life. He was married, had two kids by 1899 and stayed with his wife the rest of his life, dying on August 22, 1938 in Michigan. 

The pieces of the puzzle of Miss Lizzie Wyllie were starting to come together. She left with no money to afford a long cross-country trip on train all the way to San Diego. Perhaps she went back to Canada, being that she hadn't even been in the U.S for more than a few years.  My guess is that the Wyllie family found out that she was still alive. That explains why they never came to identify or recover the remains. Possibly Lizzie eventually wired her mother and that could explain why the Wyllie’s faded into the background and Lizzie's name was never mentioned again in the papers.

This was a time when scandals, such as the disappearance of a daughter or the body of a young woman being discovered at an exclusive resort hotel, were uncommon. These type of stories made headlines nationwide. It was only natural that the two stories would somehow intertwine when the identity of the dead woman hadn't been discovered yet.  So, if it wasn't Lizzie Wyllie that died at the Hotel Del Coronado, then who could it be? The story certainly twists once again when the name of Kate Morgan starts to appear in the papers. Could it be that they discovered the true identity of the "Beautiful Stranger"? Or could this be another dead end?

When news broke in the papers about an unidentified woman that died in San Diego, there were a few people who came forward mentioning that they had known or employed a young woman who met her description. A lady in Orange County named Florence Howard wrote the coroner which the letter was even published in the Los Angeles Herald stating:

"Dear Sir,--- Would you be kind enough to send me as soon as possible a very careful description of the young woman who committed suicide at the Hotel del Coronado about the 29th of November, as I have good reason to believe that she was the same woman that stayed with us last summer for nine weeks. I judge from statements seen in the San Francisco and Los Angeles papers. She represented herself as being Miss Josie Brown, aged 24, of Detroit. She said her sister's name was a Mrs. Anderson. There was a young man here part of the time who said he was Miss Brown's brother, Dr. Brown of Detroit, although he had been in Minneapolis.  Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain yours,

respectfully,  (Miss) Florence S. Howard."--

Florence Howard was not the only one to inquire about this young woman. Strangely, another lady came forward with a trunk, claiming that it was in fact her employee that must have died at the Hotel Del Coronado that night.  Mrs. L.A. Grant of 917 South Hill Street, Los Angeles, came forward claiming that she had employed Katie Logan in her household as a maid. She stated that Katie mentioned she was separated from her husband who was a gambler but never mentioned any more about it.

When it came to Katie's disappearance, Mrs. Grant claimed that Katie had left on November 23rd and promised to return early in the morning to prepare for Thanksgiving, but she never returned. She was convinced that the items in the trunk would link her to the woman found dead in Coronado, and so the authorities began looking into yet another possible lead.

After opening the trunk, it was apparent that Katie Logan’s name was actually Kate Morgan.  Found among the belongings in the abandoned trunk, was  a tin with the name Louisa Anderson on it. Inside of it were photographs of several people, including a man with a beard and only the “Visalia” written on the back. A few photographs of children, a lock of hair that was marked “Elizabeth Morgan.”  The marriage certificate of Kate Farmer and Tom Morgan, dated December 30, 1885, and a photograph which was said to be of the Kate herself.

The newspapers were all over this new and incredible find, but the Los Angeles Herald’s opinion differed from what most authors state today.  The description of the photograph found in the trunk did not appear to match the likeness of the beautiful young woman who stayed at the Hotel del Coronado.

According to the newspaper, there was a "cabinet size photograph of Mrs. Morgan, found among others, shows her to be a woman of about 28 years of age, black eyes, large ears, rather large open face and somewhat course features; her mouth is rather large and lips thick. The photograph contained no marks and had evidently been taken recently. The photograph does not denote the appearance of a woman accustomed to stopping at first-class hotels as a guest, or one who wears lace shawls; neither does it show her to be pretty, and the features certainly are not those of a highly educated woman."-- Los Angeles Herald, December 9, 1892.

The opinion of the writer, that her "features certainly are not those of a highly educated woman,“  is  absurd. You cannot tell one's intellect by their appearance physically. However, you can tell a person's class and stature in society by the way they carry themselves and according to their dress. If Kate was well-to-do, why did she take up work as a domestic in Los Angeles? That question alone might make you wonder about her current financial state.

I have also wondered about the wardrobe Kate may have owned, and what she might have been wearing when she left the Grant residence in Los Angeles on November 23rd? Wouldn’t the Grant family have noticed if their maid was wearing elegant clothes when she left the house? Or could she have purchased them elsewhere? She did not take any luggage with her, or a change of clothes, and Mr. Grant said himself that she only left with a satchel.  And where did she go for an entire day, since “Lottie” did not check into the hotel at Coronado until Thursday the 24th?

Around the time the name Kate Morgan started to make the news, an interesting letter was published in the papers.  Signed only as A. D. Swarts, the letter offered contact information on Kate Morgan’s family, including her husband Tom, and her grandfather Joseph Chandler in Hamburg, Iowa.

                 

Terry Girardot, the grand nephew of Tom Morgan, Kate Morgan’s husband, states that he believes the claim made by San Diego Chief of Police, that the woman found at the Hotel Del Coronado was without a doubt, Kate Morgan.  I had the pleasure of corresponding with Mr. Girardot, who is adamant about the story. He insists that Kate Morgan left her husband Tom, for his much older step-brother, Albert Allen.  According to genealogical information shared with me by Girardot, Tom Morgan’s father, Marsena Morgan married Allen’s step-mother, Emily Allen in 1871.  After Emily and Marsena Morgan married, the two families were tied to one another. He also pointed out that  G.L. Allen, another one of the Allen siblings, happened to be the man who wired Lottie Bernard money to the Hotel Del Coronado. 

According to Girardot, there were notations on the widely circulated photo of Kate Morgan stating that she had left her husband Tom, and ran off with another man.  Girardot shared with me scanned copies of the back of the photograph as well as older notations from Tom Morgan’s daughter which insinuate that Kate left Tom for his step brother, but it gives no name of which one.  Given this information, it is not hard to imagine the amount of embarrassment Kate caused both her family and Tom Morgan’s family.  Also, where was Mr. Albert Allen in this story? Did Kate leave him, too, or was he possibly the man she had been seen with at the station in Orange? "---  from the book "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio (ISBN-13:  978-1523981175)

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE WITH "PART 4 of "WHO WAS THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER?" 

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

published blog in 2013, published book in 2016)