Burning Love - The Tragic Story of David and Rebecca Schneider

Vintage Bridal Ad

On January 23, 1922 at 3:30 a.m., the lives of newlyweds David and Rebecca Schneider of the Bronx, in N.Y. would be forever changed. Only just married two weeks prior, the happy couple had just moved in and furnished their 5-room apartment on the top level floor (4th floor) of their apartment complex at 749 Tinton Ave.**

After going to bed for the evening, David Schneider woke up to realizing that the oil heater in the living room had been left on and it tipped over spilling and igniting oil all over the floor. In an attempt to put out the fire, David became severely burned on his arms and face. David screamed out, alerting his neighbors who then called for help. The fire quickly spread downward and through out the apartment building, forcing the panic stricken tenants of the building to flee in the frigid streets in the early hours of the morning.

Many of the tenants were not sure where the fire was so they attempted to make way to the roof of the building, hoping to climb down the fire escapes but found themselves trapped even more. One of the young teenagers from the 2nd floor, Henrietta Koser, was rescued by Police Officer Eugene Bacaglini who found her in a frantic state and completely helpless.

Police Officers Gordon Guderman, William Kelly from the Morrisania Station as well as Fire Truck No. 19, Lt. Hamilton Rider, Battalion Chief White and Deputy Chief Carlock came to the rescue as well. As ladders were set up to allow the tenants to escape the fiery inferno, the other officers and fireman risked their lives to go back into the burning building to save the Schneiders.

While the rescue efforts were going on outside and they were attempting to make their way inside and up to the 4th floor, David Schneider attempted repeatedly to run through a wall of flames that separated the living room, where he was, to the bedroom where his wife was. He kept trying to get through, only to be thrown back by the flames and continually burnt. Sadly, by the time the fireman reached him, they refused to allow him to continue, dragging his body outside while he kept screaming that he needed to save his wife. Sadly, Rebecca was not saved. By the time they broke their way into the bedroom it was apparent that she had already expired. They found her body laying on the bed, almost consumed entirely.

Hopefully she did not feel anything, as more than likely she had succumbed to the smoke inhalation before being burned. Nevertheless, a young bride, barely 18 years of age, died so tragically that early morning on January 23, 1922.  Her husband tried and tried to reach her, but was not able to save his bride.

David was taken to Lincoln Hospital where doctors treated him for bad burns all over his body. They suspected that he would not survive his wounds, however I could not find his death in the New York Times Index, where I did confirm Rebecca's death. It seems he recovered physically, but there is no telling if he ever recovered emotionally from that tragic night.

In my search to find Rebecca's headstone, I found two different cemeteries with interments of a Rebecca Schneider who died on January 23, 1922.  One of the cemeteries was Mount Zion Cemetery, Maspeth, Queens County, New York. The other cemetery was Washington Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. I am uncertain which of the two is her grave. Hopefully one day I will  be able to find out.

Rest In Peace Rebecca Schneider-- Never Forgotten!!

(**Note: If you go to google maps, I have figured out that the building no longer stands, but it appears as if it may have once stood where the basketball court for the South Bronx Academy for Applied Media stands today.)

(Copyright 4/19/2014- J'aime Rubio)
Republished 3/28/2018
www.jaimerubiowriter.com

Who Was The Beautiful Stranger?

Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado Island, San Diego County

Coronado Island is a picturesque and amazing spot on the San Diego bay, that tourists flock to by the millions every year. Whether you enter this small piece of heaven via the Coronado Bridge or by driving up the good old "Silver Strand", one thing is for certain- you will never forget the majestic beauty when you see the grand architecture of the famous Hotel Del Coronado, the most exquisite structure there.


Setting of the Story

The story I am about to tell you, (and trust me it's going to take several blogs to do this), takes place at the Hotel Del Coronado, towards the turn of the Century, in fact the year was 1892. I actually stumbled upon this story in an old newspaper archive while searching for another story. I felt drawn to this story after reading the first news article about it, and after realizing how this story has perplexed many over the last 100 years or more, I felt that I should try my hand at this mystery and see what I could find. Many will probably disagree with my findings, however, we should always first state the facts and the evidence when researching or writing about history. One should never put their own speculations or opinions ahead of the facts. I am going to present to you the facts of the case, the proof I found or the facts I have to discredit other "theories" of this story. Then once you are fully educated in this story, you can make your own opinion on the story.

A Mystery Woman's Corpse Found!

After buckling down for a terrible storm that had swept through San Diego, engulfing the small island of Coronado, no one was to know the real storm of events that would take place the following morning.  It was November 29th, 1892 and Mr. David Cone, one of the electricians of the Hotel Del Coronado, came upon a ghastly sight while making his rounds at 7:30 a.m.

While trimming the electric lights, Cone discovered the corpse of a lady who had been a recent guest at the hotel. She appeared to have a bullet wound through her right temple, so immediately it was assumed that her death was self-inflicted. Although her death proved to be the end of the line for her, the mystery surrounding her death proved to be just beginning. Nearly 121 years later and no one has really been able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt who, in fact, this lady really was.

The Beautiful Stranger-

Just who was this "Beautiful Stranger" as the newspapers would later name her? Why and how did she die? Was she murdered? Or could it have been a suicide? There were so many questions at the time, and so many of them have still remained unanswered even to this day.

According to the Coroner's Inquest report, upon discovering the woman's body, the electrician noticed a pistol next to her body and a pool of blood. "There was a large pistol lying at the right hand side of the body," stated Cone, in the Coroner's Inquest report.  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."  The electrician stated that when he had went to fetch help, he ran into the gardener. Curious about the discovery, the gardener went back with the electrician to view the body, then they both separated, going different directions around the hotel in order to notify the hotel clerk of the discovery.

One Headline Of The Many Dozens

The clerk for the hotel, Mr. Gomer viewed the body, realizing that she appeared to be a female guest of the hotel, Mrs. Lottie A Bernard. He then instructed the gardener to cover her body with tarpaulin so that other guests would not see her, while he called upon the Deputy Coroner and the undertakers at Johnson's & Company to further address the situation. When Deputy Coroner Stetson arrived he immediately looked over the corpse. He ascertained that she had been dead for about six or seven hours given the condition she was in. 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 room 302, where she had been staying to investigate there. Upon entering her room he realized that the bed had not been slept in. In the Coroner's Inquest he was quoted stating,
"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. 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.

(**One thing I find interesting here is the fact that nowhere in the copy of the Coroner's Inquest report do they mention if anything was found in the valise.)

The staff then needed to figure out who to notify of this young lady's death, and see to it that the proper identification of the body be made. But they weren't even sure who she was, so how would they do this? The Coroner had his job to do, that was to figure out exactly how and why she died. To gather up witnesses and evidence and determine what occurred in the evening of  November 28th and in the early morning hours of November 29th, 1892.

With so very little to go on, it seemed that the more they looked into this woman's life, the less and less they could really say about her. They had to go back, back to when she arrived and try to remember any detail they could about her, where she came, and what she said to others about herself in order to figure out just who was Lottie Bernard, the Beautiful Stranger?

To find out more about the history of this intriguing case, and read all of my research and findings, please read "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered."

UPDATE: 10/17/2016 -- My latest book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" is now available via Amazon, and features an even more in depth look at this story. Don't forget to purchase your copy today!

Thank you for stopping by my blog!---

J'aime Rubio 

(Copyright 11/12/2013- J'aime Rubio  www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Corinne Elliot Lawton- What Really Happened To Her?

Photo Credit: Historic Cemeteries- Mary Homick © 2011

What Urban Legends Imply

In 1877, a young lady by the name of Corinne Elliot Lawton tragically died after throwing herself into a river just miles from her home. The story circulated in sewing circles and afternoon tea conversations, claimed that the young lady was so depressed that she could not marry the man that she loved, that she was being forced to marry another man, and between both circumstances she chose to end her life in such a tragic way.  

So did this happen, or what? I am trying my best to address this. You see, I was scrolling along on Facebook and I noticed on a lovely page called “Historic Cemeteries”, (which by the way, has awesome photographs of cemeteries!) and I came across an album of photographs from Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. One photograph in particular stood out to me. This lovely headstone to a young lady named Corinne Elliot Lawton.


On the actual headstone it marks her date of death as being January 24, 1877 and her epitaph reads: “Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way.” The statue that appears to be of Corinne’s physical likeness, was brought in from Palermo, Cicily. It had been created by renowned 19th Century artist and sculptor, Benedetto Civiletti at her father, Alexander Lawton’s request.

Civiletti's design of monument (P-415/11)
Wilson Library-UNC

What Other Sites Claim


Many websites state very detailed and over-the-top stories of this young lady being in love with a man who was of a simpler means (lower-class), and that her parents would not approve of their relationship. They also state that an arranged marriage was made by her father, Alexander Robert Lawton. He was a widely known Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, a Lawyer, Politician and Diplomat. I can understand how easy it would be for most people searching for answers, and finding all these websites that claim the same thing, to just assume that their facts are correct and continue to tell the same story again and again. Sadly, this is what happens when facts get mixed up with rumors and suddenly a hundred or so years later it is seemingly impossible to tell fact from fiction. Or is it?

Click here to read my blog that explains Corinne's real love story! 


Who Was Corinne Elliott Lawton?

Corinne Elliot Lawton was born September 21, 1846 to her parents Alexander Robert Lawton and Sarah Hillhouse Alexander. She was the oldest daughter of this highly prestigious family in Georgia. From recorded letters and documents in historical record, it shows that her friends and acquaintances thought of her in a very flattering light. One letter from a friend of the family stated that he believed Corinne to have "elegant culture" and "surprising intelligence." In every mention of Corinne, she is  spoken of very highly as a "spiritual" young lady, with very good Christian values and having plans for her future.


What Really Happened?

Corinne Elliot Lawton (P-415/4)
 Wilson Library- UNC

Historian, Ruth Rawls discovered a most amazing entry in Sarah’s diary and transcribed it on her blog which gives a more detailed look into the thoughts of Corinne’s mother and what was going on at the time. She also goes in depth into locating letters from a friend of the Lawton’s who sent words of sympathy in the passing of Corinne, even going so far as to mention her sickness and that she was a “sweet, noble and Christian girl,” and that Sarah had the hope of seeing her daughter again (thus there was no implication of a suicide.)  Click here to read the letter!

In both the diaries and letters, there is never any mention of Corinne being depressed or distraught, and certainly no mention of any uprising within the family or suicide. On the contrary, it shows the loving and rather close-knit family the Lawton’s actually were.  This helps disprove another rumor that has been widespread online. Many people go so far as to state that her family thought she was “cursed” for taking her own life. Thus the statue of Jesus in their family plot of the cemetery is facing her back, showing she turned her back on her salvation.

The statue of Jesus wasn’t even put in the cemetery until after Corinne’s parents had died. Plus, Corinne hadn’t been buried at Bonaventure cemetery originally. First she was interred at the Laurel Grove Cemetery and years later re-interred at Bonaventure. That could explain why her grave was placed outside of the family plot and the direction it is facing. Perhaps they had run out of spaces.


I do not believe for one second that her family shunned her in death, nor do I think that they believed that she was condemned from receiving her chance at everlasting life. No, I do not believe she took her own life, and the words of her mother speak volumes in comparison to the typed opinions of various bloggers with no facts backing their stories up.  

Lawton Girls
(P-415/9) Wilson Library UNC

Bottom line is that during the weeks leading up to Corrine’s death, she had been ill. Her mother claimed that for 10 days Corinne had been sick with a cold. Other members of the household grew ill, and even notations in the diary mention Sarah's own recollection of suffering sickness the previous Summer, gave mention of a very bad illness.  It seems to me that perhaps the Yellow Fever epidemic that had claimed its toll on many in that area just months prior, hadn’t fully died down. If the weather was continuously raining as she states in her diary, and she mentions the warm temperatures that would make sense about the mosquito theory that Ruth Rawls mentions. The fact that more than one person in the house was ill tells me that something was going around, whether it was Yellow Fever or not, it was obviously bad. Another visitor to the home died only a few weeks after Corinne.

When I read that Corinne had been ill with the cold and then later seemed to be a little better only with slight fever, I started wondering if maybe she had got a slight bronchitis or pneumonia. The only reason I mention this is because two years ago around late December, I had been ill with a cold. I thought I had recovered, but slowly I grew more tired. I didn’t have a fever and if I did, it was slight. I suffered from a sore throat though, so I decided to see the doctor. They told me, to my surprise, that they wanted me to get a chest X-ray, so I agreed. It turned out that I had “walking pneumonia” and had no idea. Within days though, I took a turn for the worse and nearly died.  I was so ill that I had to move in with my mother for weeks. She cared for me and slept by my side, often wondering if I would stop breathing in my sleep. Thankfully, I recovered.

When I read Corinne’s mother’s words, I thought of my own experience and wondered if maybe Corinne’s cold had turned into something far worse, thus the reason her mother stopped writing about Corrine’s illness and referring it to the “days of darkness.”  Perhaps Corinne took a turn for the worse, just as I had. When I was ill, I had antibiotics and still I almost died. I can imagine if I had been sick while living during that time period of 1877, I would have been a ‘goner’ for sure.

Again, it is quite possible given the recorded amount of deaths caused by the Yellow Fever in the state just months prior and the fact that Wallace Cummings died shortly thereafter, that both their deaths may have been caused by that very same Yellow Fever epidemic, so we may never know for sure which illness caused her death. But we do know that illness took her life, not suicide.

Corinne's mother, Sarah even wrote in her diary the moment her daughter took her last breath, at 7:40 a.m. on January 24, 1877. Had Corinne drowned herself as the urban legends tell, then how on earth would her mother know the last moment of her daughter’s life?  Recorded in a preserved letter from a friend of the Lawton family, Mr. Stuart Robinson mentions having had read the The Savannah Morning News (January 25, 1877) which posted her short obituary, where it states that Corinne had died after a "short illness."


In Conclusion

I think that with the tales of “romantic tragedies” or “star crossed lovers” that cannot be, that people become so fascinated with it that it becomes larger than life. The tales and rumors then spread for over 100 years making it hard to decipher between the factual part and the fictional parts.  The rumors of  a young, beautiful southern bride-to-be who jumps to her death into a raging river, to escape an eminent and miserable marriage proved to be just that, a rumor! There are no historical facts backing these over embellished tales.

Corinne's monument (P-415/10)
Wilson Library UNC

In the end, we should all be happy that this young lady did not take her own life. We should be glad that she was not mistreated by her family, nor was she forced to live an unhappy life with a man she didn’t love. If that was the case, she would have been married off by her family at a younger age. No, certainly her parents loved Corinne so deeply that they never shunned her in life, nor in death and even erected a statue made by one of the most sought after Sicilian sculptor's of the 19th Century which I am sure cost a small fortune, and placed it at her grave to honor her memory. Thus, showing the love and respect they had for their daughter. In fact, genealogy records prove that Corinne’s niece was named after her, showing how much the family adored her.

Her death was tragic and very sad, because of the fact that she died so young. It was even more tragic due to the fact it was caused by an illness she could not recover from. But, we should take heart in the fact that she died in bed, surrounded by her mother, her father and her loving family, instead of dying all alone in a dark watery grave at the bottom of the river as others have claimed she did. Corinne’s story is one that should be told over and over again, but told correctly. We should honor her memory by stating the true facts and by remembering her for the good person she was. We should also take delight in the fact that she and her immediate loved ones are all together now, resting in peace.

 Rest In Peace, Corinne. You are not forgotten!

Photo Credit: Historic Cemeteries - Mary Homick © 2011

To read more about Corinne's life and death, including never before seen photos and newly discovered information, purchase your copy of:  "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered."  

(Original Copyright 9/11/2013, by J'aime Rubio)
Also published in the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," by J'aime Rubio, 2016. 


To learn more about Corinne Elliot Lawton, please check out Ruth Rawl's blog. She is certainly dedicated to keeping the correct version of Corinne's life and death alive and available to set the record straight once and for all. Thank you Ruth, for your dedication to find the truth. You are a fellow truth seeker!


PHOTO CREDITS:

All historical photos were provided to me by Alexander Robert Lawton Papers, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Digital Southern Historical Collection: Series 6- circa 1860-1889
P-415/4, P-415/9, P-415/10, P-415/11
Thank you to Laura Clark Brown
Coordinator , Digital Southern Historical Collection

Cemetery Photos provided to me by Historic Cemeteries - Mary Homick © 2011

Thank you to Mary Homick @ Historic Cemeteries for allowing me to use her photos of Corinne's grave at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. To see more of Mary's absolutely amazing photography please check her out on facebook.

Yellow Fever Epidemic (1876) Savannah Georgia-  Information  -kristinekstevens.com

Sarah Lawton's diary is available at the Georgia Historical Society at: 501 Whitaker St  Savannah, GA

The Alexander Lawton Papers,  as well as many other documents regarding the Lawton family can also be obtained by Chapel Hill's Wilson Library (University of North Carolina).

Taken To The Grave - A Sacramento Mystery

Alice Louisa Curtis' grave

Over 110 years ago, lived a young, beautiful and ambitious young lady named Alice Louisa Curtis. In 1902, she was 25 years of age and in the prime of her young adult life when her life was taken, far too soon.  The secrets as to why or how exactly she died have been shrouded in mystery still to this day.

Alice was the daughter of William Roland Curtis Sr. and wife Susan Potter Curtis, of Oak Park. The Curtis' were originally from Massachusetts, arriving in Sacramento in 1852. Within two years time, Curtis had taken over his brother's homestead. Later after acquiring even more land, Mr. Curtis eventually donated some of the south-eastern portion of it to the city, naming it "Curtis Park."

In 1893, William Curtis, a devout Republican, was elected as a County Supervisor where he served for nearly eight years. The last two years of his service on the Board of Supervisor's he was elected Chairman.

William R. Curtis, Sr.

Curtis had five children, a son William Roland Curtis, Jr. , another son Frank (who died from a childhood illness) and three daughters, Carrie, Alice and Edna.  Their oldest child, William Roland died at the young age of 17 on August 23, 1880 from a scything accident on the farm, to which he unfortunately bled to death. I was able to find his death notice via the archived newspapers (Sacramento Daily Record Union, 8/24/1880).

The younger children were Carrie M. Curtis (Born 1865)  Alice Louisa Curtis (Born 1876) and the baby, Edna Curtis (born in 1884). In 1892, on December 26th, Carrie M. Curtis, the elder of the two daughters, married George Cutter.  George H. Cutter was one of the leaders of establishing the fruit growing industry in Sacramento, even becoming the President of the California Fruit Exchange for 20 years.

As far as Alice, she was one of the youngest and certainly, "Daddy's Little Girl."  Nothing was withheld from Alice due to growing up in such a prestigious family. Certainly, being among the youngest of the children was to her advantage during her young life.  It was stated that her father always made sure that she had "all the comforts money could procure."  So then that leads us to ask ourselves, why would this terrible tragedy have occurred at all?

Alice Curtis (c/o Dan Murphy)

THE MYSTERY

When I first learned of this story, a friend of mine had mentioned it to me. You see, both he and I share a similar passion for uncovering the truth about the lives and deaths of people who have long since passed on. Just as I go from cemetery to cemetery to stumble upon interesting stories and tales to research, he does as well.  I guess many years ago, he had found Alice's grave at the Historic Sacramento City Cemetery located at 1000 Broadway, in Sacramento. He then looked into the archives there and found some interesting information.

According to him, he found information that stated that Alice had been shot in the stomach, later dying. Speculation had spread that she had been involved in a secret relationship with a man that her father did not approve of. In fact, this man was someone her father despised. In fact, according to the Sacramento Bee, dated August 21st, 1902 states, "From one source the story has gone out that the reason for the opposition was that the young man had opposed Mr. Curtis in a political campaign, but those intimately acquainted with the Curtis family assert that this is not true and that all Mr. Curtis would exact from any applicant for a daughter's hand was that he should be of good and industrious character and able to support a wife as soon as he should assume the marriage obligation." 

Regardless of the story of her forbidden love, somehow Alice ended up shot and later died. My friend came to me wondering what else I could find out about this young woman, and I certainly was up for the task.

THE STORY

On August 19th, 1902 Alice Louisa Curtis was found at home with a wound to her chest, having been shot with a revolver. She was conscious when she was found, claiming that she alone had inflicted the wound by attempting to shoot herself in the heart. Unfortunately for her, the bullet passed through her breast and penetrated her left lung, completely missing her heart. Instead of a sudden death, she lingered for 3 days until finally dying.

Top: Alice Curtis, Below: The Curtis' Ranch House

Now during those three days, several people questioned her as to why or what exactly happened. She vowed she would never reveal why she did it, but continued to take the blame for her attempted suicide.

The San Francisco Call dated August 20th reads:

“ Attempts To End Life Of Promise” – Talented Young Woman in Sacramento at Death’s Door

“Sacramento, August 19- Alice Curtis, 25 years of age, the handsome and talented daughter of ex-Supervisor William Curtis shot herself in the left breast at a late hour this afternoon and is in a precarious condition. The Curtis family occupies a beautiful country home about a mile beyond the city limits. Mr. Curtis owns broad acres and he has been able to provide for his family all the comforts money can procure. Miss Curtis, still conscious, admits that she inflicted the wound, but gives no explanation for it, and the only theory that has been assigned is that she committed to the act while in a fit of melancholia due to a slight illness.

By all of her neighbors Miss Curtis is held in the highest regard and they are praying that she may be saved from death. But little is known concerning the details of the sad occurrence, the family being almost as completely mystified as are outsiders.

Miss Curtis was about her duties as usual this morning and seemed in ordinary health. She visited the home of a relative and there procured a revolver. Returning to her home, she placed the pistol against her heart, as she supposed, and fired. The bullet penetrated the lung, but did not touch the heart. Medical and surgical aid was promptly summoned and the patient made as comfortable as possible. She admitted the act, but gave no other reason than that she wanted to die.

Miss Curtis is a graduate of the Sacramento High School and a young woman of refinement, devoted to literary and musical studies. It is not known that she had any love affair, and as her relations with the rest of the family were of the happiest, today’s tragedy is all the more inexplicable.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

(August 21, 1902 San Francisco Call)

“Love Affair May Be Back Of The Tragedy”

Sacramento, Aug 20.- 

"Miss Alice Curtis, the handsome young daughter of  ex- Supervisor William Curtis, who shot herself yesterday afternoon, the bullet piercing her left lung, remains in a critical condition. It is still impossible to foretell the outcome. She is conscious, and it is said she has given no explanation of her attempt to take her life.

It appears to be the belief of many acquaintances of the young woman that a love episode had entered into her life, and that she grew despondent when her father, to whom she is greatly devoted and whose business affairs she manages, opposed the proposed match.

It is said that Miss Curtis formed the acquaintance of a young man living at Oak Grove and that a warm attachment followed. This her father did not favor owing to the fact that the young man gave no promise of ability to support a wife."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

(August 22, 1902 – San Francisco Call)

“Takes Her Secret To The Grave”

Sacramento, Aug. 21-

 "Miss Alice Curtis passed away at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Curtis, early this morning as a result of a self-inflicted bullet wound. The young woman died without revealing the cause of her act.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why did Alice choose to end her young life?

Did she really shoot herself?   

Or was she covering for someone? 

Love @ Turn of the Century

One more thing to think about was that her body was not examined by doctors in Sacramento, but instead William Curtis had her body brought to San Francisco to be cremated before being brought back to Sacramento and buried in the family plot.  Now, if you think about that for a moment, why wouldn't a prestigious man like Curtis allow the local doctors to examine his daughter post-mortem or furthermore cremate her there? Well, one question that arose was that perhaps they would have noticed her in a delicate condition? Remember, it was 1902 and that could have brought reproach upon the entire family. Rumors spread around town like wildfire that she had been in an illicit affair with a man from Oak Grove, one whom her father did not approve of.

Now to me, if that was the case, that changes everything. Imagine what her father may have felt or wanted to do to that man had he learned of her condition and the fact that the man had not "made a promise to support a wife." In other words, the guy didn't want to marry her. Could Alice have tried to end the eminent shame she knew she would bring upon her family name, had she gone on with life and had a child out of wedlock? Could her father have been mad enough to attempt to shoot the man who had violated his daughter's virtue? What if Alice had jumped in front of her lover and took the bullet herself, continuing to preserve the truth of what really happened that afternoon all the way up to her last breath? For the record, I am not accusing that William Curtis did anything of the sort, this is just a simple theory.

Could it be that she was just so heartbroken that she was not able to be with the man she loved, that she felt that she had nothing left to live for? Or worse yet- what if the man she loved had no desire to make a life with her? Could that have brought on this 'melancholia' that the doctors diagnosed her with?

William Roland Curtis was never the same after Alice's death, only 5 years later he died at the age of 75 on January 27, 1907 (via The Sacramento Bee, 1/28/1907). His wife Susan also passed away 4 years after the death of Alice. I am sure it killed him inside knowing that he was unable to save his daughter, despite all the doctors he had dispatched to care for her during those painstaking last 3 days of her life.

For the record, we do not know for sure if Alice was pregnant or not, that is just another possible theory.  The only other possible scenarios were that either she was so heartbroken of the fact she could not be with the man she loved, that she took her own life or she was accidentally shot and didn't want to say by whom.

Sadly, the true secret as to why Alice ended up with a bullet in her chest, later dying from such injuries, will be one that literally was taken to the grave with Alice. She and she alone holds the key to solving that mystery, a mystery we shall never truly solve.

No matter why, how or who truly pulled the trigger that hot August afternoon in 1902, let us never forget the story of Alice Louisa Curtis.

Alice's final resting place

TO READ MORE ABOUT ALICE'S LIFE AND DEATH, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER MYSTERIOUS AND BIZARRE TALES, PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY OF: "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered." Available now on Amazon!


(Original Copyright- 10/30/2012, J'aime Rubio)
Also published in the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio, 2016. 
www.jaimerubiowriter.com

SOURCES:
(2) PHOTOS: of Alice Curtis c/o Dan Murphy
Sacramento Bee, 1/28/1907
Sacramento Bee, 8/20/1902
Sacramento Bee, 8/21/1902
Sacramento Daily Record Union, 8/24/1880
San Francisco Call, 8/20/1902
San Francisco Call, 8/21/1902
San Francisco Call, 8/22/1902
Curtis Park House History
"Sacramento, Happenings in History's Spotlight"-
Sacramento Bee via Pete Basofin (4/8/2012)

A BIG THANK YOU TO:
Find A Grave (website) via Roland Boulware, contributor/freelance photographer
Thank you Sacramento City Cemetery, Archives (and the lovely ladies who work there!)
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Clover Bottom Massacre, 1783 - West Virginia History

Bluestone River

In the next two articles I will speak of some of the atrocious events that took place in U.S. History near where my ancestors settled in the region along the borders of West Virginia and Virginia in the late 1700s. This first article will cover the infamous Clover Bottom Massacre of 1783.

Before I begin, I must tell you this event was not a random occurrence. In fact, it is quite the contrary. Upon my research into these stories I have found dozens of accounts in the general area and vicinity during that time period that showed the native people in the surrounding areas were vicious and brutal, often attacking women and children while they were alone, and showing absolutely no mercy whatsoever.  This particular story is to tell you a true historical account, so you can see for yourself what life must have been like for a white settler in the new land we now know as the United States, and all the dangers they faced, lurking literally around every corner. 

Massacre at Clover Bottom-

Mitchell Clay House

In April of 1774, Mitchell Clay obtained a Crown Grant from Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, for 803 acres of land which covered both sides of the Bluestone River (a tributary of New River) named Clover Bottom, West Virginia. Within the next year, he, his wife and children moved onto the land and started cultivating it and living off of it, creating their homestead which was the first white settlement within Mercer County. The Clay family made for themselves a prosperous farm, which contained a field for livestock, a tobacco field, wheat field, orchard and kitchen garden as well as their home which they built. 

In August of 1783, after Clay had harvested his grain crop, he and his sons had started to build fences around the stacks of grain to keep the livestock from reaching it while they wandered the fields. Clay delegated the job to build the fences to his teenage sons Ezekiel and Bartley.  On a day when Clay had gone hunting, he never imagined what he would find when he returned that evening.

While Bartley and Ezekiel were busy at work, building the fences, their sisters were washing on the banks of the river and their mom and younger children were inside the house. At some point, eleven Indians crept up on the two young men and suddenly the sound of a gunshot echoed through the area. Bartley had been shot and killed by one of the Shawnee encroaching on the farm. The girls heard the shot and immediately headed towards the house, literally running into the Shawnee on the property. One of the older daughters, Tabitha, saw one of the Indians attempting to scalp her brother Bartley, so she attacked him, attempting to reach for his knife. She struggled viciously, eventually losing the fight and succumbing to several stab wounds from the assailant. 

During the fight, a man whose name lived in infamy for many generations, Liggon Blankenship had called on the Clay household and witnessed the attack from the side of the house. Mrs. Clay begged him to get involved to save her children who were being attacked, but instead he turned around and fled to the nearest settlements at New River to report that the Clay family had all been attacked and killed by Indians. Needless to say, his name was tarnished for quite some time as a coward.

Indian Raid on Settlement Woodcut

The Shawnee scalped Tabitha and Bartley, while capturing Ezekiel and taking him alive as their prisoner back into the woods from which they came.  Mrs. Clay, distraught and in shock managed to pull her two children’s lifeless bodies from outside, into the home and then she and the younger children fled on foot, six miles to the Bailey settlement to seek assistance. When Mr. Clay made it home and discovered his two children’s lifeless bodies, he assumed that his entire family had been killed or captured. He fled off into the night through the woods, heading for the settlements at New River to get help. During his travel in the woods, he ascertained that the Shawnee were following him on horses they had stolen. He managed to evade them until the morning when he finally reached Captain Matthew Farley who rounded up a posse of men: Mitchell Clay, Charles Clay, Mitchell Clay, Jr., James Bailey (son of Richard Peyton Bailey), William Wiley, Edward Hale, Joseph Hare, Isaac Cole, John French and Captain James Moore who all went up to the Clay property to view the gory scene and plan their next move against the Shawnee.

Apparently, upon leaving the Clay property, the Shawnee broke off into two groups, both travelling two different paths. One group of Shawnee went down the west fork of the Coal River over Cherry Pond Mountain, while the other group travelled down the Pond fork of the river on the other side of the mountain. The posse of men followed the trail that led them to the group of Shawnee at the Pond fork where they were able to surround them in the night. The group decided to wait until the break of dawn’s first light to attack the natives, making sure they had the upper hand with men above and below them on the hill. As soon as one of the natives awoke in the morning, he spotted Edward Hale and before he could warn the rest of the Shawnee, Edward shot him dead, awaking the rest of them.

During the attack, two of the Indians were killed immediately while another was wounded. He begged for his life to be spared, but seeing that Ezekiel was not among the group, and realizing they had split up, Charles Clay (who was only about 12 years old at the time) killed the Indian for what happened to his siblings. According to author, David Emmons Johnston, he stated that the location in which this attack took place on the fork of the Pond River is in a location in Boone County, off the old property of L.D. Coon who found a pile of rocks with a piece of an Indian hatchet in the general area. Because of the brutality of the deaths of the Clay children, Edward Hale and William Wiley took from the dead Indian’s, strips of their hides, which they turned into razor straps and kept in their family possession for generations as a battle souvenir. 

Unfortunately, because the natives split up in two groups, the other group that evaded Mitchell Clay and his posse, made it all the way to Chillicothe, Ohio, with their prisoner, Ezekiel Clay whom they tortured and burned at the stake. Sadly, another one of the Clay children had perished at the hands of the native people who attacked them.

After the brutal attack on their homestead, Phoebe Belcher (who was the sister of Richard Peyton Bailey’s wife, Elizabeth Ann Belcher, who happens to be my gr-gr-gr-gr-gr grandmother), refused to return to the Clay farm and insisted to move to Pearisburg to be near her oldest daughter Rebecca. She never stepped foot on the property again for the rest of her life.

Agony In Stone (photo: Ed Elam)

This tale is just one of many tales of brutal attacks against defenseless families on their homestead by the Shawnee. Was this attack, in the Shawnees mind, a way of the native people getting back at the people for the “Dunmore’s War” that had taken place just years before? Well, even if that was their reasoning for justifying it, it wasn’t right they attacked innocent women and children, period. In history, there are brutal stories from both sides, and we need to be willing to see and accept that. The white man was not the only one to blame for vicious and blatant attacks on human beings. In fact, historical record worldwide shows that every single culture is guilty of violence in the name of spreading out over land. It was certainly not the first case, nor would it be the last.

It is a shame that stories like these are swept under the rug and erased from history, due to the fact that people are so afraid to offend the Native Americans of their imperfect past. They are just as guilty as the Europeans of violence and brutality, many times even to one another as well. Again my friends, as I always say “People hate the truth, luckily the truth doesn’t care.” When it comes to history, let us always remember the whole truths, not just half-truths of our Country’s past. Again, whether good or bad, the truth must always be told.

A statue in honor of Mitchell and Phoebe (Belcher) Clay was erected outside of the Mercer County Courthouse in West Virginia. The statue is called “Agony In Stone” and was dedicated to the memory of the three children the Clay family lost that August day in 1783.

Rest in Peace, Bartley Clay, Tabitha Clay and Ezekiel Clay, and the rest of the Clay family including Mitchell and his wife Phoebe. You are never forgotten!

(Copyright 1/9/2014 - Republished 3/28/2018)  J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com  

Sources:

Kentucky Clay: Eleven Generations of a Southern Dynasty

By Katherine R Bateman

A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory

By David Emmons Johnston

U.S. Government War Archives

Familypedia

Photos:

"Agony In Stone"-Findagrave , Ed Elam

Bluestone River, Wikipedia (Creative Commons License)

Indian Raid on Settlement Woodcut, U.S. History (Public Domain)

Mitchell Clay House, (from "A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory)