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Thu, 21 Dec 2017 07:25:31 -0500 |
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From mid-April, 1885 through the end of a trial in December, 1885, Elmira
was the center of a sensational grave-robbery scandal. It received
extensive newspaper coverage. I'm wondering if a mention of it ever worked
its way into Twain's writings or letters.
In April, Mrs. Eusebia Fitzgerald of San Francisco arrived in town with
her hired private detective, and convinced the Elmira coroner and Woodlawn
cemetery commissioner that General William Irvine had been buried in a
family plot after having been murdered by his wife. Irvine had been living
in San Francisco separated from his wife for 17 years, but she came two
visit, and soon afterwards Irvine died. Mrs. Fitzgerald was his longtime
mistress, and because no will was found and Irvine had made her many
promises, she suspected his wife had killed him to gain all his property.
Mrs. Fitzgerald came armed with an affidavit from a San Francisco doctor
indicating that Irvine's body showed signs of head trauma and poisoning.
The coroner (without a court order) exhumed Irvine's body and retrieved
the stomach, lungs, and liver. The casket pillow was searched for the
missing will. Irvine's family discovered the desecration and had Mrs.
Fitzgerald arrested. No poison was ever found in the organs, and Mrs.
Fitzgerald was exposed as having a history as one of the most notorious
blackmailers of her age. She was found guilty in December and was sent to
prison for two years.
Jerry Kuntz
Warwick New York
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