DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ - Martha Edgington

My father used to have a saying, "Don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see."  Like most of our parents' sayings, there is some truth to this.  For this month's story we are going to travel all the way to Compton, California, to the Angeles Abbey Mausoleum Park, to hear the story of the murder of Martha Edgington while she was visiting her daughter's crypt. 

Here is the story from the Long Beach (CA) Independent of August 3, 1976:

A horrible story, to be sure.  But even worse are all the factual errors in the newspaper account - even the name of the victim is incorrect.  Unfortunately once incorrect information gets out on the internet it is there forever, and almost impossible to correct.  But I will attempt to correct the errors and tell the story of the murder of Martha Edgington correctly.  

Before we look at the life and death of Martha Edgington, I want to tell you some information about where the murder took place - Angeles Abbey - a collection of free-standing mausoleums in Compton, California.  I have been fascinated by Angeles Abbey ever since I first heard about it, and will ultimately tell its entire story in a future blog post.   

The concept of a park of free-standing mausoleums was originally thought up by noted Long Beach, California ship builder (and my distant cousin) George L. Craig (not George Clegg as is reported all over the internet).  There is a story that Craig sent architects through India and the Middle East to gain inspiration for the design of his mausoleums.  This story is probably apocryphal, but we do know that he hired Long Beach architect Hugh R. Davies who reported that he got his inspiration for buildings of Moorish splendor during a trip to Spain and North Africa.   

The Long Beach (CA) Telegram from July 14, 1923 announced the completion of the first unit in what was named "The Mausoleum Park."  Its corporate entity, Mausoleum Park, Inc. had purchased ten acres at Compton Corner, one block east of Long Beach Boulevard, and had as its motto "For Those Who Care."  

The 1920s were booming all over the United States and Compton California was no exception.  Units in the completed mausoleums were sold almost as quickly as they could be built.  Craig proudly proclaimed that "as far as he knew" his were the only mausoleums in the country not connected to or affiliated with a cemetery.  The original plan was for eighteen mausoleum buildings, but only eight mausoleums would ultimately be built, the most famous being the "Abbey of the Angelus" which Craig had built to house Jean Francis Millet's famous painting of "The Angelus" reproduced in Art Glass.

The Abbey of the Angelus

The Memorial Chapel with pipe organ upstairs

Jean Francis Millet's THE ANGELUS in Art Glass

Now that I've told you a little bit about Angeles Abbey, let's see what we can dig up about the woman who was tragically murdered there.

Martha Ernestena Mittelstedt was born November 15, 1897 in Anaheim, California to Ferdinand Edmond "Fred" Mittelstedt (1866-1951) and his wife Louise Ernestine Hennig (1874-1961).  Fred Mittelstedt had originally been born in Russia/Poland but came to the US in 1890.  On census forms he listed his occupation as "miller," but he was employed as a street sweeper for the City of Long Beach, California.  

Fred and Louise Mittelstedt had six children:  Esther (1894-1932) [Mrs. Albert J. Brant], Martha (1897-1976), Freda (1900-1981) [Mrs. Hjalmer J. Johnson], Arthur John (1903-1999), William Fred (1906-1965) and Helen Louise (1916-2003) [Mrs. Marvin E. Ward].  

It does not appear that the Mittelstedts participated in the 1900 US Census, so Martha Mittelstedt didn't make her appearance until the 1910 US Census.  The Mittelstedt family was living at 429 Lime Street in Long Beach, California.  Modern apartments occupy that spot today.  The family consisted of  Frederick E. Mittelstedt (43 years old), his wife Louise (37), and children:  Esther (15), Martha (12), Frieda (9), Arthur (7), and William (4).  Living with them was Fred's brother John (31) who was working in a lumber yard.

On May 14, 1918 Martha E. Mittelstedt married Timothy Allan Larry (called "Allan") (1898-1987) in Los Angeles, California.  The bride was twenty years old; the groom was nineteen.  Allan was employed as a boiler maker for one of the Long Beach ship builders.  

Martha and Allan welcomed their first child, a daughter on May 8, 1919 in Long Beach.  They named her Barbara Alice Larry (1919-1988).  here is the announcement from the Long Beach (CA) Press of  May 08, 1919:

By the 1920 US Census Martha and Barbara were living with Martha's parents in Long Beach - at 427 Linden.  A parking lot occupies that parcel today.  The family consisted of Fred (54) who reported his occupation as "Teamster for the City."  With his was his wife Louise (48) and children Arthur (16), William (14) and Helen (3).  As mentioned Martha (22) and her daughter Barbara A. Larry were living with Martha's parents.  

History does not record why Allan was not living with his wife and daughter at the time of the 1920 census but any problems must have been resolved because their second daughter Margaret Louise Larry (1925-1962) was born in Alameda on April 8, 1925. 

However, all was not well with the Larry Family.  The 1928 City Directory for the City of Long Beach shows that Martha has started using her maiden name again and has moved back in with her parents. 

The separation must have been temporary however because the 1930 US Census shows Martha back with the Larry family living at 461 1/2 Twenty-seventh in Los Angeles.  Allan Larry was now a Foreman with the Gas Company.  

Martha was working in the home, taking care of their two daughters.

In 1932 the Larry family moved to Alhambra: 206 E. Graves Avenue.  A series of multi-family homes was built on this spot in 1961.

By 1935, Martha and Allan Larry had divorced and Allan had remarried.  The re-constituted Allan Larry Family was living in Eagle Rock, California.  It consisted of  Allan, his new wife May, Larry's daughter Margaret, and May's two children, Nancy and Harry Whitney.

When she registered to vote (Democrat) in 1936 Martha used the name Martha Larry.  She gave her occupation as "Waitress" and her address as 210 E. Graves Avenue in Monterey Park.  A modern apartment building occupies that spot today.   

On September 11, 1938, Martha's daughter Barbara Alice Larry married Ralph Henry Pejsa (1915-1967) in Santa Ana, California.    

By the 1940 US Census the re-constituted Allan Larry family was living in Pasadena.  Martha, now on her own, reverted to using her maiden name, Martha Mittelstedt and did not appear to have participated in the 1940 census.

By 1942 Martha had remarried - to Jesse Leigh Edgington (1875-1955).  He and Martha registered to vote together - she as a Democrat, he as a Republican.  They lived at 2613 Del Mar Avenue, in Rosemead, California.  I'm sure the difference in politics made for some spirited pillow talk.

I was unable to find out how long Martha and Jesse were married, but when he died in 1955 Martha was not still his wife - the wife he had then was named Ruth.

Martha's youngest daughter Margaret Louise died on January 30, 1970 in Los Angeles.  I found records of her having been married at least three times.  One of her husbands had been a man with the last name of  Brown.  Even though the marriage did not last, Margaret liked his last name, so she kept it - going by the name of Margaret Louise Brown.  She was not married when she died, so her parents and sister Barbara made the decision to inter her at Angeles Abbey.  She was interred in the Abbey of the Angelus on the mezzanine level:

                                             Photo courtesy of Find a Grave volunteer mns

                                                              

Although her crypt plate refers to her as "Beloved Mother," I was not able to find any record of her having had any children.  Perhaps they were step-children.  Strangely it does not refer to her as "Sister."

So that brings us up to 1976 when her Mother was so tragically murdered visiting her crypt.  As I stated at the beginning of this article, much of what was reported in the newspaper was incorrect, so let's take a look at the article and see what mistakes were made:

"The body of a 76-year-old Rosemead woman who had apparently been beaten to death several days earlier was found Monday is a secluded area of a Compton mausoleum."

Just the next day newspapers reported that she had been dead only two hours when found, not "several days." 

"Compton Sgt. Robert Stover said the body of Martha Eddington of 7852 Graves ave. was found..."

Her name was Martha EDGINGTON not "Eddington."

"Philip A. Sonntag, president and owner of Angeles Abbey, said none of the employees saw Mrs. Eddington (sic) enter the stately mausoleum, which houses the crypts of her late husband, daughter and son-in-law."

Martha had two husbands, T. Allan Larry and Jesse Edgington.  Neither is interred at Angeles Abbey.  T. Allan Larry died in 1987 and is buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana.  Jesse Edgington died in 1955 and is buried in the San Gabriel Cemetery in San Gabriel.

"He (Sonntag) said Mrs. Eddington's (sic) body had been found in such an area, adjacent to the room holding the crypts of her daughter and son in law.  

I was always confused by the reference to her "daughter and son-in-law."  I knew from other articles that her daughter was "Margaret Brown" and her son-in-law was "Ralph Pejsa."  How could Margaret Brown be Mrs. Ralph Pejsa?  And if she was, why didn't her crypt say "Margaret Pejsa" instead of "Margaret Brown?"  It was not until I started the research for this article that I found that Martha had two daughters: Margaret and Barbara and that it was Barbara who was married to Ralph Pejsa, not Margaret.     

The other Eddington (sic) crypt is in a corridor in the same area, he said.

There is no "other" Eddington (sic) crypt.  He may be referring to the crypt Martha Edgington purchased for herself, because there are no other Edgingtons interred at Angeles Abbey.  There is a Calvin Eddington (1911-1931) who is interred at Angeles Abbey but he is not related.

Lastly, I read in an article that subsequent to the murder, the bodies of Martha Eddington (sic), her daughter and son-in-law were all removed from Angeles Abbey and reinterred elsewhere.  Not surprisingly, this is not entirely correct.  In 1977, Barbara Larry Pejsa purchased three crypts at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills and April 20, 1977 she had her mother's and her husband's bodies removed from Angeles Abbey and re-interred at Forest Lawn.  Her sister Margaret Brown remains at Angeles Abbey to this day.  Barbara joined her late mother and late husband at Forest Lawn when she died in 1988.

                                                 Photos courtesy of Find a Grave volunteer Linda Carole Mustion

On September 05, 1976, jiust one month after Martha Edgington's murder, the Long Beach (CA) Independent Press-Telegram newspaper offered a $2,000.00 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer of Martha Edgington (and they spelled her name correctly):

To the best of my knowledge, the murder of Martha Edgington has never been solved, and her murderer has never been caught.  To this day, all of the mausoleums at Angeles Abbey are locked at all times, and visitors must be let in by a member of the staff. 

Martha Edgington, Margaret Larry Brown, Ralph Pejsa and Barbara Larry Pejsa - may they rest in peace.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As an aside:  For years I have been trying to find a copy of this brochure about Angeles Abbey:

There was a copy on ebay years ago before I knew anything about Angeles Abbey but nothing recently as far as I know.  IF YOU HAVE A COPY you would be willing to part with, I will pay you top dollar.  You can contact me at jwcraig11@comcast.net

Thanks~~~

WOMAN ENDS LIFE AS SON, 8, SLEEPS - Florence Hill Cuneo Von Puttkamer

This blog has been around since September of 2011.  To date I have published 271 stories about people I considered to be interesting.  One of the first stories I ever wrote for this blog was published September 27, 2011:

https://undereverytombstone.blogspot.com/2011/09/woman-ends-life-as-son-8-sleeps.html

It told the story of Florence Hill who committed suicide while her young son slept in the next room.  This is the only story I have published to date that received a negative comment.  In July of 2012 I received the following comment from someone who purported to be a member of the family:

Going through graveyards and finding the tragic stories and pulling the corresponding newspaper articles-I have them all...can hardly describe the story or tragedy of all of this. I am in the process of writing a book about the real story, and one no family would want to have been part of.

It is now almost ten years later, and to the best of my knowledge the book has not been published.  Therefore I have decided to take another look at the story that I titled "Woman Ends Life as Son, 8, Sleeps" 

Florence B. Hill was born in 1886 in Chicago, Illinois - the only child of George Melvin Hill (1862-1917) and Georgiana Beattie Hill (1862-1932).  George M. Hill was president of the Hill Binding Company, and for years prominent in the book business.

Fourteen year old Florence shows up in the 1900 US Census, living with her parents at 107 Florence Avenue in Chicago (now 2738 N. Dayton Street).  Modern townhouses occupy that spot today.  Her parents were thirty-seven year old George, and thirty-five year old Georgie.  They has been married for sixteen years and had one child.  George was a "Book Publisher," no occupation was listed for Georgiana, and Florence was "At School."

You have all heard the old saying that a "lady" only has her name in the newspapers three times in her life:  when she is born, when she marries, and when she passes away.  This could not be said about Florence Hill when her name was splashed all over the newspapers in January of 1905.  What was her "crime?"  She ran away and got married - to Mr. John Cuneo (1884-1977), son of "fruit dealer" Frank Cuneo (1861-1942) and his wife Amelia (1864-1891).

Here's what the Chicago Tribune had to say about it on January 13, 1905:

'ELOPE? NO,' CRIES GROOM.

John F. Cuneo Returns with Bride and Her Father.

 Young Son of Fruit Dealer Comes Back Under Partial Duress and Declares He is 22 Years Old - Couple will Live at Hotel for a Time - Parent of the Runaway Asserts That Youth Must Shift for Himself Hereafter - May Go To See Him.

----------

Elopement-(D. Ontloopen, to run away; to leap); a running away; an escape; private or unlicensed departure from a place or station; specifically applied to the running away of a man or woman. married or unmarried, with a lover, in defiance of duty or social restraints.

"Love and ELOPE, as modern ladies do." - Cawthorn. - Century Dictionary.

----------

"This was not an elopement." declared John F. Cuneo, as he alighted from a train from Pittsburg in the Union depot late yesterday afternoon.  "The newspapers have been exploiting our - our little affair as an elopement, and I tell you it's nothing of the kind.

"We were married Tuesday afternoon by Father O'Meara at the parish residence of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, and then we took a train for the east."  Then he added, after a pause: "And now we are back.  It wasn't an elopement."

"But the dictionary-----"

"Hang the dictionary! I tell you we didn't elope."

Bride's Father Is His Escort.

"Just married," the young son of Frank Cuneo, the fruit dealer, came back to Chicago under partial duress, accompanied by his bride, Florence Hill Cuneo, 19 years old, and her father, George M. Hill, president of the Hill Publishing company.  They went at once to the Hill residence, 107 Florence avenue.

After he had disposed of the application of the word "elopement" to his case, young Cuneo went on:

"Then the papers have been making me out to be but 20 years old.  I tell you I'm 22, and old enough to marry if I want to."

The bride had nothing to say, but Mr. Hill interposed:

"No, it wasn't an elopement.  The young people just took it into their heads to get married, so they were married.  That's all.  Mr. Cuneo will not have to worry about his future.  I am in business myself, you know.  They will live at the Auditorium Annex until they begin housekeeping."

Says Son Must "Pay the Piper."

"John is 20 years old." said his father last night.  "If he wasn't, how could I have caused him to be detained by the Pittsburg police?  Detective Bock carried a copy of a birth certificate with him when he went east.

"If they want to live at the annex, they are at liberty to do so, if they can pay the piper.  As far as I am concerned, my son will have to work out his own salvation.  I have been trying to give him a good education at Yale and I had high hopes for him.  Perhaps this will be a good thing for him."

"Now that they are married, I don't like to kick. but I blame Father O'Meara, who married them.  Father O'Meara told me himself this afternoon that my son admitted that I was opposed to the marriage, but he said 'I thought it was a shame to prevent them from marrying; they were such a nice-looking couple.'

Does Not Know Bride.

"I don't know whether I'll see John tonight or not, but if I do we will have a heart to heart talk that perhaps will teach him something.  I have no objection to his wife, because I do not know her."

The couple had not appeared at the Auditorium Annex late last night.

The tale was not over yet.  This is from the Chicago Tribune the next day, January 14, 1905:

CUNEO ELOPEMENT TO GO BEFORE THE ARCHBISHOP

Father of Young Groom Threatens to Have Priest Punished for Performing the Marriage Ceremony.

Although he has forgiven his son, Frank Cuneo, the wealthy wholesale fruit dealer is still vexed with the action of the Rev. J. J. O'Meara of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, who last Tuesday married young Cuneo and Miss Florence Hill.  Mr. Cuneo said yesterday he would take the matter before Archbishop Quigley in an effore to have Father O'Meara reprimanded.

"The boy is married and that's all there is to it." said Mr. Cuneo, "but I'm not through with Father O'Meara.  He has virtually abrogated the canons of the church in being a party to the affair and I an going to see that he is disciplined."

Following are the points upon which Mr. Cuneo bases his contention that the priest should not have performed the ceremony:

1.  The bride was a non-Catholic

2.  Young Cuneo admitted to the priest that his family was opposed to the marriage.

3.  Cuneo family is well known in north side Roman Catholic circles, and if the marriage   had been contemplated and sanctioned in the usual way the fact would have been known    to Father O'Meara.

4.  The hasty nature of the marriage, together with various unusual circumstances connected with it, gave it every aspect of an elopement, which is virtually condemned by the church.

"It is most exasperating," declared Mr. Cuneo.  It is a case of sentiment blinding duty, and I propose to make complaint to Archbishop Quigley."

The young bride and groom are planning a three week honeymoon.  After that, young Cuneo will enter the employ of the Hill Publishing Company.

Things seemed to calm down after the initial uproar.   The 1910 US Census finds the couple living with Florence's parents, George and Georgiana Hill at 4124 Sheridan Road.  Apartments occupy that spot today but in 1910 this portion of Sheridan Road was lined with magnificent mansions.  The household consisted of George Hill and his wife Georgiana, John Cuneo and his wife Florence Hill Cuneo and two servants.  George Hill said he was president of a "Binding Company" but John Cuneo was now "President of a Fruit Company."  Looks like his family was willing to forgive him for the manner in which he married.  Remember, Florence's father said John would "enter the employ of the Hill Publishing Company."

Instead, according to his obituary, in 1907 John Cuneo borrowed $10,000 to start Cuneo Press, which went on to become one of the giants in commercial printing. 

1917 was a tragic year for Florence Hill Cuneo.  First was the fact that her father George Hill died on June 27, 1917.  He was fifty-four-years-old.  Here is his obituary from the Chicago Tribune from June 28, 1917:

and his Death Notice from the same day:

I'm sure that George Hill and his wife had seen advertisements for the new community mausoleum at Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery that had opened in September of 1916.  Perhaps they had even attended a funeral there.  At any rate, Georgiana Hill decided that a private family room at the Rosehill Mausoleum would be an appropriate memorial for her husband and the rest of the family.  Georgiana Hill had her husband interred in the room with his name over the door.  

The other tragedy for Florence Hill was that her divorce from John F. Cuneo was finalized in 1917.  Although everyone had said that their marriage wouldn't last, it actually lasted for twelve years.

John F. Cuneo remarried on June 24, 1930 to Julia Josephine Shepherd (1902-1990). In 1965 his personal fortune was estimated at more than $120 million.  He died in 1977 and is entombed in the largest family mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston:

The 1920 US Census finds the Hill Family (without John Cuneo) living at 966 Edgecomb Place (now 966 W. Cuyler) in Chicago.   

966 W. Cuyler, Chicago

 

Even though he had died in 1917, George Hill was listed on the 1920 Census form.  He is listed as "Head" of Household, his age listed as 55 (he would have been 58) and his occupation as "Manager of a Binding Company."  Georgiana and Florence do not list an occupation.  In addition to the three (!) Hills, there was also a live-in Irish maid.

On November 4, 1925, thirty-nine year old Florence Hill Cuneo married thirty-one year old Curt Von Puttkamer, a wealthy insurance broker.  Their son, Curt Hill Von Puttkamer was born June 19, 1926 in Chicago.    

Unfortunately by 1928 the marriage had fallen apart.  On March 27, 1928 the Associated Press reported:

CHILD IS HELD FOR RANSOM, WIFE SAYS

CHICAGO, March 26 - Mrs. Florence Von Puttkamer, estranged wife od Curt Von Puttkamer, wealthy insurance broker, today charged before Superior Judge Sabath that he husband is holding their 18-month-old son for ransom.

She testified she filed suit for divorce a week ago and that March 18 her husband took the child, Curt Hill Von Puttkamer, from a nurse on the street.  Police and private detectives have sought father and child without success.

Richard Von Puttkamer, father of the missing man, was summoned before Judge Sabath today (and) charged with conspiring to keep the child from its mother.  The mother said that in a conference with him, he told her that if she signed a quit-claim deed to property valued at $200,000 she would be able to see the child in a few minutes.

  

Florence Hill Cuneo and Curt Von Puttkamer were divorced May 21, 1929.  However, they were back in the news on December 31, 1929:

DIVORCE ATTACKED

Curt Von Puttkamer, insurance broker, yesterday filed a petition before Superior Judge Sabath to set aside the divorce decree granted to his former wife, Mrs. Florence Hill Cuneo von Puttkamer, 939 Lake Shore Drive.  The petition charges that the divorce, granted by the judge last May 21, was obtained on perjured testimony.

Mrs. von Puttkamer, former wife of John Cuneo, testified that her husband was continually drunk.  This evidence was supported by Mrs. Georgianna Hill, her mother, and a maid, Cornelia Hughes.  She also declared that Puttkamer had demanded $200,000 for the return of their child, Curt Jr., 2 years old, after kidnaping him.

In his petition Puttkamer declares the charges are false.  He insists that he was never served with a summons in the case or a copy of her pleadings.  He in turn charges his former wife was intoxicated at least twice a week.  the petition characterizes her as being of an aggressive nature and avers that she left her child in the care of servants.  The Puttkamers were married Sept. 15, 1927.

Sometime after her divorce from Curt Von Puttkamer was final, Florence, her mother and son moved to New York.  Perhaps she felt that it would be best for all concerned if she put some distance between her family and her ex-husband. 

Florence's mother, Georgiana Beattie Hill died in New York on September 27, 1932.  She was sixty-seven-years-old.  She was interred in the crypt above her husband in the Hill Family Room of the Rosehill Mausoleum:

Sadly, Florence Hill's story came to an end on September 12, 1935:

WOMAN ENDS LIFE AS SON, 8, SLEEPS

Mrs. Florence Hill, 50, Leaps From Her 5th Av. Apartment After Leaving Note to Boy.

She Had Large Fortune.

Ill, She Writes of ‘Agony’ in Messages – 

Divorced Husband to Fight for Custody of Lad.

Mrs. Florence B. Hill, 50 years old, reputed possessor of a fortune of $1,000,00 and daughter of the late George M. Hill, Chicago publisher, committed suicide early yesterday, the police said, by leaping from her ninth-floor apartment at 1212 Fifth Avenue, near 102nd Street, into a rear court-yard. 

1212 Fifth Avenue, New York City

Notes addressed to Curtis, her 8-year-old son, and to friends indicated that Mr. Hill had been despondent over illness.  The body was found at 5:30 A.M. by Fred Kearns, the building fireman.  An ambulance physician, summoned immediately said the woman had been dead several hours.

The boy, who was to return soon to his class at the Peekskill Military Academy was asleep in the three-room apartment when detectives of the East 104th Street station arrived.  Bewildered at the intrusion, he protested against being awakened.  He was told that his mother had become ill and had been taken to a hospital.

The police found the following note addressed to the boy:  “Oh, Curtis!  I am in such agony I can’t go on.  Please strive on always to be a fine young man, and the only way is to follow your Bible and seek your God.  I know this may seem strange to you, but mother is unable to write and tell you how much I am suffering.  So love and blessing, Mother.”

Another note was addressed to “Dear Anne Murch,” a friend living on the floor below in the same building.  It said:

“Will you take care of Curtis until my cousin, William Himmel, arrives?  There is a bag of jewelry in the silver pitcher in the dining room which is for my Aunt Nellie.  I am in such mental torture I can’t go on.  Much love to you.  Florence.”

Mr. Himmel, notified of his cousin’s death, arrived by plane from Chicago last night and immediately took charge of the funeral arrangements.  He said that burial would be in Rosehill Cemetery, in Chicago.

In other notes Mrs. Hill asked the police to communicate with Mrs. Harold Conover at the Hotel; Croydon and with Mrs. George H. Payne at 145 West Fifty-fifth Street, both friends.

Mrs. Murch was not reached and Mrs. Conover, who had known Mrs. Hill for twenty years, took the boy to her apartment.  She said her friend had passed August with relatives in Chicago and had returned last week.  A few days ago she visited a physician concerning her illness, from which she had been suffering for several months.  Mrs. Conover said Mrs. Hill might have been alarmed by the physician’s diagnosis of her condition.

The silver and boxes yielded more than 200 pieces of jewelry and twenty shares of stock.  Mrs. Conover said she believed the jewelry was worth about $25,000 and that Mrs. Hill had even more valuable jewelry in a safe deposit box.  The jewelry included watches, brooches, eighteen bracelets, fifty-five pairs of earrings, lockets, fifty-eight strings of beads, thirty-one rings and many other articles.

A legal fight over custody of the boy was indicated last night.  Mrs. Conover said she understood that Mr. Himmel was his guardian, but Chicago dispatched reported that Mrs. Hill’s second husband, Curt von Puttkamer, whom she divorced, intended to start legal proceedings to gain custody.

Asked about the likelihood of a suit for guardianship, Mr. Himmel said he knew nothing of Mr. von Puttkamer’s plans.  He would not comment on what action, if any, he contemplated to carry out the guardianship.

Mrs. Conover said her friend had inherited most of her fortune from her mother, who died about two years ago, when mother and daughter were living in Forest Hills.  Mrs. Hill came to this city five years ago.

Mrs. Hill sued Mr. Puttkamer for separate maintenance in 1928, charging he had abducted their son and had attempted to get $25,000 for his return.  Later Mrs. Hill won a divorce on the ground her husband was habitually drunk and she received custody of the boy.

Mr. Puttkamer announced through his attorney in Chicago yesterday that court action would be begun if Mr. Himmel insisted on keeping the boy.  Benjamin Ehrlich, the attorney, said that in addition to a $750,000 trust fund Mrs. Hill had real estate holdings that brought her fortune up to $1,000,000.

The Hill fortune was built up by George M. Hill, who conducted a publishing and advertising concern.  Mr. Himmel, who is the son of the aunt mentioned in the note to Mrs. Murch, is an officer of the White Book House, a Chicago publishing concern.

Mrs. Hill’s first marriage was with John Cuneo, millionaire head of the Cuneo Press.  When she divorced him in 1926 it was reported she received a substantial settlement, according to Chicago dispatches.

New York Times –Sep. 12, 1935

Florence Hill is interred above her parents in the Hill Family Room in the Rosehill Mausoleum.

 

Curt Von Puttkamer gave up trying to gain custody of his son in October of 1935.  He died in 1970 and is buried in the Von Puttkamer family plot in Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Illinois:

Curt Hill Von Puttkamer, Florence Hill's son was adopted and his name changed.  He passed away in 1972.

Florence Hill Cuneo Von Puttkamer, a troubled soul.  May she rest in peace.

BORN AT ROSEHILL CEMETERY - Nick Mayer

I was recently in the Research Room at the Evanston Historical Society (EHS) looking up some information for one of the stories I was writing for this blog.  I easily found what I was looking for and was in no hurry to leave, so I went to the EHS's Subject files and pulled the folder for Rosehill Cemetery.  True, Rosehill Cemetery is not in Evanston, but so many Evanstonians are buried there that the EHS started keeping a file on Rosehill.  There was a lot of interesting information in the folder, but one clipping caught my attention:

The article was from the Reader in 1987 and looked like a perfect story for this blog.  After all I had written many stories about Rosehill, and they were some of the most frequently read stories in this blog.  Many Chicagoans were familiar with the story of the late Helen Sclair, the "Cemetery Lady" who lived at Bohemian National Cemetery but this story seemed to be even better - a man who was born at Rosehill Cemetery and planned to die there.  So, sit back and let's see what we can "dig up" about Nick Mayer, starting with whether or not he was actually born at Rosehill.

Nickolaus Majer, Junior was born October 29, 1915 at 2152 Peterson Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Nickolaus Majer, Senior (1887-1961) and Justine Oklestek (1884-1977).  

Nick's father was born in Bararc, Hungary.  I was unable to verify exactly when he came to the US.  Nick's mother was born in Vienna, Austria and immigrated to the US on August 18, 1911.

Nickolaus Mayer and Justine Oklestek were married in Chicago on November 19, 1912.

Was Nick Mayer, Jr. actually born in Rosehill Cemetery?  Kind of.  In 1910 Nick's father took a job with Rosehill Cemetery and as part of his job he was given a simple frame house that sat next to the Park Addition Section of the cemetery.  That's the part of Rosehill that's along the north side of Peterson Avenue and contains nothing but flush grave markers that are set into the ground.  Nick Mayer was born in this house:

(Note:  While doing the research for this story I found many different spellings of the names.  Nick and his father were originally named "Nickolaus" and the last name was spelled "Majer," "Meier," "Meyer," and "Mayer."  To keep my sanity I will use the American spellings of first names and "Mayer" for the last name unless the source document shows something different.)

Nick Mayer had four siblings:  William (1914-mmmm), Robert O. (1919-1919), Margaret (1921-2012), and Julius Jack (1925-1986).  In the article for the Reader, Nick Mayer talked about the loss of his brother Robert who was born March 8, 1919 and died July 5, 1919.

He related to the interviewer that "Over by the Peterson Avenue fence," his brother lies in a mass grave that was dug with a bulldozer to accommodate victims of an influenza epidemic around 1920.

The 1920 US Census finds the Mayer family still living at 2152 W. Peterson Avenue.  The Head of Household "Nick Mayo" was twenty-four years old, and had been born in Hungary.  He immigrated in 1913 (sic); was a Resident Alien and could both read and write.  His Native Tongue was Hungarian.  He was a "Laborer in a Greenhouse," and his house was rented.  

His wife, "Christina Mayo" was twenty- three years old, and was born in Austria.  She too had immigrated in 1913 (sic) and her Native Tongue was German.  She was also a Resident Alien  and could read and write.  Both Nick and Christina could speak English.

They told the census taker that they had two sons:  Seven year old "William Mayo" and five year old "Nick Mayo."

In the late 1920s, Rosehill decided to tear down the house at 2152 W. Peterson.  Mayer's mother never cared too much for living in Rosehill or for the funerary business. Every time Mayer's mother told somebody what her husband did for a living, they wanted to know if he gave discounts on funerals.

But Mayer told the Reader that he took to life in the graveyard from the start. There were fish to catch, ducks to chase, and plenty of places to hide when he got in trouble, which was often. He romped among the gravestones of Civil War heroes and snuck into the central mausoleum for games of hide-and-seek. He was teased at school, but even that wasn't so bad. 

The 1930 US Census finds the "Nick Meier" family living at 6052 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.  Not adjacent to the Rosehill grounds, but not too far away either.  Senior citizen housing sits on that spot today.  The family consisted of forty-three year old Nick, forty-four year old Justine, sixteen year old William, fifteen year old Nick, nine year old Margaret, and four year old Julius. 

They rented their apartment for $40.00 per month.  The family had a radio, and now said their native language was "German."  Nick Sr. and Justine both said they were naturalized US citizens (they weren't - she was naturalized in 1944, he was naturalized in 1945). 

Nick Mayer attended Senn High School during the school year.  In the summers he worked at Rosehill.  The first summer he mowed the grass.  In 1934 after graduation from Senn, he went to work for Rosehill full time.  

But it was not just work and the departed that took young Nick Mayer's time.  On September 30, 1936 Nick Mayer married Florence H. Austerlade (1917-1967) of Chicago.  The groom was twenty years old; the bride was nineteen.  After their marriage, they rented an apartment at 5610 N. Western Avenue in Chicago - which is right across the street from the Western Avenue gate of Rosehill.    

5610 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

What was it like at Rosehill during the Great Depression?  Nick reported that sometimes there were as many as 15 funerals a day at Rosehill.  Caskets, mourners and picnickers alike were brought to the cemetery by the train that stopped at Rosehill's entrance.  On Sundays, there were so many visitors that Mayer and his coworkers had to direct traffic.  

Once at the cemetery, visitors could ride a bus along the 25 miles of roads that crisscross Rosehill.  The bus driver sold dandelion wine and cherry liquor on the side.  In the winter visitors could warm themselves by an outside fireplace, and in the summer they could cook on the cemetery barbecue.  A conservatory was filled with mums and gladiolas and a clock made out of flowers rang out the hour.  Chinese pheasants and swans adorned the four ponds.

Working at Rosehill in those days was not an easy job.  Mayer remembered, "All the graves had to be dug by hand back then.  For a 10 AM funeral as many as ten men would start at 4AM to dig the grave."  There were also acres to mow and miles of hallways in the mausoleum to scrub.  During the winter months, most of the workers would spend their days in the mausoleum polishing the marble floors and halls by hand.  Nick Mayer also manned the pump house that used to supply the cemetery with water.  At the height of the Depression, 300 men at thirty-five cents per hour kept Rosehill spic and span.

The Great Depression finally ended but then World War II came on the scene.  Like all good American men, Nick registered for the draft on October 16, 1940:

On May 1, 1941 Nick and his wife left Western Avenue and were living at 5220 N. Damen in Chicago:

5220 N. Damen, Chicago

On June 1, 1942 Nick Mayer enlisted in the US military with the rank of Private.  He was 5' 9" tall and weighed 149 lbs.  After reporting his civilian profession the Army said he was a "semiskilled mechanic and repairmen."  As with all the others who enlisted in World War II, Nick enlisted for the "Duration of the War plus six months."   He reported his time in the military as uneventful and returned to Rosehill after the war was over.

Nick and his wife Florence were blessed with two children:  Leonard N. (b. 1956) and Arlene (b. 1957).  Neither had any interest in following their father into the cemetery business.

Things at Rosehill began to change in the 1950s, not long after Nick Mayer was promoted to Foreman.  The grave diggers had unionized and the resulting high labor costs made it to expensive to have all the extras at Rosehill.  Besides, by the 1950s the number of funerals had dropped off because people were living longer.  Mourners were not coming as often or quit coming at all.  Picnickers abandoned Rosehill for the parks.  "Death," said Nick Mayer, "had become a less congenial business."

Nick Meyer was asked by the Reader reporter which were his favorites among the thousands of monuments at Rosehill.  His answer will not surprise you:

Frances Pearce Stone and her daughter Frances

  and

Lulu E. Fellows

Nick Mayer's father Nick died in 1961; his mother Justine in 1977.  They are both buried in Section 29 in the Park Section of Rosehill Cemetery in an area that is "where the family garden used to be, near the site of their old home":

Nick Mayer experienced tragedy on his own life when his wife Florence died from leukemia in October of 1967 leaving him with two young children to raise.  For a final resting place he bought four plots in Section 16: for Florence, for himself, and for their two children.  Here is her Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of October 24, 1967:

Nick was too broken up to even attend the funeral.  "The cemetery workers did a nice job because it was for me."  Even though he spent his days nearby, Mayer stayed away from his wife's grave for a long time.

In the 1970s Nick and his two children moved to 8316 Springfield Avenue in Skokie, Illinois so Leonard and Arlene could attend Niles East High School.  

Leonard

Arlene

8316 Springfield Avenue, Skokie, Illinois

Nick Mayer retired from Rosehill Cemetery in 1989 after fifty-five years of faithful service.  His children were grown by this time and he could finally take it easy after so many years of hard work.  Among the retirement activities Nick enjoyed most were his several trips to Hawaii.  

In 1992 Nick moved for the last time - to 6951 W. Dobson Street in Niles, Illinois:

6951 W. Dobson Street, Niles, Illinois

Nick Mayer died May 20, 1993.  He was seventy-seven years old.  Here is his Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of May 24, 1993:

He was, of course, buried next to his beloved wife in the plot they picked for themselves in Section 16 of Rosehill Cemetery:

The other two graves in the plot were not used by Nick's children - they were instead used for Nick's sister Margaret Wills and her husband Claude.

When asked about the plot Nick and Florence picked for themselves at Rosehill, Nick said, "I picked the spot with my wife.  She is already here."  "They chose the spot," he said. "because it had some height, which they liked."

"I was born here, I might as well die here." says Mayer.

Nick Mayer - born at Rosehill, spent his life at Rosehill, resting at Rosehill.  May he rest in peace.