One Diamond From Murder

One Diamond From Murder We are heading back in time to the late 1800’s to Jefferson, Texas. In this time period, women were expected to adhere to strict moral codes. Living in the west during this time was not easy and women weren’t responsible for all the home duties like child-rearing and cooking, but they also often had to help with laborious tasks like farming and ranching just to survive. We’re looking at the life and death of a character that continues to bring intrigue as it offers a window into the life of women in that era, especially those living on the fringes of society. This particular woman in our story amassed not just diamonds, but her charisma and mystery became the stuff of legends. Newspapers at the time often contained gossip and speculation which framed public opinion. This era was known as “yellow journalism” where newspapers used sensationalism and scandals to increase circulation and sales. Just to give you context as to what was happening at the time. Being the subject of these articles could probably make or break people, especially women who were essentially powerless without many of the rights of men. Annie Stone was born in 1854 to Mark Stone, a cobbler who was not known to be particularly wealthy or successful in Syracuse, New York. Gossip rags reported that at the age of 15, she became a mistress to a man whose last name was Moore. Although the affair didn’t last long, Annie took on the man’s last name. There’s a lack of concrete evidence to this, but there were various accounts that at 15, Annie became part of the demimonde, which is a fancy and quite pretty term for prostitute or women of the night. Some stories suggest financial hardship led to her working as a demimonde, and some suggested her father pushed her into it, but there’s no facts to say he forced her into it. Women at the time had little options for work and this was one of those options that could actually provide a living for females. There’s no information or even a name I could find about Annie’s mother or her role in her life. Annie was described as a striking beauty with some reports saying she had raven black hair, fair skin and steel blue eyes, other reports claimed she had auburn hair with large blue eyes. She was well educated for a young woman of that era and she was witty and charming. At some point while she’s still quite young, Annie moves to Cincinnati and begins going by the name of Bessie Moore. The move to Cincinnati could have been a search for more opportunity or independence. In Cincinnati, Bessie as we’ll now call her, began work at a brothel called the Mansion of Joy. Here, Bessie was a very popular prostitute with many admiring clients who showered her with diamond jewelry. She loved her diamonds and wore them constantly, earning her the moniker of “Diamond Bessie.” Bessie was so good at her work, that she would travel around to the South, working and gathering new clients. New Orleans at the time and still today, was a cultural hub with a vibrant nightlife. The more liberal attitudes there along with an influx of businessmen and travelers offered financial opportunities for women in the demimonde business. In a city like New Orleans, flashy glamour likely made for a place that Bessie could fit in with less constraints and helped her rise in the social scene. Hot Springs Arkansas was another destination that drew Bessie. It was known as a resort hub with wealthy clientele. There, Bessie was able to mingle with affluent visitors and likely strike up relationships with them. With the gambling and nightlife there, it made for a great economic opportunity for ladies involved in prostitution. While in Hot Springs, Bessie meets a man who captures her heart. Abraham Rothschild was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was the son of a jeweler. Handsome and good at business, Abe (as he was known) worked for his father’s prosperous jewelry business as a traveling salesman. He had everything going for him, good looks, charm, a built-in career where he would be almost guaranteed wealth. But, Abe had his vices like women and booze which led him into full-fledged alcoholism. By the time Abe met Bessie, he had been ostracized from his family who were embarrassed by him. He was a frequent saloon goer and loved him a brothel or two. Thus, he met Bessie at a Hot Springs brothel in 1876. Once the two met, they were inseparable. They traveled around the various cities together, living the life of luxury fueled by the Abe’s wealth. Despite this, their love affair was tumultuous with the pair both now rampant alcoholics constantly fighting in public. After squandering all of Abe’s money, the two had trouble making ends meet, wanting to continue to live like royalty. Like many couples, their arguments centered around money, which wouldn’t be a problem if Abe could control his love of the drink since he was such a great salesman. Because of their need for money, Bessie was forced to remain a prostitute and Abe begged Bessie to sell off her beloved diamond jewelry. Bessie did nearly anything for Abe, but she wasn’t about to sell off her hard-earned jewelry. Like much of this story, the details of Bessie and Abe’s relationship are murky. By some accounts, Bessie pressured Abe to marry her and some said that she may have claimed she was pregnant. These stories also alleged that she threatened to reveal the scandal of being an unwed, pregnant couple to Abe’s father which would have caused further problems for Abe. Whatever was the true story is unknown, and we can’t be sure they were ever legally married, but the couple did begin presenting themselves as husband and wife. Apparently at the time common law marriage was not uncommon in that era, as many couples who shacked up together would claim to be married to avoid the stigma of *gasp* living together. One report said that while they traveled around together, they stopped in Danville, Illinois where they wed at the Aetna Hotel. Later, the Cincinnati Enquirer published the news of their wedding which possibly happened in January of 1877. The happy, or as many reports suggest, unhappy, couple traveled on to Jefferson, Texas. There’s not much reporting to suggest why they were heading there, but it was likely they intended to make money in a new area. They registered at the Brooks house, a type of lodging establishment, as A. Monroe and wife. This may have been because the Rothschild name was so famous in America at the time and Abe would have been immediately recognized. Bessie was also a well-known character, so it could be they wanted a dose of anonymity on this trip. Also, since the couple were often involved in what many would consider “unsavory” life choices, they probably didn’t want to be judged before they even got settled into their trip. Apparently, though, they weren’t the types to stay incognito as far as their dress or activities. When they had stepped off the train, it was apparent to all that they weren’t from the area. They had a load of matching luggage, Bessie wore her piles of diamonds and the couple still had all of their own teeth. The pair spent the first two days after their arrival, eating, exploring town and loudly arguing as usual. Abe was calling Bessie by name once in a while when he wasn’t calling her awful things, which he didn’t seem to mind others noticing. On January 21 of 1877, Abe and Bessie were seen crossing a bridge which lead to the town called Marshall, carrying items that made it seem they must be going on a picnic. They were seen disappearing into the fog and that was the last time the two would be seen together. BREAK After Abe and Bessie go for their picnic lunch, Abe is seen returning to town later that same afternoon from another path. He went about like usual without his sidekick. I was thinking this town must have been quite small at the time and people were taking notice of everything the newcomers were up to. But, it’s much smaller now, with about 2000 people. In the late 1800’s it was between 7 & 8,000 people, but it was a major commercial hub then due to the port which gave it access to the red river and the Big Cypress Bayou. Though it was a something of a commercial center and probably got a lot of folks doing business, Abe and Bessie had still stuck out like sore thumbs. People notice that Abe is now alone and they ask him where his wife is. He replies that she went out to the country to visit some friends and they’d be reuniting within a couple of days when they were set to leave town. A server at a restaurant who waited on Abe noticed him wearing Bessie’s diamond rings. However, when that day came when the couple was to leave town, the Brooks House staff found the couple’s room empty with no trace of Mr. A. Monroe aka Abe. His escape was noticed by all those snoopers in town and he was seen leaving on the eastbound train alone with ALL of the couple’s luggage. Just after that, a snowstorm descended on the area and continued on for about a week. After the weather cleared up, Sarah King, a woman living in the area, went out to collect firewood. She came upon the body of a poshly dressed woman near a twisted oak tree. There were remnants of a picnic near her and she was without any jewelry. The dead woman’s cause of death was easy to determine with the gunshot hole in her forehead. The townspeople had no idea of the woman’s real name and with no way to contact her family, they started a collection to give her a proper burial. All authorities knew of the couple was the name they had registered under at the lodge, A. Monroe and wife. They issued an arrest warrant for A. Monroe on suspicion of murder. Investigators went to the train station to gather more information on the mysterious man and soon found his name registered there as Abraham Rothschild of Cincinnati and the name of his alleged victim was Bessie Moore. Meanwhile, back in Cincinnati, Abraham has become exceedingly paranoid. He believes he’s being followed and drinks even more excessively to deal with his anxiety. One night during a binge, he walked to the middle of the street and tried to kill himself by shooting himself in the head. However, his attempt only ended up blinding him in one eye. While in the hospital, officials are able to track him down since they now know who he really is. He’s arrested and thrown in jail to be extradited down to Texas for a murder trial. Though he had been shunned from the Rothschild family, they didn’t want their name associated with such a scandal and attempted to fight Abe’s extradition. Their efforts were in vain and Abe was dragged back to Texas to face a jury. However, the Rothschilds rallied and hired him a team of 10 powerful and expensive lawyers. The first order of business for the legal team was to get Abe’s trial moved to a town outside of Jefferson as the townspeople were out for blood to avenge the death of the beautiful Diamond Bessie. In fact, it was the townspeople who had raised the money for the sheriff to go to Cincinnati to arrest Abe. At the time, the Rothschilds were so well known that the case was a huge celebrity circus compared to the like of the O.J. Simpson trial. Apparently, it was Texas’ first major celebrity murder case and the Texas governor at the time was quoted as saying it was “a crime unparalleled in the record of blood.” – I see him in my mind as the Yosemite Sam character. Among the star cast of defense lawyers for Abe were a United States Senator and the future governor of Texas. Because of some of the lawyers being involved in state and national legislature as well as other extenuating circumstances, Abe’s trial didn’t begin until December of 1878. While in jail awaiting trial, Abe’s cellmate was Jim Currie, a man who had shot two actors, one of which survived and was Maurice Barrymore who was Drew Barrymore’s great grandfather. I’ll tell you that story in a patreon minisode. http://www.texasescapes.com/AllThingsHistorical/BarrymoreShootingBB603.htm Because of all the legal wrangling and such, the trial took 2.5 years to accomplish. The trial itself took 3 weeks. During deliberations, the gossip rags reported that the jury foreman drew a noose on the wall with the words, “that’s my verdict” beneath it. After those 3 weeks of testimony, the jury found Abe guilty of 1st degree murder and sentenced him to hanging. There were all sorts of rumors going around during the trial of things that were happening during the proceedings. One rumor was that 12 $1000 dollar bills were lowered into the jury room during deliberations like some cartoon. I imagine a fishing pole coming through the ceiling with a bunch of bills on it. Another rumor was that all 12 jurors suffered some curse and all 12 died of violent deaths within a year of the conclusion of the trial. After the sentencing of death, Abe’s defense team entered an appeal for a reversal on the verdict, saying the trial had been unfair. They were able to get that by siting the error of the court where they accepted a potential juror even after the man said he had an opinion in the case. The judge declared a mistrial. A 2nd trial then took place. The star lineup of defense attorneys were able to put doubt into the juror’s minds with the testimony of the woman who had prepared Bessie’s body for burial. She had claimed to have witnessed Bessie with a man who wasn’t Abe a few days after the famous picnic. The lawyers also argued that the body was too well preserved to have been outside for so long before being discovered (but remember, it was during a very cold snap) so they surmised the murder must have happened after Abe had already left town. Their strategy work and on December 30 of 1880, Abe was found not guilty. After his release, Abe returned to Cincinnati with his family and you’d think he’d straighten out his life with this massive 2nd chance. But alas, he continued a life of crime and was later jailed for a big diamond theft scandal. There were various stories of what happened, but the one that makes the most sense was that he posed as a wealthy businessman around several southern towns. He would obtain large amounts of jewelry on credit, then skip town without paying. It was also rumored (another sensational rumor) that in the 1890’s, a handsome older man with an eyepatch visited Jefferson Texas asking to be shown to Bessie Moore’s grave. He then laid roses on it and commented on the goodness of the people there as he gave the caretaker money to take care of the grave. In the 1930’s, a headstone appeared on the grave where there hadn’t been one previously. In the 1960’s a garden club built an iron fence around the grave. The case is still listed as unsolved, but the mystery of the case and the rumors have created such a legend that there’s a yearly play about the event held in Jefferson every spring during the yearly Pilgrimage Festival. SOURCES: Wikipedia, Texas state historical association, texasescapes.com, the Texan.news, findagrave.com, athensreview.com, myrahmcilvain.com, countylinemagazine.com