Family Annihilator

Dr. Arthur F. Woolsey, DDS
Central NJ Home News photo-
August 3, 1928

Forty-three years before John List became (perhaps arguably but I don't think so) New Jersey's most famous famous annihilator, there was Dr. Arthur Field Woolsey, DDS.

By choosing a career in dentistry, Arthur was following in the footsteps on his father, Walter Woolsey, DDS. These were big shoes to fill. Walter was successful, well-respected and even served as President of the New Jersey State Dental Society in 1907.

Arthur was 22-years-old when he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Dental School in 1913. His first practice was in Orange, New Jersey. While not achieving the same success as his father, Arthur had served as President of the Union County Dental Association.

By1928, Arthur and his father were sharing office space at 1162 East Jersey Street in Elizabeth, NJ. [That location is now the home of the New Yorker Deli.]
 
Arthur, his wife Marguerite and their two young children enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle. Arthur belonged to several exclusive social and civic clubs; Marguerite was a fine hostess. They lived at 133 East 6th Street in Roselle, NJ.

Union County's Chief of Detectives, John A. Galatian, would later describe their lifestyle as an attempt to "keep up with the Joneses."

A failed attempt.

By August 1928, 37-year-old Arthur Woolsey was $17,000 in debt; that's $254,889.65, in today's money.

Arthur had a $9,000 mortgage on his home and $8,000 in other assorted but unspecified debts. He quite simply was living beyond his means.

It is believed that Arthur broke under the stress of his insurmountable debt and, after his father refused him a personal loan, Arthur reached a tipping point.

Dr. Walter Woolsey later denied knowledge of his son's financial situation and made a public statement, through his attorney, that he was never approached for assistance. 

Asked to comment on his family's tragedy, Walter observed, "My boy's mind must have been affected."

Chief Galatian felt differently and when he asked about Arthur Woolsey, Galatian told reporters that "the man's actions so far appear normal - at least in the sense that he knows what he is doing."

In anticipation of a possible insanity defense, Galatian told George Kenney of NY's Daily News, "He appears as sane as you or I but we must have him examined to forestall any defense based on an insanity plea."

Galatian described the 37-year-old Arthur Woolsey as a "Babbitt."

The Miriam-Webster Dictionary provides this definition for that word - "a person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards"

This is a specific reference to a satirical novel by Sinclair Lewis published in 1922 and it's title character.

Arthur found his financial situation dire and in an attempt to spare his family "the embarrassment of poverty," Arthur concocted a plan to kill his wife and two children then commit suicide. But just like John List would on November 9th 1971, Arthur lost his nerve when it came to taking his own life.

Arthur's lengthy confession would make it difficult for the defense team to later claim temporary insanity. In particular, was the fact that Arthur had decided on this murder-suicide plan several weeks in advance. His confession was given freely and signed with a pen Marguerite had bought for him.

The Woolsey family -
Daily News photo - Aug. 3, 1928

On the morning of August 1, 1928, Arthur got an early start to the day. He was out of bed between 6 and 6:30AM. Arthur removed a .25 caliber Colt automatic pistol from his bureau drawer.

Now, it's a fact that the exact sequence of events that morning differs from one newspaper to another but here is the version printed in the Asbury Park Press on August 2, 1928 and the one I believe is the most accurate as it closely matches what Arthur stated in his confession.

The first to die was Marguerite (35). His wife of 12 years was shot once in the head, twice in the chest. She had just gotten out of bed.

Their son Arthur, Jr (7) heard the violence and was just getting out of bed when his father shot him. The boy was shot once in the head.

The youngest of their children, Mary Elizabeth (4) was awake but still in bed when her father entered her room. She was shot once in the head.

Sadly, the end result is the same no matter which source you choose but the NY Daily News account changes the order of the deaths and would have the readers believe all three were asleep when killed.

This is the sequence of events as printed in the NY Daily News:

Dr. Woolsey shot his son, Arthur, Jr first, as the boy lay sleeping - once in the head.

Next to die was Marguerite. Also asleep, she was shot once in the head and twice in the chest.

Lastly, it was Mary Elizabeth's turn. She likewise was shot once in the head by her father.

The Asbury Park Press goes a bit further with their forensics. According to their August 2, 1928 edition:

"Mrs. Woolsey was shot twice in the breast and once in the head. The daughter was shot thru the head and the boy thru the cheek. Physicians called by the police are said to have expressed the belief that the children may have lived several hours after they were shot."

Five gunshots in all and the neighbors heard nothing that morning.

Arthur would spend the next 6 to 7 hours after the murders getting his affairs in order. Once again, newspaper accounts differ on the sequence of Arthur's movements after killing his family but there is no doubt he did all of the following before calling police.

Arthur cleaned the blood from the bodies of his wife and children. Police would later find all three bodies side by side on Marguerite's bed.

Arthur made himself breakfast. [No details on what he ate, much to my disappointment because I live for the minutia.] 

Neighbors recalled seeing Arthur outside of his house around noon. This might have been when he left the house briefly to purchase some cigars at the neighborhood tobacco shop.

"I seldom smoke more than two a day, but I chew many more than that," Arthur reportedly claimed.

Upon his return, Arthur sat down to write four letters (three to Roselle, NJ residents and one to an individual in New Hampshire) and he supposedly smoked a few cigars.

The letters were later examined by a team of alienists. One letter was Arthur's confession of his crimes and his wish that the bodies of his wife and children be cremated.

The three other letters were personal in nature and I suppose had no bearing on the case. I'm assuming this to be true because the content of those missives and the names of their intended recipients were not made public.

At some point that morning Arthur "lost his nerve" and was unable to commit suicide.

At 1PM, Arthur placed a phone call to the Roselle Police Headquarters. He asked Chief Burt Avery to stop by when he had a chance because "I've just murdered my wife and two children."

photo from the NY Daily News - Aug 2, 1928

Arthur was calm and composed when Chief Avery and two uniformed officers arrived. Arthur asked Avery if he had a cigar before escorting them to the bodies.

When Arthur Woolsey was taken into custody he told the police "I've never felt better in my life."

It was as if great burden had been lifted.

No further motive, other than the one given by Arthur, could be found.

Arthur's 10 page confession was made available to the press and this is what was printed in the Times Union (a Brooklyn, NY newspaper) on August 2, 1928:

"It has been running through my mind for several months just to do something of this sort; that is, to relieve my wife and children from any embarrassment, the reason of my financial difficulties. The only way out, as I looked at it, was to take their lives.

Dr. Woolsey then states that he worked all day Tuesday in his office, went home at 6:30 PM and spent that night with his family. The confession continued:

"I could not sleep much during the night, and this morning I got up at 6:30 o'clock and my wife got up at the same time. The idea came to me to kill my wife and children. While my wife was standing near the bed I went to the bureau and got my revolver and shot my wife, she dying almost instantly.

"I then picked her up and placed her on the bed. When I fired the shots that killed my wife, my son, Arthur, was awakened in another room, and commenced to get out of his bed. I then shot him. He died immediately, and then I shot my little girl both of them dying immediately.

"The little girl was in bed in a room adjoining the boy's room.

"I then went downstairs and prepared breakfast for myself, after which I went upstairs and wiped up some blood on the floor, and also washed off the bodies of my wife and chilren.

"I then stayed around the house until 1 o'clock this afternoon, when I called up police headquarters in Roselle and notified them of what I had done."

"I have never had any trouble with my wife," the confession continues, "and she has always been true to me and the only reason I took her life was to relieve her of any embarrassment by reason of my financial difficulties.

"We have always lived happily together."

Two days later, on August 4, 1928, The Morning Post (a Camden, NJ newspaper) printed these portions of his confession:

"Dr. Woolsey (the elder) has made a wonderful success of himself financially, but as a father of his children, no.

"My family is upstairs, quiet, and I am waiting for the constable to come to repossess my car. Even now I can realize fully just what I have done or what I shall do. I loved my wife and children so much. I cannot make myself leave them. Perhaps the only spark of manhood left me will come out in my next action. 

"I have tried to do all I could to make them happy and get them healthy. Now I have everything mortgaged to the limit and not a cent of my own except that which is due me in the office." 

Chief John A. Gallatian and Dr. Arthur Woolsey -
Public Opinion, August 4, 1928

This appeared in Time magazine's August 13, 1928 edition:

"Being a good dentist evidently is no longer the thing. The man who commercializes dentistry is the successful businessman."

A young dentist, Dr. Arthur Woolsey, of Elizabeth, N. J., in despair, wrote that on his own stationery last week. And he wrote this: "I have everything mortgaged to the limit and not a thing of my own except that which is due me at the office. If that had come in when it was due this could have been avoided. My only message to the dentists with whom I have worked is to work for cash only; credit will only bring trouble."

Funeral arrangements for Marguerite, Arthur, Jr and Mary Elizabeth were handled by Dr. Walter Woolsey.

On August 4, 1928, their bodies were buried at the Fairview Cemetery located in Westfield, NJ.
 

Findagrave image uploaded by Gloria

[For folks interested in such things, Fairview Cemetery is the also the final resting place of Whitney Houston and her daughter Bobbie Kristina Brown.]

Findagrave image uploaded
by Lori Concannon

Findagrave image uploaded
by Lori Concannon

Arthur's trial was set for December 3, 1928.

Although it was Arthur's intention to plead "not guilty," he changed his mind and entered a plea of "non vult" to three charges of first degree murder.

Essentially, he was not contesting the charges against him.

Arthur received a life sentence for murdering Marguerite, to be served at the state prison in Trenton, NJ.

Oddly, Justice Kalisch opted to suspend sentence when it came to the murder of Arthur's two children.

According to The Pittsburgh Press,
"This, it was pointed out, would be an
effective barrier to possible efforts to
obtain Woolsey's release on parole."

Newspapers describe Dr. Woolsey as listening with little interest then quietly saying, "Well, it's all over." Arthur cast a glance in the direction of his parents and his brother before being lead out of the courtroom.

The Courier News photo, 1928

Despite the life sentence, Arthur continually applied for parole.

His name was submitted then rejected in April 1937, in September 1937 and again in August 1939.

Finally and surprisingly, on December 5, 1941, Arthur Woolsey, now 50-years-old, was granted parole. He had served 13 years.

Dr. Woolsey was one of 46 inmates granted parole that day and one of ten parolees who had been imprisoned for murder. So much for Justice Kalisch's intentions.

Arthur's version of the crime, as related to the Clemency Court, and reported in the Paterson Morning Call newspaper on December 6, 1941, was that he had killed his family in "a period of temporary insanity. He first blackjacked his wife and then shot her and the children."

[On June 9, 2020, I submitted an Open Public Records Act request for access to Arthur's parole records but was advised on June 24, 2020, by Dina I. Rogers, Esq., Records Custodian of  New Jersey State Parole Board, that "the State Parole Board has no parole records regarding Arthur Woolsey. Due to the age of the conviction/sentence, I am unable to even locate Arthur Woolsey in the State Parole Board’s electronic database."]

In 1944, Arthur, then 53-year-old, married for a second time.

Dr. Woolsey's new bride, Myra Keith Robertson (47), was a widow, so they had that in common. Myra's husband of 19 years, Alexander Robertson, had died on June 19, 1943 at the age of 58.

Arthur and Myra lived on the sprawling grounds of (the now shuttered) Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital in Trenton, NJ where Arthur was employed as a dentist.

Marlboro State Hospital grounds

An example of the staff housing.
Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital - Doctors Row. Photo from MarlboroHistory.com

In December 1949, several New Jersey newspapers reported that Dr. Arthur F. Woolsey was seeking "a pardon or commutation of sentence."

 Seven years after being paroled, it wasn't enough that Arthur had his freedom and was making a new life for himself.

[In my OPRA request, I asked for access to Arthur's 1949 Application for Pardon or Commutation of Sentence. I had hoped to see what the motivation for his request was but I was advised that "this part of your request is denied as records relating to executive clemency are deemed confidential and are exempt from disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9, Executive Order #9 (1963), Executive Order #21 (2002) and Executive Order #26 (2002)."]

Newspaper accounts from the time, indicate that Dr. Woolsey enjoyed several vacations on the west coast, including trips to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina (1943), the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness of Colorado (1946), the Flathead National Forest-Sun River in Montana (1947), Pettit Lake in Idaho (1948) as well as the Grand Canyon (1952) and Hawaii (1955).

In October 1956, Dr. Woolsey, then 65-years-old, decided his camping days were behind him and donated his gear to Marlboro's Boy Scout Troop 86.

Myra died on Feb 10, 1958, at home, following a long illness. Arthur inherited half of her estate and the other 50% was shared by her 2 two nieces and a nephew. In addition to some specific pieces of jewelry being left to her sister and niece Ellen, Myra's will also bequeathed $100 to her brother "for the sole purpose of having a good party." Myra was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, NJ beside her first husband.

Dec 4, 1952 clipping -
Dr. Arthur Woolsey is seen at the extreme left

In April 1960, Arthur, now 69-years-old, married for third time, in Pinellas, Florida.

His new bride was Elizabeth Powers, 57-years-old. She likewise had two former spouses but had divorced each of them. Elizabeth also had three grown children from her first marriage.

The Sept 7, 1961 edition of The Freehold Transcript and Monmouth Inquirer printed a list of Monmouth County voters and amongst the names I find Arthur F. and Elizabeth Woolsey with their address as "Station Hospital, Marlboro." All this tells us is that Arthur was still working and living on Hospital grounds with wife number three.

I don't know when Arthur retired from dentistry but he and Elizabeth eventually relocated to North Carolina where Arthur died on May 3, 1976 at the Haywood County Hospital. Cause of death was heart failure. He was 85-years-old.

Elizabeth died 19 years later, at the age of 92. They are buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Franklin, N.C. It's curious that Arthur's headstone has a typo. Surely there was sufficient time between their two deaths to have that fixed.

Dr. Arthur Woolsey's headstone at Woodlawn Cemetery in Macon, NC - findagrave photo uploaded by Gail R. Anderson

Bad Medicine

A respected and trusted doctor with nearly 30 years experience.
A late day appointment.
A prescription written in a hurry.

Welfare recipient Maud Fratz sent her 15-year-old daughter Isabella to Dr. John Raftery's office on Saturday afternoon, January 21, 1939 with a relief medical order. Isabella was suffering from what newspapers would repeatedly and vaguely describe as "a minor ailment" but the Philadelphia Inquirer revealed to be "hemorrhages."

AP photo, 1939

Dr. Raftery dashed off a prescription for a half-grain of strychnine (one 48th a grain per dose), and sent the girl on her way. It was 1 PM.

Yes, strychnine is a poison but back then it was commonly prescribed, in low doses, for a variety of conditions. Athletes had also been known to use it as a stimulant and performance enhancer.

William Fratz, an unemployed hosiery worker with a wife and five children to provide for, had to borrow the cost of the medicine ($1.00) from friends just to his pay for his daughter's prescription.

AP photo, 1939

Within the hour Dr. Raftery began to doubt what he'd written on the prescription. After all, he had been in a hurry to get out of the office when Isabella showed up.

Had he scribbled "SS" or "XX?" If Dr. Raftery had written "SS," he needn't worry but "XX" would indicate 20 grains of strychnine. That would be 40 times the amount he had intended to prescribe.

Dr. Raftery called the drug store, spoke to pharmacist Pearl Borow and learned that the prescription had already been filled, as written - "XX."

Dr. Raftery rushed to the Fratz home to warn Isabella but it was too late. It was now 5 PM. Isabella was already dead. She had died 5 minutes after taking a tablespoon of the bitter-tasting toxic poison. Dr. Raftery notified the coroner's office.

According to a Camden, NJ newspaper The Morning Post, Dr. Raftery, after finding Isabella dead, went to the drug store and "penned a correction over the original pencilling.

That was done, he said, not to try to cover up, but to avoid the possibility someone might call for a reorder of the prescription. That practice often is followed, it was pointed out."

Police arrested both Dr. John Raftery, 56 years old, and Pearl Borow, 26 years old, and charged them with criminally negligent homicide.

Appearing before Magistrate Dogole, AP photo, 1939

To his credit, as they stood before Magistrate Jacob Dogole, Dr. Raftery assumed full blame for the error which caused Isabella's death. His only excuse was that he had been "in a hurry" to leave his office. It was a careless mistake. Dr. Raftery, as far as I can tell, never said what his plans were for that afternoon and why he was "in a hurry."

Pearl Borow, a Temple University graduate and a pharmacist with 6 years experience, said she'd thought the dosage unusually large but that "Dr. Raftery was used to making strong prescriptions."

Moyamensing Prison, Philadelphia

Both were initially held without bail but Dr. Raftery quickly obtained the $5,000 bond money. Pearl Borow was remanded to Moyamensing Prison until her release Sunday evening. No word on who supplied the $5,000 bond for Pearl.

Point of interest - Moyamensing is the same prison that housed H.H. Holmes until he was hanged on May 7, 1896.

An autopsy, quickly performed by Dr. William S. Wadsworth, a Coroner's physician, confirmed that Isabella died from strychnine poisoning. Coroner Charles Hersch announced his intention to hold an inquest.

On February 16, 1939, the facts were presented to a Coroner's jury.

Maud Fratz testified about sending her daughter to Dr. Raftery's office for treatment of a minor ailment.

Detective William Meehan related to the jurors Dr. Raftery's admission of guilt, statements made by Pearl Borow and the chain of events leading up to the arrests.

Six fellow physicians and assorted patients of Dr. Raftery expressed their sympathy for the Fratz family but felt it was simply a tragic mistake and noted that often individuals can survive a dosage of 2 grains or more.

Dr. Charles Nassau, chief of the Department of Health testifying on behalf of Dr. Raftery, admitted the prescription in question was "potentially dangerous."

Some tried to shift the blame to Pearl Borow.

Dr. John McCloskey, Register of Wills, testified that there is a moral, rather than a legal obligation on the druggists's part to call the physician's attention to errors in prescriptions.

"It was a grievous error," said Dr. Wadsworth, who had performed the autopsy on Isabelle. "It is generally understood that pharmacists should use all care in compounding prescriptions, which care would include the noting of any excess amount of any common poisons. Any careful compounder would know, in my opinion, that this prescription was in excess of 24 doses."

Nathan Zonies, president of the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association, in defense of Pearl Borow, said "If the age of Miss Fratz had been on that prescription, the pharmacist would probably have questioned the doctor's prescription." Zonies objected to what he called an attempt to "throw this error, which unfortunately cost a life, into the lap of the pharmacy."

Neither Dr. Raftery nor Pearl Borow testified.

On March 2, 1939, the verdict was read to a packed courtroom. Isabella Fratz's death was the result of "poison taken by mistake." Both doctor and druggist were exonerated.

William and Maud Fratz, the victim's parents, responded violently from the rear of the coroner's courtroom in the City Hall Annex. "I want to protest this! It's an outrage to let these people go," shouted William, rising from his seat. "This is an example of cracked justice!"

Maud sat there sobbing. "They took my child away," she said. "I hope that God will punish them!" Court attendants tried to quiet her.

"No one cares, either, what happens to us," Maud continued. "We're on the welfare so no one cares." Maud Fratz was hysterical as she was led from the courtroom.

Dr. John Shaw, secretary of the Department of Health, who was present at the inquest as an observer, said he would make a report to Governor Arthur H. James looking toward possible corrective legislation.

Out of the hearing came a recommendation by a pharmacist, probably Nathan Zonies, that physicians be required legally to state the age and weight of the patient on all prescriptions as a precautionary measure.

What became of the key players in this tragedy?

William Fratz died in June 1964. I can't find a death record for Maud Fratz.

www.findagrave.com photo
provided by Kate Pitluck

Dr. John Raftery continued to practice medicine and died on August 7, 1946, at the age of 65, following a short illness. His wife Mary Montgomery Gillen Raftery had died only 2 weeks earlier. They had one daughter, Ruth. The day after John's death, his 84-year-old mother Mary Jane Raftery passed away. Dr. Raftery's obituary credits him with having served as vice president of the Philadelphia County Medical Society and mentions he was president of the Northeast branch of that group. John was also president of the Doctors' Golf Association and vice president of the Physicians' Motor Club. Dr. and Mrs. Raftery are buried in the All Saints Episcopal Church Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Pearl Borow resumed her job as pharmacist. She married Carmi Hicks on August 19, 1946 when she was 33-years-old. Carmi Hicks was a 58-year-old divorced war veteran and co-founder of the Lions Club International. Pearl's marriage was short-lived. Carmi died in 1947.

Pearl married again but I'm not sure when or to whom. The 1974 obituary for Pearl's brother Maurice Borow lists her as Pearl Goodman and living in Somerset, NJ. However, when Pearl's brother Henry died in 1956, curiously, Pearl did not get a mention in his Courier-News September 10th obituary. An oversight since remaining brothers Louis, Ben and Maurice are included.

Ben Borow founded New Jersey's Bound Brook Hospital and all four Borow brothers (Ben, Louis, Maurice and Henry) had practices there.

Here is Pearl in a 1985 newspaper photo. If you compare this picture to the last time she was in the newspapers, there's little doubt it's her.

The Courier-News, December 10, 1985

Pearl's life ended at 12:33 AM on November 19, 1987. At approximately 7 PM day before, Pearl had been struck by a westbound car as she was walking towards her apartment building at 173 East Main Street in Somerville, NJ. She'd been out with friends and was being dropped back home but on the opposite side of the street. Pearl made it about halfway across East Main Street before being hit. Charges against the driver, Holly M. Baker, 30 of South Bound Brook, NJ, were unlikely. There was no indication Mrs. Baker had been speeding. Pearl was not only wearing dark clothing but walking in traffic.

According to Pearl's obituary, she moved from Philadelphia to Somerville, NJ in 1957 and was a retired pharmacist. Pearl was survived by three nephews and two nieces. No clues as to her second husband's first name. The obituary lists Pearl's age at the time of her death as 78 but her 1946 marriage license records her birth year as 1913. If the latter is accurate, Pearl would have been 74 when she died. This matches up with news reports following the 1939 death of Isabella that generally list Pearl's age as either 26, although I've her described as being 28-years-old.

I have been unable to find a photo of the victim Isabella Fratz or her parents.

If you like podcasts and have roughly 34 minutes to spare, I recommend a particular episode of the  Poisoncast by Scott Barnett for a background on strychnine and it's toxicity.
https://www.thepoisoncast.org/episodes/2017/4/30/strychnine-the-poisoncast-12

"You have wronged my daughter"

This story reads like a salacious potboiler but for all concerned, 1932 might have been the worst year of their lives.

As one headline stated, "Rockland County Society Rocked To Its Depths."

Charlotte Gibson and
her father Robert -
Daily News, 12-8-1932

Robert and Grace Gibson, were a bit Victorian in their thinking but there was little doubt they loved and tried to protect their only child.

Charlotte Ariel Gibson enjoying the perks that came with being the daughter of a successful and respected New York lawyer but she was dutiful and remained unspoiled.

Charlotte's upbringing was a bit sheltered. She was home schooled by her mother until she reached her teens then attended the Rockland Academy for two years but the emphasis in her education was literature and languages. There was little sex education.

Charlotte had voice and dance lessons, she studied privately for the stage. 

Daily News, 12-8-1932

The Gibsons lived in Tappan, New York, which is located in Rockland County, near the New Jersey border.

Their property was directly across from the DeWint House, also referred to as George Washington's Headquarters.

While the 4 acre plot was not classified as "a farm," they had room enough for a stable and they kept livestock.

In October of 1929, when Charlotte was 20-years-old, Grace Gibson arranged for the purchase of a horse for her daughter from the Homewood Stables and Riding Academy located in nearby Blauvelt, NY.

Starlight was stabled at the Gibson residence but Charlotte utilized the Homewood facilities whenever she wanted to exercise or ride the horse.

The two locations were close enough, 2 miles apart, that Charlotte could ride Starlight over to the Homewood Academy and join others on the crowded bridle paths.

In the Fall of 1930, Charlotte started taking jumping lessons with the Academy's proprietor, 21-year-old Sidney Homewood, as her instructor.



Sidney Homewood -
Daily News, 12-8-1932

Sidney was a talented horseman, well-liked, charming and running a moderately successful business that he had established at the age of 17.

Born in England in 1909, Sidney emigrated to the United States in 1914 along with his parents, 2 sisters and brother. Frank William Homewood died in 1922.

By 1931, Charlotte was a fairly capable horsewoman and competing in nearly all the tournaments within a 100 mile radius of her home.

These were fun-filled, weekend-long family affairs with both of Charlotte's parents in attendance as well as members of the Homewood family who were there as either participants or spectators. All usually lodged in the same hotels and took meals together, each paying their own way.

Although the family-run business was located in Blauvelt, NY, the Homewood house was across the state line in Park Ridge, New Jersey.

Sidney's second oldest sister Dorothy worked at the Riding Academy's office, maintaining the books. Sidney's cousin Alec Homewood also worked for Sid. He was tasked with handling the horses, giving lessons, etc.

First-born daughter Ethel ran a kindergarten in the family's New Jersey home.

Brother Frank Reginald Homewood, "Reg" to his friends and family, was, according to his wife Beulah, a Jack-of-all-trades. Reg lived elsewhere with his wife and small son.

The Homewood Stables ran a little side business selling horse feed and hay to their clients. Deliveries of such often brought Sid and his cousin Alec to the Gibson residence. Alec didn't consider himself to be a friend of the Gibsons but he certainly knew who they were.

The romance between Charlotte and Sidney was not of the love at first sight variety but rather a professional relationship that turned friendly.

Eventually Charlotte was included in group outings along with Sidney's sisters Dorothy and Emily and a few of Sid's closest friends, most notably Walter MacKellar, a professor at New York University.

They routinely drove to Bear Mountain in Sid's Auburn for ice skating or took in the occasional motion picture at a local movie house.

By her own admission, when not on the bridle paths, Charlotte was spending a great deal of time in the Academy's lounge room in the company of Sidney, Ethel and Dorothy Homewood.

Knowing of Charlotte's previous participation in amateur dramatics with the Provincetown Players in 1930, Sid's sister Ethel asked Charlotte to take a small role in a production being put on by the Junior Women's League of Westwood. Rehearsals would be held at the Homewood residence.

It all seemed quite chummy.



Daily News,
12-4-1932

It wasn't uncommon for small invitations to be extended between the two families during 1931. Be it to partake in some light refreshment after returning from a horse show or perhaps at Christmas time to see how each other's trees were trimmed.

In December of 1931, Sid sent Charlotte a Christmas card and brought a box of carrots over for Charlotte's horse Starlight.

Charlotte was careful not to be in the company of any one man without a chaperone and this included Sid.
As Charlotte would later tell a jury, romance and love with any man never occurred to her.
She didn't live in a bubble; she'd been introduced to a few men since becoming a young woman but never with an eye towards courtship, or so her family would maintain, and she wasn't necessarily looking for romance.

In August 1931, two things happened. Sidney taught Charlotte how to drive a car and he became engaged to Miss Elizabeth Bishop, the daughter of a wealthy New York broker.

Elizabeth was attending Wheaton College in Massachusetts and often not present.

In October 1931, Sid contacted his car dealer and arranged for them to sell Charlotte a Plymouth. Robert Gibson wasn't exactly thrilled, not having a car himself, but eventually he agreed to the purchase and showed Charlotte how to draw the money from her account. Maybe he realized that the car would come in handy for when the family traveled to various horse shows.

In February 1932, the dynamic between Charlotte and Sid changed. One evening they found themselves alone in Sid's car and, perhaps sensing his engagement to Elizabeth Bishop was on shaky ground, he kissed Charlotte. Suddenly, Sidney wanted to be friends with benefits and that's when the trouble began. He had just made the first in a series on bad decisions. If only Charlotte's father hadn't been a lawyer ......  If only Charlotte hadn't agreed to keep the relationship a secret ...

At this point in the narrative, in fairness to both parties, I'll jump ahead to July of 1932 and Sid's arrest for having violated Section 2175 of the Penal Law because this quickly became a he said-she said matter on which both of them agreed on only three things - that it was on their second date they first had consensual sexual intercourse on the front seat of Sid's car, during their entire affair Sid never purchased more than 3 condoms and that they had both agreed to keep news of the romance to themselves.

In July 1932, following a complaint by Robert Gibson, Sheriff Farley arrested Sidney. The charge was Seduction under Promise of Marriage. News of the arrest and subsequent indictment by a Grand Jury on July 15, 1932 hit the papers in September 1932 and it quickly became a hot topic of conversation in Rockland County.

According to the December 1932 court transcripts:

Once the condoms ran out, Sidney and Charlotte continued to have sex fairly regularly and, not surprisingly, by mid-April Charlotte suspected she was pregnant. She urged Sid to marry her. 

Sid was certainly free to marry Charlotte since his fiancé Elizabeth Bishop had ended their engagement at the tail end of February.

Depending upon who you believe, Elizabeth either wanted to concentrate on her studies as she felt she owed it to her parents or Elizabeth's parents felt Sidney wasn't the right man for their daughter. 

The problem with Charlotte's plan to marry Sid was that he initially doubted the pregnancy, he didn't love her and he claimed not to be able to afford marriage. Naturally, these small hurdles did not stop them from continuing to have sex or agreeing to keep their relationship a secret.

The only cooling off period during their affair was when Elizabeth Bishop was in town for a period of 2 1/2 weeks, from late March to early April, 1932.

Weeks passed without any word from Sid about a wedding date. Charlotte was in a state of distress. Her relationship with Sid was a secret and now so was this pregnancy. This was a lot of news to keep to oneself.

Charlotte had long believed she would marry Sid so she worried little about whether or not the sex act would result in pregnancy. Charlotte also testified that she was a little ignorant of exactly how these things worked. Sidney told her he that on each occasion he had pulled out before ejaculating and she believed him.

Charlotte visited two different doctors before she was able to convince Sidney that she was indeed pregnant. These appointments were on June 25 and 26, 1932. He due date was December.

One of the few people to be in the loop was Alec Homewood, Sid's cousin. Sidney had previously confided to Alec that he and Charlotte were having a sexual relationship and he even pointed out the spot where he first attempted it, in the vicinity of the J. Garner West house. 

In June 1932, Sid told Alec that Charlotte was in the family way, that he had no interest in marrying her and that Charlotte was contemplating suicide. Alec suggested Sid should marry the girl but failing that, at least alert Charlotte's family. It fell on deaf ears.

Daily News,
12-4-1932

Not wanting Charlotte's death and that of the child to be on his conscience, Alec phoned Robert Gibson the following evening to let him know his daughter was pregnant.

Robert initially asked Alec if he was the father but soon realized it could only be Sidney.

Not that all would be forgiven if Sidney had simply married Charlotte but Robert Gibson was in favor of the union if it would mean his grandchild wouldn't be a bastard. He met with Sid and told him "You have wronged my daughter."

Sid did agree to marry Charlotte but when he continued to stall it became clear to Robert Gibson that the wedding was not going to happen so he contacted the police and filed charges on behalf of his daughter.

The charge alleged that on or about March 1, 1932, under promise of marriage, Sidney Homewood seduced Charlotte Gibson and engaged in sexual intercourse with her.
Robert Gibson insisted his daughter face the hot glare of publicity "for the sake of a principle."

If found guilty, Sidney faced a prison sentence of up to 5 years and a $1000.00 fine.

Sid attempted to delay the trial until after the birth of Charlotte's baby because he argued that once the child was born, he'd be able to prove, through a blood test, that he was not the father. Request denied. He was granted a change of venue and the trial was moved from County to Supreme Court.

The prosecution needed to convince the jury that when Charlotte had sex with Sid for the first time, she honestly believed he had broken off his engagement to Elizabeth so that he was free to marry her and that, while no ring was given or public announcement made, there was the promise of marriage.

The defense needed to establish two things - that the act occurred prior to March 1st and that when it did, Charlotte Gibson was not a previously chaste character.



Middletown Daily
Herald, 11-23-1925

On November 30, 1932, Judge George H. Taylor cleared the courtroom of all potential witnesses and a clearly pregnant Charlotte Gibson took the stand.

Charlotte told the jury that, while she had grown fond of Sidney since first meeting him, she wasn't much interested in a romance until that first kiss in mid-February and she rebuffed him then because she knew him to be engaged to Elizabeth Bishop.

Daily News,
12-2-1932

On February 29th, 1932, Sid ran into Charlotte outside of Barretta's Store and told her that he had "some important news" for her.

This tantalizing bit of information was witnessed by 10-year-old Mary Charlotte Ross who was in the passenger seat of Charlotte's car. Mary's family lived in the DeWint House, directly across from the Gibson property.

When asked to identify the man she saw speaking to Charlotte, Mary said she "thought it was the defendant."

According to Charlotte, the important news, relayed to her by Sid later that evening, was that he had broken off his engagement to Elizabeth so that he would be free to marry her.

Sid implored Charlotte not to share this development with anyone for the moment but assured her that he did not believe in long engagements and they would soon be husband and wife. Charlotte was bursting with excitement but kept her promise.

They made plans to spend the following evening, March 1st, together. Ice skating at Bear Mountain wasn't an option because a local hockey team had booked the rink for that day, so they went to the movies at the Valley Theatre in Spring Valley.

This was the time of pre-code movies and a rather racy picture called "Safe in Hell" was playing.

After the movie let out, Sid drove to the Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill, NY and parked in a secluded spot. Sid took Charlotte in his arms, kissed her then tried to take things a little further.

When Charlotte stopped him, Alec accused her of "being an iceberg." Charlotte accused Alec of wanting momentary satisfaction and while she was fond of him, she reminded him that they'd have plenty of time for lovemaking once they were married. Alec reminded her that he had ended things with Elizabeth just to be with her and now she wouldn't even do this one thing for him. Ultimately, Charlotte yielded.

Charlotte would yield an additional 11 times in all, always in the defendant's car and always with the thought in her head that they'd soon be married.

Charlotte testified that when she revealed the pregnancy to Sid, he at first didn't believe her but once he did he began a campaign encouraging her to get rid of it. Charlotte refused to even consider it. Yet, by late June she was so despondent that she contemplated suicide.

The prosecution had Walter MacKellar take the stand. Walter related a conversation he'd had with Sid in June of 1932. Walter told the court that when once discussing with Sid a newspaper article about abortion, Sid asked "If I were to get in trouble would your brother help me out?"

Walter replied "No, he is not a person to go in any matter of that sort." Walter's brother was a doctor of medicine.

On July 4th 1932, Walter again saw Sid and learned of Charlotte's pregnancy and the demands of marriage being made on Sid by Charlotte and her father.

Walter expressed complete surprise at the situation because it seemed so out of character for his friend and he recalled Sidney telling him previously that he had "often repulsed advances" made by Charlotte. According to Walter, Sid claimed that he "had lost control of himself" after the engagement with Elizabeth had been broken.

Now it was Sid's turn to take the stand.

Sidney Homewood preferred to be viewed as someone who would cheat on his fiancé than go to prison and his defense reflected that.

According to Sid, it was Charlotte who was the aggressor and that in a moment of weakness, it was he who was seduced.

New York's Daily News felt Sid was using the fact that 1932 was a Leap Year (traditionally a time when women were apt to be more bold in their approach to courtship) plus a shift in the Modern Moral Code as excuses for his behavior which infuriated some readers. 

Sid claimed their first date was Charlotte's idea and that she'd basically tricked him into taking her out with a bit of double talk.

Sid admitted to calling Charlotte an iceberg but not because she wouldn't have sex with him. Sid claimed the comment came on the heels of a story Charlotte was telling him about her singing teacher kissing her and the man's secretary walking in on them.

Sid apparently observed, "Oh, you're not such an iceberg then." Charlotte replied, "Take me out some night and you'll find out that I'm not such an iceberg." To that, Sidney said "Oh, sure I'll take you out some night."

That evening, February 7th 1932, Charlotte turned up, ready for the date she said they had made. Sid was astonished and claimed no knowledge of such an assignation.

On February 8th 1932, he finally relented and they went ice skating in Montvale, NJ..

Sid told the jury that one week later, on their second date, rather than the scheduled trip to Bear Mountain for skating, he drove to Garnerville under the pretense of showing her the home of J. Garner West (a famous horse show judge).

Sid pulled the car over outside of the landmark house and asked Charlotte "Shall we?" Charlotte replied why not and that was all it took to get her to consent to sex. He never promised marriage and wouldn't even admit to telling Charlotte that he loved her.

Sid testified that they had sexual intercourse 20 times, in cars and in the stables at Homewood Academy. That's 8 more times than Charlotte claimed.

Sid steadfastly maintained that he and Charlotte had sex twice before March 1, 1932. If the jury believed this, they had to acquit. The indictment specified March 1, 1932.

It would be even better for the defendant if his team of lawyers could point to other men who had been intimate with Charlotte before having sex with Sidney.

Much was made of letters exchanged between Angelo DelCampo and Charlotte but nothing was entered into evidence that spoke of a grand passion between the two.

Angelo DelCampo was a West Point cadet who had been assigned to escort the Gibsons around the grounds when once they visited. A friendship developed between the young cadet and the Gibson family. DelCampo even once spent a weekend at their home. Charlotte ceased communicating with Angelo DelCampo after March 1932.

Sidney's lawyers worked very hard to convince the jury that Charlotte couldn't possibly be as innocent to the ways of the world and sex in general as she claimed.

When cross-examining Robert Gibson, defense attorney Charles Finkelstein asked repeatedly whether or not there were any books by Balzac in the family library.

I smiled when I read that in the trial transcripts because anyone who is a fan of "Meredith Willson's The Music Man" knows what he was implying.

While the courtroom was cleared of anyone on the witness lists, the room was still
filled with people Charlotte knew.

Crowds pressed in as Charlotte was repeatedly badgered to provide the details of her various sexual encounters with Sid.

Crowds press in to hear the testimony -
Daily News, 12-6-1932

Charles Finkelstein endlessly grilled Charlotte about her specific knowledge of reproduction, the width of the front seat of Sid's Auburn, the amount of leg room afforded them both during the act and how close to the edge of the seat she was when Sid entered her.

None of this was relevant, as they had both admitted to the deed, and hardly would have won a jury over.

I imagine they would have felt, as I did, that Mr. Finkelstein was badgering the witness. Judge Taylor, when seeing how upset Charlotte was as a result of this line of questioning, assured her that the attorney was within his rights to ask and she should do her best to respond.

Charlotte broke down more than once and on one occasion Charlotte's maid Rose Collins rushed forward to throw her arms around the sobbing young woman and comfort her. Charlotte seemed likely to collapse.

Defense attorney Caesar Barra called for a mistrial as this was likely to prejudice the jury. Judge Taylor dismissed the motion, instructed the jury to disregard what they'd just seen and admonished Rose Collins, who rather indignantly declared "I wasn't going to say anything" before returning to her own seat.

Daily News, 12-2-1934

The Judge called a ten minute recess and Charlotte was helped to an anteroom for ministrations by medical personnel. Sidney rushed out of the courtroom so quickly that onlookers felt he must have been concerned for Charlotte. How disappointed were they when they saw he was trying to take a quick smoke break out in the hallway.

Testifying for the defense were Sidney's mother, his two sisters and Beulah Homewood. Beulah was the wife of Frank "Reg" Homewood and she had some startling testimony intended to make the jury doubt not only Charlotte Gibson but Alec Homewood as well.  Charlotte's former friends had turned against her.

Sid's mother Blanche and sisters, Dorothy and Ethel, all portrayed Charlotte as someone who smoked, wore lipstick, "acted rough" and "unladylike" in the lounge of the Riding Academy and she often turned up at their home uninvited. It wasn't a surprise to the defense that Robert Gibson knew nothing of his daughter's behavior outside of the home.

Blanche, Dorothy and Ethel all claimed that Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gibson were snobs who thought themselves better than the Homewoods.

Ethel claimed to have insider knowledge of a three-year-long romance that soured Charlotte on men until she met Mr. DelCampo. Unfortunately for the defense, the man's name was the one thing Charlotte hadn't revealed to Ethel during that January 1932 conversation so she couldn't share it with the court. Ethel testified that Charlotte told her "I used to think love could exist without sex until I met him."  According to the defense, this anonymous lover jilted Charlotte after using her (one would assume for sex).

Ethel testified that Charlotte confided to her that Angelo DelCampo, unlike her previous lover, was "one of the finest men she had ever known."

The name and reputation of another friend of the Gibson family was brought into the proceedings but the defense could not prove there had ever been anything improper between Charlotte and John King.

They did seem to be grasping at straws.

Sidney's sister-in-law, Beulah Homewood came forth to testify about being at the Homewood Stables in the early part of February 1932 and catching Alec Homewood on top of a girl in one of the stable stalls. She claims to have walked in on them in the early stages of fooling around. Both jumped to their feet and readjusted their clothes. Beulah recognized the girl as Charlotte Gibson. Beulah said she announced "This is no place for me" then went back to her car to wait for her husband Frank while he concluded whatever business he had with Sid.

Dorothy Homewood couldn't testify to seeing Charlotte and Alec in various states of undress but she did claim to have seen them spending time alone together and often Charlotte's hair would be down when next she saw her.

Charlotte took the stand again to defend herself against these accusations.

Her singing teacher was a middle-aged man who had kissed her on her forehead after a particularly good lesson. No more no less.

She had never kissed Angelo DelCampo. However, Walter MacKellar tried to kiss her once and she slapped him.

There was no anonymous lover as alluded to by Ethel Homewood.

John King and his brother Robert King were friends of the family who had visited the Gibson household with their mother in tow. Charlotte had exchanged a few letters with John but there was nothing salacious in them.

Charlotte testified that she had never shared an intimate moment with Alec Homewood and certainly never rolled around on the floor of a stable with him.

Alec Homewood also denied a romance with Charlotte. He actually came off as rather indifferent towards her.

Sidney testified that Alec had once offered to "get me out of this mess." When Sid asked his cousin what he meant by that, Alec replied that "for $10,000 he would marry Charlotte."

Alec's side of the story was Sidney offered him $250.00 if he would marry Charlotte and Alec replied, "Nothing doing, not for $10,000."

On August 20, 1932, Alec Homewood left Sidney's employ and opened his own riding academy just down the road from Homewood Stables.

After the news of the scandal broke, 50% of Sid's customers transferred their business over to Alec's location.

Beulah Homewood claimed to have had a conversation with Alec in September 1932, well after Sid's arrest but before the trial, in which she said "You pulled a fast one on him (Sidney)." According to Beulah, Alec indicated he wasn't done yet and would be testifying against his cousin.

Daily News,
12-5-1932

Was there bad blood between the Sid and Alec beforehand?

Sid and his family had paid Alec's way from England to the United States ten years prior, employed him in the family business and he was living with them until 1929 when, according to Sid, his mother asked Alec to leave because "he wouldn't leave one of my sisters alone" yet he continued on at Homewood Stables and was someone Sid confided in.

During Blanche Homewood's time on the stand, she would only confirm that she asked her nephew Alec to move out of the family home but she did not say why.

Both the prosecution and the defense conceded that Sidney had offered to marry Charlotte once he was convinced of the pregnancy but that negotiations between Robert Gibson and Sidney quickly broke down.

Wedding dates were set but then Sid wouldn't show up or he'd call to postpone.

Charlotte and Robert Gibson both testified that Sidney only accepted partial blame for the situation and stressed that if Charlotte would have terminated the pregnancy nobody would have to get married.

According to Sidney, Robert Gibson was in favor of a quick wedding for which he'd absorb the cost but then he thought it best if the two parted. Sidney's pride wouldn't allow this. Sid made a counter offer to marry Charlotte then take her away for 2 weeks before returning her to her father.

Blanche Homewood wasn't happy with any of these plans. She didn't favor a union between the two families.

On December 7, 1932 it was in the hands of the jury.

There was very little physical evidence, other than Charlotte's pregnancy and their own admissions of intimacy. Charlotte had told nobody about the affair and because the romance was meant to be a secret, not a single witness was able to step forth and attest to seeing any signs of overt affection between Charlotte and Sid let alone a promise of marriage.
The only gift ever given to Charlotte by Sid was a box of carrots and he claimed to have sent Christmas cards to many of his customers in 1931.

When Sid was engaged to Elizabeth Bishop, it was no secret.
The defense likewise couldn't prove Charlotte had any prior carnal knowledge.

How would the jury decide? This wasn't a charge of rape, breach of promise or even paternity. They had only the word of those involved and impressions made by the witnesses and the lawyers.

Less than an hour after retiring to deliberate, the jury was back and the verdict was guilty.

The jury - Daily News, 12-8-1932

Grace Robinson, reporter for The NY Daily News, interviewed one of the jurors, Philip Kohler, Jr. as he exited the courthouse.

Kohler is quoted as saying they all believed Charlotte was "a girl of fine instincts and good breeding. No girl like Miss Gibson, we felt, would have relations with a man in the manner in which Homewood said their intimacy occurred. A man must tell a girl of that sort he loves her. There has to be some real show of affection between them before she would capitulate.

"When Homewood said that no words of love passed between them, we couldn't believe it.

"Not only that, but we didn't believe he could have repeated his intimacies unless on each separate occasion he again told her he loved her."

While I'm not sure there was sufficient evidence in Sidney Homewood's December 1932 trial for a conviction on that charge, one need only to go back to Sid's comments made before the trial and printed in the September 25, 1932 edition of the Daily News to see the differences in what he said then and what he testified to on the stand.

"I wasn't the one who made the advances. This girl kept after me for months to go out with her. And when I started taking her to movie shows and dances, there were many opportunities, but I ignored them.

"Finally she became insistent. I'm only human, and one evening after we had parked the car in a cemetery on the way home from a show in Spring Valley, I acquiesced.

Entrance to the Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill, NY -

photo from Findagrave.com

"But I never loved her and my love can't be bought. I won't be a party to any marriage to satisfy her father's pride. When her father came to me in July and demanded that I marry her, he said "You'll marry her the way I want you to.' I found out he meant that she was to live at her home and I at mine, and that he was to pay the expenses of the baby's birth."

While still claiming to be the one pursued, Sid does say the seduction occurred in the cemetery after the movies, not outside of J. Garner West's house.

What else might he have been untruthful about?

Sid faced a possible jail term of 2 1/2 to 5 years and a hefty fine.

Judge George Taylor sentenced Sid to between 18 months and 3 years in prison and imposed a $500.00 fine. The defense made immediate plans to appeal.

Sid and his attorneys, Caesar Barra, Robert and Charles Finkelstein -
Daily News, 12-1-1932

Sid's attorneys asked that their client be allowed to remain free on bail during the appeal process. District Attorney Stebbins argued that Sid Homewood might flee to England if the bond was still only $1500.00. Caesar Barra, for the defense, agreed to $5000.00.

Supreme Court Justice Joseph Morschauser considered the appeal and on February 3, 1933, he agreed there was reasonable doubt in the jury's verdict but set bail at $15,000.00.

Unable to raise that kind of money, Sid languished in the Rockland County Jail for 164 days while waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal.

The verdict was upheld and on May 19, 1933 Sidney was shipped off to Sing Sing but not before being permitted to swing by the Homewood Riding Academy to say goodbye to his horse Lady Gray. 

Newspapers reported he already had a new blonde girlfriend.

Sheriff Tom Farley escorts Sid to Sing Sing
Daily News, 5-20-1933

Blanche Homewood made an appeal to the court for the fine to be reduced, claiming it was a financial hardship on the family.

They had already been forced to sell two of their horses to pay back taxes on their properties and the banks were ready for foreclose.

On March 31, 1934, the motion was granted and the fine was reduced by half. If the Homewood family was unable to raise that $250.00 before Sid's release, he would be forced to serve one day for every $1 of the fine.

Robert Gibson expressed outrage at the court's decision.

Sidney was released on parole from Wallkill Prison on May 18, 1934 after serving 1 year, 5 months and 14 days. While there, he was in charge of the horses.

Blanche Homewood presented a cashier's check in the amount of $250.00 before the prison doors were opened to her son.

Once released, Sidney said he hoped to return to his job at the family's Riding Academy which had been moved to Park Ridge, NJ because negative trial publicity had ruined the business.

And what of the love child?

On December 19, 1932, Charlotte gave birth to a little girl she named Mary Joan Gibson.

Twelve days later the child, reportedly not strong at birth and weighing only 4 pounds, died.



D.A. Stebbins -
The Journal News,
11-2-1953

Knowing this was an unwanted pregnancy, the District Attorney ordered an inquest. The accepted cause of death was "hemorrhage of the umbilicus."

Mary Joan had been rushed to the Nyack Hospital on December 29 and given a blood transfusion. She was attended to by three doctors but died 12 hours after being brought in.

Robert Gibson was said to be grief stricken. Charlotte was doing as well as could be expected.

When told of the death, Sidney Homewood refused to say anything other than, "It's a matter with which I have nothing to do."

A private burial was arranged.

In May 1935, Frank Reginald Homewood, Sidney's older brother and husband of defense witness Beulah Homewood, found himself named as the third party in a highly-charged and sordid divorce case that was tried in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Harris J. Weaving alleged his wife was carrying on an affair with Reg Homewood and brought before the judge to support this claim were Margaret's two older sisters, Anna Whalen and Louise Gibson (no relation to Charlotte).
"I did not expect to be happy," Harris testified. "We both agreed before we got married that we would never love each other, but I tried to make her happy afterwards."

To be fair, Harris Weaving readily admitted that he had only married Margaret Fuchs on May 27, 1927 to spite another girl he had been going with.

Daily News, 5-14-1935

Anna Whalen testified that the two lovers were in the habit of using the bed she shared with her own husband. "They came in and pushed us out of bed about 6 o'clock one Sunday morning."

When asked why she tolerated this in her own home, Anna Whalen explained that her husband was ill and unemployed. "Our hands were tied because we were starving to death. They brought us food" whenever they came over.

Louise Gibson was witness to naked cavorting by both Reg and Margaret, several incidents of cruelty and physical abuse inflicted upon Margaret's daughter Dolores and a drunken brawl during a February 10, 1934 alcohol-fueled party that began early in the evening and continued until 4 AM the next day

Two additional witnesses helped to paint a very damaging portrait of Margaret Weaving.

Judge Campbell didn't hesitate to grant the divorce and award custody of 5-year-old Dolores to Harris J. Weaving.

In passing judgement he had this to say, "If I had my way, the child would be brought up without knowing it ever had a mother."

Daily News, 5-14-1935

His opinion of Reginald Homewood was just as scathing. Judge Campbell declared Reg to be "a scalawag who ought to be driven out of Bergen County," adding "It's too bad the law doesn't permit the tarring and feathering of persons such as he."

Upon learning she was to be separated from her daughter, Margaret Weaving became hysterical and violent. She screamed "I want my baby. They can't take my baby away from me" and had to be physically removed from the courtroom. Reg was by Margaret's side attempting to console her. Eventually, the two would marry.

They were together until Reg's death on November 5, 1960. He was 55-years-old. Margaret died on January 8, 1973, at the age of 68.

Beulah Homewood, who had been employed by the Mutual Life Insurance Company before marrying Reg, is listed in the 1940 Census as living with her 8-year-old son Frank in the Bergen, New Jersey home of Andrew English and his adult son William. She was their housekeeper/maid. William and Beulah would later marry.

On August 30, 1935, in Orangeburg, NY, the inevitable happened. Charlotte and Sidney attended the same horse show/county fair and the press was there to report on it. Sidney was not competing that day but merely enjoying the festivities with a few friends and his new wife, identified only and rather disparagingly as "an actress."

According to the NY Daily News, "Sidney left his bride and two friends in his car and strolled to the ringside when Charlotte trotted in on her bay gelding, Tappancroft Starlight. His manner was casual but his glance closely followed the slim girl" while Charlotte "gave Sidney not a glance."

Daily News, 8-31-1935

Charlotte competed in the semi-finals of a jumping competition against Alec Homewood and emerged victorious but alas, she lost in the finals.

News Journal,
2-26-1928

Pauline Blair and
Captain W.J. Walter,

While the press did not name Sid's wife, my research has me hopefully believing that she was the same Pauline Blair who enjoyed some small level of success in the mid to late 1920s, first on Broadway (most notably in "Bunk of 1926"), then in the touring company of "Florenz Ziegfeld's Kid Boots" and also, in 1929, appeared with Ginger Rogers in a film short called "A Day of a Man of Affairs."

It's nice to see that she continued to appear on stage, even if it was in  a local theatrical production.

photo from The Record, 4-5-1958

One week after the Orangeburg Horse Show, an intrepid reporter tracked Sid down at his Englewood, NJ home and recorded these comments - "I don't care whether the public is interested in me or not. I mind my own business and let everybody else mind theirs. What I do, how I do it or why I do it is nobody's business but my own. Why do people insist on poking into my business? I just want to be left alone."

At the time, Sid made his living driving a coal truck although he would later own and operate the S.H. Homewood Feed Company before retiring in 1969. Sidney remained an active equestrian throughout his life and died on April 29, 1995 at the age of 86.

Sid's wife Pauline died five years prior on April 2, 1990 at the age of 81.  Their marriage produced 4 children, 1 boy and 3 girls.

Elizabeth Bishop, who I had hoped to hear from during Sidney's trial, was rumored to be on the witness list but was not called to testify. She was right to continue her studies. The 1940 Census has Elizabeth living in Manhattan and working in the laboratory of a private hospital. She contributed to the war effort by serving as a PHM3 (Pharmacists Mate 3rd Class) in the US Navy. Elizabeth married John M. Ansel. John, a fellow WWII US Navy veteran (Yeoman 1st Class) died on June 12, 2004 at the age of 89. Elizabeth died the following month on July 11th, she was 93.

Alec Homewood married fellow equestrian Phyllis S. Wilman on April 14, 1936, They both played active roles in the running of the Orangeburg Horse Show. Alec managed the Boulder Brook Club in Scarsdale, NY and they had one son.

Alec Homewood -
Scarsdale Enquirer, 4-8-1955

Sidney's mother Blanche died in 1955. She was 81.

Sidney's sister Ethel "Em" Homewood, 20 years the head of the circulation department at the Johnson Public Library, died at home on Dec 6, 1961 following a long illness. She was 61.

Sidney's sister Anna Dorothy Homewood died on February 25, 1984. She was 82. I would say she was never married but I've run across a legal notice in a December 4, 1941 Hackensack, NJ newspaper regarding back property taxes that lists, among others, "Blanche G. Homewood, widow, Ethel E. Homewood, unmarried, Annie D. Homewood and "John Doe," husband of Annie D. Homewood." This is, however, the only indication she was ever married and the individual remains unnamed.

Robert Gibson made the news again in 1937 when, after repeatedly refusing to allow the NYS Agricultural Department to conduct tuberculin tests on his two cows, he had the cows shot. 
Mr. Gibson claimed he believed the tuberculin test law was an attempt by the "milk trust" to kill off all privately owned cattle. "It's about time people protested against all those crazy laws." Such laws he said "are worse than anything a dictator would attempt." Gibson claimed victory in his 5-year-battle with the State.

Robert Gibson died in 1950, he was 87. Grace Llewellyn Jones Gibson died in 1963, she was 90. Both are buried in the Tappan Cemetery in Tappan, NY.

Daily News, 9-23-1932

Charlotte managed to find true love at last when she married Walter Mitchell Schubert on January 31, 1936.

While unconfirmed by me, friends of the Gibson family thought Walter had connections to the Provincetown Players and may have known Charlotte before she got involved with Sidney Homewood.

Walter died on August 25, 1975 at the age of 76. He was survived by his wife and their 2 daughters. Charlotte died on May 31, 1991, she was 82.

Obviously, there was no shortage of newspaper articles regarding this scandalous affair but I learned much from reading the actual trial transcripts which I found in a surprising place - a 1979 book called "Measuring Capital and Income" written by John R. Hanna. Should anyone be interested, the book can be found for free on Google Books.



Here's an interesting story concerning Drew Howard, Dolores Weaver's son from her first marriage to Russell P. Howard. In case you can't recall who Dolores is, she's the step-daughter of Franklin "Reg" Homewood.

I'll warn you in advance that I've only recently discovered this and haven't yet been able to learn the ending so I'm faced with three options - not to include it, to delay the posting of the Charlotte Gibson/Sidney Homewood tale or (as I have chosen) to tell you what I know now and hope to provide an update in future.

Drew Howard was 17-years-old and serving a sentence of six months to 10 years on a conviction for breaking and entering, burglary and auto theft in south Florida when, on May 15, 1967, he simply walked away from a state road camp near Palatka, Florida. Drew was recaptured by Dade County police on August 2, 1967 and placed in the Putnam County Jail to await trial of the escape charge.

On November 15, 1967, 11 days before his trial date, Drew asked to make a phone call to his father Russell P. Howard. An unarmed 58-year-old guard named H.E. Jernigan escorted Drew to the jail's office so he could use the telephone.

On the way back to the cells, Drew punched the guard in the face, catching him by surprise. Drew then bashed Jernigan's head and face into a wall. Jernigan fell to the ground and was kicked repeatedly by Drew. Drew grabbed the guard's keys and frantically tried to open the front and back doors but couldn't find the correct key for the lock before other prisoners raised the alarm.

Drew was thrown back in his cell and now faced these additional charges - assault with intent to commit murder and attempted escape. Drew was still serving time for the initial robbery charge and as well as his previous escape.

H.E. Jernigan suffered 5 broken teeth, 10 stitches in this face and mouth plus abrasions of the head, face and chest.

Drew was ordered to serve the entire 10 years for the robbery conviction and a judge tacked on an additional 3 years for his assault on Jernigan.

Jump ahead to August 28, 1975. Drew Howard, now 25-years-old and an inmate at the minimum security Big Pine Key Prison Camp simply walked away from his job at a truck weighing station in Windley Key when the Department of Transportation supervisor went inside a building to take a measurement. When the supervisor came back outside, Drew Howard and another prisoner, Kenneth Bohan, were gone. Bohan, aged 31, was serving a 5 year sentence for aggravated assault.

The two escapees walked half a mile to the unoccupied home of Coast Guard Chief Robert K. Coulter, aged 33, and forced open a window. Arming themselves with kitchen knives, Howard and Bohan, attacked Coulter as soon as he walked through the front door. The tied him to a chair and explained they just wanted to "get out of the Keys area."

An hour later, Nancy Coulter, 33, and their youngest son Harry, 10, came home. Still at school and waiting to be picked up was their son 12-year-old Bobby. One of the convicts accompanied Robert Coulter to the school. With everyone back home, Howard and Bohan held the family hostage until midnight, about 7 hours.

Robert Coulter agreed to drive them anywhere they wanted to go so long as his family remained unharmed. An agreement was reached with Mrs. Coulter promising not to phone the police as soon as they drove away. She waited more than an hour before calling police.

Coulter drove north to Fort Lauderdale and then turned back south to Miramar near the Florida Turnpike where Howard and Bohan hopped out. They were now 100 miles from where they started.

I haven't yet been able to learn whether or not either of these men were apprehended.