No. 308
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
May 23, 2016

A Pair of Turtle Doves.

J. C. McLean, of Anderson, Ind., discovers that his wife is of a too-loving nature.
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May 23, 2016
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Tag: Jealousy

A Jealous Husband’s Mistake.

How a Reading, PA., merchant, broke open his wife’s charmer and discovered a supposed lover to be a harmless female cousin.

2/19/2018

The Green-Eyed Monster.

10/14/2014

Bloody Duel over a Woman.

J. Williams and A. Jabes, two Salt Lake City, Utah, Men, carve each other in a frightful manner.

11/19/2013

What Led to a Divorce.

What a Husband Discovered, and How a couple were separated.

5/20/2013

A Fiendish Husband’s Desperate Deed.

10/16/2012
ALBERT CROPSEY
alias: WILLIAMS
HOTEL THIEF

The Great Eater of Kent

Some people make it into the history books by becoming world leaders.  Some do so through acts of daring or heroism.  Some do so by creating immortal works of art.  And some, like the hero of today’s post, do so by eating an entire sheep in one sitting.It’s a funny old world.About all we know for sure about Nicholas Wood of Harrietsham, Kent, England, is that he would have been a
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Strange Company - 7/20/2026

Artifact #93: Soapy's son, hires attorney to stop the slurring of his father's name.

"As his son I am proud of hisefforts to succeed in life"Jefferson Randolph Smith IIIArtifact #93-2Jeff Smith collection(Click image to enlarge) oapy's son hires a legal firm to stop the defamation of his father's name. At age 30, Jefferson Randolph Smith III, Soapy and Mary's oldest son, was protecting his father's legacy and his mother's reputation from "libel" and scandal. He was also
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Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 10/13/2025
Amen.

The spiteful family feud behind one of New York’s oldest and most luxurious hotels

A visitor to today’s recently restored Waldorf Astoria might be dazzled by the Art Deco design, the luxurious lobby, and the ghosts of all the actors, inventors, and heads of state who made it their temporary home. What that visitor might not realize is that “the hypen”—as the hotel was called before the hyphen was […]
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Ephemeral New York - 7/20/2026

1617: A miller of Manberna, the hangman’s last

Youth With Executioner by Nuremberg native Albrecht Dürer … although it’s dated to 1493, which was during a period of several years when Dürer worked abroad. November 13 [1617]. Burnt alive here a miller of Manberna, who however was lately … Continue reading →
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Executed Today - 11/13/2020

The Tell-Tale Skull.

(Philadelphia Inquirer, April 29, 1895.)Johanna Gahan married Jimmy Logue, a professional thief, in 1871, just as he was preparing to serve a seven-year prison sentence for burglary. She waited for him, and after his release, Jimmy bought a house for them in Philadelphia. Within a year, Jimmy was off on a “thieving expedition” to Boston. When he returned, Johanna was gone. Those who knew Jimmy
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Murder By Gaslight - 7/18/2026
On the Russians.

Countdown to the Crime

Join us on our Facebook page as we begin counting down the days to August 4th and all of the events leading up to the day. https://www.facebook.com/lizziebordenwarpsandwefts
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Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts - 7/7/2026

Convicts to Maryland, 1773 by Peter Dickson

  [Editor’s note: Guest writer, Peter Dickson, lives in West Sussex, England and has been working with microfilm copies of The Duncan Campbell Papers from the State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia. The following are some of his analyses of what he has discovered from reading these papers. Dickson has contributed many transcriptions to the Jamaica […]
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Early American Crime - 2/7/2019
Ought to be Ashamed of Herself. | Demi-Monde Excursion.

A Pair of Turtle Doves.

Turtle Doves

J. C. McLean, of Anderson, Ind., discovers that his wife is of a too-loving nature. [more]

A social sensation was recently caused in Anderson, Ind., when Grocer J. C. McLean handed his wife a check for $700, escorted her to the train for Paris, Ill., her former home, and then went back home and filed suit for divorce. McLean had discovered his wife in a loving attitude with James Benson, who lodged at McLean’s. She was sitting on Benson’s lap. McLean said not a word, but at once consulted a lawyer. Mrs. McLean was a leader in society and church affairs, and is a handsome woman. Her husband is broken-hearted over the affair. Benson, the cause of the separation, is a clerk in a shoe store.

Reprinted from National Police Gazette, September 10, 1892.

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