No. 647
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
March 28, 2024

Willie Craig Was a Girl.

But what a lovely sensation she created among the Henderson, Tenn. sweet girls and susceptible b
May 11, 2015
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Via Newspapers.comThis account of diabolical doings down on the farm appeared in the “Great Bend Tribune,” September 28, 1908:Groton, Conn. This town is excited indeed over the amazing happenings at the fine old farm of William Hempstead, a mile east of New London.Visitors have been going out in automobiles and carriages to study the mystery. Small articles, such as beans, spools of thread,
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HE DUEL IN ELLEN'S HONOR. Soapy Smith’s grandmotherOn Wednesday, August 9, 1820, an argument between 17-year-old, James Bowe Boisseau (1802-1820) and Robert C. Adams (unknown-1820) vying for the attention of 18-year-old Ellen Stimpson Peniston (1802-1860), took a terrible turn. The happy party in her honor took a tragic turn when the competition for Ellen’s affections ended in a deadly duel,
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Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 1/10/2024
Is that the crenellated crown of a faux Medieval castle looming five stories above Riverside Drive and 83rd Street—flanked by European-inspired row houses with dormer windows and tiled roofs? The separate dwellings that compose this delightful design mashup are quite a sight among the Drive’s mostly uniform prewar apartment houses. Who built these eclectic residences […]
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An article I recently wrote for the British online magazine, New Politic, is now available online. The article, “The Criminal Origins of the United States of America,” is about British convict transportation to America, which took place between the years 1718 and 1775, and is the subject of my book, Bound with an Iron Chain: […]
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Early American Crime - 12/17/2021
Margaret Howard learned too late that the man she married was a violent, two-timing gambler. After they separated, he kidnapped their children to be raised by another woman posing as his wife. Margaret snapped and took her revenge on the false Mrs. Howard.  Read the full story here: Margaret Howard.
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Included in yesterday’s trip to Fall River was a stop at Miss Lizzie’s Coffee shop and a visit to the cellar to see the scene of the tragic demise of the second Mrs. Lawdwick Borden and two of the three little children in 1848. I have been writing about this sad tale since 2010 and had made a previous trip to the cellar some years ago but was unable to get to the spot where the incident occured to get a clear photograph.  The tale of Eliza Borden is a very sad, but not uncommon story of post partum depression with a heartrending end. You feel this as you stand in the dark space behind the chimney where Eliza ended her life with a straight razor after dropping 6 month old Holder and his 3 year old sister Eliza Ann into the cellar cistern. Over the years I have found other similar cases, often involving wells and cisterns, and drownings of children followed by suicides of the mothers. These photos show the chimney, cistern pipe, back wall, dirt and brick floor, original floorboards forming the cellar ceiling and what appears to be an original door. To be in the place where this happened is a sobering experience. My thanks to Joe Pereira for allowing us to see and record the place where this sad occurrence unfolded in 1848. R.I.P. Holder, Eliza and Eliza Ann Borden. Visit our Articles section above for more on this story. The coffee shop has won its suit to retain its name and has plans to expand into the shop next door and extend its menu in the near future.
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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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Chorus Girls Fight. | Mdlle. Carlotta de Berg.

Willie Craig Was a Girl.

Willie Craig was a girl

But what a lovely sensation she created among the Henderson, Tenn. sweet girls and susceptible boys before her sex was discovered. [more]

When Willie Craig first made his appearance in the small town of Henderson, Tenn., all the girls in town fell dead in love with him. He had an Apollo-like shape and a complexion that ould have made Madame Recamier blush. Willie’s feet were small. So were his hands. He played piano, sang, and altogether the girls agreed that he was the sweetest fellow in the world. Of course the young men were jealous. Willie made very few friends among them. But he seemed to be perfectly satisfied with his feminine companions.

In view of these facts the sensation which was aroused in Henderson the other day when Willie was found to be a girl can better be imagined then described. Immediately the whole attitude of everybody changed, and the girls how had loved hated, while the boys who had hated loved. For four months this young woman had worn men’s clothes about the town and, despite her delicate appearance as a youth, was not detected until recently.

Back of her actions is a story. She tells it herself that several years ago she had two lovers, one named Sam Beasley, of Union City, Tenn., and the other Lee Steed of Martin. She was coquettish. She led them on. Jealousy burned in flaming fires within their breasts. It came to a misunderstanding, then a blow and then a duel. In that duel Lee Steed shot and killed young Beasley. About the same time that this occurred the young girl’s father died. Then her mother broke up housekeeping. Grieved by the death of her lover, for she had loved Beasley best, she resolved never to receive the attentions of another young man. To most effectively prevent men making love to her she became to all appearance on of their sex. And thus for three years she lived in one town then another until she went to Henderson about three months ago to be discovered as stated.

Her real name is Willie Rankins. She has two half brothers. One of them is living at Hickman Ky. His name is Poland Montgomery. It was by accident that the girl’s sex was discovered, and she now decided to be a sure enough girl again in dress as well as person.


Reprinted from National Police Gazette, October 14, 1893.