No. 243
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
March 02, 2015

Was Her Story a Fake?

Miss Alice Jackman, a St. Louis heiress, claims to have been abducted a second time.
More...
March 2, 2015
...
...

Tag: Fraud

Vaccination from a Beauty.

Idiotic freak of some young men at Los Angeles.

3/9/2021

Beat the Hypnotist.

Two girls, who had been ill-treated by a fake mesmerist, get revenge in Indianapolis, Ind.

7/2/2018

Her Trick Spirit Trick Exposed.

Mrs. Bested seized by two men while giving a séance at Hartford, Conn.

9/18/2017

They Ran a Snide Game.

A “friendly” poker scheme exposed at Bogota, N. J., by one of the players squealing.

6/13/2016

Thimble Rig A La Mode.

3/18/2014

Gold from Seawater!

In 1898, the Reverend Prescott F. Jernegan founded the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company to extract gold from seawater. When the gold ran out, so did Rev. Jernegan, taking the company’s capital.

7/16/2013

The Pawn-Ticket Game.

Pawn tickets make bad collateral.

3/5/2013

Napoleon's Oraculum.

6/19/2012

The Swindling Beggar

7/11/2011
WILLIAM BURKE
alias: BILLY THE kID, etc, MURPHY, PETRIE
BANK SNEAK

Newspaper Clipping of the Day

Via Newspapers.comThis odd case of a man and his apparent doppelganger appeared in the “Vancouver World,” July 21, 1894:"There is a mystery now of five years standing in the lumber regions of Northern Pennsylvania," said George W. Culp of the Upper Susquehanna Valley, “the clearing up of which would give a great deal of satisfaction to the people in that region. Five years ago John Shehan came to
More...
Strange Company - 8/12/2026

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 […]
More...
Early American Crime - 2/7/2019
Amen.

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
More...
Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 10/13/2025

Daniel, Teresa, and Phillip.

Daniel Sickles, Teresa Bagioli, Phillip KeyIn 1859, Dan Sickles, a congressman from New York (and future Union General), was married to the most beautiful woman in Washington, but his other interests, including his mistresses, often kept him away from home. His lonely young wife, Teresa, found comfort in the arms of Philip Barton Key, D.C. District Attorney and son of poet Francis Scott
More...
Murder By Gaslight - 8/8/2026
On the Russians.

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 →
More...
Executed Today - 11/13/2020
Comedian Punches Drummer. | A Monkey and Dog Time.

Was Her Story a Fake?

Was her story fake?

Miss Alice Jackman, a St. Louis heiress, claims to have been abducted a second time. [more]

Another sensation was created in St. Louis a ew days ago, when Alice Jackman, the heiress who was recently abducted in broad daylight, disappeared from the home of her guardian, Mr. Charles Spink. Later the young lady turned up at the house of Mr. Al Spink. She claimed that she had been kidnapped by three men, who hurried her into a coach and took her to the residence of Mr. Brouthers. It now comes to light that Alice has been monkeying with the truth in regard to the second attempt at abduction. The question now arises: Where did she spend the four had a half hours from the time she left Charles Spink’s house until she arrived at the home of his brother? It is the general impression that Alice has been looking for notoriety.

Reprinted from National Police Gazette, January 25, 1890.

Turn to Page 1