Chester and Grace: The Real American Tragedy

11/25/06- A GOOD YEAR

WELL, THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY CENTENNIAL YEAR IS OVER AT LAST. LAST SATURDAY, I ATTENDED THE DEDICATION CEREMONY OF A HISTORICAL MARKER FOR THE 1834 HERKIMER COUNTY JAIL IN HERKIMER. THE CEREMONY WAS SUPPOSED TO MARK THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF CHESTER GILLETTE'S HISTORIC MURDER TRIAL FOR THE MURDER OF GRACE BROWN. THE MARKER WAS DONATED BY THE FAMILY OF HERKIMER COUNTY SHERIFF CHRIS FARBER. IN THE PHOTO ABOVE, I AM STANDING TO THE RIGHT OF THE MARKER, ALONG WITH JEFF STEELE, PRESIDENT OF THE HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND CRAIG BRANDON, AUTHOR OF "MURDER IN THE ADIRONDACKS" AND "GRACE BROWN'S LOVE LETTERS." SHERIFF FARBER AND HIS FAMILY ARE TO THE LEFT OF THE MARKER.

IN ADDITION TO CHESTER, THE 1834 JAIL ALSO HOUSED TWO OF HERKIMER COUNTY'S MOST INFAMOUS MURDERERS, BOTH OF WHOM I HAVE ALSO BEEN LEARNING ABOUT THROUGHOUT MY TIME RESEARCHING THE GILLETTE CASE: ROXALANA DRUSE, WHOSE HANGING IN 1887 PAVED THE WAY FOR THE ELECTRIC CHAIR; AND JEAN GIANINI, WHO WAS ACCUSED OF THE FIRST SCHOOLTEACHER MURDER IN AMERICAN HISTORY WHEN HE MURDERED HIS TEACHER IN POLAND IN 1914. THERE IS A BOOK ABOUT THE GIANINI TRIAL NOW ON SALE AT THE HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: "LULLABY FOR MORONS," BY RONALD KEITH SIEGEL. I HAVE READ THAT BOOK AND I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING. IF YOU ARE IN THE AREA AND HAPPEN TO SEE THE BOOK THERE, I RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN OLD MURDER CASES.

DESPITE THE COLD WEATHER, THERE WAS A PRETTY GOOD TURNOUT FOR THE CEREMONY. FOLLOWING THE CEREMONY, TOURS OF BOTH THE JAIL AND THE COURTHOUSE ACROSS THE STREET WERE GIVEN, AS WELL AS A RECEPTION IN THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUILDING. CRAIG WAS ALSO ON HAND FOR A BOOK SIGNING, AS WAS JOSEPH BROWNELL, AUTHOR OF "ADIRONDACK TRAGEDY." MEMBERS OF THE ILION LITTLE THEATER CLUB WERE ALSO PRESENT, DRESSED UP AS PEOPLE THAT FIGURED PROMINENTLY IN THE GILLETTE CASE, AND I CONTRIBUTED MY 8 X 10 PHOTO OF GRACE, AS WELL AS A PHOTO ALBUM CONTAINING ALL OF MY GILLETTE PHOTOS TO DATE, AND THE RUBBING I MADE OF GRACE'S GRAVE WHEN I WENT TO HER GRAVESITE IN AUGUST.

ALTHOUGH I MET JOE BROWNELL IN AUGUST ON THE BUS TRIP, THIS DAY WAS THE FIRST TIME I MET CRAIG BRANDON. IT WAS A REAL HONOR FOR ME TO MEET THE LEADING EXPERT ON THE CASE AND TO STAND UP THERE WITH HIM AT THE MARKER DEDICATION CEREMONY. IT IS MOMENTS LIKE THIS THAT DEEPEN MY COMMITTMENT TO THE CASE, ESPECIALLY SINCE AFTER ALL, I AM DOING A BOOK ON THE CASE.

THE YEAR MAY BE OVER FOR THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, BUT IT IS NOT OVER FOR ME. IT MAY NEVER BE OVER FOR ME. LIKE I SAID, I AM DOING A BOOK ON THE CASE, AND I MAY AS WELL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE AS TO THE DIRECTION I WANT TO GO WITH IT. MY NEW PLAN IS TO FOCUS MORE EXCLUSIVELY ON GRACE, ESPECIALLY SINCE SO LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HER, OUTSIDE OF THE LOVE LETTERS AND CHESTER. I BASICALLY WANT TO SHOW THE READERS THAT THERE WAS MORE TO GRACE THAN JUST THE LETTERS. I WILL ALSO INCLUDE THE UPDATES THAT HAVE EMERGED FROM THE CASE SINCE THE TWO BOOKS WERE PUBLISHED TWENTY YEARS AGO. IF ALL GOES WELL, I SHOULD BE GOOD TO GO BY THE END OF THE YEAR AND I AM HOPING TO GET THE BOOK OUT BY 2008, THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF CHESTER'S EXECUTION.

I SHALL NEVER FORGET MY INVOLVEMENT IN THIS CASE OR THE PEOPLE I HAVE WORKED WITH FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE. WHEN I FIRST STUMBLED UPON THAT NEWSPAPER CLIPPING IN JULY, 2005, I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. NOW I REALIZED THAT IT WAS FATE THAT LED ME TO THE CASE. NOW I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IN THE END, I WILL HAVE DONE RIGHT BY EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING THAT THE CASE STOOD FOR.