4/20/06- Forbidden Love

A little over a month after his arrival in Cortland, New York in the spring of 1905, Chester Gillette encountered the one event that would change the course of his life forever.

That would be the day he met Grace Brown.

The exact circumstances of how they met is still unclear. The most famous account was that one day, Chester was visiting the inspection department on the cutting room floor of the Gillette Skirt Factory building. He then saw a ring rolling to a stop right by his foot. He picked it up and traced it to a lovely young woman, slightly embarrassed because the ring slipped off her finger while she was inspecting a finished product. Chester was quite the gentleman, very polite and courteous to the young woman. Before that month was out, they would be seen together frequently while they were working and later when they were not working.

Chester started visiting Grace at her sister's house, where she had been staying since she moved to Cortland in the fall of 1904. He made quite an impression on Grace's sister and her family. They were impressed enough that they allowed Chester to see Grace without supervision, which in those days was probably not a good idea. By the end of that summer, their relationship reached the point where they started making love in the parlor of her sister's house at least twice a week.

By that fall, Grace found herself without a place to stay after a death in the family forced her sister to move back to Chenango County. Chester was able to influence his uncle to set her up in a boarding house not far from the factory. If Grace had to leave the area too, Chester would have nothing to do.

That soon changed when the girls of high society started inviting Chester to social function, which therefore forced him to push Grace away into the background. She had tried in vain to persuade him to take her with him to the social functions, but he refused. From that point on, Grace only saw him two nights out of the whole week.

Then in April of 1906, the one thing every unmarried woman in those days feared had finally happened to Grace: She was pregnant.

4/15-06- WAYWARD SON


IN CONTRAST, CHESTER GILLETTE'S LIFE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF HIS LOVER TURNED VICTIM, GRACE BROWN'S. GRACE RARELY, IF EVER, TRAVELED, WHILE CHESTER'S LIFE HAS BEEN SPENT TRAVELLING ALL OVER THE WEST.

HIS JOURNEY BEGAN ON AUGUST 9, 1883 IN MONTANA, THE FIRSTBORN SON OF FRANK AND LOUISA GILLETTE. THE FAMILY TRAVELLED FREQUENTLY BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THEY WERE MISSIONARIES IN THE SALVATION ARMY, BEGINNING WHEN CHESTER WAS 9 YEARS OLD. THEY HAD BEEN TO WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, AND EVEN TO HAWAII. THE TRAVELLING TOOK A TOLL ON CHESTER'S SCHOOLING, WHICH LED CHESTER'S UNCLE, N.H GILLETTE, A SELF-MADE WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN TO MAKE A DEAL WITH CHESTER'S FAMILY TO SEND CHESTER TO OBERLIN ACADEMY, A PREPRATORY SCHOOL IN OHIO.

CHESTER'S TIME IN OBERLIN OPENED HIS EYES TO THE WORLD IN WHICH HIS UNCLE ROAMED AND WHAT HE LEARNED THERE WOULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON HIM LATER ON. HIS GRADES WERE PRETTY GOOD HIS FIRST YEAR AND HE WAS THE CAPTAIN OF HIS SCHOOL'S BASKETBALL TEAM. BUT BY THE SECOND YEAR, HIS GRADES STARTED FALLING. IN SOME CASES, BAD ASSOCIATIONS WERE TO BLAME, AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT HE WAS INVOLVED WITH A GIRL IN THE TOWN. FINALLY, IN THE EARLY PART OF 1903, HE DROPPED OUT.

WHILE CHESTER WAS IN OBERLIN, HIS FAMILY BECAME DISENCHANTED WITH THE SALVATION ARMY AND LEFT IN 1901 BECAUSE CHESTER'S FATHER BECAME SICK WHILE IN HAWAII. EVENTUALLY, THEY SETTLED IN ZION CITY, ILLINOIS, A THEOCRATIC TOWN OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO. THERE, THEY JOINED A CULT HEADED BY JOHN ALEXANDER DOWIE, WHO CLAIMED TO BE THE BIBLICAL PROPHET, "ELIJAH THE RESTORER." IN REALITY, HE WAS DISMISSED AS A RELIGIOUS NUTCASE WHO TRIED AND FAILED TO CONVERT NEW YORK CITY TO HIS RELIGION.

AFTER DROPPING OUT OF OBERLIN, CHESTER MOVED TO CHICAGO, WHERE HE GOT A JOB ON THE RAILROAD WHICH RAN BETWEEN CHICAGO AND MILWAUKEE. HE ALSO HAD A SIDE JOB AS A BOOK SALESMAN. HE DID HAVE A FORESHADOWING EVENT IN A TOWN IN ILLINOIS WHERE HE STAYED IN A HOTEL AND DID NOT PAY THE BILL. HE DID NOT GET AWAY WITH IT THAT TIME, BUT THAT INCIDENT WOULD PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE EVENTS THAT WOULD HAPPEN LATER ON.

IN LATE 1904, N.H. GILLETTE, WHO ATTENDED THE ST. LOUIS AUTOMOBILE EXPOSITION, STOPPED OFF IN CHICAGO TO SEE CHESTER. FORGIVING HIM FOR HIS FAILURE IN OBERLIN, HE OFFERED CHESTER THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK WITH HIM TO WORK IN HIS SKIRT FACTORY IN CORTLAND, N.Y. CHESTER HAD WORKED THERE HIS FIRST SUMMER OFF FROM OBERLIN IN 1902. BUT BY THEN, THE SKIRT FACTORY WAS IN A CONCRETE BUILDING BECAUSE THE BUILDING THAT CHESTER KNEW WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE IN JANUARY, 1904. APPARANTLY, CHESTER SAID YES, BECAUSE BY APRIL OF 1905, HE WAS IN CORTLAND AND EMPLOYED BY HIS UNCLE AS A STOCK ROOM CLERK.

THE WHEELS WERE NOW SET IN MOTION.

4/11/06- BILLY THE KID


THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY BEGAN ON MARCH 20, 1886 IN THE TINY ISOLATED CENTRAL NEW YORK FARMING COMMUNITY OF SOUTH OTSELIC IN CHENANGO COUNTY WHEN A BABY GIRL WAS BORN TO A FARMING FAMILY HEADED BY FRANK AND MINERVA BROWN. LITTLE DID THEY KNOW THAT THEIR NEWBORN DAUGHTER, THE FIFTH OF NINE CHILDREN, WOULD BECOME ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC FIGURES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. THE NAME THAT THEY GAVE HER WAS GRACE MAE BROWN.

AS A LITTLE GIRL, GRACE'S LIFE WAS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER TYPICAL FARM GIRL OF THAT ERA: EVERYTHING EVOLVED AROUND THE FARM. SHE WENT TO SCHOOL IN A ONE-ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE, WHERE SHE WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE SCHOOL'S BRIGHTEST STUDENTS AND WHERE SHE DEVELOPED HER TALENT FOR WRITING, WHICH WOULD LATER SERVE HER WELL IN A CRUCIAL POINT IN HER LIFE LATER ON. ALSO OF NOTE, SHE ACQUIRED HER FAMOUS NICKNAME, "BILLY" BECAUSE HER FAMILY OBSERVED HER SINGING ONE OF HER FAVORITE SONGS, "WON'T YOU COME HOME, BILL BAILEY." APPARANTLY, THE NICKNAME STUCK WITH HER, FOR BOTH FAMILY AND FRIENDS STARTED CALLING HER "BILLY."

ANOTHER INTERESTING POINT IN CONNECTION WITH HER NICKNAME IS THE FACT THAT SHE ALSO STARTED REFERRING TO HERSELF AS "THE KID" IN ADDITION TO BILLY. IT KIND OF MADE YOU WONDER IF GRACE HAD HEARD STORIES OF THE FAMOUS WESTERN OUTLAW BILLY THE KID. IT KIND OF STARTED OUT AS A JOKE FOR HER, BUT AS WE LEARNED LATER ON, SHE SIGNED HER FAMOUS LETTERS AS "THE KID."

WHEN SHE APPROACHED HER LATE TEENS, GRACE HAD TO LEAVE SCHOOL, MEANING THAT SHE NEVER GRADUATED. IN SOUTH OTSELIC, THERE WAS ONLY THAT ONE-ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE. SHE LATER SPENT SIX MONTHS WORKING ON A FARM NEARLY FORTY MILES FROM HOME AND SHE FELT AWFUL. OTHER THAN THAT, SHE STAYED ON THE FARM UNTIL HER OLDER SISTER, ADA HAWLEY INVITED HER TO LIVE WITH HER, HER HUSBAND, AND THEIR NEWBORN SON IN CORTLAND, THIRTY MILES AWAY. THE 18-YEAR-OLD GRACE QUICKLY ACCEPTED BECAUSE WHAT SHE WAS LOOKING FOR, SHE WOULD NOT FIND IT IN HER SMALL TOWN.

AND SO, GRACE MOVED TO CORTLAND IN THE FALL OF 1904 AND NEARLY A MONTH LATER, SHE WAS HIRED AT THE GILLETTE SKIRT FACTORY, WHERE SHE LEARNED HOW TO BE A SEAMSTRESS AND SOON AFTER, WORKED IN THE INSPECTING DEPARTMENT. HER JOB WAS TO INSPECT THE FINISHED PRODUCTS BEFORE SHIPPING. HER NEW LIFE WAS JUST BEGINNING. THEN NEARLY SIX MONTHS LATER, A NEW FACTOR IN HER LIFE EMERGED. ONE THAT WOULD CHANGE HER LIFE FOREVER.

THAT WOULD BE THE DAY SHE MET CHESTER GILLETTE.

4/8/06- THE YEAR OF THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY


THE YEAR 2006 IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT YEAR IN HERKIMER COUNTY AS WELL AS CHENANGO COUNTY BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THIS YEAR MARKS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY MURDER. AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF EVENTS PLANNED FOR THE YEAR AHEAD.

THE CENTENNIAL OFFICIALLY KICKED OFF IN DECEMBER, 2005 WITH THE PREMIERE OF TOBIAS PICKER'S OPERA "AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY" IN NEW YORK CITY, AND LAST SATURDAY, THE EXHIBIT, "THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY CENTENNIAL: THE MURDER THAT WILL NEVER DIE" OPENED AT THE HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. ABOUT 70 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE PREMIERE OF THE EXHIBIT, MYSELF INCLUDED. IN FACT, I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO SEE IT. IT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL. I NEARLY TEARED UP A COUPLE OF TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN I VIEWED THE PANEL ABOUT GRACE BROWN, THE VICTIM OF THIS AFFAIR. I MANAGED TO GET SOME PHOTOS OF THE EXHIBIT AS WELL.

THERE ARE MORE EVENTS IN THE COMING MONTHS. THERE IS A MEMORIAL BEING PLANNED FOR GRACE UP AT BIG MOOSE LAKE ON JULY 11, THE ANNIVERSARY OF HER DEATH AT THE HANDS OF HER LOVER, CHESTER GILLETTE, WHICH INCLUDES A WREATH BEING LAID INTO THE LAKE BY A DESCENDANT OF THE WOMAN WHO HEARD GRACE'S FINAL SCREAM. THERE IS ALSO A DINNER THEATER EVENT PLANNED IN OLD FORGE AND IN DOLGEVILLE, WHICH INVOLVES THE READING OF GRACE'S FAMOUS LOVE LETTERS TO CHESTER. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER PLAY BEING PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER BY THE ILION LITTLE THEATER CLUB CALLED "CHESTER AND GRACE." JENNIFER POKON, THE PRESIDENT OF THE ILION LITTLE THEATER CLUB WILL BE PORTRAYING GRACE IN BOTH PLAYS AND FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD, SHE DOES A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF PORTRAYING HER. SHE WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE ME A COPY OF GRACE'S FINAL LETTER AND TO THANK HER, I GAVE HER A COPY OF MY "VALENTINE TO GRACE" BLOG THAT I WROTE ON MY OTHER BLOG SITE ON YAHOO 360. HER PHOTO IS POSTED ON THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THIS BLOG ENTRY.

THE REAL HIGHLIGHT OF THE CENTENNIAL EVENTS WILL BE THE TRIAL REENACTMENTS CALLED "THE PEOPLE VS. GILLETTE." THE PERFORMANCES WILL BE HELD AT HERKIMER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, A THEATER IN OLD FORGE, AND AT THE HERKIMER COUNTY COURTHOUSE, WHERE THE ACTUAL TRIAL TOOK PLACE IN 1906. THE COURTHOUSE PERFORMANCE WILL PROBABLY BE THE BIGGEST DRAW OF THE WHOLE CENTENNIAL YEAR. AT THE LAST MEETING, I GOT A FIRST LOOK AT THE TICKETS TO THE REENACTMENTS AND THEY LOOK BEAUTIFUL.

THERE WILL BE MORE UPDATES ON THIS SITE AS I GET THEM.

4/6/06- Chester and Grace

On July 11, 1906, nearly 100 years ago, two young lovers on vacation at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks went out for a rowboat ride. Only one of them would return from that fateful trip, not realizing the impact of what happened that day would have on the world 100 years later. The events of that day spawned a classic novel by Theodore Dreiser called "An American Tragedy." It also spawned two movies, including the classic 1951 film "A Place in the Sun", the novel "A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly, and most recently an opera in New York City. It also has kept people guessing as to what really happened that fateful day. And the names of the two lovers would forever be etched into New York Adirondack history.

The young man's name was Chester Gillette. The girl's name was Grace Brown. The girl would be the one who would never return, a victim of a tragic murder. She was survived by a series of heart-rendering love letters that she wrote to Chester because she was at least three months pregnant and she wanted him to marry her, but he would not. Grace assumed that she was in the Adirondacks on a wedding trip, but instead Chester had planned to kill her there. Later on, her letters were used to convict Chester at his trial and sent him to the electric chair in 1908. Even to this day, those letters still fascinate and touch the world.

This blog is dedicated to Grace's memory and since 2006 is the centennial year of that tragic day, I decided that it would be a good idea to start a blog site exclusively devoted to this immortal murder case an the events that are being planned to commemorate that fateful day. It will also focus my attempts to make sense of what may have happened on that July day in 1906, a day no one will ever forget.