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VIII\a' yIK ,s S'V 1 ^:;:|#x ■ ’|.x*xX* *'II»*XX X* * ' $i*It**'l» Vft V'*\\v.....' .A 5«»NVXv..x'VSII* x*a I*II.....X*KV\VxJisWWx* ^StIX* ••*•»*•«%,,,. ,.**;ivy»j 5 ix** 5 *t 9l!lAnInto the Fight for theb•:•\ \ IXX-A Remarkable Snapshotof Ida May Blankenburg on the Witnes* Stand, Telling the Judge Her Amazing,xxVb#»\VX\W'\ .XN.Crabtree Millions-.•XXx—i• lt;lt;nwntt»lt;«*«xxxHxvx«x«'V* uiiX ••\ifflt;.xXXXStoryHPLotta Crabtree, the Famous “Old-Maid Actress/’ Smuggled Out / ofN\HowfU^Sv\v I|Ift' JA. jjp*' w* XI✓a!MIi• X\Wi\WvyxClaimantEngl Girl Whond a BibyShe.«x\xVt4 *a\0 .«3TWas,Claimed, Herself I\\lt;Ix 'I' N\ •TaleandxVsN■ rfi / •{/ I //\N\V/i £ wtil !A'syv;^w'XiVI*IP* *(fv^^x XAMr' VVxV Xi .n •.XV \ x . ^^ • uC Vv x \xX''v\\v\\vty-Mui ,•v . .• • • « r • . * •. 4 -V \ •c k Li ; -s .f •lt;•« ttr. -W,: #, J*.*,* ’ rV •f/K\sAV'* 41%\x ■* ,I • #. *t* fi....'A.v.wV.smmp*V •. M'.v C .vXimmZ.w.vwmm.V.VA— . ...* «■ -x9r -'••Xx • J -*..... f. .. v • * t .-P.V * ..vVIi..:,S . .v. V1y •K»lt;*H‘%%A‘.VIP. v;\•-v.v.yx. • •y.:f/.'t'A-:. ... .......’.v-.v/v■y/AA■mmmM» . ..f • .„ mm,•y* ■ ...:kS- W'fk Ky-fiy.yXy -.«..V.* y£Mmi• v■ t-.y. : : T ■;/ M'i.•lt;*,A■* w«•; .'.A'I?:f %f ii'c :IV-V. ..A.XJ'V.» '5A V- V- ./vii3mi r.....■ V. Ayr, .-■•.lt; -v.\ . ,... .AV. .....f L ;ylt;i H|§mmI'.Vv.'/V• ....I •-*.*.: x-x. . . . .:• V. . .»• .k'WY'%lt;V. JV.V. . . . .. .the Miss little\n.V ■y'. jW' ■ ' .. hmmm' ' ■* -• 4y,si v vmiV;-1 ' J ___r ■ ’.v.'i'.y.'.v.'.fy-Xv ../.’. AV. ’ VA' y.*-V. ».%I....Hr•XfiH • - fr ';. mm if; x^, X itsfci.CvX -.t '•• JK; \ITheTintype Said by Mr*. Blankenburg to Be Lotta’* Baby,Denounced in Court a* Bogus.(...•vX.i*. ..■/t‘24h mkS'mM, m r-.. vxI. . . .i*ffr-y.Ky x--3m•. •’/At/.'*.v. *yx•f-yX'X-x-x.;.;.;..-:-;i\kK\if 8Her Death...X•A■A.NiwX*•A/IOld-Fashioned Photograph of Lotta7worldThe testimony piled up. Mystery followed mystery. The mosrt conspicuous of ftese was the case of the lost family Bible. Mrs. Blankenburg claimed that there wasa Ho17. in which Lotta had written something on the flyleaf which wouldP1rove the existence of a daughter. This, she said, had been given to her by John Crabtree, son of Lotta’s brother. But another Bible figured in the case. Mrs. Blankenburg bad gone to the home ofJoseph and Edmund Crabtree, at Drury, Illinois, and there had borrowed another copy. And this wa3 stolen!According to Mrs. Blankenburg, during the ride by motor from Drurv, thev stopped to change a tire. Another car drove up, the chauffeur helped them, analater, when they were on the road oncemore, the Bible had disappeared. In this second volume, Mrs. Blankenburg claimsthere was d. slip of paper which she declared was of material assistance to her case. This slip was taken by Mrs. Blankenbur when she read the inscriptionod the flyleaf of the Bible hersecret.\t* • f.CmNRiI;V-m3f!•W.;CofmiflittmAM the daughter of Lotta Crabtree.If they want to put me in jail simply because I have refused to deny my own mother, very well! But in the end right will prevail— Ida May Blankenburg, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.On all the evidence, she is nothing less than a brazen adventuress.—Judge Prest in the Suffolk Probate Court, jBoston.Such are the astounding contrasting statements that have thrown Boston into the most extraordinary legal controversy in the history of that conservative city.That the once world-famous actress, Lotta Crabtree, had a secret.romance, ahusband, a baby, and a tragic separation during her early life, was the bomb-shell assertion that shook the New England city in the suit of Ida May Blankenburg to claim a share in the three million dollar estate of the late star. The court denies the claim; Mrs. Blankenburg clings to her story; and the public is in a quandary!What is the truth? Is Ida May Blankenburg really I^tta Crabtree’s child bv a secret marriage; or is she a designing for-tune-seeker ?Lotta Crabtree, who was known to be the only actress who ever made millions of dollars by her art and who doubled her fortune after her retirement from the stage, left her entire estate to charity, half of it in the forn\ of a trust fund for the World War’s disabled and their dependents. During her long and exceptionally successful career as the foremost comedienne of the day, she was always spoken of as the maiden actress” and never was known to have married.Not even her most intimate friends had an inkling of the supposed hidden romance ip the life of the star. But no sooner had the disposition of her property been announced to the public than a veritable horde descended upon the courts in an effort to have the will broken on the grounds that they were relatives and entitled to a share of the estate.Eventually all but two of these claimants were eliminated. The fight narrowed down to Mrs. Blankenburg and Mrs. Carlotta Cockbum, of Denver, Colorado, who said she was a cousin.Both these women presented claims that couldn’t be conscientiously ignored.And the delving into the personal life of “La Petite Lotta” was begun. But her history, as it was known to the public yielded nothing to sub stantiate the story tha*Lotta had been married md had a child.The daughter of a Scotchman, named Jamei Crabtree, who emigrate! vith his wife ana twlt; hildren to California dur ng the early days of thlt;gold rush, Lotta begarier career at the age of six by dancing and sing-ng for the miners. As 'he grew older she raveled from one camp o another, always accom- Lotta Crabtreeamnied by her mother, j„,t Beforeerforming in saloons and lance halls. She was a remcndous hit with the niners, who would throw gold pieces, jewelry, everything they possessed at her 'eet. When her father died her mother ecame her manager, mentor and con-tan t companion.Lotta made her first appearance in New ork at Niblo’s Saloon in 1864. She layed chiefly in musical comedies, her reatest success being “Mam’eelle Ni-iuche.” At the height of her success, in 888, and without any farewell tour, she addenly retired from the stage never to^appear again on the boards. After her .ithdrawal, with a fortune which even hen ran into millions, Lotta endeavored o find amusement and interest in a dozen i'iifferent ventures.One of her hobbies was a racing stable. Hhe owned many famous horses and spent a great deal of money. But she also made a great deal of money. By clever real estate investments she more than doubled her fortune and at the time of her death owned two hotels in Boston, a stock farm, a theatre and country place in New Jersey as well as other valuable property.The recipient of unprecedented ap-\ Inn^e and adulation, the adored favorite of the stage for 25 years, Lotta Crabtree bevcr bad a scandal attached to her name. There never was any corroborated public Announcement of an engagement, to say nothing of marriage. Now, only a few months after her death, comes a woman who claims to be Lotta’s daughter.The battle was waged with furious assertions and contradictions. Testimony wasproduced which apparently proved Mrs. Blankenburg’s contention. Witnesses were introduced wno completely denied it. Friends appeared from all quarters of the country to testify as to whether or not Lotta was ever married.If I.otta Crabtree was ever married o,.he mother of a child,” stated Miss Dora!Vnn Crabtree, of Birkenhead, England, a ?ousin of the famous star, “she kept it an absolute secret from the entire world. Not even her family knew it.Ever since I first knew Lotta,when she was just a young girl, Ihave never heard a single word about her marrying or having achild. And so far as I know, noother members ofthe family that I have been in touchwith ever heard anything of it.”But Miss Mary Couhig, of Lynn, Mass., took quite other stand. Couhig is aold lady, a“She said Lotta * spirited thechild out of England and neve:bold her. secret.—From Mrs. Blank enburgsStory.At RightSnapsho of theJudgeWhoBranded Her An Adventuress.•I •* ” x/^'»V a ' ' V* Is *J?x XmyThe entrance of Major-General Clarence R. Edwards, former chief of the Yankee Division, intq the case caused excitement in Boston. He hasd been called to the stand through the efforts of Mrs. Bfe^A^en-burg, since he is on^ 6f the administrators of the will.But his testimony did nothelp the claimant’s case.He said that he had seen at some time another will of Ixtta Crabtree^, one which she destroyed in favor of the last one. He not found, he declared, the slightest evidence at any time that Lotta had had a love affair and had heard no mention of a child. Furthermore, he added- that never among the actress’ things was there found a tintype of the sort Miss Couhig showed in court, saying it was a dupli-1 - cate of one Miss Crabtree had. iil^ • “i •' -;vTf ■' ’ 'Feature Sendee Inc. Great Britain Ri*hU Reierred ?;Crashes a Mysterious- V ■;»f *, with l!Hidden Lovecontemporary of Lotta’s, and at one tin an actress. According to her, Lotta, \*hdied “an old maid,” succumbed to th wiles of a itage-door admirer in London had a child the year after her marriag to George Manning and brought the babj to this country.“I was training to become an actress t join John Stetson’s cbmpany,” she said “and in the school where I was studying in Boston. I met Lotta Crabtree. She* \va a recognized actress then. One day she said to me, ‘What would you think if yoi were in your ’teens in a foreign countrj. o m 11) o I \ you thought perfect but who left you alone to struggle fo) yourself? That’s what hurts a woman My husband left me stranded after twlt; short months. Then I came back to thi.country.’ ”Miss Couhig continued, “And then shlt; told me about the child. She went West she said, and placed it with friends. Loth showed me a picture of a baby, too, ami said, ‘May, this is my pet.’ I asked why she didn’t keep the baby with hei anti she said, ‘I will never teil theFamily BibleThat Lands Her’ JL |l.VmtCAvJohn Crabtree, gave her and discovered for the first time that she was the daughter of Lotta.But the court was not impressed by Mrs. Blankenburg’s story of the Bibles. In iact, it denounce^ her in no uncertainterms. Judge Prest in Suffolk ProbateCourt said:“My duty as a public servant, unpleasant though that duty be, requires me to say something determinedly. ‘‘He continued, The case of Ida May Blankenburgis pockmarked with fraud.“Thi3 claimant swears that she has made extended trips East, West and South with Lotta. Set she could noteven identify Lotta’s life-like photograph.Since Lotta’s death, however, she has heard and learned, too, I think, stories alluring, yet sinister; stories that made her and her agents and promoters lust for money; stories that so seduced her as to deny her own mother, whose own sweet voice, now hushed, sang to her that very lullaby; stories that led her to deny her own real parents, in order that she might rob our soldiers of the World Warof the benefits of the trust fund in thisestate.” - HSaid the judge, “This woman did noteven hesitate to suppress the Crabtreefamily Bible and to use another Bible asa vehicle for fraud. On all the evidenceshe is nothing less than a brazen adventuress! . .The judge not only ordered Mrs. Blankenburg to furnish bail of .$1,000 on ' .a^perjury charge, but included a charge Of obstructing justice. “For the reason,”said Judge Prest, “the defendant know-mgly and corruptly came into court with a wholly fictitious and fraudulent claim of kinship and supported that claim bygiving perjured testimony not only on oneoccasion but on many.”Mrs. Blankenburg‘in defending herself said, I am not afraid, because I am sincere. I am the daughter of Lotta Crnb-tree If they want to put me in jail simply because I have refused to deny mv own mother, very well. But in the end right wiU prevail.• Judge is simply wrong in hisjudgment, that s all,” added Mrs. Blank-en mrg. Did ycu know that I am a grandmother. That I have three grandchildren?1 raised a family of three splendid boys, who are now married, and one daughter.«TinU nk I.am a brazen adventuress? vVliy, even if I wanted to corrupt witnesses, I didn’t have the money to do iti r-Tfr money I have is tied up in my oil fields. I have no ready cash. And Iam charged with robbing the soldiers. It’salmost too absurd to discQss. Imagine me,a mother and a grandmother, trying that.What money my mother (Lotta) left belongs to me. She promised it to me manytimes, often telling me that she meant to need all her money and property to me by transfer. Then I was under the belief tnat she was my half sister.” .. . sPite court’s denunciation ofMrs. Blankenburg and her astonishing claim to be the daughter of Lotta Crabtree, speculation still persists. Was Lotta’s retired life really the result of an unhappy marriage in her youth? Did she sacrifice herself and her baby—if she had one-—to her career? Was she a brokenhearted mother— or was she what the world has always known her as, an old-maid millionaire?”yyrnmmmmmmm.....• v.‘. t.. .4
Newspaper Details
Sarasota Herald
Sarasota, Florida, US
Tue, Nov 24, 1925
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 29 Sep 2018
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