Wildcat finance triggers a rash of Philadelphia personal crises
A long list of prominent Philadelphians including John Field Frank Hipple and Robert Adams face personal crises as wildcat speculation and trust betrayals erupt. The piece links Keystone National Bank failures in 1891 and recent bank wrecks to millions lost and several suicides or apparent self inflicted deaths amid efforts to hide facts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Keystone National Bank
Real Estate Trust Company
Lake Superior
Notable Figures Fall in Money Making Maelstroms
The narrative profiles several Philadelphia financiers including James Hipple and John Singerly, detailing frauds, bank failures, and suicides. It traces Quay bank executives, a cashier who embezzled 700000, a guilty conscience letter to James McManes, and the downfall of bankers amid moral scrutiny and political ambition.
Philadelphian Josiah Adams Ends His Life in Hotel
Josiah R. Adams a prominent Philadelphia club man lawyer and noted figure in society killed himself in a city hotel six years ago after a bitter newspaper attack accusing him of conspiring in a get rich quick scheme. He withdrew from a superior court judgeship ticket and died within minutes after a self inflicted gunshot wound following a farewell kiss to his wife.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Josiah R. Adams
Philadelphia
Adams
Quay Machine
Superior Court
Iowa Girls Stake Rosebud Claims Sow Prairie Pioneer Life
Sixty hunts of Des Moines and other towns’ women take up homesteads on Rosebud land near Kowana South Dakota. They trade ballrooms for 10 by 12 shacks, herd cattle, farm, and marry among settlers with many proposals and notable figures such as Lottie Rogers and Philippe Watrous seeking matches on the prairie.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sioux City
South Dakota
Des Moines
Towa
Rosebud Indian Reservation
Rosebud
Oklahoma
Indian Territory
Iowa
Kowana
Philips
S. D
Dakota Plains
United States
J. D. Kellar
Bonesteel
Lowana
Arkansas
Philippe Watrous
Watrous
Phillips
Miss Watrous
Similar moral codes linked bankers suicides in 1898
The article compares the self destruction of Frank K. Hipple and John S. Hopkins cashier of the People's bank in March 1898. Both men were trusted church members with strict Sabbath observance and moral codes against liquor or tobacco. Hopkins, despite this, was tied to Pennsylvania's corrupt political cabal.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frank K. Hipple
John S. Hopkins
People’s Bank
Hopkins
Pennsylvania
Gowen Death and Mystery Behind 1889 Suicide
Franklin B Gowen president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad shot himself in December 1889 though the act occurred in Washington. Rumors blamed Mollie Maguires agents for revenge due to his role in suppressing them. He left no will, estate appraised at 450000, with prior wealth estimated between two and three million, losses blamed on risky southern land investments.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wildcat Finance
Philadelphia
Franklin B. Gowen
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
Keystone State
Washington
Mollie Maguires
Gowen
William M Singerly Dies in Death Seen as Related to Safety
Philadelphia Record proprietor and bank president William M Singerly dies in circumstances suggesting a death related to personal safety. Cyanide is suspected, though coroner records do not confirm. Singerly rose from a streetcar worker to a noted financier amid bank failures tied to his ventures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William M. Singerly
The
Philadelphia Record
Chestnut Street National Bank
Chestnut Street Trust Company
Philadelphia
Singerly
Mystery Banker Ditman Vanishes Then Is Found Dead
Joseph G. Ditman president of Quaker City National bank disappeared for two days amid robbery rumors. A monthlong search followed, with detectives nationwide and large rewards. Forty days later his decomposed body was found in the Schuylkill river. Ditman, once in paper manufacturing, gambled on silvery ventures and his financial ruin led to mental decline and a contested death verdict.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joseph G. Ditman
Quaker City National Bank
Fairmount Park
United States
Schuylkill River
Ditman
South Carolina
Noted fraudster Benjamin Gaskill ends life amid scandal
Benjamin H. Gaskill, once respected by business partners, hid a history of fraud and forgeries. A diary found after his death reveals his Jekyll and Hyde self view and inflated ambitions. His schemes collapsed the City Trust, Safe Deposit & Surety Co and yielded about a million, ending with suicide.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Benjamin H. Gaskill
Caskill
Jekyll and Hyde
Gaskill
Hipple
City Trust, Safe Deposit & Surety Company
Bertie Adams Dies by Own Hand in Washington Club
Robert Adams Jr known as Bertie Adams former minister to Brazil explorer of Yellowstone and Pennsylvania congressman, shot himself in his Metropolitan Club apartment on June 1. He died penniless after losing a fortune to land deals and bad loans, leaving a note to Speaker Cannon about obligations exceeding resources.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Robert Adams, Jr
Bertie” Adams
Brazil
Yellowstone
Congress
Second
Pennsylvania
Metropolitan Club
Washington
Cannon
House of Representatives
Suicide of Philadel phia banker at Fairmount Park
John Field formerly postmaster of Philadelphia and head of Young Smyth Field Co shot himself in Fairmount Park while in a distressed state. An Irish immigrant who rose from errand boy to chief of a large dry goods and banking house, Field faced ruin tied to real estate speculation and a personal crisis mania.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Field
Philadelphia
James V. P. Turner Swallows Despair in Fairmount Park
James V. P. Turner, Philadelphia registrar of vital statistics and noted lawyer, shot himself in the stomach in Fairmount park in April 1902. A member of the Society of the War of 1812 and the Sons of the Revolution, he had invested in western lands he believed to be mineral bearing but found worthless. Overcome by despair at 47, he chose suicide to avoid starting life anew.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James V. P. Turner
Philadelphia
Fairmount Park
Society of the War of 1812
The
Sons of the Revolution
Turner
West
Death of broker William G. Rothermel shocks city
William G. Rothermel a broker in Popular Brokerage company was found dead in his bed on August 1. Autopsy showed irritant poison. The attending physician refused to certify death from heart disease. The mystery remains, estate settlement will reveal the securities he dealt in and their value. Indications suggest he handled collateral he could not realize, leading to his death.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William G. Rothermel
Popular
Rothermel
Dog Rescued from a Wolf Desperate Prairie Fight
A 19 year old Bennett son in eastern Elsmore recounted beating off a large gray wolf attacking his shepherd dog in an open field. The exhausted dog later uncovered a wolf den with eleven pups, the dog having protected its young. The tale was told to Sheriff Richardson by Mr. Bennett and reported by the Iola Register.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William Bennett
Elsmore
Iola Register
Sheriff Richardson
Bennett
Do You Take Me For An Ostrich In Pie Dispute
A fussy husband finds a cherry stone in the pie and accuses his wife. She retorts that an ostrich hides its head, but his ears are too long to hide, asserting her fearlessness in the kitchen exchange.
Men and Money in the Georgia Constitution era
A Georgia philosopher notes social tension in wealth and happiness. He argues some are rich enough to be miserable while others are poor enough to be resigned, reflecting on economic disparity discussed in the Atlanta Constitution.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Georgia
Atlanta Constitution
Butler and the Students
A humorous episode recalls Gen Benjamin F Butler during a political rally at a New England college where 40 students disrupted his speech until he quipped about which end they used best. The piece then notes Boer war compensation claims received by Britain, including absurd demands for fowls eggs and moral indemnification, plus a list of other petty war losses claimed by individuals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Benjamin F. Butler
New England
Butler
Gen. Butler
South Africa
Old Kansas Citizen’s Last Words Hint at Humor
An elderly Kansas man, nearing death, receives a sobering quip from his wife who vows to follow him. He replies with a wry joke about being consoled by her, remarking she should hurry about it if she is so flamely con falmed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kansas
John
Manda
Telegraph Proposal Sparks Prairie Humor
In a witty exchange Miss Anteek asks if she would marry a man who proposed by telegraph, Miss Pert replies that she would meet him halfway by catching the next train. The Chicago Record-Herald captures the quip as light social flippancy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Miss Anteek
He Enjoyed It Meeker Country Sojourn Quote
A brief dialogue excerpt from Chicago Daily News notes Enpeck asking if a wife enjoyed a two week country stay and Meeker replying he did, indicating personal amusement rather than a public incident.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Meeker
Enpeck
Chicago Daily News
Expensive Enough
Yonkers Statesman notes a costly wedding may have pressured a figure, asking if Patience’s union was pricey and suggesting the expenses tied to his loss of freedom.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Patrice
Yonkers
Objective Points from a European trip exchange
Stella asks about the trip while Bella confirms enjoyment. Bella mentions collecting 117 souvenir post cards in a witty exchange attributed to Puck style dialogue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Stella
Bella
Puck
Also Mentioned on This Page
Trust Company
Mat Quay’s Bank
Quay Bank
Guarantors Company
James McManes
West Spruce Street
New York
Sheepshead Bay
Public Record
Morrello
Chestnut Street Bank
Phillips “Society
Des Moines Society
Washington Star
Congressman Adams
Wildcat Financier
Prairie
Canine
Leslie
Vaughn
Dr. Vaughn
Columbus
Okio
W. HM. Fisher
Pasecneca Columbus
Cincinnati
Louisville
Chattanooga
J. A. Williamson
Toledo
Ohio
D. G. Edwards
H. & D. Railway
South Bound
Vis B. & O. Ry
Defiance
Ottawa
Lima
Columbus ‘Grove
Hamilton
Bwane
Dayton - Sesee
Wapoueta
Bill Heads
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