Carrie Brown : Murder In The East River Hotel

An example of the tremendous transcription effort undertaken by Michael Banks a year or so ago.

This is Eddie Fitzgerald's trial testimony ( PDF at the bottom ).

New York, June 30th, 1891
TRIAL RESUMED.
EDWARD FITZGERALD, a witness being called by the People, being duly sworn, testified as follows:

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New York, June 30th, 1891
TRIAL RESUMED.
EDWARD FITZGERALD, a witness being called by the People, being duly sworn, testied as
follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION by Mr. Wellman.
Q. Eddie, you are now in the House of Detention, aren’t you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And have you been in the House of Detention since when?
A. Since the 1st of May.
Mr. House: Oh, I can’t hear you, my boy.
The Witness: Since the 1st of May.
Q. Since the 1st of May?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Before you were in the House of Detention, where were you employed?
A. 14 Catherine Slip ——the East River Hotel.
Q. The East River Hotel?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you do there, at the East River Hotel?
A. I done all the cleaning around, and attended to the door.
Q. Speak out loud, please. You did all the cleaning around?
A. Yes, sir, I I cleaned up and attended to the door and did a little behind the bar.
Q. You cleaned up, attended to the door and did a little behind the bar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long have you been working there?
A. Between two and
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three months.
Q. Do you know this man here, the defendant at the bar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What do you call him around the hotel? What do you call him?
Mr. House: One moment. That is objected to - what they call him around the hotel, as being
improper and immaterial.

Q. By what name do you know him?
A. Frenchy.
Q. When did you see him rst - do you know?
A. It was two nights before the murder, one or two nights before the murder.
Mr. House: Now one moment, if your Honor please, I object to the killing or the death of this old
woman being characterised as a murder.

The Court: Well, leave out the word “murder.”
By the Court.
Q. One or two nights before the death of this woman, Shakespeare?
A. Yes, sir.
By Mr. Wellman.
Q. And where did you see him, one or two nights before the death of Shakespeare?
A. He went up stairs in the hotel with a woman.
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Q. On what oor?
A. On the top oor.
Q. Was the woman Shakespeare?
A. No, sir; I couldn’t tell you who he went up with rst.
Q. First?
A. The rst night, I didn’t take notice to the woman.
Q. But he went up with some woman?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What time did he go up —— do you know?
A. I couldn’t exactly tell you the time.
Q. Well, did you send him up —— did you give him the key of the room?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember the room he had the rst night?
A. No, sir, I couldn’t tell you what room he had the rst night.
Q. Did you see him go out in the morning?
A. Sam Shine let him out in the morning —— next morning.
Q. And you didn’t see him go out in the morning?
A. No, sir.
Q. Now that was one or two days before the Shakespeare woman was killed. When did you next
see him, after letting him up that rst night?
A. The Thursday night?
Q. Yes, the Thursday night?


A. Yes, sir.
Q. That is the night before the body was found. The body was found the next morning —— the
dead body.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you see him that night?
A. He came in between 12 and 1 o’clock.
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Q. Did you see him earlier in the evening?
A. No, sir, I did not.
Q. Between 12 and 1?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. He came in where?
A. He rang the bell to go up to bed by himself.
Q. Rang what bell?
A. The electric bell on the door of the Water Street side.
Q. The Water Street side?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And did you go to the door?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was Mary Miniter?
A. Mary Miniter had gone to bed before 12.
Q. And is it your duty to attend to the bell?
A. That night it was

His unmarried sisters lived at 9th Avenue and Avenue B
His married sister lived at 143 Cherry Street....1/10th of a mile from the hotel.

Here's a snippet I never noticed before: Eddie was epileptic.

We know he died very young, so epilepsy could be a symptom of whatever disease killed him.

From The Sun, April 26 1891

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Thanks, I just hadn’t noticed, and it wasn’t mentioned in the A-Z. I was just surprised at the mention that he had a fit right after, seems noteworthy, I think.

In the same article, there’s mention of a Rickets, clerk at Bellevue, who saw the body in the morgue. I tried looking him up but difficult to find anything since Rickets is also a medical term.
What do you think of the story? Canard or factual?

What do you think of the story? Canard or factual?

About Eddie having epilepsy and the fact that he was now involved in the case, contributing to his collapse in the street?
I can believe it.  He either had similar spells and told those who took him to the hospital, or the hospital

No, I meant about clerk Rickets. He’s not mentioned anywhere else. Did he go see the body?