Cassie Chadwick
Encyclopedia
Cassie L. Chadwick is the infamous
name used by a Canadian woman who defrauded several U.S. banks out of millions of dollars by claiming to be an illegitimate daughter and heiress of Andrew Carnegie
.
as a section boss and was often away from the homestead.
“Betsy”, as she was known to her family, was known to daydream and tell fibs as a child.
At the age of 14, Chadwick went to Woodstock, Ontario
, Canada
. There she opened a bank account with a dubious letter of inheritance from an "unknown" uncle in England
and a small amount of cash. While there, Chadwick passed several worthless cheques to various merchants. In 1870, she was arrested in Woodstock for forgery
. She was released due to her age and on the grounds of insanity
.
Following a three-year absence from Eastwood, she returned to discover her sister Alice married. Alice had married Mr. Bill York, a carpenter from Cleveland, in 1875. Alice had moved to Cleveland, Ohio
to live with her new husband. Chadwick promptly boarded a train and headed south for the United States of America.
from a Mrs. Brown. Chadwick, claiming to be widowed, assumed the more mystic name Madame Lydia DeVere. She set up shop as a clairvoyant with funds from a bank loan on the York's furniture.
In 1882, as Lydia DeVere, she married Dr. Wallace S. Springsteen in Cleveland, Ohio. The couple exchanged vows before a Justice of the Peace on 21 November 1882. She took the name Mrs. Lydia Springsteen and moved into the doctor’s house at 3 Garden Street. A photograph and story appeared in Cleveland’s newspaper, The Plain Dealer.
The newspaper article led her sister, Mrs. Alice York, and various trades-people to the home of Dr. Springsteen, demanding payment for debts his wife had accumulated. When Dr. Springsteen confirmed the stories about her past (some eleven days later), he threw her out of the house. Dr. Springsteen filed for divorce (which was granted early in 1883) and settled her (Lydia DeVere) debts.
Chadwick again established herself as a clairvoyant in Cleveland. As Madame Marie LaRose, she met her next husband. In 1883, she married Mr. John R. Scott, a farmer from Trumbull County, Ohio
. She convinced Mr. Scott to sign a prenuptial, citing abuse from her first husband. After four years of farm life, she went (prenuptial in hand) to a lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio
. She left a sworn statement confessing adultery and directed her lawyer to file for divorce.
under the name Lydia Scott. A year later in 1887, she assumed the name Madame LaRose.
In 1889 she again resorted to forgery. Chadwick was convicted and sentenced to 9½ years in a penitentiary
in Toledo, Ohio
. She was paroled four years later in 1891 and returned to Cleveland, Ohio.
on the city's near west side. At the brothel, she met her next husband, a wealthy widower named Dr. Leroy Chadwick. Knowing of the doctor's recent loss, Chadwick played the part of a genteel widow, "Mrs. Hoover," who ran a respectable boarding house for women. When Dr. Chadwick responded that the establishment was a well-known brothel, "Mrs. Hoover" fainted. Once revived, she claimed that she would never run such an establishment. She begged the Doctor to immediately take her from the building, lest anyone think she was complicit in its operation.
In 1897 she married Dr. Chadwick. During her time as the wife of the highly respected Dr. Chadwick, it is unclear whether he knew that she had given birth to a son, Emil Hoover. Also, it is unclear whether Dr. Chadwick knew that Emil was left in the care of one of the women who remained behind at the brothel.
She was very good at masking her identity and that of her son's. In court records, she identified herself as single with no children when charged with forgery. However, in the 1900 United States census (District 97, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Ohio), she identified herself as Cassie Chadwick, born 3 February 1862 in Pennsylvania. Her son Emil was enumerated as Emil Chadwick, born September 1886 in Canada. Following the Carnegie con, Emil Hoover was identified in the newspapers as her son.
Chadwick's spending habits exceeded those of her well-heeled neighbours along Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, then known around the world as "Millionaires' Row". Instead of being welcomed into the exclusive enclave of the Rockefellers, the Hannas
, the Hays and the Mathers, Chadwick was thought of more as a curious woman who tried in vain to buy the favours of some of the wealthiest families in the nation. When invited to social events, it was only out of obligation to Dr. Chadwick (whom area residents were fond of).
's daughter. During a visit to New York City
, she asked one of her husband's acquaintances, a lawyer
named Dillon, to take her to the home of Andrew Carnegie. In reality, she just visited his housekeeper ostensibly trying to check credentials. When she came back, she dropped a paper. Dillon took it up and noticed it was a promissory note
of $2 million with Carnegie's signature. When Dillon promised to keep her secret, she "revealed" that she was Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. Carnegie was supposedly so wracked with guilt that he showered huge amounts of money on her. She also claimed that there was $7 million in promissory notes tucked away in her Cleveland home, and she was due to inherit $400 million upon Carnegie's death. Dillon arranged a safe deposit box
for her document.
This information leaked to the financial markets in northern Ohio, and banks began to offer their services. For the next eight years she used this fake background to obtain huge loans against her notes that eventually totalled between $10 and $20 million. She correctly guessed that no one would even ask Carnegie about an illegitimate daughter for fear of embarrassing him. Also, the loans came with usurious
interest rates, so high in fact, that the bankers wouldn't admit to granting them. She forged securities in Carnegie's name for further proof. Bankers assumed that Carnegie would vouch for any debts, and that they would be fully repaid once Carnegie died.
With this money, Chadwick began to live a very lavish lifestyle. She bought diamond necklaces, enough clothes to fill 30 closets, and a gold organ. She became known as "the Queen of Ohio."
In November 1904, she received a $190,000 loan from Herbert B. Newton, a Brookline
, Massachusetts
banker. Newton was shocked when he learned of the other loans Chadwick had received, and called the bank's loan. Chadwick could not pay and the bank sued. At the time, she had accumulated debts equal to $5 million. It was also discovered that a number of securities being held for her in various banks were worthless. When Carnegie was later asked about her, he denied ever knowing her, and further stated he hadn't signed a note in more than 30 years. Chadwick fled to New York, but was soon arrested at her apartment at the Hotel Breslin and taken back to Cleveland. When she was arrested, she was wearing a money belt containing over $100,000. Leroy Chadwick and his adult daughter hastily left Cleveland for a European tour when the scandal broke. However, he did file for divorce before leaving on the tour.
The news sent shockwaves through the Cleveland banking community. One bank, Citizen's National Bank of Oberlin
, which had loaned her $800,000, suffered a massive run
that forced it into bankruptcy.
in Columbus. She brought with her trunks of goods for her prison cell, including clothing, photographs, and furniture. The prison warden allowed this due to her celebrity status.
As her health deteriorated, Chadwick began writing explicit instructions for her funeral. She instructed her son Emil to send a portion of her hidden funds to Canada for the purchase of a tombstone for the family plot. Chadwick suffered a "nervous collapse" 17 September 1907 leaving her blind. The New York Times reported that 9 October 1907 Chadwick was suffering from heart and stomach problems and as Dr. Helmick stated was "much worse."
in her birthplace Canada. Chadwick's tombstone reads "Elizabeth Bigley wife of L.S. Chadwick, M.D. 1859 - 1907".
Other people were involved in the tangled web Chadwick spun. Her housekeeper, Mrs. Mary Londraville, took a satchel apparently for Chadwick's son that the Receiver
wanted as he thought it to have contained valuables. There was a related death.
.
Infamy
Infamy, in common usage, is notoriety gained from a negative incident or reputation . The word stems from the Latin infamia, antonym of fama ....
name used by a Canadian woman who defrauded several U.S. banks out of millions of dollars by claiming to be an illegitimate daughter and heiress of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
.
Early life
She was born Elizabeth Bigley 10 October 1857 Eastwood (Canada West), United Province of Canada. Her parents, Dan and Annie worked a small farm in Eastwood. She had three sisters: Alice, Mary, and Emily, and a brother, Bill. Her father worked for the Grand Trunk RailwayGrand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
as a section boss and was often away from the homestead.
“Betsy”, as she was known to her family, was known to daydream and tell fibs as a child.
At the age of 14, Chadwick went to Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. There she opened a bank account with a dubious letter of inheritance from an "unknown" uncle in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and a small amount of cash. While there, Chadwick passed several worthless cheques to various merchants. In 1870, she was arrested in Woodstock for forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
. She was released due to her age and on the grounds of insanity
Mental disorder defence
In the criminal laws of Australia and Canada, the defence of mental disorder is a legal defence by excuse, by which a defendant may argue they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law because they were mentally ill at the time of the alleged criminal actions.These are a statutory...
.
Following a three-year absence from Eastwood, she returned to discover her sister Alice married. Alice had married Mr. Bill York, a carpenter from Cleveland, in 1875. Alice had moved to Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
to live with her new husband. Chadwick promptly boarded a train and headed south for the United States of America.
Start in the U.S.
After a brief stay with her sister and new brother-in-law, she rented the lower floor of a house at 149 Garden Street, Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
from a Mrs. Brown. Chadwick, claiming to be widowed, assumed the more mystic name Madame Lydia DeVere. She set up shop as a clairvoyant with funds from a bank loan on the York's furniture.
In 1882, as Lydia DeVere, she married Dr. Wallace S. Springsteen in Cleveland, Ohio. The couple exchanged vows before a Justice of the Peace on 21 November 1882. She took the name Mrs. Lydia Springsteen and moved into the doctor’s house at 3 Garden Street. A photograph and story appeared in Cleveland’s newspaper, The Plain Dealer.
The newspaper article led her sister, Mrs. Alice York, and various trades-people to the home of Dr. Springsteen, demanding payment for debts his wife had accumulated. When Dr. Springsteen confirmed the stories about her past (some eleven days later), he threw her out of the house. Dr. Springsteen filed for divorce (which was granted early in 1883) and settled her (Lydia DeVere) debts.
Chadwick again established herself as a clairvoyant in Cleveland. As Madame Marie LaRose, she met her next husband. In 1883, she married Mr. John R. Scott, a farmer from Trumbull County, Ohio
Trumbull County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...
. She convinced Mr. Scott to sign a prenuptial, citing abuse from her first husband. After four years of farm life, she went (prenuptial in hand) to a lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. She left a sworn statement confessing adultery and directed her lawyer to file for divorce.
First U.S. fraud trial
In 1886 she became a fortune-tellerFortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
under the name Lydia Scott. A year later in 1887, she assumed the name Madame LaRose.
In 1889 she again resorted to forgery. Chadwick was convicted and sentenced to 9½ years in a penitentiary
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. She was paroled four years later in 1891 and returned to Cleveland, Ohio.
Chadwick's third husband
Upon returning in 1891 to Cleveland, she assumed the name Mrs. Cassie Hoover. She opened a brothelBrothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
on the city's near west side. At the brothel, she met her next husband, a wealthy widower named Dr. Leroy Chadwick. Knowing of the doctor's recent loss, Chadwick played the part of a genteel widow, "Mrs. Hoover," who ran a respectable boarding house for women. When Dr. Chadwick responded that the establishment was a well-known brothel, "Mrs. Hoover" fainted. Once revived, she claimed that she would never run such an establishment. She begged the Doctor to immediately take her from the building, lest anyone think she was complicit in its operation.
As Cassie Chadwick
She was very good at masking her identity and that of her son's. In court records, she identified herself as single with no children when charged with forgery. However, in the 1900 United States census (District 97, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Ohio), she identified herself as Cassie Chadwick, born 3 February 1862 in Pennsylvania. Her son Emil was enumerated as Emil Chadwick, born September 1886 in Canada. Following the Carnegie con, Emil Hoover was identified in the newspapers as her son.
Chadwick's spending habits exceeded those of her well-heeled neighbours along Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, then known around the world as "Millionaires' Row". Instead of being welcomed into the exclusive enclave of the Rockefellers, the Hannas
Mark Hanna
Marcus Alonzo "Mark" Hanna was a United States Senator from Ohio and the friend and political manager of President William McKinley...
, the Hays and the Mathers, Chadwick was thought of more as a curious woman who tried in vain to buy the favours of some of the wealthiest families in the nation. When invited to social events, it was only out of obligation to Dr. Chadwick (whom area residents were fond of).
The Carnegie con
Following her marriage to Dr. Leroy S. Chadwick in 1897, Chadwick began her largest, most successful con game: that of establishing herself as Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
's daughter. During a visit to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, she asked one of her husband's acquaintances, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
named Dillon, to take her to the home of Andrew Carnegie. In reality, she just visited his housekeeper ostensibly trying to check credentials. When she came back, she dropped a paper. Dillon took it up and noticed it was a promissory note
Promissory note
A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other , either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms.Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or...
of $2 million with Carnegie's signature. When Dillon promised to keep her secret, she "revealed" that she was Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. Carnegie was supposedly so wracked with guilt that he showered huge amounts of money on her. She also claimed that there was $7 million in promissory notes tucked away in her Cleveland home, and she was due to inherit $400 million upon Carnegie's death. Dillon arranged a safe deposit box
Safe deposit box
A safe deposit box or wrongly referred to as a safety deposit box is an individually-secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions...
for her document.
This information leaked to the financial markets in northern Ohio, and banks began to offer their services. For the next eight years she used this fake background to obtain huge loans against her notes that eventually totalled between $10 and $20 million. She correctly guessed that no one would even ask Carnegie about an illegitimate daughter for fear of embarrassing him. Also, the loans came with usurious
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
interest rates, so high in fact, that the bankers wouldn't admit to granting them. She forged securities in Carnegie's name for further proof. Bankers assumed that Carnegie would vouch for any debts, and that they would be fully repaid once Carnegie died.
With this money, Chadwick began to live a very lavish lifestyle. She bought diamond necklaces, enough clothes to fill 30 closets, and a gold organ. She became known as "the Queen of Ohio."
In November 1904, she received a $190,000 loan from Herbert B. Newton, a Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
banker. Newton was shocked when he learned of the other loans Chadwick had received, and called the bank's loan. Chadwick could not pay and the bank sued. At the time, she had accumulated debts equal to $5 million. It was also discovered that a number of securities being held for her in various banks were worthless. When Carnegie was later asked about her, he denied ever knowing her, and further stated he hadn't signed a note in more than 30 years. Chadwick fled to New York, but was soon arrested at her apartment at the Hotel Breslin and taken back to Cleveland. When she was arrested, she was wearing a money belt containing over $100,000. Leroy Chadwick and his adult daughter hastily left Cleveland for a European tour when the scandal broke. However, he did file for divorce before leaving on the tour.
The news sent shockwaves through the Cleveland banking community. One bank, Citizen's National Bank of Oberlin
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, to the south and west of Cleveland. Oberlin is perhaps best known for being the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students...
, which had loaned her $800,000, suffered a massive run
Bank run
A bank run occurs when a large number of bank customers withdraw their deposits because they believe the bank is, or might become, insolvent...
that forced it into bankruptcy.
Second U.S. fraud trial
Andrew Carnegie attended her trial, wishing to see the woman who had successfully conned the nation's bankers into believing that she was his heir. Other attendees included members of the very Millionaires' Row families from whom she had tried so hard to gain acceptance. The trial was a media circus. On 10 March 1905 a Cleveland court sentenced her to 14 years in prison and a fine of $70,000 for conspiracy to bankrupt the Citizen's National Bank and conspiracy against the government (Citizen's Bank, as a federally chartered bank, was an agent of the federal government).Prison
On 1 January 1906, Chadwick was sent to the Ohio State PenitentiaryOhio Penitentiary
The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, or less formally, the Ohio Pen or State Pen, was a prison operated from 1834-1983 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The prison housed 5,235 prisoners at its peak in 1955...
in Columbus. She brought with her trunks of goods for her prison cell, including clothing, photographs, and furniture. The prison warden allowed this due to her celebrity status.
As her health deteriorated, Chadwick began writing explicit instructions for her funeral. She instructed her son Emil to send a portion of her hidden funds to Canada for the purchase of a tombstone for the family plot. Chadwick suffered a "nervous collapse" 17 September 1907 leaving her blind. The New York Times reported that 9 October 1907 Chadwick was suffering from heart and stomach problems and as Dr. Helmick stated was "much worse."
Death
Chadwick died on her birthday in custody in the Columbus penitentiary 10 October 1907 (aged 50). The funeral service was officiated by Reverend F.W. Thompson of College Avenue Methodist Church. Her interment was 16 October 1907 in the Episcopal Cemetery (present day Woodstock Anglican Cemetery "A" section VanSittart Avenue) Woodstock, OntarioWoodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...
in her birthplace Canada. Chadwick's tombstone reads "Elizabeth Bigley wife of L.S. Chadwick, M.D. 1859 - 1907".
Fallout
For a time, the Chadwick Mansion on Euclid Avenue (at East 82nd Street) became a tourist destination. In the early 1920s, it was torn down for the construction of the Euclid Avenue Temple (now Liberty Hill Baptist Church).Other people were involved in the tangled web Chadwick spun. Her housekeeper, Mrs. Mary Londraville, took a satchel apparently for Chadwick's son that the Receiver
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
wanted as he thought it to have contained valuables. There was a related death.
In popular culture
She was the subject of the Canadian TV movie Love & Larceny (1985), where the role of Betsy Bigley was played by Jennifer DaleJennifer Dale
Jennifer Dale, née Ciurluini , is a Canadian television, dancer, and actress.- Early life :She is the sister of Canadian actress Cynthia Dale...
.