For all its sensationalism, the case slipped into obscurity following the Romaine incident, and the last news of any merit for two years appeared in late August 1879.
Yet, the public and the newspapers’ fascination remained in the background, and despite the two-year hiatus in media attention, the Stewart case again came to the forefront of the city’s attention in August 1881. Reports surfaced that private detectives were working on a large excavation project at Cypress Hills Cemetery on Long Island in search of what they hoped were the remains of A. T. Stewart.
A.T. STEWART’S REMAINS
THE NEWLY AROUSED INTEREST
IN CYPRESS HILLS CEMETERY.
A Large Number Of People Visit The
Place Yesterday—The Search To Be
Resumed To-Day
The story of the recent moves made by the Fuller Detective Bureau … was on every lip, and argumentative visitors discuss the case in every aspect, few agreeing upon any essential point. There were those present who energetically scoffed at the idea of any importance attaching to the newly declared clues, many maintaining that the dead millionaire’s remains were safely sealed in the crypt at Garden City. Others as earnestly contended that Detective Fuller’s clues were worthy of the most thorough investigation. … He [J.M. Fuller] summarized the story … beginning with the receipt on the evening of the 13th of the oil sketch of the landscape in Cypress Hills from the mysterious woman who disappeared and could not be found. … Upon the picture was plainly written within a grave shaped diagram: Cypress Hills: Stewart is buried here. … Fuller spoke of his having entered into a correspondence with Judge Hilton, who seemed to have exhibited much interest in the matter, and had dispatched from Saratoga a representative specially to act in his stead.
—New York Times
August 22, 1881
“Judge Hilton does not bear a single penny of the expenses. Mr. E.D. Harris accompanied me to the cemetery on Saturday and our investigations were begun under his supervision and with his endorsement, but every move of importance that has been made in the case has been my own. Do I believe that Mr. Stewart’s body is really buried here? Of course, there is a strong doubt in my mind as to that, but to me it seems that everything favors the idea that the grave is located here, and that our clues will turn out to be no hoax.”
—J. M. Fuller, Fuller’s New York Detective Bureau, August 1881
Despite the revived widespread attention to the search for A. T. Stewart, it played second fiddle to an even more dastardly crime and one with more far-reaching effect—the assassination of President James A. Garfield, who was shot and seriously wounded on Saturday, July 2, 1881. Garfield was fired upon as he walked through the waiting room of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad in Washington, D.C. He was on his way to deliver a speech at his alma mater, Williams College.
Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States, died on September 19, 1881, eleven weeks after the shooting. While bedridden at the White House, he suffered from fever, hallucinations, and extreme pain. On September 6, 1881, he was transported to Long Branch, New Jersey, to escape the sweltering heat of Washington. By then, blood poisoning had set in. Although doctors had probed the wound and extracted the bullet near his spine, he became increasingly weak and sick. He died of a massive heart attack on the morning of September 19.
His assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, was an emotionally disturbed man who had failed to gain an appointment in Garfield’s administration. Guiteau fired two bullets at Garfield. One bullet grazed his arm, but the other lodged in his back. Garfield had no bodyguards with him at the time.
During his trial, Guiteau claimed that Garfield’s murder was “an act of God” and that he was only serving as an instrument of God’s will. His trial became a media sensation, largely because of Guiteau’s increasingly bizarre behavior: He recited poems he had written to the jury, sang a rendition of “John Brown’s Body,” and sent notes to spectators imploring them to help him with his defense.
His trial was one of the first high-profile cases in the American judicial system during which the defense entered an insanity plea on behalf of its client. Guiteau vehemently disputed his lawyers’ claims. The jury found him guilty on January 25, 1882, and he was hanged on June 30, 1882, in the District of Columbia. Standing on the scaffold, Guiteau asked to recite a poem he had written called “I Am Going to the Lordy.”
A GREAT NATION IN GRIEF
PRESIDENT GARFIELD SHOT BY
AN ASSASSIN.
Though Seriously Wounded He Still Survives
The Would Be Murderer Lodged In Prison.
The President Of The United States
Attacked And Terribly Wounded By
A Fanatical Office-Seeker On The Eve Of Independence Day—The Nation Horrified And The Whole Civilized World Shocked—The President Still Alive And His Recovery
Possible.
The appalling intelligence came from Washington yesterday morning that President Garfield had been assassinated and was dead. Later dispatches, however, modified this startling news by the announcement that the President, while dangerously wounded, was still living, and that there was a slight hope of his recovery.
—New York Times
July 3, 1881
THE TRAGEDY IN THE DEPOT
Guiteau Fires His Cruel Shots From
Behind The President—The Wounded
Man’s Removal To The White House—Amazement And Horror Of The Populace
—New York TimesJuly 3, 1881
While the country was absorbed in news concerning Garfield’s hoped-for recovery and subsequent death, New York City kept an eye on the A. T. Stewart mystery. J. M. Fuller’s investigation into Stewart’s missing remains began when a mysterious package was delivered to his offices at 841 Broadway on Saturday, August 13, 1881.
A small, unidentified boy delivered the package, expertly wrapped in white paper, directly to Fuller. According to the boy, he was acting on instructions given to him by a shadowy woman. In his small hand, the boy was holding a silver coin the woman had given to him as payment for making the delivery. Although detectives grilled him about the identity of his employer, he was unable to describe her. Detectives took the boy with them as they scoured Broadway and several other blocks looking for the woman and trying to have the boy pick her out of the crowd. It was useless. The young messenger knew nothing about the woman. It was another dead-end, except for the package.
The package included an enigmatic note, not unlike the host of other messages that had surfaced during the early days of the Stewart investigation. The message read: “The violet bed was removed the middle of April, 1881. Do not make inquiries of the man about the grounds or allow the painting to be seen. You will be followed if you are seen making special observations.” It was signed with the letters: COR.
The package also contained a twelve-inch-by-twelve-inch, ornately framed oil painting on stretched canvas. The painting, which was by all accounts done by a skilled practitioner of the arts, was of a cemetery with various roads and trees. In its center was a large oak tree and below it two flat stones resembling grave markers. Next to the stones was what looked like a mound of freshly dug soil. On the mound were painted the words: “Cypress Hills. Stewart is buried here.”
A cautious and conservative man by nature and profession, Fuller still came to the conclusion that the painting indicated the burial site of A. T. Stewart. It was not a conclusion Fuller came to readily or without great pains. Why Fuller was chosen to receive the mysterious package remained a mystery, although it was assumed that whoever sent the package knew that Fuller’s detective agency had worked for Judge Hilton during the earliest investigation into the disappearance of Stewart’s body. The sender must have assumed that Fuller had access to Hilton and hence would be able to negotiate if need be for the return of the body. Perhaps the most subst
antial reason for choosing Fuller was that he was not the type of man or detective to be easily fooled or to engage in a snap judgment merely to arouse sensational speculation and headlines. By all accounts he was an excellent choice. With J. M. Fuller in the lead, the A. T. Stewart case again made headlines.
STEWART’S BODY SOUGHT
AN IMPORATNT EXCAVATION
BEGUN AT CYPRESS HILLS.
The Clue On Which Mr. Fuller And His
Detectives Are Working—Ex-Judge
Hilton’s Interest—A Singular Chapter
In A Story Of Crime
Detectives from this City have during the past week been slowly and patiently working on a clue which they believe may lead to the recovery of the remains of the late Alexander Turney Stewart, the stealing of which from St. Mark’s Church graveyard excited such intense public interest and horror nearly three years ago. Under the direction of these detectives, workmen yesterday began to dig up a part of the ground in Cypress Hills Cemetery in a plot belonging to Mr. John T. Runice, and the work will be continued until the success or failure of the effort is made apparent.
—New York Times
August 21, 1881
Fuller’s Detective Bureau
New-York. Aug 16, 1881
The Hon. Henry Hilton, Woodlawn, Saratoga, NY.:
DEAR SIR: On last Saturday evening a small boy brought to this office a package which contained a note and an oil sketch. In one portion of the sketch is a white ground in the form of a grave and written in pencil are the words, Stewart is buried here, and immediately above the location is given. The note reads: Don’t make inquiries of the men about the grounds or allow the painting to be seen; you will be followed if you are seen making special observations, Signed Cor. The moment we discovered the contents of the package the boy was questioned and he stated that a lady had given it to him with instructions to hand it to me personally. He readily accompanied our young men and they began a search in the immediate vicinity for the lady but she had disappeared. To be frank with you, I don’t take much stock in the thing and thought I would like your views on the matter before taking any steps. Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain yours respectfully, J.M. FULLER
—letter sent to Judge Hilton, August 1881
11
THE CYPRESS HILLS CEMETERY INCIDENT
In which J. M. Fuller begins excavation of a section of Cypress Hills Cemetery in his quest to locate the remains of A. T. Stewart. As word leaks out of Fuller’s search, hundreds of curiosity seekers converge on the excavation site, hampering the investigation. Despite digging up a huge section of the cemetery, Fuller and his men uncover nothing. The excavation is abandoned.
Although J. M. Fuller remained skeptical, he was determined to see the case through to the end. Not known as a frivolous man or as a gold digger, Fuller wasn’t looking to make a fast buck from Mrs. Stewart or Judge Hilton. He also knew that in order to pursue the matter to its fullest, he needed Hilton’s approval. On August 16, 1881, he sent Hilton a letter explaining the details of the case, knowing full well that it would be an uphill battle. Hilton maintained publicly and to Cornelia Stewart that the body had been recovered long ago and was safely interred in the vault at Garden City. Agreeing to take part in Fuller’s investigation would require Hilton to admit the body had not been recovered. If Hilton didn’t respond to his letter, Fuller knew the note and letter would be considered just another hoax. However, if Hilton did reply, Fuller would be safe to proceed with the investigation. He did not have to wait long. A day after he sent the letter, Hilton responded. Although he was not able to join Fuller, Hilton agreed to send Edward Harris to represent his interests.
Superintendent J.M. Fuller, New-York:
Telegram received. Edward D. Harris leaves here this afternoon and will be at my store tomorrow morning. You may confer with him on the subject and he will act as I would.
HENRY HILTON
—telegram sent August 19, 1881
On August 20, Fuller and five other people, including Hilton’s surrogate, Edward Harris, descended on Cypress Hills Cemetery. Their goal was to find the various locations depicted in the painting sent to Fuller’s offices. Along with Fuller and Harris came a Times reporter, two detectives from Fuller’s staff, and a young woman. To throw off any suspicion and to keep crowds of curiosity seekers off guard, the group strolled casually through the cemetery, acting nonchalant and giving no impression to the outside world that indeed they were on a mission.
Established in 1849, Cypress Hills Cemetery was located along the Brooklyn and Queens border. Cypress Hills offered inexpensive burial plots. Serene and charming, it looked more like a park than a cemetery, and people often went there to stroll aimlessly around, admiring the stone markers and trying to ascertain the names and dates on the gravestones. Some settled onto the rolling hills to sit peacefully and contemplate, while still others brought pads and pens to sketch one or another of the idyllic landscape scenes. Fuller and his group were positive that they could blend into this everyday scene without raising suspicion.
The attractive young woman in the group, who was clothed in a colorful dress, caught the eye of many of the cemetery workers on the grounds that day. They nodded and tipped their work caps at her as the group walked leisurely along the winding walkways. The young woman was all part of Fuller’s planned diversion. No one would suspect that such a beautiful young woman, dressed in her finest, was doing anything other than wandering the peaceful grounds in the company of family and friends—a typical and accepted custom.
Following a well-thought-out plan, Fuller and his group traipsed along the winding roads, stopping here and there to chat and pretend to examine a gravestone or sculpture. If anyone was watching, they would not have been the least suspicious as the team made its way through the main part of the cemetery and then turned up Lake Road, following along an old, whitewashed picket fence.
Fuller was following the exact route depicted in the oil painting. Finally the group came to Section 18 of the cemetery, the precise location the artist had indicated. In front of them stood the old stable and a crumbling stone building that Fuller identified as the conservatory illustrated in the painting. Both structures were situated as they had been portrayed, right beside the picket fence. Halfway between the two structures was a large weeping willow growing out of a double-tiered trunk, and nearby stood an old oak tree with a stack of flat stones aligned along its trunk. They had found the spot. Upon further investigation of the area, they discovered a secluded roadway that entered into the cemetery. Neither the roadway nor the spot were in public view. Fuller was certain this was the place where the culprits had done their dirty work. A coach or a wagon could have been hidden from public view along the roadway, and Stewart’s bones, if hidden inside a coffin, could have been easily transported into the cemetery and the coffin buried without anyone ever knowing. The spot was overgrown with brush, and several mounds of dirt had been dumped there. It was a perfect site for the crime.
“A body would be safer here than in a Garden City crypt,” Fuller told his colleagues.
Although Fuller proclaimed he was a man who only dealt in facts, he did have an affinity to one superstition regarding the number thirteen—the same number that had aroused fearful superstition in A. T. Stewart.
During the investigation into Cypress Hills Cemetery, Fuller admitted to reporters that the number thirteen had always been lucky for him, and he was sure the number, with its odd connection to the investigation, would prove lucky again.
Fuller was born on the thirteenth of the month. His detective agency was begun on February 13, 1876. The digits in his office building address, 841 Broadway, totaled the number thirteen when added together. The mysterious package containing the note and the painting arrived at his offices on the thirteenth of the month on a day when thirteen of his officers were in the office. T
here was more, especially as it related to the Cypress Hills investigation. The number on the train car that he and his cohorts had occupied en route was thirteen, and the conductor on that train had the number sewn onto his uniform. Based on the maps of Cypress Hills Cemetery, the section of the graveyard depicted in the mysterious oil painting fell within cemetery lot number 175—once again, individual numbers that added up to thirteen. Was Fuller’s notion of success heightened by these numeric coincidences? Absolutely, he claimed, but it would only be the cold, hard facts—the discovery of Stewart’s remains—that would actually provide a successful conclusion to the case.
SOME CURIOUS FACTS
FOR SUPERSTITIOUS PEOPLE
“In contrast with Detective Fuller’s faith in the virtue of 13 was the superstition of Mr. Stewart as to the ill-fortune attending the same number. He would break up a dinner party rather than make one of a company of 13; the prominence of the number in a business transaction he never construed favorably, and more than one instance is remembered by his friends wherein he chose to be made the subject of ridicule rather than to suppress his convictions in this one matter.”
—New York TimesAugust 22, 1881
As Fuller and his party made their way along the picket fence by the hidden roadway, they were being watched. A cemetery worker had taken notice of the group, and as the man busied himself raking, he kept an eye on Fuller’s contingency. For all intents and purposes, the cemetery worker looked like every other worker they had passed while perusing the Cypress Hills grounds. He wore a wide-brim straw hat that shaded much of his face, a denim frock coat, and work gloves. Yet when the man was brought to Fuller’s attention—Fuller was a stickler for details—Fuller noticed something unusual. The groundskeeper was wearing a pair of expensive shoes, not the kind any worker going about his duties would wear. The other workers they had passed, although dressed in similar attire, all wore “Wellies”—high, green Wellington garden boots, but not this man. The finely polished dress shoes were a dead giveaway.
Bag of Bones Page 20