TERRE HAUTE —
A newspaper headline in the Terre Haute Gazette on Jan. 3, 1895, grabbed your attention: “A Terre Haute Girl Goes to Cincinnati to Lead a Life of Shame.”
The sub-headlines contained other teasers: “She Applies for Admission to a House of Ill-Fame and is Arrested;” “Her Terre Haute Friends Surprised to Learn of Her Escapade.”
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a 17-year old girl representing herself to be a Terre Haute resident was taken into custody on Christmas morning and was detained until her relatives could be contacted.
It is a story that probably would not be published today, unless a celebrity was involved, but was not uncommon in the 19th Century.
“It was a sad Christmas for Hester Harmon,” the Enquirer reporter penned on Dec. 26, 1894.
“Instead of remaining at home with her friends she ran away and came to this city. Arriving in this big city on Christmas morning, without a friend to call upon, she asked to be taken to a house of ill-fame. Her request caused her arrest and all day yesterday she looked from behind the bars in the Place of Detention and saw nothing but the steeple of the Cathedral and the sunshine.”
The account in the Cincinnati newspaper described the girl as an attractive blond, wearing a black dress. Her bare shoulders were covered with a “skin cape.” She carried a mackintosh, umbrella and telescope valise.
A taxi picked her up at Central Station and took her to “a resort” on George St. The landlady at that address questioned her and, when she learned that she was an innocent girl, she sent for an officer and had her taken to headquarters.
She apparently arrived in Cincinnati on a Baltimore & Ohio train from the west.
The young girl told officers that her name was “Hester Harmon” and that she was from Harrisburg, Ill.
She represented that her parents were dead and that she lived with a guardian until she was 18 years old, when she ran away from home.
Authorities were suspicious that Hester Harmon was not her real name. They also found a box of salve in her possession marked “Harvey Foulkes, Fourth and Chestnut streets, Terre Haute, Ind.”
The Cincinnati Post gave a slightly different account:
“The police are investigating a sensational story concerning Hester Harmon, the 19-year old girl from Harrisburg, Ill., who was rescued from a resort on Christmas.
“She is said to have confided in one of the House of Detention matrons the story of her life. Her relatives, she claims, tried to force her to marry a wealthy banker. In order to escape his attentions and the importunities to those who urged his suit, she is said to have left Harrisburg for Terre Haute.”
According to the account in the Post, Miss Harmon told the matrons that friends of the banker made further efforts to convince her to marry the man. The pressure induced her to leave for Cincinnati.
“Her garments are all of the richest description,” the Post reported. “Her deportment is that of an educated and refined young woman, who has been reared in the midst of wealth. Her relatives, she says, are wealthy and well connected. The girl is alleged to have declared she would rather die than wed the man being forced upon her.”
A reporter for the Gazette contacted Harvey Foulkes, the druggist mentioned in the Cincinnati newspaper. He acknowledges knowing the young lady from Terre Haute but refused to divulge her name, pointing out that it was a custom among ethical druggists to withhold information about customers.
He remembered selling her the salve and said that she was an orphan boarding with “an estimable family” in Terre Haute.
The Cincinnati police department finally notified the Terre Haute police department in writing that the runaway girl’s real name was Hazel Haddon and that she resided at 612 Eagle St. in Terre Haute with “an old lady” named Mrs. Amelia A. Smith.
According to Col. Philip H. Deitsch, chief of the Cincinnati police department, Miss Haddon had been in Terre Haute for about one year and had been taking music lessons for two weeks. Her deceased father was a stock and race horse dealer.
She had moved to Mrs. Smith’s house about two weeks before Christmas. She had “stomach trouble” and had been as patient at the Terre Haute Sanitarium for a few weeks before moving in with Mrs. Smith.
Mrs. Bertha Kibble, matron at the sanitarium, said the girl paid promptly for her treatments.
It later was revealed that her guardian was a man named Harmon, who lived in Harrisburg. Ill.
Though he rarely, if ever, visited her since she had been living in Terre Haute, he did send her money by mail.
The final disposition of the Hazel Haddon case is unknown.
History
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Terre Haute teenager arrested in Cincinnati brothel
- History
-
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSON: Emperor Constantine changes the world
The Emperor Constantine, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and the man who ended that empire’s persecution of Christianity, died this week (May 22) in 337 AD, having lived a life that would change the world.
-
GENEALOGY: Library archives contain tons of information
Inside the archives room of the Vigo County Public Library, row after row of fragile documents, rare out-of-print books, and historic photographs are kept on shelves in a humidity and temperature-controlled room.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Historic efforts to open Center Street from Cherry to Swan
Efforts to open Center Street, from Cherry to Swan, spanned a half century or more.
-
LOOKING BACK: 2002 — Valley drenched in wettest spring in 107 years
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star. -
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Some history wreathed in hair
From the unfortunate occurrence of Prince Albert’s death in 1861 came the social mores of proper mourning practices and accoutrements witnessed and endorsed by the admirers of Queen Victoria in her reign-long state of grieving.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: League of Women Voters reorganizes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Here comes the bride
The newest major exhibit at the Historical Museum, which opens Tuesday, showcases wedding gowns worn by Vigo County residents.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Downtown changes featured in early 1927
During March and April of 1927 – about 85 years ago – the owners of interests in four major downtown Terre Haute theaters were negotiating to transfer their interests to representatives of Paramount Studios.
-
GENEALOGY: Genealogy isn’t for the easily embarrassed
The saying goes, if you’re easily embarrassed or afraid of what you’ll find, don’t start doing genealogy.
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The long, lost, last — the 27th —Amendment
Our very last constitutional amendment — the 27th Amendment — was ratified this week (May 7) in 1992 when Michigan became the 38th state to approve it.
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The Haymarket Square Massacre
One unhappy byproduct of the Industrial Age was the growing discontent of its industrial workers, who constantly agitated for better pay and more humane working conditions.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Stands packed as Wiley takes county track title
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and the Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Death of Terre Haute jeweler gains national headlines
Terre Haute sought national publicity in 1910 through “Boosterism,” lauding the city’s significant advancements during the decade ending Dec. 31, 1909.
-
GENEALOGY: Cemetery Committee to conduct restoration workshop
The Wabash Valley Genealogy Society’s Cemetery Committee will conduct an all-day cemetery restoration workshop on Saturday at the Smith Cemetery near Youngstown, Honey Creek Township, Vigo County, Ind.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Harmonious history
In 1923, a group of singers calling themselves the Harmony Four entertained regularly over the radio and at civic and various club events.
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: Cleveland observes Lincoln’s funeral
The death of America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, resulted in an outpouring of national mourning, the apex of which came in late April of 1865 when a specially outfitted train carried his body on a thirteen-day, 1,700-mile, eleven-city funeral procession from Washington, D.C., to his home and final resting place in Springfield, Ill.
-
GENEALOGY: Many people can trace ancestry to Titanic
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which occurred on April 14-15, 1912.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: ISU bowling team at nationals again
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Sullivan County mine explosion kills 8 in 1878
Shortly after 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, 1878, an enormous explosion rocked the Handford Brothers mine about one-half mile north of the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad depot in Sullivan County.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: A common feature, but memorable
As an absolute architecture nerd, I tend to look at buildings noticing the odd ball things such as door hinges and door locks in addition to admiring the overall building.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSONS: MLK’s letter written from a jail cell in Birmingham
This week (April 16) in 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., having been arrested for violating a trumped-up court order that prohibited him and his followers from conducting various protest activities, most of which you can read about in the First Amendment.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Swope celebrates 20th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1955 Babe Ruth League championship team to be feted
Currently in his 25th year as a college baseball coach, Rick Heller is in the midst of his third winning season at Indiana State and has embraced the university and the community.
-
GENEALOGY: Long-awaited 1940 census is now available for the public
The long-awaited release of the 1940 census took place on April 2.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Memories baked from scratch
On my Historical Treasure hunt, I was drawn to a pasteboard barrel 28 inches high and 18.5 inches across with the words “Calumet Baking Powder Bakes Best, Received Highest Award” on one side and “Calumet Baking Powder Always Pleases, Try It” on the other.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Thomas Jefferson's flights of fancy
Thomas Jefferson, born this week (April 13) in 1743, is — deservedly so — in the pantheon of American heroes.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: J.K. Emmet’s first appearance at the Terre Haute Opera House
The first season of the magnificent Terre Haute Opera House, which featured many of the world’s premier celebrities, was a resounding success.
-
GENEALOGY: Black Death had a monumental effect on world
One event in the past had a monumental effect on our ancestors, indeed determining who they would be. This was the advent and spread of bubonic plague, the Black Death. The plague originated in China in 1333. It was caused by a bacterium in fleas, which were carried by rats. The plague spread out of China via trading routes with the West (the Silk Road) and especially on ships, which carried flea-infested rats and provided a closed environment for people to infect each other.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: 'Banana king' opens Farmer's Market
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Hunting for sugary Easter treats
Among the many varieties of the Easter egg, none is more charming than the panoramic Sugar Egg. Three were recently given to the Vigo County Historical Museum by Judy Lowe and are shown in an Easter-themed display case in the entry hall.
- More History Headlines
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSON: Emperor Constantine changes the world
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Dragon Arrives at Space Station in Historic 1st
Police: Gunman Has Hostages in Realty Office
Passenger Restrained on Flight to Miami Arrested
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Beer Here!: An Historic Exhibit
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Raw Video: SpaceX Capsule's Docking Delayed
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Vegas Grocer Deported to Face War Crimes Charges
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Wildfire Burns 110 Square Miles
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
80-Year-Old Skydiver's Nightmare Jump
JWoww Sizzles in a Black Bikini
Sliders on the Grill
Cruise ship crunch
Backstage With Beyonce
Ultimate Creamy Potato Salad
Pope's Personal Butler Under Arrest
Jenny McCarthy's New Man
Tyler's Classic Coleslaw
Britney Spears Under X Factor Fire
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Victim Hits Milestone
Hurricanes and Heat Waves Across America
Kristen Stewart Is Red Hot
Shark Attacks Australian Fishing Boat
Bradley out for playoffs
Kayaker Survives Trip Over Washington Waterfall
Alison Brie Likes To Jog Naked
Heidi Klum Goes Sheer
Alton's Best Burger Ever
