Serial Killer Saturday - America's First Female Serial Killer?

  Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset, or Belle as she would later be known, was born in Selbu, Norway on November 11, 1859. Her father Paul was a poor sharecropper at the Storset farm where her family name originated. Very little is known about her childhood and accounts of her varied among the people that knew her while she was growing up. In the early 1880's she set sail from Norway to America. She moved in with her sister Nellie, who had already immigrated to Chicago some years before, and her sister's husband. Brynhild took on an American name and became Bella Peterson. She took sewing jobs, cleaning, laundry and housekeeping jobs in order to pay Nellie back for her passage to America and for her room and board.

  In March of 1884 Bella married Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson. Bella was 24. Mads was five years older than she was and worked at one of the department stores in Chicago. The Sorensons saved money and were able to purchase a candy store with living quarters on the second floor. Despite it's busy location the store wasn't profitable. Less than a year after the store was purchased, it mysteriously caught on fire. No one was in the store at the time except for Belle and Jennie, Mads and Bella's three year old foster daughter, and they both managed to escape unharmed. Suspicions of arson could not be proven and the Sorensons' insurance paid for their loss. They decided to sell the store and were able to recoup all losses. With the money from the insurance and the sale of the store they purchased a new home and Mads took a job with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Over the next few years the Sorensons had four more children. To this day no one knows for sure if these children belonged to Bella and Mads biologically or were adopted. Bella was in her late thirties at the time the children show up in records. Two of the children died shortly after their births; one at five months old and another at three months.

   In 1897, the Sorensons almost lost everything when they were scammed into putting up their own money and using their home for collateral to a fake mining company. They filed a lawsuit and did win back the deed to their property. Mads had quit his job with the railroad company because he believed he was going to Alaska to search for gold mines with the mining company. He was able to get his old job back at the department store where he was working when he and Bella first married. This job paid significantly less than his job at the railroad and the Sorensons became poor. That was until April 1900 when once again fire plagued the Sorensons. Their house caught on fire. Firefighters were able to save the structure but their belongings were lost. Luckily they had insurance and they received a large sum of money to recover their losses. Tragedy struck again three months later when Mads suddenly died. Bella told the physician that he was suffering from a cold and a bad headache and she had given him a dose of quinine powder. When she went to their bedroom check on him after preparing dinner, she found him dead. Doctors at first thought the pharmacist had mistakenly given her morphine instead of quinine but Bella couldn't produce the power packet. The conclusion was that Mads died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Lucky for Bella, most unlucky for Mads, was his life insurance situation. He had a $2000 policy that was set to lapse at the end of that very day and his new policy worth $3000 also took affect that same day. Bella was able to collect both life insurance policies.

  Bella decided to sell her home in Chicago after Mads death. She found a 48 acre farm for sale in La Porte, Indiana that had once been a notorious brothel. Bella, now calling herself Belle, and her three remaining children moved to "Maddie Altic's Place" at the end of the year 1901. Soon after moving to La Porte, Belle remarried. Peter Gunness had boarded at Belle and Mads home in Chicago some years before. He was recently widowed with two children. According to first hand reports of Belle from people who knew her, she was not an attractive woman, but her 48 acre farm apparently was. Five days after Belle and Peter were married, Peter's infant daughter died. Her body was shipped to Chicago and buried beside Mads and the other two infant Sorenson children. Eight months later, on December 16 1902, Peter Gunness was dead. Neighbors were woken by Jennie, Belle's foster daughter, asking them to come quickly to the Gunness farm because her step father had been badly burned. When they arrived on the scene they found Peter's body on the floor face down in a pool of blood and a large dent in his skull and a broken nose. When the coroner arrived, Belle half incoherently told everyone a story about how a meat grinder fell from a shelf onto Peter's head and then knocked over a hot bowl of brine that scalded his neck. He assured Belle that he was fine and had went to lay down for a rest. She found him on the floor a few hours later. Dr. Bo Bowell, county physician and coroner, immediately upon seeing Mr. Gunness' body thought he had been murdered but waited until the autopsy before making a judgement. The postmortem only raised more questions than answers since the findings didn't match the story provided by Belle. There were no burn or scald marks anywhere on Peter's body. Dr. Bowell concluded that death was "due to shock and pressure caused by fracture and said hemorrhage." Bowell decided to open an inquest into Peter's death. The inquest was held two days later at the Gunness farmhouse in the same room where Peter died. The inquest didn't turn up any new answers. Belle, Jennie and the neighbor all testified but the story basically remained the same. Dr. Bowell concluded that Peter Gunness had died by accident due to the meat grinder hitting his head causing a fractured skull and hemorrhage. That might have been the official report and the official end to the incident but rumors and suspicions around town remained. Peter's brother Gust was of the group who remained suspicious. When he asked about Peter's life insurance policy that listed his oldest daughter Swanhild as beneficiary, Belle claimed he had invested it in a mining company. When Belle made a proposal that Gust could stay on the farm and help her manage the place, Peter's brother declined the offer and quickly left with Swanhild in tow.

  Belle took on all the roles that a farm required. She was a very large woman, tall, large boned with a tendency towards obesity. Even with her large build she soon realized the work was more than she could handle. She began to place help wanted ads in Norwegian language newspapers in the Midwest for farm workers. Olaf Lindboe, a new comer to America, responded to Belle's ad. He showed up at the Gunness farm with $600 and everything he owned in the world. He and Belle soon became friendly. Their relationship was so friendly in fact that her neighbors believed they would soon be married, as did Olaf himself. In a letter he wrote to his father describing his new living location he also mentioned that he might be getting married soon. Everyone thought it very odd when Olaf came up missing and Belle was asking a neighbor for help on the farm at harvest season. Henry Gurholt answered her ad a few months after Olaf disappeared. Chris Christofferson, a neighbor that was helping out while she was between farmhands, worked with Gurholt a few times and was surprised when Belle told him Gurholt had returned to Chicago with only a few possessions. She was later seen by Christofferson during the winter wearing Gurholt's fur coat. When he asked about it Belle replied that he must not want it since he didn't take it and she hadn't heard from him since he left.

   Belle mysteriously became a mother again to a baby boy she named Phillip. Neighbors couldn't believe the news when Jennie told them, or when they came to visit. They were sure Phillip was much too big to be a new born and Belle was still hard at work with farm chores. Not the sorts of activities a newly delivered mother should be performing. Another ad was placed again in the Midwestern Norwegian Newspapers. This time the ad wasn't just looking for a farm hand but a "partner" to share life on the farm. All the man had to do was provide some cash as security of good faith and reliability. "Triflers need not apply.", the ad read. The number of responses to Belle's ad is unknown but her mailman would later testify to delivering as many as 10 letters per day. George Berry left his home in Tuscola, Illinois with $1,500 in cash after telling friends he was moving to La Porte for a job and marriage prospects. Christian Hilkven sold his farm for $2000 and gave his friends his forwarding address in La Porte. A Swedish bachelor from Kansas quit his job and told his boss he had $2000 and was going to marry a rich widow. Ole Budsberg told his sons the same thing, also giving La Porte, Indiana as his new address. He left with $1000 in cash. And so on. One young farm hand, Emil Greening, later testified that Belle Gunness received male visitors on a regular basis and that she would always introduce them as cousins from out of state. None of these men seemed to stay for very long. The residents of La Porta always saw them arrive but no one ever saw them leave again.

Jennie Olsen at 16 years old

  During all these comings and goings of male "cousins", Jennie Olson, Belle's foster daughter, was growing into womanhood and she herself would receive many gentleman callers. Emil Greening and John Weidner were local boys who paid suit to Jennie. In the winter of 1906 Jennie told John and Emil that Belle was sending her to college in California. When each one came to say goodbye Belle told them Jennie had already left. They both wrote to her at the address she had given them but they never heard from her again. In fact, no one ever did.


  Belle hired Ray Lamphere to be her boarder and farm hand. Ray was a member of a prominent La Porte family who had become the town drunk. Belle gave him a place to live in exchange for his help on the farm and Ray began to boast around town that Belle was giving him more than just a bed to sleep in. Even though Belle was supposedly in a relationship with Ray, she still received letters responding to her newspaper ads. She began a lengthy correspondence with a man named Andrew Helgelien who owned a farm in South Dakota. For almost two years Belle set the scene in her letters of a friend turned devoted lover with a prosperous money-making farm in need of Helgelien to save her from loneliness. Helgelien was urged to come quickly with all his cash he planned to invest in his share of the farm. "We shall be so happy once you get here," she wrote in one surviving letter. Belle also instructed Helgelien to keep their plans for the future a secret from everyone, including his own family.  "It is so much pleasure to keep this secret to ourselves and to see how surprised everyone will be when they find out." Unfortunately, Andrew Helgelien fell ill and could not come to Belle as quickly as she wanted. Even though he repeatedly told her he was unable to make the journey, her letters back to him urged him to make the trip anyway, always with the aside that he not tell anyone of plans. Finally, after 18 months of letter writing, Andrew Helgelien arrived in La Porte in January of 1908. Belle unceremoniously kicked Ray Lamphere out of his snugly bed and put Andrew in it. Ray was told to go sleep in the barn. A few days later Belle took Andrew to the bank to cash in his certificates of deposit from his own bank back in South Dakota. Belle became furious when they were told it would take 4-5 days for the money to be redeemed. A week later the two of them came back for the money. Helgelien was ready to accept a  cashier's check but Belle refused and insisted it be in cash. Almost $3,000 in cash, half in gold coins and half in currency. It totaled close to $75,000 in today's currency. And that was the last anyone would see or hear of Andrew Helgelien.

   Even though Andrew had not told anyone where he was going or why, he did tell his brother Asle that he would be back within a week's time. When he didn't arrive back home after a few weeks Asle became worried. A farmhand that worked on Andrew's small farm also began to wonder where he was. Looking through Helgelien's home to find some clue as to his whereabouts he came upon Belle's letters she had written to Andrew. These were turned over to Asle who promptly wrote to Belle, or Bella, as she had singed her letters to Andrew, asking if she knew where he was. She replied back with some crazy story about him running off to hunt down another of the Helgelien brothers who had gotten into some trouble in Chicago. Asle wrote back that he was coming to La Porte to start searching for Andrew's whereabouts. Belle told him to come on and she would help in any way she could.

  Ray Lamphere and Belle were now on the outs with each other. No one knows exactly what started the feud but Ray suddenly quit the Gunness farm leaving all his carpenters tools and most of his other belongings behind. When he finally came back for his belongings Belle had him arrested for trespassing. He hired a lawyer. She began to drop comments around town that he was harassing her, sneaking onto her property at night, looking in her windows and any other kind of dubious activity she could think to add. He was put on trial a few times for trespassing and harassment. One time he was found guilty and had to pay a fine. The next time he was acquitted of the charges. Still Belle persisted in bringing charges against him and declaring that he was insane. He was put before an insanity trial and the comity declared that he was of sound mind. She would tell neighbors and shopkeepers that she feared for her life and that she wouldn't be surprised if Ray tried to set fire to her house one night while she was asleep to try and kill her. During one of the trials where Ray was accused of harasment, Ray's lawyer began to ask Belle questions about her deceased husbands and their mysterious deaths. Belle became very agitated at all these questions. No one really thought much of it at the time except for Ray's lawyer who was asking them and Dr. Bo Bowell who had attended Mr. Gunness at the time of his death and who already had doubts surrounding the circumstances. Later, everyone in La Porte would take it as a sign that Belle feared her secrets were about to be found out.

Belle with daughters Lucy and Myrtle and baby son Phillip

  On April 27, 1908, a few weeks after the last trial of Ray Lamphere, Belle went to her lawyer's office to have her will made out because she was so afraid Ray was going to kill her. She left everything to her three children, Myrtle Adolphine Sorenson, Lucy Bergliat Sorenson and Phillip Alexander Gunness. In the event that her children died without issue, the property was to be given to the Norwegian Children's Home of Chicago. After storing her will and some money in a deposit box, she stopped by the store where she bought candy, cake and some toys to give to the children as a surprise. She also purchased a large quantity of groceries and two gallons of kerosene. According to Joe Maxson, the handyman hired to take Ray's place, he, Belle and the children sat down to a large dinner and then played games with the kids the rest of the evening. Maxson, feeling very sleepy, retired to bed around 8:30 with Belle and the children still playing in the parlor. When he awoke the next morning he believed everything was the same as it was every morning; except Mrs. Gunness was burning the breakfast. Except it wasn't breakfast that was burning. When he came fully awake he realized the house itself was on fire and his room was filled with smoke. He ran out of his room and tried to open the door that separated the guest area from the rest of the house where Belle and her children slept but it wouldn't open. He ran down the back stairs and tried to open the front door but it wouldn't open either. Grabbing an ax from the nearby tool shed he chopped at the door. The neighbors soon saw the flames and smoke and began to rush to Mrs. Gunness' farmhouse. It was engulfed in flames. One of the neighbors grabbed a ladder and put it to the window of Belle's bedroom. Peering in he saw the room was empty. Continuing on in the same way, they searched all the windows they could reach hoping to see someone still alive. Someone rode into town to alert the sheriff while everyone else stood around helplessly watching the flames reach higher into the early morning sky. By the time the fire was out there was nothing but three stone walls left standing.

  

  By mid-morning fifty people were there and by the afternoon that number had doubled. One spectator that morning was Harry Burr Darling, an editor for the Argus-Bulletin, one of La Porte's newspapers. His would be the first of many articles written about Belle Gunness and what would become known as her "murder farm." Darling was also the first to speculate that Belle Gunness had started the fire herself due to her "weakened mentality" over her recent troubles with Ray Lamphere. Sheriff Smutzer believed Ray himself was guilty of starting the fire. When the smoldering ruins had cooled enough to allow anyone to get close, people began to sift through the debris. They came upon the forms of three small bodies huddled together with an adult female. Surely these were Belle and her children. Sheriff Smutzer sent deputies out to arrest Ray for arson and murder but like most of the men in Belle's life he had disappeared. The next day Darlings article reported on the conditions of the bodies found. In describing Phillip Guness, Darling wrote "whose face was black, with a hole in the forehead evidently from a falling brick. Its limbs below the knees had been burned away. The child's mouth was open, silent testimony to the agony of death." The girls were likewise salaciously described in order to appeal to the reader's morbid curiosity. Mrs. Gunness, he went on to describe as "an unrecognizable mass, with the bones protruding through naked flesh." But was the body that of Mrs. Gunness or some other female? Jennie was supposed to be in California in collage. No other females save the small girls should have been in the house. Why would this question even be asked? Because the corpse was missing its head!

 Ray Lamphere was eventually found right where he should have been; at work. The first words out of Ray's mouth when the deputies arrived where to ask if the children and Belle had escaped the fire. How did he know about the fire? Simple, he saw the smoke as he was walking to work that morning but didn't stop because it wasn't any of his business or that given his history with Mrs. Gunness they would suspect him right off. Ray was taken to the county jail where he was questioned multiple times.When asked where he was the night of the fire he reluctantly admitted that he had been at the home of Elizabeth Smith, a colored woman. Smith corroborated Lamphere's story but many La Porte residents still believed Ray was responsible for the fire and subsequent deaths of the Gunness family. An inquest was held, then an arraignment where Ray was charged with arson and murder. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bond to await a grand jury to meet on May 11th.

  Meanwhile, back at the farm, men from all over the county arrived to help sift through what was left of the Gunness home in the hopes of finding the lost head of Belle Gunness. According to the local physicians no fire could have been hot enough to have entirely cremated a human skull. Surely her gold teeth or some other part had to remain. Had Ray Lamphere murdered Mrs. Gunness first and cut off her head and then set the fire? If so, where was the head now? A postmortem exam lead the doctors to believe that the head had not been removed before the fire. There was no evidence of violence having occurred.

  More newspapers began to pick up the story and La Porta began to have more and more visitors pouring into town. Nellie Larson, Belle's estranged sister came to town from Chicago. She was shocked to learn how her sister died and even more shocked to learn she wouldn't be the recipient of Belle's estate. She did make arrangements to have her sister's remains sent to Chicago and buried at the Forest Home Cemetery. Jennie Olson's older sister also came to town looking for Jennie. She had not heard from Jennie and over two years after Jennie had written to say she was being sent away to school in California. Attempts to locate said school by Jennie's sister had been unsuccessful. News reports claimed that Jennie was even then on her way home but Jennie never arrived. Asle Helgelien had also arrived in La Porte and went straight away to the police looking for his lost brother Andrew. Andrew's presence in town several months back was confirmed by the police chief and by the banker. Sheriff Smutzer drove Asle out to what remained of the Gunness farm. Asle joined in with the rest of the men still looking for Belle's missing head. While walking the property he began to look for anything suspicious or anything that would give him a clue as to the whereabouts of his brother. He asked the workers if any large holes had been recently dug. Why, yes, there were. Maxson, the current handyman had helped Mrs. Gunness haul some household trash to a pit in a fenced off around of the hog lot. The men took their shovels and headed for the pit where they began digging. Soon enough a shovel struck something hard. It was covered in a burlap sack. When the sack was opened up they found human remains. While someone raced into town to get the sherrif and the coroner, the other men kept digging. Finally, they found what Asle had been searching for. A human skull that resembled his brother Andrew. The partial remains of a young adult female were found with a lock of long blonde hair still attached. Jennie Olson had finally been found. Ole Budsberg's sons arrived to try and find their father whom they knew had come to La Porte to married a wealthy widow. They picked out his skull from among the remains that had been dug up. His red mustache a dead give away. (Heh, sorry). More and more people, fearing for missing loved ones,wrote inquiries to the La Porte police or came to town to search the bodies. All of them giving the same story of a single man cashing in all he owned to go off to marry a widow who owned a farm.

  The buggy shed was turned into a makeshift morgue as the men kept digging and searching other areas of the murder farm. Bodies with severed limbs were placed on tables. There were so many that it was impossible to match the pieces up for a full skeleton and know for sure that it was all of the same person. Body upon body was being discovered all over the property. It is estimated that as many as 40 were possibly killed and buried in various places around the Gunness farm. In one pit they uncovered more than a dozen pairs of men's shoes. Some of the bodies had been wrapped in the "gunny" or burlap sacks, some had been casually tossed like trash. Some had been covered with quicklime to cover the smell and help with decomposition. Severed, crushed, dismembered; legs, arms, skulls. Most were beyond even basic identifications like sex or age

News article from 1908 reporting on the murders at the Gunness farm

 Over night Belle became infamous. Belle Gunness and her murder farm would make front-page news throughout the country for several months. She was labeled by the Chicago American as "the most fiendish murderer of the age," even the most "fiendish murderess in history."  As evidence emerged from other men who had previously contacted  Belle regarding her advertisements,  her motives and, as Harold Schechter describes her in his book, her "diabolical cunning", it seemed reasonable to believe that the headless body was not that of Belle at all. Could she possibly have committed all these murders and somehow gotten away with it?! The newspapers dubbed her everything from the "La Porte Ghoul" to the "High-Priestess of Murder" to the "Queen of Crime." All kinds of sensational stories hit the press regarding her whereabouts, the murders and her possible link to other crimes. Sightings of her were reported everywhere and yet when investigated were obviously false. She was part of a murder for hire gang in Chicago that sent victims out to her murder farm where she would dispose of them. She was part of a mail order murder gang that lured unsuspecting men (and their money) to their deaths. This she did do but she was solitary in her efforts. But because it could possibly be true, mail order marriages were banned in Chicago. Though there was a multi-state hunt for Gunness and many reported sightings, nothing led to her apprehension. Not long after the story broke, a moving pictured titled Mrs. Gunness, the Female Bluebeard  appeared in theaters in the Midwest. Fake love letters to would be victims began to appear. Even fictional paperback dime-store novels were written about Mrs. Gunness.

 Crowds began to gather at the farm to watch as the men dug and retrieved body parts and articles of men's clothing. They would come from all around the surrounding counties, even from the surrounding states. They would bring picnics out to the farm and spend the day in morbid amusement as piece by piece Belle's victims were unearthed. There was still that pesky missing head to find as well. The only parts of the farm that were off limits to the public were the cellar and the make-shift morgue. People could walk around the farm all they liked. The Lake Erie and Western Railroad even arranged for special excursion trains to bring in visitors from Indianapolis and Chicago and livery companies hired extra drivers to take sightseers out to the farm. Every hotel room in La Porte and the nearby cities and towns were full.  Sixteen thousand people, possibly more, showed up on Sunday May 10th. It was like a giant death circus. According to Harold Schechter's book "Hell's Princess", there were even vendors there selling their wares. Popcorn, peanuts, ice cream and cake could all be had while looking down on these poor dead people's remains. Photographers roamed the grounds taking pictures and selling them to the visitors. Some even found small bone fragments and sold them as well, alleging they were the bones of Belle's victims. They later found out the bones weren't human but were actually pig. Chunks of brick, bent nails, trash from the house that remained in the burn pile; all were scooped up as souvenirs. At first a single file line for viewing the make-shift morgue was arranged but the crowd became out of control and Sheriff Smutzer was forced to padlock the shed doors so no one else could get in. 

Spectators watch as the remains of Belle Gunness' victims are unearthed  - La Porte Historical Society

 Ray Lamphere was still in jail. There were many who still believed that Belle was innocent and Lamphere had committed these murders out of jealousy and revenge. Ray still insisted he was the innocent one. If they could find Belle then obviously Ray was innocent and Belle the murderer. Yet though there were all those sightings there was nothing that was confirmed as it actually being Belle. They either had to find Belle, her missing head, or her teeth. A sluice box was constructed on the farm by an old prospector determined to find Belle's gold teeth. If she died in the fire and her head had indeed "combusted" from her body due to the heat of the fire, then her 4 gold teeth should be somewhere amidst the ashes that were once her home. Right? Men's watches, knives, rings and suspiciously a badly burned book on anatomy were all found. Finally on May 19th, the crazy old prospector was rewarded for his hard work by finding a pair of dental bridges. Belle's dentist confirmed they were in fact those of Mrs. Gunness. Sheriff Smutzer firmly believed Ray was the culprit. Since they now had confirmation that Belle was in fact dead, they could proceed with the trial. Of course there were doubters. How could they have not melted in the heat of the fire? Was it possible she used someone else's dentures? The dentist pointed out that a real tooth was still attached to the bridgework. Could she have pulled out her own tooth? With this new evidence the coroner finally positively identified the body of Belle Gunness and Ray Lamphere was  indicted by a grand jury with charges of arson and the first-degree murders of Belle, her three children and Andrew Helgelien. What about all the other bodies though? Who killed them? Did Ray help Belle kill them but as was suggested grew jealous of Helgelien? Lamphere still denied having anything to do with the fire or any of the murders. Even though other dentists testified for the defense that the teeth presented as those of Belle Gunness had to have been planted after the fire, and Elizabeth Smith saying that Ray had been at her place the night of the fire, and witnesses that claim to have seen Belle after the fire, Ray Lamphere was convicted of arson with no mention of the charges of murder. The jury's decision had been 10 who were in favor of second degree murder, two who were in favor of the arson charge and one who wanted to acquit. They finally came to an agreement on the arson charge after their 19th ballot. Ray Lamphere died in prison while serving his two year term for arson.

  Sightings of Belle Gunness reappeared every so often for the next 20 years or so all across the country. Once they were investigated though they all proved to be false. The most credible of these sightings was in 1931 when a man named Peter Lindstrom received a call that his father had passed away. When he traveled to Los Angeles to take care of his father's estate, he was met by his father's housekeeper for the last 15 years. Her name was Mrs. Carlson. The circumstances of Peter's father's death didn't sit right with Peter when Mrs. Carlson gave him the details. He became more suspicious when he learned that his father had added Mrs. Carlson's name onto his bank account and that just days after Lindstrom's death, all the money in the account had been withdrawn by authority of Mrs. 
Carlson. An  autopsy was performed and two and a half grains of arsenic were found in the old man's body. Upon making inquiries into Carlson's past and with the help of a woman who had been conned into helping Carlson then subsequently poisoned by Carlson, charges were brought against her for the murders of Lindstrom, another man and Mr. Carlson too. Upon searching the Carlson home, police came across two little girls and a boy. The photo was somehow shown to a former resident of La Porte, Indiana who identified the children as belonging to none other than Belle Gunness. Carlson denied that she was not Mrs. Gunness. Esther Carlson was dead before anyone else could positively identify her. The mode, means and motive certain fit that of Belle Gunness. Every one who saw her after her death felt positive that the facial features and nationality all made her a shoe-in for Belle. 

 In 2008, the remains of what are supposedly Belle Gunness' body were exhumed from their resting place at Chicago's Forest Home Cemetery in order to perform DNA testing. Those results are still inconclusive. In 2014, a native of Selbu, Norway researched Carlson's background and came to the conclusion that she and Belle Gunness were not the same person. 

Did Belle Gunness escape the fire at the murder farm? Did Ray Lamphere have anything to do with the fire or any of the deaths that took place there? Here are my own thoughts about Belle Gunness:

 Did she kill her husbands? Yes. Perhaps the first time was an accidental overdose.  Did Belle kill Jennie? Yes. And Phillip was actually Jennie's son.  Did Belle kill all of those other people? Yes.  Did Ray Lamphere kill anyone? No.  Did Ray start the fire at the Gunness house? No.  Did Ray know about Belle's extracurricular activities? Yes.  Did Belle start the fire? Yes.  Did Belle set Ray up for the murder and arson charges? Yes.  Did Belle die in the fire huddled together with her children? No. That was someone else's skeleton.  Did Belle get away? Most definetly.  Was Belle Gunness ever found? Nope. Will the mystery ever be solved? I don't know.


To learn more about Belle Gunness and come to your own conclusions check this stuff out:

Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men 
by Henry Schechter

Hell's Belle : The True Story of Belle Gunness

by Lindsay Garrett

The Truth about Belle Gunness: The True Story of Notorious Serial Killer Hell's Belle

by Lillian de la Torre

The Mistress of Murder Hill: The Serial Killings of Belle Gunness

by Sylvia Elizabeth Shepherd

Belle Gunness: The Lady Bluebeard

by Janet L. Langlois 

You can watch a documentary about Belle on Amazon Prime. 

There was another movie in the works but there has been no news from them since 2018. There 

has also been talk of a Netflix series based on her life and crimes but nothing confirmed.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

In today's blog post we will learn about one of my favorite female historical figures.

A ruler in her own right to the Duchy of Aquitaine, this woman would become queen of two countries and mother to two kings of England. She went to war, made war against her own husband, and was locked away in a tower. The Woman, the Myth, The Legend: Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Aquitaine, a very rich and fertile land, is a region in southwestern France. It's name possibly originated with the Romans and their Latin word aqua, meaning water, since it boarders on the Atlantic Ocean. At one point in it's varied history Aquitaine was declared it's own separate Kingdom when Emperor Charlemagne bestowed the title of King of Aquitaine on his son Louis. After a while the kingdom fell apart and reverted back to a Duchy. Aquitaine grew into one of the most cultured courts in all of Europe. Eleanor's grandfather is touted as being the very first troubadour and the ideas of chivalry and "courtly love" supposedly developed in Aquitaine.  Eleanor came from a long line of Dukes that had ruled over Aquitaine since the year 835 when the Ramnulfids led by Ramnulf I of House Poitiers took control over the lands. 

Eleanor's early life remains unknown to us. Her name was originally spelled Alienor. Named after her mother, it meant "the other Aenor." She was schooled in housekeeping and needlework, but because of the urbane and sophisticated court at Aquitaine she was probably highly educated in reading, writing, languages, poetry, music, dance and a musical instrument or two. We have no factual evidence of what she looked like. No descriptions of her eyes, hair color or stature have been left for us. Even Eleanor's specific birth date is unknown but historians believe she was born either in 1122 or 1124. This would make her between 13-15 in the year 1137 when her father William X Duke of Aquitaine passed away. Eleanor's brother and the only son of William X and Aenor had died some years earlier leaving Eleanor, as the oldest daughter, heir to the Duchy of Aquitaine. Since Eleanor had not yet reached the age of maturity her father had asked Louis VI, King of France to become her guardian. Louis saw a golden opportunity to gain some of the most fertile lands in all of France and he quickly betrothed his young ward to his son and heir, sixteen year old Prince Louis. However, France would only benefit from Aquitaine so long as Eleanor remained married to Louis. The land was hers by right of inheritance and would remain in her name. 

The Prince traveled to Aquitaine in the accompaniment of 500 knights to meet his bride. On July 25, 1137 in Bordeaux's Cathedral of Saint Andre, Eleanor and Louis were wed. After their wedding they traveled to Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, where they were crowned Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine. Louis VI, King of France had passed away during their travel from Bordeaux to Poitiers. After their coronations in Poitiers they rushed to Paris to make sure Prince Louis' right to the throne wasn't questioned. Eleanor, a young girl not yet sixteen, became a duchess in her own right and Queen of France all within the span of a few months.

It is generally believed that King Louis was so besotted with the bold and spirited Eleanor that he would do anything for her. He went to war against several important French dukes to gain lands that Eleanor felt should have belonged to her, he spent lavishly and even went against the Pope when Eleanor urged him to take her sister's side in a forbidden romance. Louis had originally been meant for the church and so was a very pious and cautious person. It does seem that for whatever reason he did have a bit of a personality shift after his marriage to Eleanor. Was Eleanor so charming and persuasive that she convinced Louis to go against his own character? Was he so in love with her that he would do anything she wanted; so enraptured that he took her with him when he went to fight in the Crusades? Possibly. But they eventually had a falling out and divorced so I feel this view is slightly exaggerated. Was she just a big nag and he did these things to shut her up? Possibly. I'm sure if we looked closely enough at the political gains that were to be gained from some of his decisions we would see it had more to do with continuing to build a reputation for France than for any crazy love he felt for Eleanor.

Eleanor gave birth to their first child, a daughter they named Marie, in 1145. The next year they both "took the cross" and made plans to fight in the Second Crusade to keep Jerusalem safe from the Turks. It is worth noting that Eleanor took the cross under her title of Duchess of Aquitaine and not Queen of France. This way the barons of Aquitaine who weren't loyal to Louis but were loyal to her would be bound to join the Crusade. Not many people wrote first hand accounts of the Crusades and even fewer wrote about Eleanor's part so we must take rumors, innuendos and implications with a grain of salt. Eleanor brought with her a train of ladies in waiting (some later accounts report at least 300 women), servants and baggage. Here is where Eleanor as a legend begins to take shape.  A Greek historian writing some 50 years after the Crusade described Eleanor and her ladies as wearing armor and riding astride their horses like men. He compared them to Amazons and thus a legend was born. Here was a woman already famed for her beauty, boldness, quick wit and adventurous nature. Being compared to the Queen of the Amazons only heightened her fame and appeal.  

Unarguably the undertaking of this Second Crusade is where her relationship with Louis, already fragile due to lack of a male heir, began to fall apart. No doubt the pious King of France took his role in the Crusade seriously. But what about Eleanor? Maybe not so much. Can you just imagine the scene of the procession as she rode into Constantinople and Antioch with her 300 women dressed to impress with armor and all the splendors of royalty. I think Eleanor viewed the Crusade as one lavish party and not the bloody, deadly war that it actually was. Eleanor was later blamed for being partly responsible when the French army was ambushed by the Turks and almost completely wiped out. In fact, when Louis and Eleanor arrived in Antioch in March of 1148, most of the French foot soldiers had been killed and the majority of his barons had died as well. In Antioch, the ruling seat of Eleanor's uncle Raymond, their relationship deteriorated further. It is not known exactly what happened while they were in Antioch. There are many rumors but nothing we can confirm as factual. We do know that Louis wanted to finish his pilgrimage to Jerusalem and that Eleanor was content to remain at her uncle's court. Eleanor also wanted Louis to help Raymond who was having his own trouble along his western boarder. Eleanor began to spend more and more time with her uncle and less time with Louis. Rumors later surfaced that Eleanor and her uncle were having an incestuous affair. As with every other legend about Eleanor, this rumor is just that, rumor. There is no evidence to confirm an affair, but then again there is no evidence to confirm there wasn't.  Louis finally put his foot down and forcibly removed Eleanor from Antioch and continued on to Jerusalem. By the time Easter of 1149 came around, Louis felt it was time to return to France. The King and Queen set out for the first leg of the journey to Italy on separate ships. Eleanor's ship was captured by the Byzantines and she was held hostage. Luckily she was rescued by the Normans who were at war with Byzantine and was safely reunited with Louis. Together they made their way to Rome to pay their respects to Pope Eugene III. The Pope acted as counselor and tried to amend Eleanor and Louis' marital disagreements. He even issued a decree that anyone who tried to separate the couple would face excommunication.

Eleanor and Louis finally returned to France. They were reconciled long enough to produce another child. Their daughter Alix was born in 1150. But even the birth of Alix could not save their marriage. Maybe it was because Alix was a daughter when Louis clearly needed a male heir. Maybe given the time of  Alix's birth and the rumors about Eleanor and her uncle, Louis questioned her legitimacy. Louis and Eleanor both agreed to have their marriage annulled based on the grounds of consanguinity (having too close a blood kinship).  In March 1152, despite all the Pope could do to prevent it, the King and Queen of France were granted their annulment, leaving both free to marry again. 

Seal of Eleanor of Aquitaine with flower and hawk

Since Eleanor retained the right to rule Aquitaine in her own right, she returned to Poitiers as Duchess of Aquitaine. Her daughters remained at the French court as legitimate daughters where Louis would make important political marriages for them both. The eldest daughter Marie would also inherit Aquitaine unless her mother produced a male heir. 

Eleanor, not yet 40, was once again one of the most eligible women in Europe. As she traveled back to Poitiers, Eleanor evaded an abduction attempt by Geoffrey of Anjou while she was traveling to Poitiers. He lay in wait at Port des Piles, near the River Creuse, and would have married her had the abduction been successful. Eleanor was forewarned and able to escape his plans of capture. Eleanor escaped from another abduction attempt shortly after Geoffrey's failed. This time Theobald V, Count of Blois tried to seize her and her lands for himself.  (Theobald V would later marry her daughter Alix) Eleanor knew that so long as she remained unmarried, her person and her lands were at risk. Eleanor set out to find a worthy husband and 8 weeks after her annulment decree from the king of France, Eleanor was married to Henry Plantagenet, brother to Geoffrey of Anjou. Although younger than Eleanor, Henry didn't seem to mind the age difference, nor did either of them mind they were more closely related that Eleanor and Louis had been. This seems like a hasty married, arranged way too quickly. Perhaps it was. Maybe Eleanor and Henry already knew each other and had already been planning their marriage for some time. They had met on at least one occasion when Henry came to court in Paris in 1151. Gervase of Canterbury in his Historical Works wrote that Eleanor "sent secret messengers to the Duke (Henry) to tell him that she was free again, and urging him to enter into marriage with her." William of Newburgh and several other chroniclers of the time suggest this claim as well. Henry was definitely a worthy match for the rich Duchess. Henry was the complete opposite of Louis. He was not very religious, enjoyed hunting and riding, was described as being bold and athletic and loved the ladies.  He was Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine, and had a legitimate claim to the English throne through his grandfather Henry I. The ceremony was very small and not very elaborate; almost secretive. The suggested reason for this is the fact that as Duke of Normandy, Henry was a vassal of the French King and should have asked Louis' permission to marry which he certainly would not have given.

On 25 October 1154, Henry did in fact become Henry II of England when Stephen I died without heir. He and Eleanor were crowned King and Queen of England by the archbishop of Canterbury on 19 December 1154. Eleanor spent much of her time traveling back and forth from England to Aquitaine holding court while Henry was busy waging war against Louis. In Henry's absence she spent money where needed, made charters and decrees. There is only one instance of Henry's nobles not obeying Eleanor's decisions. When this was made known to him, Henry rushed back to England to quell this small rebellion and any objections to Eleanor's rule were never voiced again. 

Eleanor also spent much of her early marriage to Henry pregnant and giving birth to his 8 children. Their first child, a boy named William, was born before they were King and Queen of England and died at three years of age. Their other sons Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, John proved that it was not Eleanor's fault that she and Louis didn't have a male heir. Eleanor also had three daughters with Henry; Matilda, Eleanor and Joanna. Eleanor's marriage to Henry may have started out happy but their relationship too quickly became turbulent. They were both too much alike; too bold, too independent, too outspoken. Henry also had a wandering eye which later put a lot of strain on their marriage when he began to flaunt his infidelities openly at court. By 1168 their marriage had completely deteriorated and they were very seldom together. Eleanor seems to have stayed at Poitiers holding court.

In 1170 Henry II believed he was dying and had Young Henry crowned as co-ruler to ensure a smooth succession when Henry died. He divided the rest of his lands between his four sons. Richard would inherit Eleanor's lands in Aquitaine to which Eleanor had already agreed and been acting to promote. When King Henry recovered from his illness he decided that his land grants where in name only until he actually passed away. Eleanor and her three oldest boys disagreed. They felt they should be allowed to rule their lands that had been given them and not wait for their father's death to make it official. A revolt was brewing with Eleanor right in the middle. Young Henry fled to France where Louis supported his claim as current and rightful ruler, not co-ruler, of England. Eleanor entreated Richard and Geoffrey to stand with Young Henry against their father. Eleanor was pressured to end her part of the rebellion and reconcile herself back to her husband by more than one contemporary. Eleanor had no intention of returning to Henry. Instead she raised an army in Aquitaine to join the rebellion. Henry was the more experienced soldier and one by one put down the revolt in each rebellious territory. He made his way to the place where Eleanor was staying with her uncle Raol de Faye. Eleanor tried to escape by disguising herself as a man but she was captured and held as a prisoner at Chinon. Eleanor's part in the rebellion against Henry was over and soon her sons would be stopped as well. 

For the next 15 years Eleanor would spend her life a closely guarded prisoner under house arrest. Henry made a few moves toward divorce so that he could marry his long time mistress. This would have been a critical hit for Eleanor. She was in her early 50s and would no longer be such a marriageable prize as she was when she and Louis divorced. Once again rumors on Eleanor's part reared their head. Henry revived an old rumor that Eleanor had an affair with his own father years before they were married. And when Henry's mistress suddenly died, Eleanor was rumored to have poisoned her. These rumors of course have no basis in fact. 

Eleanor and Henry's sons fought each other for years over land. Young Henry resented that Richard had more power as Duke of Aquitaine than he had as co-king of England and tried to take Aquitaine from Richard. Henry retrieved Eleanor from house arrest and sent her to treat with her sons. He gave her back full rights to Aquitaine hoping that Richard wouldn't fight his own mother. Ultimately it was the death of Young Henry that ended the fighting. When Geoffrey unexpectedly died Henry II tried to give away his territories John the youngest son, leaving Richard out. Richard once more went to war against his father. This rebellion ended with King Henry II himself dying. Upon Henry's death, Richard the Lionheart, became king of England. Richard released his mother and have her power over England. She also set free many others who had been imprisoned by Henry for political reasons. 

King Richard was crowned in September 1189 with his mother Eleanor by his side. A well known prophecy supposedly spoken by the magician Merlin himself became associated with Eleanor even while she was held captive by Henry. The prophecy was written down and circulated by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his The History of the Kings of Britain. The prophecy refers to an eagle from a broken alliance rejoicing in its third brood. Many believed the eagle to represent Eleanor and the "third brood" to reference her third son Richard who set her free from captivity to reign once more as Queen. Soon after Richard was crowned king of England he took the cross himself and set off on the Third Crusade. Eleanor was left in control of Aquitaine and a the right to exercise power over the Council of Regency that Richard left to govern England. Eleanor and Richard had worked together to secure a marriage for him with Berengaria of Navarre. While Richard was away, his brother John was working to undermine his authority and take England for himself. Eleanor wrote to Richard urging him to return home. Richard did as his mother bid but was captured on his way home and held captive for two years by Henry Vi, Holy Roman Emperor. Meanwhile Eleanor could not keep John under control and he was able to seize power. 

Eleanor worked with the Barons that remained loyal to Richard to help them take back some of the castles and territories taken by John but her main concern was raising funds to pay a ransom to set Richard free from his captivity. She traveled all over gaining the money and support for Richard. When she finally had enough money saved up she traveled to Germany to give up the money. She also offered two of her own grandsons as hostages in place of Richard. Finally, in February of 1194, Richard was freed and along with Eleanor by his side made his way back to England. He put down the revolt he and John repaired their relationship. A second coronation was held to mark his recovery with Eleanor again by his side. His reign as King of England would not last for much longer. He went to Aquitaine to put down another rebellion in 1199 and received a wound from a crossbow bolt that became infected. He sent for Eleanor who rushed to his side and was with him when he died.

Eleanor and Henry's youngest child John became King of England after Richard's death. Eleanor was still much involved in the ruling of England. She was even sent to lead a war defending John's right to the English throne from her 12 year old grandson Arthur. Arthur's claim was backed by Phillip II of France. John and Phillip negotiated a treaty of peace between the two countries and agreed to marry Phillip's heir Louis to one of John's nieces. It was up to Eleanor to journey to Castile (in Spain) to choice which niece was to be the lucky winner. One her way there she was ambushed and captured by Hugh le Brun who refused to recognize Plantagenet rule because his lands has been taken by Henry II. She had to negotiate her own freedom. She was in her 70s. 

War between England and France continued but Eleanor would not be there to see it or an end to the conflict. In April of 1204, Eleanor died at Fontevraud Abbey near Chinon. Her cause of death is unknown. Most likely she died from old age. She was burried at the Abbey alongside her second husband Henry and her son Richard. 

Eleanor and Henry II's effigies at their graves at Fontevraud Abbey

There is much myth and very little fact about Eleanor, but I believe from what historical accounts can be found that she truly was a fierce woman and a born leader. There have been numerous books written and several movies made about Eleanor. She remains an Amazon among women. 

Movies and TV: 

The Lion in Winter - 1968

The Lion in Winter -  2003

The Devil's Crown - 1978

Bios and Novels:

Eleanor of Aquitaine - Marion Meade

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires - Sara Cockerill

Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life - Alison Weir

Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy - Elizabeth Chadwick

Fashion Friday: The Kimono

Today when we say the word "Kimono" we visualize the brightly printed flowing gowns as traditional Japanese dress. But the Japanese word originally just meant clothing. Nothing fancy or special, just ki (wear) mono (thing),  something you wear . The kimono evolved during the Heian period( 794-1192) in Japan when the straight-line cut method of sewing was developed. This technique involved cutting pieces of fabric in straight lines and sewing them together as opposed to the previous garments that usually consisted of two separate pieces of clothing. 

Iwasa Matabei - 1650

People began to wear their kimonos in layers during colder weather and over time they started to pay attention to how colors and patterns looked in combination together. Men and women both wore brightly colored kimonos. Sometimes the colors and patterns represented the seasonal time of year, sometimes it represented a person's social standing or political affiliation. Samurai warriors, for example, would wear a color or pattern that identified which feudal lord they served. 

Kimonos are typically hand-sewn into a “T” shape from 8 single straight cut pieces of fabric called tans and tied with an obi, or belt. Using single pieces or panels allows for easy repairs if one panel  gets faded or damaged. To make a kimono you need a piece of fabric 12 to 13 meters (39 to 43 feet) long and 36 to 40 centimeters (14 to 15 inches) wide and cut into eight pieces. These pieces are then sewn back together to create the basic form of the kimono. All of the fabric is used; none is thrown away. 

The obi (belt/sash), holds the kimono in place and keeps the front of the robe closed. Obi are about 4 meters (13 feet) long and 30 centimeters (12 inches) wide. There are two types of obi: Fukuro-obi, which have a design only on one side; and Nagoya-obi, which are narrower in the middle to make them easier to tie around the body. 

There are a few different styles of kimono and what one wears depends usually on gender and age. For example, unmarried girls were a kimono style known as Furisode (swinging sleeve), which has, as the name suggests, long flowing sleeves. Once a woman is married she wears a Tomesode, or short sleeved kimono.

Furisode

Boys wear a Haori,or half-coat kimono displaying his family crest, and flowing trousers called Hamaka underneath, while men where a straight sleeved longer coat called a Happi. (Haori are now becoming more popular among women and worn in place of a light coat or sweater)

There are specific kimonos for paying formal visits, for the hot summer season, and for causal and everyday wear. The patterns and colors of the kimono are what determines the formality and use. The bigger the pattern the more formal,  while smaller printed patterns are casual. Lighter colors are for spring while the winter season calls for dark bold colors like black and red. Performers such as actors and dancers wear Odori, which are very bold and brightly patterned so as to be seen from a distance. Solid black kimonos with a family crest or emblem are reserved for funerals and mourning. 

The kimono is no longer worn for every day dress in Japan. Today it is reserved for special occasions, tea ceremonies, festivals and particular events in a person's life. No matter when they are worn they bring back a sense of beauty, grace and artistry no longer found in today's clothing aesthetics. 

Want to learn more?! Here are a few books to check out!

The Book of Kimono: The complete guide to style and wear - Norio Yamanaka

The Social Life of Kimono: The complete guide to style and wear - Sheila Cliffe

Want to buy your own? Look Here!

Want to try your hand at sewing your own? Here's a WikiHow

The Poetess: Sappho

Sappho was a lyric poet known for her verses on romantic love between women. There is not very much known about the person Psappha, or Sappho as she is known today and most of her poetry has been lost to us due to a variety of reasons. We do know that Sappho was born some time around 620 BCE (7th century) on the Greek island of Lesbos. Her presence there, combined with the love poems she wrote seems to be where the word "lesbian" began. This word was a 19th century term and was not used during Sappho's own time. There are speculations that her family was fairly wealthy and a consensus that she did marry and had a daughter named Kleis. She was exiled to Sicily twice for political reasons, though those reasons have never been specified. One of her students opened a school for girls in her name to which she herself is sometimes given credit for founding. She did organize her own students into a group that worshiped Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. Sappho died somewhere around the year 570, though a specific date or how she died are unknown.

Sappho was known throughout the Greek world for her musical and personal lyric verses. Greek philosopher Plato referred to her as the tenth muse. She invented a completely new meter for poetry, now known as Sapphic Meter or the Sapphic Stanza which consists of three lines of eleven beats and a concluding line of five. Of course the meter is sometimes off when the poems are translated out of their original Aeoilic Greek dialect. 

Though most of her surviving poetry seems to have a focus on lesbian love, there is not definitive proof one way or the other to confirm she was (or was not) a lesbian herself. Her poems certainly can be interpreted as biographical or they can be interpreted as a character role separate from the writer. She did write verses occasionally about other topics typical of the ancient world, including a poem with verses about her own brothers. Her poems were meant to be sung and accompanied by a lyre and her lyrics became known as wedding songs. The Library of Alexandria (shake head and shed tear here for the tragic loss of such wonderful collections) compiled her poems into 9 books. Sadly only one complete poem, Hymn to Aphrodite, and a few verses from other poems survive today. She was honored and praised among her contemporaries and for many centuries after her passing. Statues and coins in her image have been found throughout the Greek world. The only reason Hymn to Aphrodite survived in its entirety is because it was fully quoted by a Roman orator named Dionysus in one of his own works. Sappho was much sought after for her performances and her image was reproduced on all kinds of "merchandise" around the Greek world. Vases, coins, bronze relief and art can be found sporting her image. She was kind of like the world's first pop star!

             

 Fragment 31 

That man to me seems equal to the gods,

            the man who sits opposite you

            and close by listens

            to your sweet voice

          and your enticing laughter—

            that indeed has stirred up the heart in my breast.

            For whenever I look at you even briefly

            I can no longer say a single thing,

            but my tongue is frozen in silence;

     instantly a delicate flame runs beneath my skin;

            with my eyes I see nothing;

            my ears make a ringing noise.

            A cold sweat covers me,

            trembling seizes my body,

        and I am greener than grass.

            Little short of death do I seem.

Tender and longing, ardent and desirous, envious and jealous, bittersweet and rapturous in the moment; Sappho's works are heavy with emotion. Her poems are simple and profound at the same time. They capture the essence of love and life and present them to the audience to experience as well. 

I love the sensual.

For me this

and love for the sun

has a share in brilliance and beauty

I desire

And I crave.

You set me on fire.

A servant

of wile-weaving

Aphrodite...

 Eros

Giver of pain...

 Eros

Coming from heaven

throwing off

his purple cloak.

Again love, the limb-loosener, rattles me

bittersweet,

irresistible,

a crawling beast.

As a wind in the mountains

assaults an oak,

Love shook my breast.

The Three Smith Sisters

  Everyone knows Abigail Adams; wife of John Adams, second President of the United States and her famous "remember the ladies," quote. Few people have much knowledge about her sisters Mary and Elizabeth.


  The Smith girls were born to William and Elizabeth Quincy Smith in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Abigail and her two sisters did not receive a formal education like their brother William, but were taught by their father who was a preacher. Abigail was an avid reader and loved to debate with the students that often met and sometimes lived at the Smith home. She and her sisters were prolific letter writers and always tried to see who could out-write and out-wit the others. The three sisters were very close and wrote to each other as often as their busy home lives would allow. They also believed in equal education for both sexes and all were upset that their brother regarded it disdainfully when it was so accessible to him. All three sisters made sure that their own daughters were taught the classics, philosophy, languages and math and science; subjects that were decidedly male.

  The sisters also became caught up in the politics of the world. As the times in which they lived began to change, so too did the sisters thinking and political ideas began to change. Abigail especially, as the wife of a congressional delegate and then ambassador in Europe, felt the pull of politics and always kept up with political news and ideas and worked tirelessly to help John as he became more important to the formation of the new country. At first all of them craved anything to do with their "Mother Country" of England. As Parliament began to enact taxes that the colonies felt were unjust, so too did the Smith sisters begin to think less of England as home and more of America as their true country. Abigail wrote in 1773 "... the tea that baneful weed is arrived. Great and I hope effectual opposition has been made to the landing of it." Betsy,  writing to her cousin Isaac at Harvard remarked that "A glorious spirit of Liberty prevails among you." The sisters also began making their own homespun clothes instead of fabrics imported from England. 

  Mary, the oldest sister, was born December 9, 1741. When Mary was 14 she met the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life. Richard Cranch was an Englishman staying at the Smith home. He was a quiet, studious man from a poor family, and he was 15 years older than Mary. Richard decided to take it upon himself to tutor Mary and her sisters and he taught them all about Shakespeare, the Enlightenment, French and many other subjects. This of course endeared him to all the females in the Smith household. After Mary and Richard were wed in 1762, they moved to Braintree and then on to Salem. Mary gave birth to her first baby, a daughter she named Elizabeth. Another daughter, Lucy followed. Shortly after their son Billy was born the Cranches moved to Boston after they were chased out of Salem by Tory sympathizers in 1774. Richard was not much of a business man and most of his endeavors did not prosper so the Cranches were not as well off as the Adams. They finally settled in Quincy, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. For the most part, Mary was content to arrange the lives of her children and nieces and nephews along with the people in Quincy. The Cranches outlived their daughter Betsy and took in their 8 grandchildren. Mary wasted away under the harsh life with tuberculosis and she and Richard died just a few days apart in 1811.

  Abigail was born November 11, 1744. When she was very young, she was sick with rheumatic fever that was so severe she became paralyzed for two weeks. She would have recurring bouts with this sickness throughout her life. It was through Mary's beloved Richard Cranch that Abigail first met John Adams in the summer of 1759. Each had an unfavorable impression of the other. Two years later, upon meeting again, John decided that nothing would do but for him to marry Abigail. Her parents still weren't fond of John and insisted on a long engagement. John and Abigail were married on October 24, 1764. They moved to Braintree and lived in a small house beside John's mother on 23 acres of land. Their first daughter Abigail (Nabby) was born in 1765 and John Quincy was born two years later. Another girl was born but died fourteen months later. Two more boys, Charles and Thomas would complete their family. She did become pregnant again but the baby, a girl, was stillborn.
  
  Since John was away from home for long periods of time, Abigail was tasked with the daily management of their farm; as landlord, farmer, and banker. As John's eminence in America rose so did Abigail's popularity but she missed her husband terribly. When John went off to play ambassador to France, Abigail was beside herself with loneliness and reproached him often for not writing to her. This dismissal from her husband's affections led to a bit of a scandal with another married man named James Lovell. They began a writing correspondence in which he boldly flirted with her and to which she made no move to stop. A letter Lovell wrote to another congressional delegate was intercepted by the British and was printed in a Tory newspaper. In it was sexual reference that made Lovell look bad and embarrassed his wife. This apparently woke Abigail up to the dangers of their correspondence. She sent him a letter scolding him for being so forward but her letter sounds like she was more angry at herself for letting things progress so far out of moral bounds. "No situation more delicate, more critical or more liable to censure than that of a Lady whose Husband is away," she wrote to Lovell. Finally John asked his wife to join him in London. Sister Shaw took in Abigail's youngest sons and saw to their education while she was away. They weren't in England long before John was sent back to France. In 1787 after John had been in Europe for over a decade and Abigail with him for four of those years; the Adams's set sail for America. When John was elected Vice-President of the newly formed United States Abigail was happy for him but not ready to part again. Eventually she went to New York and then to Philadelphia to be with him. As Vice-President, Adams received $5,000 a year but this was not enough to support their two households and Abigail had to scrimp to get by.  When Adams became the second President his salary increased to $25,000. In 1800 the capitol was moved to Washington D.C and Abigail became the first First Lady to live in the White House. When John lost the next presidential election Abigail was happy to return to some kind of normal life at her home Peacefield, located in Quincy. She still worried about money since at that time there was no pension offered to former presidents. The lost of the presidency was compounded by the death of their son Charles from liver failure. They settled into retirement at Peacefield but sadly they outlived their son Thomas, who like Charles and Abigail's brother, died from alcoholism and their daughter Nabby who died from breast cancer. Abigail herself died in 1818 of typhus fever. She was the last of the Smith sisters.

 Elizabeth (Betsy), born on April 7, 1750 was the youngest of the girls. When she was just a young girl she became so ill that the doctor gave strict orders that she was not even to read or write. After Abigail was married, Betsy lived off and on with her in Braintree while John was away working as an ambassador for the colonies. Since Betsy was the youngest, she spent the most time at home nursing her parents as they grew older. Judging from her letters to their Cousin Issac Smith, it appears that Elizabeth may well have been in love with him. Though she refused to confirm her feelings, she wrote to him of their "friendship formed in infancy, which has been cemented by the most rational esteem in maturer years." Eventually, she and Isaac drifted apart and letters became less frequent as life pulled them in different directions, especially when Isaac admitted he was a Tory; sympathetic to the British. In 1773 Elizabeth met John Shaw. She was 22 and he was 24. Abigail did not like Shaw but Betsy assured her that neither had any designs for marriage; writing up a fake official document and attaching Shaw's signature that she cut off from another letter and sending it to Abigail. "We...have no such purpose in our hearts, as has been unjustly surmised." But contrary to the protests John Shaw and Elizabeth were married in 1777. John became a minister and Elizabeth was happy to tend her new home and garden and the new society she met in her new parish of Haverhill. By 1781 the Shaws had two children and when Elizabeth turned 39 she was pregnant with her third child. She named her new daughter after her sister Abigail in hopes of reconciling her to the new baby. Sister Adams was appalled by this late in life pregnancy and even after baby Abbey was born, Abigail refused to write to Elizabeth for months. In 1793 John Shaw passed away in his sleep at the age of 47. In letters later sent between the Smith sisters and the townspeople of Haverhill, it came to light that John Shaw had been an alcoholic and possibly abusive. Elizabeth didn't stay a widow for long. In fact she was courted by several eligible men in the area. One of those men was her old friendly correspondent and cousin Isaac but he waited too long. Another minister, Parson Peabody, was already there proposing on the same day that Isaac had ridden over to do the very same thing. On the day the ceremony was set to take place came a horrible snow storm. The Parson would not wait and arrived promptly on time to pick her up. During the ceremony itself someone came running into the church yelling that her own house was on fire! Their marriage seemed to run much more uneventfully than their wedding day. They set up a school in their home and Elizabeth felt she had found her place in helping to mold future generations. Unfortunately tragedy marred her happy home when her oldest daughter, Betsy Q, contracted tuberculosis and by September 1798 she had passed away. The Peabody's Atkinson Academy continued to prosper. In 1815 Elizabeth passed away in her sleep.

  All three sisters spent their lives living for each other and living to make changes in a changing world. Their letters are lasting evidence of the deep bonds that sisterhood and a collective shared experience can create. They were witness to revolution, rebellion, war, and reform, death, and life. The Smith sisters fought to challenge societal norms by teaching their own children and their grandchildren that a woman's intellect was no less than a man's. Even though they participated in separate spheres, men and women should work to complete and compliment each other. Mary, Abigail and Elizabeth fought to make history and to change the future. 

For further reading:

Dear Abigail: The Intimate Loves and Revolutionary Ideals of Abigail and her two Remarkable Sisters - Diane Jacobs

John Adams - David McCullough

Abigail Adams: Letters - Abigail Adams, Edith Gelles

Abigail Adams - Woody Holton

First Family: Abigail and  John Adams - Joseph J. Ellis



  

Anne of Cleves -

  Anne was the fourth wife of Henry VIII and was able to survive his beheading obsession and go on to live a full life. 

  Anne's father was duke of Cleves (German: Kleve) and her mother was the daughter of the duke of Julich, which means she was pretty well connected in Germany. Where the heck is Cleves anyway? Cleves was a duchy located on the Lower Rhine region of northwest Germany near the Dutch border. Cleves had been an important town since the 11th century and became a duchy in 1417. Her father John established Lutheranism throughout his duchies so it makes sense that she would be proposed as a possible match to the king who brought Protestantism to England.

  Anne was born on 22 September in 1515 in Dusseldorf, Duchy of Berg. She was 24 and Henry was 48 when they married on the 6th of January in 1540 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. Henry objected to the marriage and tried to find a way out of the betrothal contract but no one could find a way to end it. He told Cromwell on the day the marriage took place that "if it were not to satisfy the world and my realm, I would not do that which I must do this day for none earthly thing." So, why did Henry agree to marry her in the first place? He needed political Protestant allies. So, why did Henry become so against the marriage? Who know? It's Henry VIII. Actually there were a few reasons, though they might not make much sense to us.

  While marrying site unseen to make political alliances was totally the norm back in Henry and Anne's time, this idea did not appeal to Henry. He preferred to prowl on his own to find a wife he desired. He asked for a painting of Anne so that he might know what she looked like. Being put off by Anne's people, Henry sent his own painter to Cleves to paint a portrait of Anne. Henry wasn't keen on the marriage idea after seeing her portrait but was convinced to carry on because of the Protestant alliances that was to be made. 

Portrait of Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein the Younger commissioned by Henry VIII

  Henry contrived to meet Anne by surprise as she made her way to London. The first time they met he was in disguise. Henry loved to disguise himself to see if people could see through his costume. His true love surely must be able to see the man behind the mask. Unfortunately when Anne met Henry in his disguise she did not instantly recognize him as her true love. Accounts of this first meeting say that Henry embraced and kissed her and presented her with New Year's gift from the King. Anne, not knowing who he was, rejected him and pushed him away. This was a great disappointment and turn off for Henry. No true love for him with Anne.

  Even though Henry thought Anne "well and seemly," she was not the great beauty that she had been reported to be and her appeal grew less and less. She did not speak English and was uneducated. This was another turn off for Henry who liked his women smart and witty. He was reportedly so repulsed by her looks that after four days of marriage their union had still not been consummated. Anne described their nightly ritual to one of her ladies in waiting saying he would take her hand, kiss her and wish her a good night and would leave the same way in the mornings. On July 9th, six months after their marriage took place it was unanimously declared null and void by Parliament. 

  The fact that Anne kept her head figuratively through all of this drama is why Henry allowed her to keep her head literally. She had been made aware of Henry's plans to annul the marriage from a letter sent by him in June. At first she was upset and fainted, but after giving it some thought and consulting with her clergy, she was satisfied with the arrangement. I mean, who wouldn't be? She got to remain with the living, with an attached head and was granted lands worth £4,000 a year. All Anne had to do was renounce the name of Queen of England for that of the King's "sister" and stay in England the remainder of her days.

  So what did Anne think of Henry, their brief marriage and her life in England after the annulment? We don't know much about her thoughts and actions before coming to England. She did convert from Lutheranism to Anglican when she arrived in England. Since Anne had no education she was probably very innocent and naive but the fact that she accepted Henry's wishes for an annulment shows she certainly wasn't stupid. After their marriage was annulled, Anne became an honorary member of Henry's household and was invited to court often. She reported that the King was always kind to her. Henry was so grateful she didn't make a stink over the dissolution of their marriage that he decreed she had precedence over all other women at court except for his wife and daughters.

  When Henry's daughter by his first wife ascended to the English throne as Mary I, Anne of Cleves rode beside Mary's sister (and future Queen) Elizabeth in the coronation procession. Anne once again changed her religion, this time becoming Catholic since Mary I was a Catholic herself. Anne eventually fell out of favor with Mary because of her close connection to Elizabeth and Mary stopped inviting her back to court.

  Anne died at Chelsea Manor in July of 1557, just eight weeks before her 42nd birthday. In her will she asked Mary and Elizabeth to employ her servants. She also left some money for her servants who described her as generous and an easy-going mistress. She was buried on August 3rd in Westminster Abby and is the only wife of Henry VIII to be buried there. 

For further reading on King Henry's probably least known wife check these books out:

Anne of Cleves: Fourth Wife of Henry VIII - Mary Saaler

Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride - Elizabeth Norton

The Marrying of Anne of Cleves. Royal Protocol in Early Modern England - Retha Warnicke