Simon Wood
05-02-2009, 04:53 PM
Hi All,
Five days before the steamship La Bretagne slipped anchor at Le Havre en route for New York descriptions of Tumblety appeared in the US press.
"His own face is covered with pimples, and although his features are otherwise regular, his appearance on this account is somewhat repulsive. He is a large and heavily built man, standing fully six feet in his stockings." [New York World, 19th November 1888]
"He was of striking personal appearance, being considerably over six feet in height, of graceful and powerful build, with strongly marked features, beautifully clear complexion, a sweeping mustache, and jet-black hair." [New York Times, 19th November 1888]
"He is about fifty-five years old, tall and rather heavy, and looks as if he painted his cheeks and dyed his hair, heavy mustache and side whiskers." [New York Herald, 19th November 1888]
Tumblety travelled under the assumed name of Frank Townsend, which is confirmed by Tim Riordan's discovery of La Bretagne's passenger manifest—
Roll 528, List 1616, Line 36
1888 3 Dec. ship La Bretagne; Havre to New York
No. 36
Name Frank Townsend
Age 45
Sex M
Calling no occ[upation]
Citizenship USA
Destination NY
Loc of Pass. 1st Place
# of bags 4
La Bretagne docked in New York at 1.30 pm on Sunday 2nd December.
It would have been difficult for anyone not to recognize such an imposing figure disembarking from La Bretagne, yet the Frederick News [Maryland], Tuesday 4th December 1888, reported—
"According to the detectives he arrived on the French steamship La Bretagne, from Havre, and although there were a dozen or more reporters on the pier when he landed, all failed to recognize him."
New York World, Tuesday 4th December 1888—
"When the French line steamer La Bretagne, from Havre, came to her dock at 1:30 Sunday afternoon two keen-looking men pushed through the crowd and stood on either side of the gangplank. They glanced impatiently at the passengers until a big, fine-looking man hurried across the deck and began to descend. He had a heavy, fierce-looking mustache, waxed at the ends; his face was pale and he looked hurried and excited. He wore a dark blue ulster, with belt buttoned. He carried unders his arm two canes and an umbrella fastened together with a strap.
"He hurriedly engaged a cab, gave the directions in a low voice and was driven away. The two keen-looking men jumped into another cab and followed him. The fine-looking man was the notorious Dr. Francis Twomblety or Tumblety, and his pursuers were two of Inspector Byrnes's best men, Crowley and Hickey."
The most interesting thing about this story [plus those of the New York Times, New York Herald and New York Tribune] is why it didn't break until Tuesday 4th December. One of the most notorious characters of the past thirty years, a charlatan, quack doctor, possible suspect in the London Jack the Ripper murders, a $1500 bail jumper on charges under the "Modern Babylon Act" had arrived in America on Sunday 2nd December, yet nothing appeared in the New York press on Monday 3rd December.
Equally interesting is the perspective of the New York World story. Who wrote it? Was a New York World reporter standing on the dock watching Crowley and Hickey [two of Inspector Byrnes's best men] as they followed the man with "a heavy, fierce-looking mustache, waxed at the ends" who no other reporters recognized as he "hurriedly engaged a cab, gave the directions in a low voice and was driven away"?
Did a New York World reporter follow Crowley and Hickey as they "jumped into another cab and followed him"?
Did a New York World reporter watch as "Dr. Twomblety's cab stopped at Fourth Avenue and 10th Street, where the doctor got out, paid the driver and stepped briskly up the steps of No. 75 East 10th Street, the Arnold House. He pulled the bell, and, as no one came, he grew impatient and walked a little further down the street to No. 81. Here there was another delay in responding to his summons, and he became impatient that he tried the next house No. 79. This time there was a prompt answer to his ring and he entered. It was just 2:20 when the door closed on Dr. Twomblety and he has not been seen since"?
The story reads more like a clumsily-constructed police communique.
The New York Herald added the detail that Tumblety had "a small steamer trunk placed on the box" of his cab. Presumably, after paying off the cab driver, Tumblety hauled this and his "two canes and an umbrella fastened together with a strap" up and down East 10th Street as he searched for lodgings, starting at No. 75 before doubling back on himself by calling at No. 81 before No. 79. And why was Mrs. McNamara at No. 79, "a fat, good-natured old lady and a firm believer in the doctor who is an old friend" his third choice of landlady? Why didn't Tumblety go straight to her house?
La Bretagne docked at 1.30 pm. By 2.20 pm Tumblety was inside Mrs McNamara's lodging house in mid Manhattan, door closed, never to be seen again. Forty minutes to disembark a transatlantic steamship and clear immigration and customs when all baggage and hand-baggage had to be gathered together on the dock for inspection and signed declarations of ownership presented to the customs inspector? That's good going, especially considering that La Bretagne carried 390 1st Class passengers.
Tumblety could have speeded things up by opting to have inspection of his baggage [except for the small steamer trunk] postponed. Such baggage was sent to the appraiser's store for later inspection.
This he appears to have done, for on Monday 3rd December "the bell of No. 79 was kept merrily jingling all day long . . . Mrs. McNamara at first said the doctor was stopping there. He had spent the night in his room, she said, and in the morning he had gone downtown to get his baggage. He would be back at 2 o'clock." This tallies with the entry on La Bretagne's passenger manifest which records that Frank Townsend had "4 bags".
Mrs McNamara next told the New York World that "the doctor had not been in her house for two months; that he was abroad, poor dear gentleman, for his health; she had heard some of those awful stories about him, but bless his heart, he would not hurt a chicken! Why he never owed her a cent in his life, and once he had walked up three flights of stairs to pay her a dollar!" And later the same day that "she had no idea who Dr. Twomblety was. She didn't know anything about him, didn't want to know anything about him, didn't want to know anything and could not understand why she was bothered so much."
So who was the person Crowley and Hickey had followed from the docks to Mrs McNamara's house, the six foot tall man with the "heavy, fierce-looking mustache, waxed at the ends" who had crossed the Atlantic on the steamship La Bretagne?
The New York World reported on Tuesday 4th December 1888 that—
"He [Tumblety/Townsend] must have kept himself very quiet on the La Bretagne, for a number of passengers who were interviewed could not remember having seen any one answering his description."
And on a more circumspect note the New York Times, same date, reported—
"The man who is supposed to be Tumblety came over on the steamship as 'Frank Townsend', and kept in his stateroom, under the plea of sickness." [my emphasis]
New York Herald, Tuesday 4th December 1888—
"Although he shipped under a false name, Chief Inspector Byrnes knew of his coming and had the arrival of the French vessel watched."
A dime gets you a dollar if it was Tumblety who cabled Byrnes, saying: "Arriving New York, December 2, La Bretagne ex Havre, under the name Frank Townsend".
So from who or where had Byrnes got this information? Who else knew Tumblety was travelling to America under an assumed name, a trump card the bail-jumping doctor would surely have played very close to his chest?
In his excellent Casebook dissertation "Tumblety Talks" Roger Palmer opines—
"Over the next several weeks [following his arrival] Tumblety's exact whereabouts remained unknown. It is sometimes argued that he sat cozily and openly in New York City and could have been easily contacted by Scotland Yard. Such was not the case. Tumblety did not resurface in New York for nearly eight weeks . . ."
So where was he? Not only had Tumblety outwitted Scotland Yard; it seems he had also outwitted New York's finest.
I would respectfully suggest that one possible reason for Tumblety's eight-week hiatus is that he was not the passenger who arrived in New York as Frank Townsend; that Tumblety arrived in New York some time later in January, having had more important things with which to occupy himself on behalf of HMG in the meantime.
Regards,
Simon
Five days before the steamship La Bretagne slipped anchor at Le Havre en route for New York descriptions of Tumblety appeared in the US press.
"His own face is covered with pimples, and although his features are otherwise regular, his appearance on this account is somewhat repulsive. He is a large and heavily built man, standing fully six feet in his stockings." [New York World, 19th November 1888]
"He was of striking personal appearance, being considerably over six feet in height, of graceful and powerful build, with strongly marked features, beautifully clear complexion, a sweeping mustache, and jet-black hair." [New York Times, 19th November 1888]
"He is about fifty-five years old, tall and rather heavy, and looks as if he painted his cheeks and dyed his hair, heavy mustache and side whiskers." [New York Herald, 19th November 1888]
Tumblety travelled under the assumed name of Frank Townsend, which is confirmed by Tim Riordan's discovery of La Bretagne's passenger manifest—
Roll 528, List 1616, Line 36
1888 3 Dec. ship La Bretagne; Havre to New York
No. 36
Name Frank Townsend
Age 45
Sex M
Calling no occ[upation]
Citizenship USA
Destination NY
Loc of Pass. 1st Place
# of bags 4
La Bretagne docked in New York at 1.30 pm on Sunday 2nd December.
It would have been difficult for anyone not to recognize such an imposing figure disembarking from La Bretagne, yet the Frederick News [Maryland], Tuesday 4th December 1888, reported—
"According to the detectives he arrived on the French steamship La Bretagne, from Havre, and although there were a dozen or more reporters on the pier when he landed, all failed to recognize him."
New York World, Tuesday 4th December 1888—
"When the French line steamer La Bretagne, from Havre, came to her dock at 1:30 Sunday afternoon two keen-looking men pushed through the crowd and stood on either side of the gangplank. They glanced impatiently at the passengers until a big, fine-looking man hurried across the deck and began to descend. He had a heavy, fierce-looking mustache, waxed at the ends; his face was pale and he looked hurried and excited. He wore a dark blue ulster, with belt buttoned. He carried unders his arm two canes and an umbrella fastened together with a strap.
"He hurriedly engaged a cab, gave the directions in a low voice and was driven away. The two keen-looking men jumped into another cab and followed him. The fine-looking man was the notorious Dr. Francis Twomblety or Tumblety, and his pursuers were two of Inspector Byrnes's best men, Crowley and Hickey."
The most interesting thing about this story [plus those of the New York Times, New York Herald and New York Tribune] is why it didn't break until Tuesday 4th December. One of the most notorious characters of the past thirty years, a charlatan, quack doctor, possible suspect in the London Jack the Ripper murders, a $1500 bail jumper on charges under the "Modern Babylon Act" had arrived in America on Sunday 2nd December, yet nothing appeared in the New York press on Monday 3rd December.
Equally interesting is the perspective of the New York World story. Who wrote it? Was a New York World reporter standing on the dock watching Crowley and Hickey [two of Inspector Byrnes's best men] as they followed the man with "a heavy, fierce-looking mustache, waxed at the ends" who no other reporters recognized as he "hurriedly engaged a cab, gave the directions in a low voice and was driven away"?
Did a New York World reporter follow Crowley and Hickey as they "jumped into another cab and followed him"?
Did a New York World reporter watch as "Dr. Twomblety's cab stopped at Fourth Avenue and 10th Street, where the doctor got out, paid the driver and stepped briskly up the steps of No. 75 East 10th Street, the Arnold House. He pulled the bell, and, as no one came, he grew impatient and walked a little further down the street to No. 81. Here there was another delay in responding to his summons, and he became impatient that he tried the next house No. 79. This time there was a prompt answer to his ring and he entered. It was just 2:20 when the door closed on Dr. Twomblety and he has not been seen since"?
The story reads more like a clumsily-constructed police communique.
The New York Herald added the detail that Tumblety had "a small steamer trunk placed on the box" of his cab. Presumably, after paying off the cab driver, Tumblety hauled this and his "two canes and an umbrella fastened together with a strap" up and down East 10th Street as he searched for lodgings, starting at No. 75 before doubling back on himself by calling at No. 81 before No. 79. And why was Mrs. McNamara at No. 79, "a fat, good-natured old lady and a firm believer in the doctor who is an old friend" his third choice of landlady? Why didn't Tumblety go straight to her house?
La Bretagne docked at 1.30 pm. By 2.20 pm Tumblety was inside Mrs McNamara's lodging house in mid Manhattan, door closed, never to be seen again. Forty minutes to disembark a transatlantic steamship and clear immigration and customs when all baggage and hand-baggage had to be gathered together on the dock for inspection and signed declarations of ownership presented to the customs inspector? That's good going, especially considering that La Bretagne carried 390 1st Class passengers.
Tumblety could have speeded things up by opting to have inspection of his baggage [except for the small steamer trunk] postponed. Such baggage was sent to the appraiser's store for later inspection.
This he appears to have done, for on Monday 3rd December "the bell of No. 79 was kept merrily jingling all day long . . . Mrs. McNamara at first said the doctor was stopping there. He had spent the night in his room, she said, and in the morning he had gone downtown to get his baggage. He would be back at 2 o'clock." This tallies with the entry on La Bretagne's passenger manifest which records that Frank Townsend had "4 bags".
Mrs McNamara next told the New York World that "the doctor had not been in her house for two months; that he was abroad, poor dear gentleman, for his health; she had heard some of those awful stories about him, but bless his heart, he would not hurt a chicken! Why he never owed her a cent in his life, and once he had walked up three flights of stairs to pay her a dollar!" And later the same day that "she had no idea who Dr. Twomblety was. She didn't know anything about him, didn't want to know anything about him, didn't want to know anything and could not understand why she was bothered so much."
So who was the person Crowley and Hickey had followed from the docks to Mrs McNamara's house, the six foot tall man with the "heavy, fierce-looking mustache, waxed at the ends" who had crossed the Atlantic on the steamship La Bretagne?
The New York World reported on Tuesday 4th December 1888 that—
"He [Tumblety/Townsend] must have kept himself very quiet on the La Bretagne, for a number of passengers who were interviewed could not remember having seen any one answering his description."
And on a more circumspect note the New York Times, same date, reported—
"The man who is supposed to be Tumblety came over on the steamship as 'Frank Townsend', and kept in his stateroom, under the plea of sickness." [my emphasis]
New York Herald, Tuesday 4th December 1888—
"Although he shipped under a false name, Chief Inspector Byrnes knew of his coming and had the arrival of the French vessel watched."
A dime gets you a dollar if it was Tumblety who cabled Byrnes, saying: "Arriving New York, December 2, La Bretagne ex Havre, under the name Frank Townsend".
So from who or where had Byrnes got this information? Who else knew Tumblety was travelling to America under an assumed name, a trump card the bail-jumping doctor would surely have played very close to his chest?
In his excellent Casebook dissertation "Tumblety Talks" Roger Palmer opines—
"Over the next several weeks [following his arrival] Tumblety's exact whereabouts remained unknown. It is sometimes argued that he sat cozily and openly in New York City and could have been easily contacted by Scotland Yard. Such was not the case. Tumblety did not resurface in New York for nearly eight weeks . . ."
So where was he? Not only had Tumblety outwitted Scotland Yard; it seems he had also outwitted New York's finest.
I would respectfully suggest that one possible reason for Tumblety's eight-week hiatus is that he was not the passenger who arrived in New York as Frank Townsend; that Tumblety arrived in New York some time later in January, having had more important things with which to occupy himself on behalf of HMG in the meantime.
Regards,
Simon