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Carrie Brown : Murder In The East River Hotel
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#Post#: 6884--------------------------------------------------
Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 6:41 am
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We already have a thread concerning issues on this subject, but
this one will take it a step further.
HTML https://carriebrown.createaforum.com/general-discussion/the-carrie-campbell-conundrum/
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First of all a clip from the April 27, New York Sun.
Officer Diederich Dokle is being quoted here.
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#Post#: 6885--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 6:57 am
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Officer Dokel is referring to Annie Campbell when he discusses
'Shakespeare'.
Having arrested her many times, he was aware of her habits while
sober and drunk: that she quoted
William Shakespeare, and corrected the mistakes her companions
made.
He also states that he thinks she was the widow of a Union
soldier who received $30 per month
There's a problem with the last sentence. It has to do with the
monetary figure.
Widows of Union soldiers in 1890 usually received between $8 and
$12 per month, depending on
the pension law and circumstances involved. The exact amount
varied by rank, disability status
of the deceased soldier before death, dependent children, and
which pension statute applied.
Under the major 1890 law — the “Dependent and Disability Pension
Act” — widows could qualify if:
They had married the soldier before June 27, 1890, had not
remarried, and had little income besides their own labor.
Typical monthly amounts were:
$8/month — common minimum widow’s pension
$12/month — higher rate in some cases
However, that figure of $30 is interesting....moving right
along:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the same New York Sun article, Annie Campbell had this to
say:
Shakespeare ( referring to Annie: HB ) is the only woman who can
get a drink in Steve Brodie's place in the Bowery. He lets her
in because she amuses his male customers by her recitations. She
told Brodie one morning that her husband was a wealthy man and
that he was living with another woman in West Thirty-second
street. He was a good husband, she said, and she had been an
unfaithful wife. He had condoned her offences five times. The
sixth he got a separation from her. She had not lived with him
since.
"But he has got to support me," she said, bringing her fist down
on the table, "and he does it, too—see."
She produced a roll of bills which she said he had given her.
She said she went to him whenever she wanted money, and she
always got it. She would not tell her husband's name or anything
about him.
Shakespeare was several times an inmate of Bellevue Hospital,
and she once told one of the matrons there that her name was
Annie Campbell. So much does she resemble the murdered woman in
features that the same matron yesterday was confident that the
body was that of Shakespeare. At police stations and hospitals
Shakespeare has given various names, such as Elizabeth Allen,
Elizabeth Brown, and Elizabeth Smith.
This contradicts the contention that she was a Union widow. Her
husband, as she states, is alive and well and capitulates
whenever she requests money from him....
Sounds a little like extortion, doesn't it?
#Post#: 6886--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 7:00 am
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Mary Brennan is referring to Carrie Brown in this piece from the
New York Herald on April 26th:
New York Herald
April 26, 1891
***********
Mary Brennan's Story:
The police have locked up a woman named Mary Brennan who has
given them some valuable information of the murdered woman known
as Carrie Brown and “Shakespeare.” The woman says that
“Shakespeare” told her she received $30 a month from a wealthy
Broadway merchant. She had annoyed the merchant somewhat of
late, and had been warned that unless she kept away she’d have
her “mouth stopped.” Mary Brennan said that she had been with
Mrs. Brown as recently as Wednesday night and that the two had
“picked up” a couple of men in a saloon at No. 15 Bowery and
taken them to the East River Hotel. Mrs. Brown’s companion, she
said, was a big man.
The saloon at No. 15 Bowery is kept by Barney Wintermeyer. I
learned there that “Shakespeare” was a customer, but had not
been in the place for several weeks.
Annie Campbell also drank on the Bowery ( at Steve Brodie's).
This may be the reason for Barney Wintermeyer, also a Bowery
saloon-keeper, claiming 'Shakespeare' had
not been in his place for weeks.
Wintermeyer was quite likely referring to 'Shakespeare' Annie
Campbell, and not 'Shakespeare' Carrie Brown. He may not have
known Carrie was referred to
as 'Shakespeare' along with her other nickname, 'Jeff Davis'.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The gist of the Broadway Merchant story is that Carrie was
extorting him.
Annie Campbell was demonstrative when discussing the money her
living husband gave her.
#Post#: 6887--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 7:43 am
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Comparisons
*One was tall ( Annie)---- the other around 5 ft tall
*Both were born in England
*Both were strikingly similar in their facial features. A matron
at Bellevue Hospital who went to the morgue and who knew
Campbell, initially believed the body in the morgue was
Campbell.
*Both were long-time prostitutes
*Both were older women. Campbell was born in 1840. Carrie was
56, born in either 1834 or 1835.
*Both spent time on Blackwell's Island, where, at least,
Campbell was known by the nickname Shakespeare.
Carrie had been released from the Island on Thursday, April 16th
- Annie was released on April 23rd, one day before Carrie's body
was found in Room 31.
*Both were arrested numerous times ( over twenty )
*Both were claimed or actually were Union widows ( although
Campbell claimed otherwise. Charles Brown's records have not
been found).
It's likely that Charles did serve as has been written
contemporaneously and his records are simply missing.
*Both of their husbands probably served on the Union side in the
War. If Annie's husband did serve in the War, we don't know for
certain
on which side that was. If Charles did serve, it was on the
Union side.
*Both may have never been divorced. No article has ever been
produced that states Carrie & Charles were ever divorced.
Campbell claimed to still
receiving money from her husband. She referred to him as her
husband, not ex-husband.
*Both their husbands appear to have been well-off. Campbell
claimed hers was wealthy, while Carrie's husband was a master
sea captain and ship owner
*Both solicited on the Lower East Side but rarely crossed onto
one another's turf
*Both were considered intelligent women, Campbell considered
highly-educated.
*Both had been in the Lower East Side for at least a decade.
Carrie had been in NYC since the mid 1870s- Campbell had been in
the area for around ten years.
*Both frequented the Bowery.
*Both drank in Barney Wintermeyers'
*Both quoted Shakespeare- Carrie Brown was spotted on a Bowery
stage by a relative ( probably a relation, not necessarily her
blood kin) in the mid 1880s.
It is more than likely she was versed in Shakespeare. She was
said to have become involved with the stage following the
dissolution of her marriage.
Annie Campbell recited Shakespeare, according to Officer Dokel
*Both nicknamed Shakespeare.
Annie Campbell died on October 3, 1892, in Bellevue Hospital.
She may have been buried in Potter's Field.
Had Mary Ellen Brown not come to NYC to return her mother's body
to Salem, Carrie would have been buried in Potter's Field.
Their Finances:
One allegedly received 30 dollars a month in pension money-
Annie Campbell, according to Officer Dokel's remarks in the New
York Sun
One allegedly received 30 dollars a month from a Broadway
merchant- Carrie Brown, according to Mary Brennan's remarks to
a Herald reporter
The most a war widow of an enlisted man could earn was 12
dollars. Officers made more.
Campbell claimed that she was still receiving money from her
husband...and demanded it!
#Post#: 6888--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 8:04 am
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New York Sun April 26, 1891
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#Post#: 6889--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 8:11 am
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Note: If any members can think of other similarities or items
for comparison purposes, please post
them here. Thanks.
One other note: I could not find a source for former police
officer Fred Courtlander knowing Carrie Brown
by the nickname 'Jeff Davis'. He did know her, as shown at the
bottom of the second column in the Sun article.
#Post#: 6890--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: Kattrup
Date: May 16, 2026, 8:40 am
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--- Quote from: Howard Brown link ---
>
>
> One other note: I could not find a source for former police
officer Fred Courtlander knowing Carrie Brown
> by the nickname 'Jeff Davis'. He did know her, as shown at the
bottom of the second column in the Sun article.
>
--- End Quote ---
It-s in the NY Herald, Howard - posted here:
HTML https://carriebrown.createaforum.com/general-discussion/ex-officer-courtland-the-'cousins'/msg1486/#msg1486
#Post#: 6892--------------------------------------------------
Re: Coincidences & Similarities: Carrie Brown & Annie
Campbell
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: May 16, 2026, 9:12 am
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Pete:
Thanks very much!
In the Sun article above, he claimed he didn't know her by any
name.
In the Herald article, he remembered Jeff Davis
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