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Carrie Brown : Murder In The East River Hotel
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DIR Return to: 1901-1902
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#Post#: 1987--------------------------------------------------
A Peculiarity In The Lee Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 10, 2023, 8:35 am
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This is the transcription of the contractor, John R. Lee, the
date given may be May 31st. I didn't know Lee also lived in
Cranford.
I have gone through over 200 articles between 1890 and 1900 in
the past two years or so, not to mention numerous 20th-century
articles, where the man is always referred to as John R. Lee.
In fact, I have never seen an instance where he just went by
John Lee without an initial.
Any thoughts ?
John A. Lee
State of New York, City & County of New York
HTML https://i.imgur.com/VBWDp35.jpg
I, John A. Lee, contractor, residing at Cranford, New Jersey,
depose and says:
I am a resident of Cranford, State of New Jersey, and have been
for twenty years. I am acquainted with Mr. George Damon, of the
firm of Damon and Peets, and have known him for the past
eighteen years.
I heard and read about the murder of one 'Shakespeare' which
took place in the City of New York in April 1891. A few days
after the murder in question, I went riding with Mr. George
Damon one afternoon to Scotch Plains. Mr. George Damon then
told me that one of his maid servants had found a shirt with
blood stains on it and a key bearing the same number as the
number of the room where Shakespeare had been murdered. he said
that the said articles had been found in the room upstairs in
the stable which had been occupied by a man he had employed
temporarily.
Mr. Damon also told me that he would take the key to New York
and compare it with the other keys in the hotel where the murder
had been committed.
When we returned home, Mr. Damon showed me the key which was an
ordinary cheap key with a tag on it with corners clipped. The
tag had the same number as the number of the room mentioned in
the papers as being the one in which Shakespeare was murdered,
but I cannot remember the exact denomination.
I advised Mr. Damon to keep the matter quiet, as I did not
believe that Frenchy could be convicted; moreover knowing the
dangerous character of this man in question, I was afraid for
the safety of my friend, Mr. Damon, and the safety of someone of
his family, should the police fail to catch him.
Shortly afterward Mr. Damon told me that he had gone to the
hotel and compared the key and the said key was exactly the same
as the keys on the key board in said hotel.
Sworn to by John A. Lee May 31 (?), 1901
HTML https://i.imgur.com/dmDajMW.jpg
#Post#: 2069--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Peculiarity In The Lee Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 23, 2023, 5:43 pm
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Just to set the record straight....further research has proven
that this John A. Lee really was John A. Lee and not the man
originally believed for many years as being John R. Lee, who was
a well-known contractor, unlike John A. Lee, whose name in the
Cranford census has him listed as a clerk.
Pete Daamgard was responsible for setting the record straight on
the correct name.
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