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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#: 2001--------------------------------------------------
Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:05 pm
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[i]The first of four signed documents.[/i]
Reproduced as found in the official document.
George Damon
Affidavit Number 1
In the matter of (the) application for the pardon of Frenchy
Alias Amer Ben Ali
City and County of New York
I, George Damon, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I am a member of the firm of Damon and Peets, being engaged in
the printing materials business, 44 Beekman Street, New York
City, for the last
thirty-three years. I heard and read of the murder of
one,"Shakespeare", attributed to one "Frenchy", Amer Ben Ali
which happened on the twenty-fourth
day of April 1891. I was at that time and am still a resident of
Cranford, New Jersey. Have lived there twenty-two years.
I had some extra work to be done on my place in Cranford, in the
spring of 1891, so I went down to Castle Garden and hired a man
to assist my regular man, Henry.
As near as I can recollect his name was 'Frank'. ( I do not
remember his other name) and he took charge of my horses.
The morning before I heard of the murder of "Shakespeare", I
went to my stable and found only my regular man; it was about
six o'clock in the morning,
I asked him where the other man, "Frank" was and he said that
'Frank' had been out all night and had gone to bed and that I
had better not disturb him as he was
pretty ugly.
I did not see him, but at the regular time, came to New York. He
left me shortly after without any notice.
One of my maidservants named 'Mary', went up to the barn to
clean up the room that said 'Frank' had occupied and found a
key: I think in the table draw.
She also found a shirt with many blood stains on it: one of the
shirt sleeves especially had large blood stains. She made the
remark that the tag of the key had
the same number as the one of the room occupied by 'Shakespeare'
the night of the murder as mentioned in the papers.
When I returned home that night, they called my attention to it.
I put the key in my pocket and brought it to New York with me.
It was an ordinary brass key of the cheap kind and had a tag on
it numbered No. 31. I am positive that it was the same number
that the papers reported at the
time to be the number of the room that this woman occupied. The
next day I told to Charles Brennan, one of my employees, and
asked him to walk down to the
hotel where the murder had been committed, as I di not care to
go in that locality alone. We went into a saloon on Catherine
Street, in the same hotel where the
murder had been committed and asked for a cigar. We sat down at
a table and compared the key that I had and the tag, with the
keys on the board. It was exactly
the same style of key and same style of tag: it was a small
brass tag with the corners clipped.
While sitting there a party came down and laid a key on the bar
and went out. We got up and called for a glass of beer and laid
the key which I had beside the
other key and they were exactly alike; the figures were the same
size and shape and the shape of the tag and key were the same.
From being a practical printer
and being familiar with the figures, I am positive that the
stamped figures on the key and those on the key board were made
from the same dies. I then went out
and went up to my store.
The man who I referred to in the beginning of my statement,
known to me as "Frank', was, I think, a Swede. I know that he
was a sailor because he had done some
splicing of ropes for me. He was a man about five feet ten
inches, rather strong but not fleshy, about thirty-five years
old. He had a very sullen disposition.
He was a foreigner, speaking a broken language, and in my
opinion a Swede.
He left me in the night, and I have never seen him since. When
this man came to work for me he only had a bundle of clothes and
left nothing but the shirt and
key in his room.
It would be impossible for me to locate the manservant named
'Henry' or the maidservant.
My reason for not coming forward and making this statement
before was from what I had read in the papers. I made up my mind
that this 'Frenchy' was quite well
off where he is and the world without him., and I did not care
to have my name brought in connection with it, and moreover I
thought that 'Frenchy' would be
acquitted, as I did not believe they could make a case against
him. Had I been instrumental in having 'Frank' arrested, I felt
convinced, knowing the man, that my
life or the life of some of my family would have been
endangered, but I feel now that it is my duty to make this
affidavit. What I know of this man, I am convinced
that this man'Frank' I had in my employ was the murderer of that
woman.
The key number 31 which I refer to above is now in my possession
and has been ever since the day it was found.
Sworn to by George Damon May 20, 1901
#Post#: 2002--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:16 pm
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Had I been instrumental in having 'Frank' arrested, I felt
convinced, knowing the man, that my
life or the life of some of my family would have been
endangered.......
He had a very sullen disposition.
The top line seems to infer that Damon had a reason for fearing
this hired hand beforehand.
Sort of makes you wonder why he kept him around in the first
place.
Damon didn't seem to trust this hired hand or at least that's my
impression.
It's just one reason why it became difficult to accept his
story, a feeling I began to get only a few years ago, but was
unable to shoot holes through.....
#Post#: 2003--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:27 pm
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I'll be posting articles on this thread that were varied in how
comments in the first affidavit were presented to the public,
all from May 1901 in the Newspapers. Com archive.
#Post#: 2004--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:35 pm
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Among the first articles, Damon is quoted in the newspaper using
the term, 'Dane', which of course, he didn't in the actual
affidavit.
Washington Evening Times
District of Columbia
May 23, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/EXLOMF0.jpg
#Post#: 2005--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:41 pm
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Even a smaller out-of-state paper up in the coal-cracker country
of Northeastern Pa. mentions a Dane although, but as anyone can
see in the original affidavit, Damon doesn't mention that ethnic
description.
Scranton Times-Tribune
May 23, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/WwRuiQN.jpg
#Post#: 2006--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:51 pm
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From across the East River in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Standard Union
May 23, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/tBbQrn4.jpg
#Post#: 2007--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:54 pm
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Pittsburgh Press
May 23, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/FFpLs6p.jpg
#Post#: 2008--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 3:57 pm
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Marion (Ohio) Star
May 23, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/6oLALc0.jpg
#Post#: 2009--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 4:00 pm
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Boston Globe
May 23, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/R7e4hoB.jpg
#Post#: 2010--------------------------------------------------
Re: Damon's First Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 12, 2023, 4:02 pm
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New York Times
May 24, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/UcFjbS8.jpg
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