Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-11-12
THE MURDER OF MARY ROGERS
A Mystery That Never Was Solved
How Poe Preserved 1t In a Story.
Nar

A Mystery That Never Was Solved
How Poe Preserved 1t In a Story.
New York Times.
The contest over the will of John
Anderson, the millionaire tobacconist,
has revived interest in the tragic story
OF Mary Rogers, whose death ealsed
such a sensation many years ago and
gave Edgar Allan Poe the material
for ms story of The Mystery of Marie
Roger" The unfortunate girl was
employed by John Anderson in the
little tobacco shop on Broadway, and
as was revealed by the testimony of
ex-State Senator Mattoon, in the trial
of the will case, the millionaire was,
during his latter days, possessed OF
the delusion that he held almost con-
slant communication with the spirit
of the murdered girl. At the time of
Mary Rogers mysterious death, sus-
piclon attached to many people Of be-
Ing her murderer. Among those sus~
Pected was John Anderson, though
there was never scintilla of evidence
that he was the guilty person.
In the days when Poe was a Young
man ia New York the mother of Mary
Rogers kept a boarding house on
Nassau street. Mary's father had long
been dead, and Mrs. Rogers only
fortune was her fact and ability to
make both ends meet. Mary was
possessed Of a beauty of form and
feature that made her well known in
the city, and when John Anderson
engaged her services as saleswoman in
his tobacco store his trade was mas
terially increased. It was considered
the proper thing for all young men of
fashion to buy their cigars and tobacco
at Anderson's and to be on familiar
terms with Mary Rogers. But there
vas not d breath of suspicion against
the good character of Mary, and all
the town was wild with sur
prise when she suddenly disappeared
from behind John Anderson's counter
and no one knew what had become of
her. Conjecture had almost died out
when one day the pretty cigar seller
appeared at her old place behind the
counter, and to all inqui les answered
that she had been on a visit to an aunt
in the country. Things went along
in their old way for a while. The
young bloods with rufHed shirt~fronts
and high coat collars bought their
cigars at Apderson's and laughed and
talked with Mary. But the maiden
glee and sport" of the beautiful girl
seemed all to have left her since her
visit to her aunt in the country, and
she had a strange preoccupled air of
sadness
One Sunday she left her mothers
house, saying she was gong to call on
relative who lived in another part
OF the city. There was young man
boarding. with her mother at the time,
named Payne. He was the accepted
sutton of Mary, and when she went
out that Sunday she told him to call
for her at the house of her relative Ia
the evening. It rained that night AID
ne did Not go, supposing that Mary
would remain at her relative's house
over night, as she had often done be-
fore.
The aged Mrs. Rogers seemed to
have a presentiment of what was about
to happen, and said soon after her
daughter left the house: 81 fear [
shall never see Mary again" The
next day Mary did not return, and on
inquiry at her relatives house it was
found that she had not been there. Ali
trace Of her was lost until four days
after, when her body was found float
ing in the Hudson river, near We>
hawken. The marks on her body left
no doubt but that she had been muir
dered. A great sensation was caused
and the detectives followed UP every
possible clew. In a thicket on the
Jersey shore near where the body was
found, were discovered the paraso1,
gloves, and part of the clothing of the
murdered girl. 1t appeared st first as
if the thicket had been the scene of a
struggle, but on close inspection it
was decided that the place had been
arranged carefully to give 1t that ap,
pearance.
Just bafore this time mysterious
boats had been seen on the Hudson
One of them was manned by gang
of rOughs who committed all sorts of
outrages- Anonymous letters were
sent to one of the daily papers point
ing to this boats crew as the murder
cIS VI mdIy hOScTS. Ii was alSO ulS~
covered that Mary had been in the
habit of meeting secretly man with
a dark beard, and that she was in
company with this officer when she
first disappeared from Anderson's to-
bacco shop on what she subsequently,
said was visit to her aunt. After the
murder rudderless boat was picked
up on the Hudson near where the
murder was supposed to have taken
place and taken to the barge effice.
From there it mysteriously disappear
ed. Mary Rogers was last seen alive
on Sunday. On Monday an empty
boat, with the sail and oars lying in
it's bottom was seen floating down the
river below Wehawken. The young
naval officer accounted for his where
abouts from the time Mary left her
home until her body was found, and
the mystery of her death became
deeper than ever. For long time
the detectives worked on the case and
the people talked about it, but as
time wore away with no clearing of