The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-17
POE's FAMOUS HEROINE.
The Ghost of Beautiful Mary Rogers
Fipure in

| The Ghost of Beautiful Mary Rogers to
Figure in a Lawsuit.
For more than half century murdered
| Mary Rogers has lain in her grave. Now,
when the beautiful cigar girl and her awful
and mysterious fate are all but forgotten,
her ghost appears as the central figure in a
| lawsuit involving hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
The case'at issue, according to the New
York Advertiser, is that brought by Mrs.
Laura V. Appleton, wife of Edward j. Ap-
pleton. against the New York Life Insur-
| ance Company and others for a one-ffth
interest in the Plaza Hotel, at Fifty-ninth
street and Fifth avenue. How is the spirit
OF Mary Rogers connected with this suit?
Here is the answer:
In 1871 John Anderson kept cigar-store
at the corn er of Thomas and Broadway,
| and Mary Rogers worked for him, selling
cigars to the customers, who came out of
their way for miles TO be waited upon by
this beautiful cigar girl" In after years
John Anderson became possessed of ten
city lots at Fifty-ninth street and Fifth ave-
| nue., aud on these lots the Plaza Hotel now
stands. When John Anderson died. a
ten years ago. he left a peculiar will, be-
queathing the vast bulk of his property, in
Guiding the property where the Plaza Hotel
now stands, to one OF his children, John
Charles Anderson, while to his other child,
Laura, the present plaintiff, and to his five
grandchildren he left comparatively small
requests. In the course of time John
Charles Anderson sold those ten city lots to
the firm IF Fife & Campbell, builders, who
erected the hotel.
Now comes the daughter of John Ander-
son, seeking to recover one-ffth of the value
of the hotel, so in reality the legality of
John Anderson's will Is the point at issue.
But how did old John Anderson, the mill
ionaire, come to make his peculiar will?
That brings the story back to the life, death
and spirit-life OF Mary Rogers. One day
it was the 18th of July, 184i-her dead body
was found on the shore of the North River,
at Weehawken. Around her waist was tied
rope, and to the other end Of that rope
was tied stone. The dead girls face was
terribly battered. Her wrists were tied
together, and around her neck was tightly
tied piece of lace torn from her clothing,
| part Of which was missing.
Alter having been Waylaid In @ deS0late
spot at the foot of Weehawken Hill, near
the duel ground where Aaron Burr killed
Alexander Hamilton, she had been dragged
to the river and thrown into the water.
Although the crime aroused all this part
OF the country and the utmost efforts were
made, the identity of her murderers re-
manned a mystery and they are unknown to
this day. Dozens Of suspects were arrested
and among them was John Anderson. pro-
prletor Of the clgar-store in which she
"Oihcut Dut ut, Win all OlutIS, WIS IT,
leased. The murdered girl is immortal,
though, for Edgar Allen Poe wrote of her in
his story of 'fMarie Roget" Time went OH
and John Anderson became immensely rich.
IL was he who hit upon the scheme of wrap
ping cigars and tobacco in tinfoil and this
brought him his millions.
Before he died old John Anderson did
many strange things. He even put iron
shutters on the windows of his house near
Iarrytown, because OF fear he had that
strange men were in a conspiracy to blow
him up with dynamite. Many of his busi-
ness and financial transactions were con-
sldered peculiar. For forty years he said
he was haunted by the ghost of murdered
Mary Rogers, the cigar girl, which. accord
ing to his oft-repeated story, held frequent
conversations with him and advised him in
all his financial affairs. This advice he said
he always followed. These things say the
LAWYERS for the plaintiff, will be brought
out in the present trial before Judge Rob
ertson Of the Supreme Court.