Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-23
RECORD OF A FEMALE FIaEsue.
She Has Burned 100000 Worth of Pro-
perry In Prosecuting Her scheme.
Tfnanranca HeraId

Insurance Herald.]
Belle Rafferty, was convicted in the
Criminal Court of Memphis April oath for
an attempt to obtain money under an in
surance policy for property destroyed,
when in fact it was not destroyed, and was
afterwsrd found in pawn-shop.
April %, 1890, she insured her household
furniture and wearing apparel for 81 $50.
May 18th, little over two weeks after she
obtained the insurance, tho house burned.
1t was situated in the suburbs of Memphis.
MAY 10th she presented o claim for about
81 ,875. making out o schedule in Its
minutest details. Fraud was suspected.
and upon investigation record was I'M
folded which showed her to be the victim
of thirteen fires in four years under thir-
teen different names.
The schedule in most of the cases was
nearly the same as the one presented at
the Memphis fire. A few of the more re-
cent losses that she had were in Septem-
Der, 1889, at Nashville, under the name of
Agnes Henry in October, 1889, under the
name of Belle Mcdonald. in Cincinnati /;
in December, 1889, under the name of
Emma Curtis, in st. Louis, and April,
1889, at Memphis. Through the ingenuity
and great skill of the Encouragement at
the Memphis trial he obtained confes-
sion from her acknowledging to thirteen
fires in the last four years. These may be
of interest, and here they are In their
proper order:
man.
Fort Worth, under the name of Mrs. Belle
Woodson.
San Antonio, under the name of Mrs. s.
b. Ross.
Galveston, under the name of Mrs. B.
Ross.
Pueblo, Col, under the name Of Mrs.
Belle Robinson.
Denver, under the name of Mrs. Belle
Robinson.
Wichita, Kan. under the name of Mrs.
Sou Rafferty,.
Kansas City, under the name of Mrs. S.
b. Rafferty,.
Sedalia, under the name of Mrs. Lane.
ST. Louis, under the name of Mrs. Emma
Curtis.
Cincinnati, under the name of Mrs. Belle
Mcdonald.
Nashville, under the name of Mrs. Agnes
Henry.
Memphis, her last place of operation, un-
der the name of Mrs. Belle Rafferty,.
After becoming unable to obtain a set
Element from the insurance company she
filed q bill in chancery September list. In
the mean time the detective employed IN
the case was watching her tracks, and sue
ceeded September 5th IN finding her entire
wardrobe in @ pawn-shop. Her plan OF
operations, as shown by the proofs, seemed
10 be to 60 from place 10 place, 10 rent a
dwelling in the very best of suburban
neighborhoods, buy furniture on the
instalment plan. pay q small sum, and
two weeks after obtaining the lnsu-
rance-which always ranges from 81 900
to $780, fire would occur be-
tween the hours of l and 2 A. NJ, destroy
ing the property. Her principal claim in
each fire shows total loss on a large and
valuable wardrobe not in keeping at ali
with the rest of her household effects. Be
fore the fire this wardrobe is generally
sent to the pawn-shop, while in her proof
of loss il is claimed as entirely destroyed.
Here are the names of the companies
that have suffered at the hands of this
woman, who, though in many cases sus-
pected of fraud, was never detected as at
Memphis. The companies are:
The Continental, Niagara, and Standard,
of New York; American Central of st.
Louis North British, Royal, of England.
and Mechanics of Milwaukee. From her
operations in Texas and part of Kansas and
Missouri, it has not been possible TO obtain
the proofs Of loss or names of the COM
| panies, but by her own confession she
acknowledged to having had the fires in the
States named. Her record shows that with
in the last four years this woman has
travelled from place to place and
thousand dollars worth of property
Many of the companies that will
read this article may be able TO assist
| the prosecution by furnishing additional
proofs Of loss. When her confession gives
only thirteen different fires. it is firmly
believed that she may have had twice as
many during that period under different
aliases, of which we know nothing. Upon
comparison of the schedules given in TO
the companies at st. Louis, Cincinnati,
Nashville, with that at Memphis (these
four fires occurred within six months),
they were found to be identical copies,
her practice being TO carry a copy along,
and after the FIRE present il as list of the
goods destroyed. In each schedule figures
a family Bible valued at IS. )"
At Cincinnati she brought suit against
the company in which she was In
sured, but the case was dismissed on &C
count of her non-appearance. In every
loss she has had in the past. of which
proofs have been obtained, she compro-
missed her claims for considerably less
than they footed up. She seems to be q
woman that has been much married and
divorced, sometimes legally. as she claims,
and sometimes not. Her home seems to
be Fayetteville, Ark, and one of her
headquarters for operations Eureka
Springs, Ark. A man by the name
OF Anthony Grow at Eureka Springs
seems to be her confederate in all these
transactions she Is woman who has
travelled in nearly all the States of the
Union and in Canada. She CARRIES little
boy of about seven years Of age with her,
whom she claims to be her son. She is
about FIVE feet three inches, petite figure,
complexion very much enamelled, brown
hair, of pleasant address, and would I'm:
press one as q woman living in the rural
districts.