The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-07-29
Havemeyer Curse
How Death by Violence Pursues
That Many .lMillioned House.


had invoked witchcraft to decimate and
harass the posterity of old Frederick
c. Havemeyer, who early in the century
established a little sugar bakery in Van
| dam street and thus laid a foundation
for one Of TIE greatest fortunes in
America
Death self-inficted. death from disap-
pointment, death from heart-break,
death under the surgeons knife, death
by accident-death always premature and
| tragic-has logged the Havemeyer fam
lily in its several branches from genera
ton to generation, and combined with
| divorces and Will contests TO give the
name sad eTninence all its own.
More than commonly startling was the
| death by pistol shot a week ago Of Mrs.
| Natalie Mayer, daughter Of the late
Theodore A. Havemeyer, because il so
closely resembled the tragic taking off
of her favortte brother. Charles F. Have
meyer, two years ago.
Mrs. Mayer was a woman Of strong
emotions and active imagination. To a
| psychologist will occur the question:
Was she oppressed in spirit by brooding
over her brothers. fate, and the long
| list Of disasters that darken the history
of her family, until an overwhelming
sense Of fatality prompted her to court
a speedy death?
| That is a scientific point of view; but
! superstition dies hard, and even in So
ciety there are not wanting men and
women who believe in a Havemeyer
| curse" and point TO Mrs. Mayors death
as it's most recent manifestation.
| Financially there is certainly no curse.
| The years that pile up tragedies for the
! Havemeyers also pile UP millions. The
| family was never SO rich as it is now
| Only the other day the sugar trust
! advanced the price of refined sugar 10
| cents per hundred pounds, which made
the highest point it had reached for sew
eraI years. Wall street statisticians cal
! culated that the advance broUnght the
| trusts profit up to $4,000 a day-and
the trust consists largely Of the Have
meyer family.
That means $25 so 600 a year clear
profit And yet-are they unlucky mill
ions that pour into the Golfers Of the
Havemeyers?
In vain do the superstitious study the
history of the family in search of any
1
curse" It resembles many another
American family history. There is the
dry romance of millions. thrilling
enough from one point Of view, but
Offering no suggestion to the believer
in occult influences.
! Frederick C. Havemeyer II. son of
York from Germany in 1902 with his
brother, William F. Havemeyer. They
opened a sugar refinery in Vandam St,
From that little enterprise to the SUI
gar trust, with it's $25, $4,000 a year, is
a long and intricate story of finance not
worth telling here. It is worth telling,
| however, that the series of personal dis
asters in the family began in the third
generation from the founders of the busi-
ness.
Frederick C Havermeyer IL, son Of
| the original head Of the firm, was the
father of three sons. Two of them are
dead. The third, Henry o. Havemeyer,
is the present head of the family and
of the sugar trust.
The first of the victims was George
Havemeyer. The refinery business had
been extended and the big plant at
Williamsburg was in its infancy. Young
| George Havemeyer went there TO learn
| the business.
Before his fathers eyes one day he
fell into a deep shaft and was killed
and that was the first of the Havemeyer
tragedies.
The second Of the sons OF Frederick
c. Havemeyer II. to die was Theodore
A. That was many years later. Those
who knew him best said that he died
/ from observation-disclosures the one
ardent wish of his life remained IN
gratified.
He was f1fty-eight years old, but in the
full vigor Of manhood. It made him
fretfuI that he was not appointed United
States Minister to Austria. For twenty
five years he had been Austrian Consul
in New York. His wife was the daugh-
ter of a DISTINGUISHED Austrian. Cheval-
Ter de Loosely. He and she were both
wrapped up in the ambition TO go to
Vienna with all the prestige that such
an appointment would give them
But one President succeeded another.
and although Theodore A Havemeyer's
| name headed all the campaign contri-
buttons. he was not appointed Minister
to Austria. It was disappointment and
embittered man VINO died in 1881
This narrative IS not following the
rnisfortunes Of the family chronology
callv. but tracing first the tragic deaths
| in a direct line The divorces and other
troubles shall be recorded later. although
! in two instances the stories involve
deaths Of persons not Of Havemeyer
blood. but connected with the family by
marriage.
This method Of narration brings next
70 the readers attention a certain young
Henry Havemeyer. son OF millionaire
Of the same name, who died, leaving a
widow who has also died
With $1,000 a year 70 spend he went %
Paris TO see life He fell I'll with ap-
pendicitis and died on The operating
table
Then tragedy visited the family Of
Theodore \. Havemeyer, who had died
Of isappointment-drst the popular
Charles 2. better known as Charley
Havemeyer: then the latest victim, Mrs.
Natalie Mayer.
Both were married. both were unhap-
by. both died by pistol shot; in both
cases the horri6ed survivors NJ their
family claimed thai death was doubtless
accidental and not designed.
Charles +. HaFeTneser fll-A1r-ed ANNA
Moss. q beautiful girl They had one
child. Theodore, named after his il-
fate1 grandfather. Their hgme, near
Roslyn. l. /. in the Mead0wb-ook Hunt
colony. was a beautiful one. but -uu1or
said that it Was unhappy.
One night tn May. 1ssS, Mr.. Hayemeye-
went 10 his room TO dress Cor dinner.
Soon atterward MS wife heard the re-
port OF a pistol, and. running into the
room. found her husband dying lie had