The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-28
BID HBR HISTORY IN. DEATH.
BURNED EVEN THE FAMILY
RECORD FROM HER BIBLE.

Ella Basiey burned Also the Photograph
OF Somebody in Uniform--The Young
Women's Christian Association VIII
Bury the Hapless Little Needlewoman.
Ella Bagley. the little old maid who killed
herself In West Twenty first street board
Ing house Wednesday afternoon after
tearing up or burning every scrap Of paper
and photograph which might have estab-
lished who her relatives are, will not be
buried In the potter's field Women who
met her In the rooms Of the Young Women's
Christian Association in Vest Fifteenth
street were 30 impressed by her gentle,
courteous manner that they will give her
decent burial to-day. She was q gentle
woman, they say, who fell into the bitterest
poverty and who deliberately ended her
life because abe WAS sick Of the grinding
struggle to keep soul and body together.
Coroner Soholer went yesterday to the
room on the top floor of the boarding house
where she killed herself to ace IL he could
discover anything that would give hint
of her history In a corner of the room
was heap Of torn paper, scraps OF letters
country newspaper torn to bits, remnants
OF photographs that had been burned, and
odds and ends from which Miss Bagley
had deliberately removed every name or
distinguishing mark. One oharred piece
of cardboard had been the photograph
apparently, OF military or naval officer.
The faos had been burned away and the
upper part Of the body, but enough was
left to show the uniform. There were rem
nants OF other photographs On table
in the room was tattered Bible. The
fyleaves had been torn out. From the
back of the book a page that had been
family record, apparently, was missing.
In the Utter OF torn paper there was not a
scrap that bore q name.
The little old maid had thought OF every
thing that might have given her story to
the world. She had few clothes except
for the threadbare brown dress they found
her in. dead on the floor, but in the closet
was a tailor made jacket Of an old fashion :.
The mark Of the tailor had been removed
from the back Of the collar.
Il don't think l ever had TO do with q
more extraordinary case, said the Cor
oner yester day. Frequently men who
have killed themselves were. careful to
leave behind no ide ltifying marks or names,
All that ] have been able to learn about
Miss Bagley is that she came to New York
several years ago from Virginia and made
her living by the needle.
Miss Bagley told Mrs. o Nell. who keeps
the boar ding house where she lived that she
had relatives in the navy.
ITO tell the truth, the poor thing never
had enough to eat, " said Mrs o Neill. She
had the cheapest room in the house and
said she got her meals elsewhere. But she
alw avs looked stat we'd and pinched. When,
ever thought she wouldn't be offended
| used to ask her to sit down and have a
bite with me, but she was the proudest
little thing you ever saw. She had way
Of looking at you, kind Of quiet and steady,
that made you feel small. One night she
came into the kitchen making an effort
not to cry, and the way she looked at things
on the table made me feel like crying my
self got up and slipped out OF the room
and when | came back l found that she
had helped herself. She used 10 sew all
day in her room and part OF the night,
when she had any work to do, and that
wasn't often, poor creature. l don't be-
lieve she made s. q week at it.
@One night about two months ago tele-
gram came to the house for her while she
was In bed. After a while i heard her
CRYING upstairs as if her heart would break:
/ went up and asked her If she had got bad
news, but she wouldn't say. She burned
the telegram and never would say who 1t
was from.
About the only person she ever men
toned to me was Miss Helen Gould. She
said one time that she had met Miss Gould
through the Young Womens Christian As
sooiation people, and that Miss Gould had
been very kind to her. think Miss Gould
got some sewing for her to do at the Hotel
Martha Washington, for one place. i
know this much, that she never begged
cent from anybody. She was so proud
that she just starved on the little work
she got to do with her needle
At the Young Women's Christian Associa-
ton rooms Miss Bagley told Miss Dubois,
the secretary, that she came from Virginia
and that she had lived in Washington for
time. She also said that she had relatives
in the navy. For the last three years
she had been at the association rooms
every now and then to see II she could
get work.
-She was the gentlest, most unassuming
bois sShe reminded me Of a wren: No
body ever found out what brought her TO
be a seamstress in New York. She would
never talk about her troubles. don't
think she had more than one dress to her
name. At least 1 never saw but the one
threadbare brown cloth dress, and that
must have been made years ago hut
she was always neat as pin: She always
wore white collarette and old bits OF lace
at her wrist which went beautifully with
her gray hair and her delicate face. She
was very small, perhaps not more than five
feet tall, and she couldn't have weighed
more than 100 pounds. She had the tiniest
hands and feet. They looked more like
baby's than a woman's. Her eyes were
blue Her complexion was very pale.
There wasn't tinge OF color in her face.
Occasionally we were able to help her TO
get work, and she was 30 grateful for the
slightest assistance, too. She was splendid
seapstress, I'm told, but there are 80 many
that am afraid she didn't find much to do;
We didn't feel as II she oug ht to be buried
in the potters field.
The association will cor duct the funeral
services this morning at the Merritt chapel
and Miss Bagley will be buried in Mount
Hope Cemetery.
urchard-Sweet.