The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-07-17
CoIored Girl of Great Beauty
Follows White Lover to
The Grave.
HER SKIN CAUSE OF SORROW
PASSED AS WHITE GIRL AND
NEVER RECOGNIZED HER COL.
oRED MOTHER WHEN THEY
MET IN CHICAGO.

Chicago, July 17-Masquerading as
white girl, Lillian Beatrice Watkins,
colored girl Of great beauty. killed
herself by firing a bullet into her right
temple, because her curse of blood
had left a trail Of disaster and death
in its wake. One man had fallen in
love with her and when he learned her
secret, gave her $4,000, married a
girl he had known several years and
then month later, blew out his
brains in Washington park. He fired
bullet into his right temple, and
when the girl planned her own death
she killed herself in the same way.
Back Of the girls death is a strange
tragic story of a conflict of race which
brought aching hearts to a score of
persons. AS the young girl lay in
North Side undertaking. parlor today.
colored woman bent and withered
leaned over the body and wept bitterly.
1t was the girls mother who in order
to allow the girl to associate with
whites had given up her only daugh-
ter and passed her on the street al
most daily without a sign of recogpi-
ton. And yet the golden haired octo-
room girl loved her dark skinned moth
er and on secret visits to the mothers
home would lavish a wealth of affec-
ton upon her.
Ihomas F. Kennedy, whose suicide
IN Washington park on January 7 of
this year, has been a mystery I'D to
the present, was the man who unwit-
tlngly Tell In love with the i'll fated
girl. She returned his love and told
her mother they were engaged and
that she intended to keep her race a
secret. However, she worried 80 over
possible discovery that one night she
sobbed out the truth. Kennedy left |
her and month afterward married |
Gwendolyn Reese. Four weeks after
his marriage, Kennedy was found in
washington park, only few blocks |
from his home where he had furnished
elegant apartments for his young wife |
Suicide because respondent and out |
OF work." was the report made on Ken
nedy's death, but he left his bride
$4,000 and If any one guessed the Sc
cret of his death 1t was not revealed.
Employed as stenosrapher.
Lillian Watkins the last year has
been living at the home of Samuel G..
Phinney Mr.. and Mrs. Phinney never
that the girl was a negress.
Miss Watkins was employed a ssteno-
srapher in the First Trust and Saw
ngs banks and all Of her fellow work.
ers thought that she was 4 Caucasian.
She studied at the University of Chi
'ago. AT one time she lived at the
Virginia hotel and for G. few months
was a guest at the Warner hotel
Mrs. Ida Watkins, the girls mother.
ives at 3571 Forrest avenue Last
night with the tears streaming down
her face, she told the story of her
daughters struggle to obtain recog-
1ition as a white.
My child's misfortune was that sha
vas born with white skin and golden
lair. Oh, how proud l was of my lit
lie baby as she lay at my breast, and
saw her delicate skin and golden
resses. I little thought of the shame
Ind misery it would cause her later
n life. Her father was light skinned
nulatto and Lillian was even lighter
han he
Until my little girl was sixteen
ears old she always passed as col
'red girl. Then a school mate put It
INTO her head that she could pass as a
White girl, and she came home and
old me that, while she still loved me.
he wanted to be known as a white
irl and asked me not to recognize her
IS my daughter. I thought my heart
would break and we both cried for .
tours, but finally I saw that Lillian's
happiness depended on the sacrifice
nd made it."