New-York tribune., 1921-04-20
Mrs. Mackaye's
Body Is Found
In East River
Discovered Floating Few
Hours After She Darted
From Husbands Side Ut
tering Threat to Kill Self
Unidentified for a Day
Suffragist and Worker for
Disarmament Had Been
Under Mental Strain

Mrs. Benton Mackaye, who deserted
lher husband as they we're about to
board train at Grand Central Station
MONDAY afternoon, was found dead in
the East River near Astoria late the
same day. The body lay unclaimed all
sight in the morgue of William Mast
'at sos Broadway, Astoria. but was
identified yesterday morning by
Charles S. Whitaker and Mrs. Mabel
Irwin. friends of the family.
Mr.. Mackaye was Informed Of the
finding Of his wife's body by Mr..
Whitaker, who is editor of The Jour
nal Of the American Institute of
Architects and lives at the City Club
The husband was too overcome with
grief, however, to leave his apartm ent
at Jas West Twelfth Street to visit
the morgue and asked Mr. Whitaker
to make the .dneral arrangements.
This morning at IL o'clock the body
will be removed for cremation to the
Fresh Pond Crematory.
Shortly before 5 o'clock on Monday,
after Mrs. Mackaye had disappeared,
threatening to kill herself, the body
was found floating. 1t had been in the
river only short time, not more than
two or three hours. At first it was
thought to be the body of Mrs An
nette X. Rankiue, who disappeared on
April l
Mrs. Mackaye, who was formerly
Mrs. Jessie Hardy Stubbs, had been
active in the. cause of woman suffrage
and international peace and disarma-
ment. Except for marked nervous de-
preston, which she had shown recent
~, and her expressed determination
to Kill herself. no motive could be
ascribed yesterday.
Drowned Soon After Flight
Not more than an hour or two could
have elapsed from the time Mrs
Mackaye left her husband and her
drowning. She left the Twelfth Street
apartment with her husband in taxi
cab about 1880 p. IN. and they drove
directly to the railroad terminal The
report Of the assistant medical ex-
aminer in Queens, DR.. W. H. Hammack.
showed that death had been caused By
drowning.
1t is thought that Mrs. Mackave
must have jumped into the river from
the waterfront near the Broadway sec
tlon of Astoria, as the spot where the
becy was found prccludes the posi-
blllty of her having gone to her death
from the Manhattan side. The belief
IS that she took a Queens subway train
from Grand Central station on the AS
toria branch, walked to the little fre-
9uented waterfront and threw herself
in. Only one familiar will. the neigh
borhood could have thought Of such
plan.
Mrs. Mackaye had been under severe
mental strain for weeks and on Mon
day her husband decided that several
days in the country might be beneficial
to her. They left their home with their
baggage in a taxicab and about three
quarters Of an hour after their de-
parture the telephone operator received
frantic call from Mr.. Mackaye. He
said that his wife had disappeared and
asked the operator to hold her if she
reappeared at the apartment house.
Effort to Detain Her Fails
Mrs. Irwin, who. is the Rev. Mabel
Irwin, Universalist minister, known
as lecturer on eugenics, and lives at
Oxford Street, Brooklyn, was in the
railroad terminal with Mr.. and Mrs.
Mackaye, and they made a vain effort
to halt her in the crowd. Mrs. Mackaye
had been talking excitedly for several
minutes and left, saying:
II am going to kill myself"
After his failure to- find any trace of
her, Mr.. Mackaye asked the police to
aid in the search for his wife, telling
them that he feared she would end her
life.
Mrs. Mackaye was born in Chicago
forty-fve years ago, and in 1896 she
married DR.. F. Gurney Stubbs. He died
in 1899. Then she came to New York,
studying at the School of Philanthropy
and at Columbia University. In De-
cember, 1912, she was one of the lead
crs in the "hike" of suffragists from
this city to Albany. She was one of
the few to reach her destination and
hand the petition to Governor Sulzer.
Two years later she took prominent
part in suffragist mass meeting in
Washington. She was married to Mr..
Mackaye while he was stationed in
Washington as an agent of the United
States Forestry Service.