The St. Charles herald., 1922-09-30
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tory of Mrs. Henrietta Robinson" the
palpably assumed name OF the woman
whose body rests beneath the num-
bered headstone at Mattewan. Is that
she was Of either English or Canadian
origin and that she came to Troy, NJ
Y, in 1851, being always well sup
piled with funds from source wnlcn
remained concealed even during the
rigid investigation which followed ner
arrest on the charge OF murder.
Some months after Mrs. Robinson
settled In Troy a strange and appal'
emily inexplicable tragedy occurred
A merchant and a young woman VINO
was living with his family dropped
dead at the table. A post-mortem e1'
animation showed that they had Deen
poisoned and, despite the absence OF
motive, Mrs. Robinson" who nao
been present, was arrested, but re-
fused to say q word even to her law
yer.
To add to the air OF mystery when
surrounded the entire case, the de-
fendant insisted upon appearing IN
court shrouded in a heavy black veil
which effectually concealed her fea'
lures. All during the trial she sat-
impassive and unmoved, apparently
taking not the slightest interest IN tne
conduct Of the proceedings. When the
state had concluded its case. COM
paratively flimsy structure OF clrcum-
stantial evidence. the counsel for the
defense arose and, admitting that ne
had not a shred Of direct evidence to
offer, introduced the plea Of insanity.
At the conclusion Of the trial ana
before delivering his charge to the
jury, the presiding Judge called atten-
ton to the fact that no one In the
court had seen the defendants face
and requested MRS. Robinson" to n1t
her veil.
Slowly and with great dignity she
arose, but made no effort to comply
with the courts request.
II am here" she stated, In a voice
which penetrated to every corner OF
the crowded courtroom, ito undergo
a most painful ordeal, not to Do
gazed at"
The request was not repeated and,
af,.r deliberation Of several hours,
the jury returned a verdict OF
Guilty" and the prisoner was sem
fenced to death-a decree which was
later committed to life Imprisonment
by order Of the governor, though not
before Mrs. Robinson" had made her
one formal statement In the shadow
Of the gallows:
When 1 am dead" she declared,
"all will die with me. l have prom
ised to be silent, to die without be
traying anything"
The first 18 years Of her life sen
: tence were passed in Sing Sing penn
tentiary. She was then moved to the
Auburn State Prison for the Insane
where she remained for II years, and
> finally to the Asylum Of the Criminal!
: Insane at Mattewan, where the woman
of mystery finally died on May 4, 1905
after 50 years in prison. During al
this time, however, she never wrote
e letter nor spoke a word, save to hel
y lawyer who visited her at regular In
0 tervals and who admitted that hi
: services had been paid for by "certail
D influential personages' whom he wa
3 not at liberty to name.
+ All that was known Of "Henriett'
q Robinson" was that she played tn
a organ at Sing Sing with the touch o
v q master musician and that she die
Q as she had lived-in silence, utter ant
: absolute, leaving as a heritage som
e of the most puzzling questions In tn
o history Of criminal proceedings:
= What was the woman's real nam
e and where had she come from?
Had she poisoned the merchant an
o his young guest and, II so, with wha
d motive?
II Why had she insisted upon concea
# ing her face during the trial?
It If she were innocent, why did sh
e refuse for more than half a centur
IS TO make any plea for leniency?
s What did she mean by her stat
Is ment that she "had promised to b
n Silent to die without betraying an,
:, thing?"
IL Who supplied the funds with whic
. the lawyer was paid?
y The answers to these and as mar
; more unsolved riddles connected wit
= this woman Of mystery lie conceale
= heneath that simple headpiece In Il
Potters field at Mattewan, a hea
p stone bearing only the number "88
st. philip Founded oratory.
IN The memory of st. Philip should I