JEFFERSON, TEXAS |
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The history of Jefferson is colorful, it was the scene of the nineteenth century version of the trial of the century, complete with dream team attorney's, scandalous behavior and sullied reputations, centered on a Yankee dandy and his "soiled dove" bride and his plan to steal a fortune in diamonds after murdering his lover. Today, folks still claim to see her walking in the local graveyard or near the place where she was murdered in cold blood.
Diamond Bessie Moore registered at the Brooks House hotel in Jefferson on January 19, 1877, accompanied by her long time lover Abe Rothschild, who signed in as "A. Monroe and wife". Bessie was 23 and the pair had been married on January 10th in Vermilion County, Illinois before traveling south. Bessie had enjoyed a short, but nevertheless fruitful career as a lady of the evening in both New Orleans and Hot Springs, Arkansas and had amassed a priceless collection of diamonds from her suitors before meeting Rothschild. On Saturday evening, the couple was seen in several establishments in Jefferson and the following morning Abe and Bessie purchased a suitable picnic lunch at Henrique's Restaurant and were then seen walking leisurely toward the Bayou, over a footbridge on Big Cypress Creek; Bessie bedecked in all her finery, her diamonds sparkling in the bright sunlight. Bessie was never to be seen alive again. Her body was found in the nearby woods, devoid of her precious gems. Rothschild reportedly told the desk man at the hotel that his wife was going to stay with friends for a while, room four at the Brooks House was found empty the next day; A. Munroe and wife were no place to be seen, but Abe was later reported to have left on the eastbound train, with all the coupled luggage. A week later, Sarah King was walking in the woods and stumbled over the lifeless body of a young woman, now covered in several inches of recent snow. She was identified at Mrs. Munroe. A quick investigation showed that prior to arriving at Jefferson, the couple had stayed two nights at the Old Capitol Hotel in Marshall, TX and had been registered there as Abe Rothschild and wife. The citizens of Jefferson took pity on the young woman and interred her in the Oakwood Cemetery, while the county sheriff began his search for her husband. Rothschild was returned to Jefferson from Cincinnati and the bizarre story of Diamond Bessie began to unfurl as that centuries best know murder case. Rothschild was defended by a dream team of local luminaries, former state officials and notable legal minds. At one point the trial turned very dirty, with allegations of Bessie's wild life being chronicled. During the proceedings, it was suggested that Bessie was with child when murdered, having told Rothschild that she would announce the event to his very proper family, if he did not marry her. During one jury deliberation, it is rumored that a steady shower of twelve, one thousand dollar bills mysteriously floated down from the room above. In all the case took years to play out, with one conviction being overturned on appeal and a second ending with a not-guilty verdict. But even before Rothschild escaped the hangman's noose, Bessie was reported to be seen walking near her gravesite. One local resident, E. B. McDonald later admitted that he paid to have a proper marker erected on her grave because it seemed unfair that she should have to lie in an unmarked plot. The Jefferson Garden Club later adopted the gravesite and erected an iron fence around it and sees that flowers are planted there to this day. Bessie also reportedly is seen at the scene of her murder. From the reports of those who have witnessed these visitations, Bessie does not seem upset by her final resting place; see seems comfortable in Jefferson, walking among the graves of those who had worked so hard to defend her husband. Oakwood Cemetery is worth the short trip for many reasons, not just the grave of Bessie Moore Rothschild. Here lay the remains of many notable characters of the era, founders of the Republic of Texas and leaders of the young state, as well as well known military personalities and an entire Jewish section that is also over 150 years old. Historically, it is one of the most unique burial grounds in Texas, filled with members of the Masonic Order from the states earliest memories; it holds both gravel styles familiar to the Bayous of Louisiana, which are traditionally above ground, to the more ornate monuments you might expect to fine much further east, leaving the visitor with an odd reaction among ghostly weeping willows and concrete mausoleums.
But you don't have to look through the cemetery or history books to find a ghost in Jefferson; they are all over the old downtown district. At the Jefferson Hotel, room 19 plays host to a stream of guests who want to meet that places permanent resident, a young woman who hung herself at the hotel and dislikes male guests. The young woman is reportedly the daughter of a proper Jefferson family, who was raised Episcopalian. It is believed she was with child and fully expected to be married, when she learned her fiance' was in fact already married, thus leading to her suicide. Communications with the woman suggests that she looks out for female guests who might be seen walking the hallway late at night and enjoys her "Celebrity" among ghost hunters. She told one recent team that she could easily pass over to the other side, but chooses to stay and entertain the guests at the hotel and sometimes play tricks on the male guests. There are easily a half dozen ghosts in the Jefferson Hotel, including a disembodied feline, who loves to play with the comforter on your bed as you begin to fall asleep; you can hear the sound of purring and little paws on the bedcovers, even the feel of a cat snuggling up next to your legs; you just can't see him. The hotel has served many purposes, originally a warehouse, and then a school for girls, a bordello, gambling hall and hotel; don't be surprised if you look up from your dinner in the elegant dining room to see a wispy apparition in period dress slide gracefully across the floor and through a wall! It is reasonable to suggest that at least half the rooms at the Jefferson Hotel are haunted, so much so, that the front desk clerk will be happy to discuss who you might be sharing your room with, if you wish to know.
Down the block, you can visit the Jefferson Railway, take a ghostly tour ride through the Bayou and hear all about their resident spirits. If you are faint of heart, don't sit in the last seat of the last car during the midnight ride however, people have been known to have someone reach out and touch them, as the train slowly passes through the Civil War era ammunitions dump by the tracks. Investigators report that most of the action is on the railroad's right of way, where a giant city dump once existed more than a hundred-fifty years ago. Historians will tell you that homeless wanderers were often unceremoniously interred in that dump, if they had the bad fortune to die without the cost of a proper burial in the cemetery. It appears some are still trying to hitch a ride out of the dump.
While some believe that the railroad depot is the center of the ghostly activity at this end of town, two research groups are convinced that any manifestations at the depot are transient in nature, but will point to the ammunition stockyards and old public dump as being the true center of the activity. The ammo yards were probably the reason that Jefferson survived the Civil War, the city fathers not allowing the stockpiles of wartime munitions inside the city limits. At the same site is the city’s old smelting furnaces and the dump and all are very active. On one siding of the railroad, you will see a partially restored "first class" car. This car has seen a good deal of activity, workmen stating that they have left the car with the window blinds closed, only to return to find them open again. Investigators did find activity in the car, you can feel the old car sway as if someone is climbing on-board when no one is there and be jostled by an unseen rider, who appears to dislike people standing in the aisle of the car. But his too is accepted as transient behavior, by spirits who live in the nearby woods and only come to see what the “humans” are doing.
Some folks will ask you about the nature of ghosts, friend or foe. For the workmen who were renovating the second floor of the old Bayou Cafe' opposite the Jefferson Hotel recently, that can lead to some debate. The workmen claim they were chased from the location by a disembodied voice who ordered them to leave, but when ASUP team members went to the second floor, they were greeted in a clear, female voice of welcome, "Hello!" There are several explanations for the existence of that spirit, but none that are totally acceptable, so far. Like many of the old buildings here, the Cafe' has served in many ways, from funeral parlor to brothel, so anything is possible. 2008 ASUP (All Rights Reserved) Click here to hear an EVP captured in Room 6 of the Historic Jefferson Hotel in September 2007.
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