October 20, 2022 • 25 mins
The mysogenistic article, 'What Are Girls Good For' infuriated Elizabeth Cochrane. Her well-written response to the newspaper did more than get her point across. It started her career as Nellie Bly, award-winning investigative reporter.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Just heads up. This episode contains references to sexual assault.
Please take care while listening. You're listening to American Shadows,
a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild
from Aaron Mankey. Ambitious, intelligent, and fearless journalist Sandy Fox
(00:26):
would do anything for a story, and the tall, handsome,
younger man smiling at her at the hotel bar was
about to become her biggest story. Her wit and beauty
attracted men wherever she went, and younger men were a favorite.
And though she didn't care much for the floral tie,
her new admirer war His movie star good looks and
(00:47):
hair she later described as the color of Scotch and
water intrigued her, but still she politely declined his offer
to dance. It had been a trying day. The Fox
had spent the better part of it trying to get
an interview with former Vice President Spiro Agnew, unsuccessful. She
just wanted to unwind with a drinker too. In November
(01:08):
of nineteen seventy four, journalism was still mostly a man's job,
but she was determined to succeed. Divorced and in her
mid forties, English born Fox had recently accepted a one
month trial with an American newspaper. They paid for all
her expenses and flew her to Atlanta alone and board.
She left the bar and headed to the Atlanta Constitution office,
(01:30):
hoping to entice fellow journalists to show her around town.
No one offered. Fox returned to the hotel bar to
find the handsome man still there. He introduced himself as
Darrell Golden and asked if she had changed her mind
about that dance. This time she accepted. They hit it
off and sat and talked for a while. He told
(01:51):
her that he had traveled quite a bit and planned
to drive to Miami the next day. She told him
she was also traveling and leaving for West Palm Beach
in the morning. Golden suggested they share a ride. The
Fox choked that he could be a serial killer for
all she knew. The two laughed, then she finally accepted.
They spent the night together, and Golden told her he
(02:13):
wouldn't move long. His lawyer had secret tapes in a
vault and some one was bound to kill him. He
suggested that Fox write a book about him, and despite
this odd behavior in her misgivings, she spent the next
two days traveling with Golden once they arrived in West Palm.
Though Fox bid him farewell, Golden pleaded for one more night,
(02:35):
she declined. The following day, she learned that Golden had
picked up the wife of a fellow journalist and attempted
to rape her before she got away. As it turned out,
Darrell Golden was actually Paul Knowles, the infamous Casanova killer.
He'd escaped from prison and had killed women in multiple states. Later,
he had admit to killing thirty five women, though authorities
(02:58):
only tied him to eighteen. One month later, Knowles died
while attempting to escape. Fox returned to London with not
only a story to tell, but the realization that she
agreed with her former travel companion on one thing. She
would indeed write a book about him. Fox hadn't intentionally
placed herself in danger, but she wasn't the only female
(03:21):
journalist who would do anything for a story. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum.
Welcome to American Shadows. One day in eighteen eighty five,
the headline for the Pittsburgh Dispatch read what Girls Are
Good for? Erasmus Wilson, the father of five girls and
(03:42):
the papers most popular columnist, penned the story under the
pseudonym Quiet Observer. In the article, Wilson stated that a
woman's worth was housework and bearing children. He also said
that working women were monstrosities, perhaps naturally women readers didn't
take to Wilson's opinion. One angry woman anonymously wrote a
(04:03):
lengthy rebuttal, pointing out that women equally intelligent were not
given the same opportunities as men in the workplace. They
did their jobs as well as their male counterparts for
half the pay. The reader eloquently pointed out that a
woman's shortcomings were the men who held them back. Not
one to complain without a solution, the author made several
keen suggestions to enrich the lives of women and the
(04:26):
state of society. The letter caught the attention of George Madden,
the papers editor. He published a notice asking for the
anonymous author to step forward, and when Elizabeth Jane Cochrane
walked into his office, he offered her a job as
a reporter, and so began her wild career. Elizabeth was
no stranger to hard work and pushing to get ahead.
(04:49):
She had fourteen siblings. Her father, Michael, had ten children
with his first wife, But when she passed away. He
went Mary Jane Kennedy, also a widow. Kennedy Cochrane had
five children together. Elizabeth was born on May fifth of
eighteen sixty four and became her father's thirteen daughter. Superstition
about the numbers seemed to do little except to make
(05:11):
her more ambitious. Michael Cochrane died when Elizabeth was six
years old. Although he had been the successful judge and
prosperous landowner, his untimely death presented a serious financial hardship
for his second family. Some sources say his second family
had very little to live on by the time the
estate was divided among all his children. Others say Michael
(05:33):
died without a will, leaving Mary without access or claim
to his estate. Either way, the family struggled to make
ends meet and became destitute. Early on, Elizabeth realized that
survival meant earning a decent wage. Given the limited choices
presented to women, it was a monumental task, but Elizabeth
(05:54):
was smart and very determined. At fifteen, she enrolled in
a small school to become a teacher, but dropped out
when she could no longer afford classes. Instead, the mother
and daughter moved to Pittsburgh to run a boarding house.
She was just eighteen when she penned her controversial response
to Wilson's article, and after accepting the job as a reporter,
(06:16):
Elizabeth got straight to work. The editor wanted her to
have a catchy pseudonym, and her fellow journalists tossed around
a few suggestions, but one of them suggested Nellie Bly,
and it stuck. Pittsburgh songwriter Stephen Foster had made the
name famous in his song Nellie Bly, though he spelled
Nellie with a y instead of an I e. The
(06:37):
lyrics portrayed a young woman with fortitude and grit, traits
Elizabeth possessed, and with that, Elizabeth Cochrane became Nellie Bly.
A reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Her new career gave
her the freedom to shine a light on a subject
She was passionate about women's issues. While she wrote about
all injustices, she primarily focused on working when men. Her
(07:00):
new career seemed nearly perfect, including the salary of five
dollars a week, at least for a while. Bli's articles
were highly controversial in the Victorian era. In her first article,
titled The Girl Puzzle, she argued that women needed better opportunities,
(07:22):
especially impoverished women. Even more radical, Blin made a case
for some women to remain single. She titled her second
article Mad Marriages, which called for divorce law reform. Blin
didn't stop there. To get to the heart of another story.
She went undercover working in a factory. Women at sweatshops
(07:43):
worked for pitiful wages. They endured unsafe working conditions and
unreasonably long hours to earn more money. Bli thought wealthy
business men taking advantage of women made for a great story.
The factory owners didn't agree. They had money and power,
and immediing le pressured George Madden to stop printing the stories.
(08:03):
Fearing repercussions from the city's elite and powerful, Madden reassigned
Bli to the Societal pages to cover more woman appropriate
topics like gardening, social events, and fashion. The reassignment didn't
sit well with Bli. She proposed that the paper center
to Mexico to write an article about life under Dictator
por Furio Diaz. Unfortunately, the assignment was cut short and
(08:27):
Bli returned home, where Madden promptly assigned her to the
Societal pages again. Bli wanted more out of her career
and quit. She wrote a note to Erasmus Wilson, addressing
him by his pen name dear q O. She wrote,
I'm off for New York. Look out for me, signed BLI.
(08:47):
For six months, she applied to one newspaper after another.
No one wanted to hire a woman journalist. Finally, she
landed an interview with John Cockrill, the managing editor for
Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. The paper had a long
standing reputation for provocative and sensationalist stories and captivating headlines.
Cockerell wanted someone who could deeply investigate tough topics and
(09:10):
write powerful stories. Bli assured Pulitzer and Cockerell that she
could get the job done. The men said that she'd
need something wild and over the top to secure the position.
In fact, they had just the assignment go undercover at
the Blackwell Island Insane Asylum. For years, rumors had swirled
around the conditions inside Blackwell. There were whispers of cruelty
(09:34):
and neglect. The job wouldn't be for the faint of heart,
they warned. Did she have enough courage to endure a
stay at Blackwell? And could she manage to fool doctors
and staff into believing she was insane. Bli replied that
she most definitely did and could. Cockerell cautioned her to
not write sensationalism for headline's sake. She must tell the truth,
(09:57):
good or bad. Again. Lie agreed. She assured them that
getting in would be easy. All she needed to do
was looking act like she had lost her mind, and
the real question was how her editors would get her out.
Cockerell shrugged and replied he had no idea. Bli took
the job. Her editors left it up to her to
(10:19):
figure out how to get inside Blackwell. She decided on
the persona of Nellie Brown. The initials matched her own
for simplicity's sake. For a while, she considered asking friends
for help, but that would have required them to act
and pretend to be poor and Blackwell when we took
in those without money, she decided the best plan was
(10:39):
to leave them out of it. She found tattered second
hand clothes to wear and rehearsed dazed expressions in front
of a mirror. She practiced acting strangely and stayed up
most of the night telling herself ghost stories fully In
her new role, Bli rented a room at a boarding house.
She shouted about murder and mayhem and accute as her
(11:00):
fellow borders of being insane. That first night, one of
the boarders had a nightmare about her. The next day,
the rest of the tenants became so terrified of her
that they called the police. Bli later wrote that her
performance was the greatest of her life. The police took
her to court to stand in front of a judge.
Bli continued to play her role. The judge didn't take
(11:22):
long to send her to Bellevue for an evaluation. Now,
all Bligh had to do was fool the doctors. As
the doctors poked, prodded, and questioned her, Bli stared blankly,
and she told them she had no idea how she
got to New York. After the doctors determined that she
(11:44):
was not drugged, they declared her insane. Bli listened as
the doctors examined another woman till he Maynard. No matter
how many times Maynard asked for a test to prove
her sanity, the staff refused and locked her away for
being difficult. Another mean, an immigrant from Germany, pleaded with
the doctor in her native language. Unable to understand her,
(12:05):
he declared her anxiety in pleading word signs of insanity
and ordered her committed. Bli was stunned. Without any translator
or family, this woman and those like her would most
likely live out the rest of their lives at Blackwell.
Bli quickly dropped the insanity act, and, as it turned out,
being committed had little if anything to do with mental illness.
(12:28):
She and the others were ushered onto a ferry and
taken to Blackwell. The hundred and twenty acre island stretches
along the East River, running alongside Manhattan from fifty first
Street to eight Blackwell A later renamed Roosevelt Island, had
one more name, Welfare Island. The island contained more than
(12:48):
the asylum. It included prisons, hospitals, and charity housing for
the needy and disabled. I'll told eleven institutions existed on
the island In eighteen seventy two. The asylum, which had
been expanded to accommodate around a thousand patients, now housed
one thousand, six hundred. Just sixteen doctors were assigned to
(13:09):
care for all of them. Bli gathered her courage and
allowed the staff to take her inside. She made friends
with fellow inmates and asked for their stories. She found
many were not clinically insane at all. Immigrant women who
couldn't speak English had been declared incompetent. Indigent women without
husbands or family had also been committed. Given their treatment,
(13:32):
Bli had no doubt that anyone who arrived saying wouldn't
remain that way long. Patients suffered immense cruelty from the
doctors and staff. The staff forced Blith and the others
to sit motionless, without speaking, on benches for up to
twelve hours. Anyone who dared complain or resist was beaten
or threatened, sometimes with sexual violence. They were harnessed together
(13:54):
like livestock and made the pull carts. Meals consisted of
moldy bread and other rotting food. The staff didn't provide utensils,
forcing the women to tear apart their food by hand.
Each patient was doused with buckets of cold water instead
of showering. At night, she and the others slept with
pillows stuffed with straw and blankets too thin to keep
(14:15):
them warm. In the dark, a woman sobbed and pleaded
with God to let her die over several days, Bly
witnessed more abuse. Tillie Maynard suffered a seizure. Instead of
offering help, the nurses cursed her. One told the others
that have falled to the floor might teach Maynard a lesson.
Nurses threw another woman into a closet for muttering to herself.
(14:37):
The staff slapped and punched the patients. Nurses nearly choked
one woman to death. The patients were tied up with
bed sheets and dunked in frigid water. Beatings with broomsticks
were common. Doses of morphine and coral hydrate were administered
liberally and created addictions in some patients, and doctors continued
to examine and questioned Bly. The more she declared herself, saying,
(14:59):
the more they doubt at her. After ten excruciating days,
her editor sent a lawyer to secure her release. Freedom
was bitter sweet. Although she was glad to put the
experience and blackwell behind her, Bly felt determined to help
those she had left behind. In October seven, the first
installment of her story, titled Behind Asylum, Bars hit the
(15:21):
streets and Bly became an instant media sensation. Authorities immediately
launched an investigation doctors and nurses scrambled to cover up
the allegations. Patients who had been committed were released or
transferred to prevent them from speaking to investigators. The investigators
pursued the charges for months, and no one was happier
(15:41):
to be summoned before a grand jury than Nellie bly.
Despite the asylum's attempted to cover up, the jury believed
her account. Blive and New York Assistant District Attorney Vernon
Davis worked to bring about reform in mental institutions. A
bill was passed allowing additional funding. Regulations monitoring staff and
patient care followed. After it was over, Nellie Bligh returned home.
(16:05):
She slept easier knowing that she had not only helped
those she left behind a Blackwell, but also other patients
in mental hospitals throughout the state. After her Blackwell Asylum
expos a, Bligh's career took off, it should proven that
women were equally capable of investigative reporting as their male counterparts.
(16:27):
Two years later, she made the news again. She asked
her editor at The World News to send her around
the world, though not as an investigator. Bli suggested a
publicity stunt readers would love, she would travel around the
globe and try to match Jules Verne's fictional voyage around
the world in eighty days. Paper sales soared as readers
(16:48):
kept track of Blige's whereabouts. The paper hosted a contest
with the prize of a European trip for anyone who
could guess Blig's return date. While in France, Bli stopped
to meet Jules Verne briefly. The clock was ticking, after all.
She arrived back in New York seventy two days later,
beating the fictional record. Bli had become a household name
(17:10):
and one of the most well known journalists in America.
Although the paper sold more copies than ever, her editor
refused to give her a raise or a bonus. She
left and went on tour as a lecturer and novelist,
recounting her trip around the world. Employment came knocking once
more when a publisher contracted her to write fiction for
three years, earning her far more than she ever had
(17:32):
at the paper. When new editors took over the World
News in three they convinced Bli to return, but by
the age of thirty, she retired from reporting and married
Robert Livingston. Seaman, the millionaire owner of the iron Clad
Manufacturing Company. She co ran her husband's company, even designing
a milk can and patenting the first fifty five gallons
(17:53):
steel drum. Robert died in nineteen o four, leaving Bli
to run the company alone. She added employees with healthcare, libraries,
and even a gym. The company failed, though a factory
manager's embezzlement helped bankrupt it. Bli returned to writing covering
women's rights for the New York Evening Journal. She accurately
(18:14):
predicted that women wouldn't get the right to vote until
nineteen twenty. Her number of firsts weren't complete, though. Bli
became the world's first woman to cover the front lines
as a foreign correspondent during World War One, where she
was briefly arrested when authorities mistook her for a British spy.
She continued writing about the war after returning to New York.
(18:35):
In nine two, Bli became ill with pneumonia. She died
at St. Mark's Hospital at age fifty seven and was
buried at a simple grave at Wood Lawn. In nineteen
seventy eight, the New York Press Club purchased a proper
headstone for her grave site, and in nine Bli was
inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Four years later,
(18:56):
she and other women journalists were honored on American post stamps.
Even then, Nellie Bligh wasn't done. A monument was erected
in consisting of multiple pieces sprawling along a walkway. The
faces of four women, each rendered seven feet tall and
bronze interspersed with large mirrored spheres, then invite the viewer
(19:17):
to see the statues and themselves and the reflections, all
leading to a bronze statue of Blith's face observing all.
Designed by artist Amanda Matthews, the memorial honors Blig's courageous
life and outstanding journalism, along with other women who have
helped reshape the world. The monument, named the Girl Puzzle
after Bligh's first article, stands in Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island.
(19:42):
The location isn't far from where she went undercover at
Blackwell Asylum. The asylum itself, along with many other original buildings,
fell into disrepair. An octagon shaped tower is all that's left.
I've been there. It's a quieting place, once a house
of horror. Blackwell now stands in ruins and in the
(20:03):
shadow of the bronze monument. There's more to this story.
Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all
about it. On February eighth, nine seven, Evelyn Nesbitt took
to the witness stand, heart pounding. All eyes were on her.
(20:26):
Yet it wasn't the black curls framing her flawless complexion
that caught their attention. It wasn't her famous beauty or
status is a well known model that had everyone's focus.
It was her testimony. She recounted the events as that
unfolded with Stanford White, new York's top architect, and while
he was well known for designing homes for the city's
(20:47):
wealthy elite, he harbored a dark secret. Evelyn told the
court how Stanford had insisted she'd drink the champagne he
had handed her, despite telling him that it tasted terrible.
Everything went black. Shortly afterward, she awoke naked in a
room full of mirrors and realized what had happened. The
memory caused her to tremble and collapse on the stand.
(21:09):
I can't, I can't go on, she sobbed. The court
waited anyway, Evelyn bravely pushed on with the events. When
she realized Stanford had raped her, Evelyn screamed. Stanford told
her it was over now and that she should be quiet.
He threw her a kimono to put on and left
the room for a while. She screamed harder than before.
(21:30):
Evelyn raised her eyes to look at the courtroom and
primarily filled with men, except for the small table in
the corner where four women sat in n seven women
weren't permitted in a courtroom unless they were relatives or witnesses.
The women, Dorothy Dix, Winnifred Black, Nicola Greeley Smith, and
Ada Patterson, weren't either of those. They were journalists sent
(21:53):
to cover what some called the trial of the century.
Yet Stanford wasn't on trial for sexual salt. Evelyn had
been called to testify in the murder trial being conducted
against her husband, Harry Thaw, a feigned heir to a
railroad fortune. Evelyn worked as a professional model, posing for
everything from the Gibson Girl Drawings to several top magazines.
(22:15):
She served as an inspiration for Anne of Green Gables.
Her beauty meant that she had plenty of suitors, including
Stanford White. She was sixteen when they met and he
was forty eight. Though Stanford was married, he groomed Evelyn
and her mother for what was to come. He bought
them expensive gifts and paid for their apartment. Stanford had
(22:36):
a long history of grooming young girls for sex. He
and other members of the Union Club participated in orgies
and other sexual escapades. Reportedly, the ultra rich new of
Stanford's affinity for underaged girls, and that depravity made the
story much more interesting to the public. Even after the assault,
Stanford pursued Evelyn with the help of her mother. Feeling helpless,
(23:00):
Evelyn remained trapped in the abusive relationship for six months.
When she turned seventeen, Evelyn broke away from the relationship
and dated twenty one year old actor John Barrymore. Unfortunately,
both Stanford and her mother conspired to end the relationship.
Barrymore was down on his luck and Stanford had plenty
of money. But another suitor was equally taken with Evelyn,
(23:23):
harry Thaw. He first met her while she starred in
the Broadway show The Wild Rose. He attended forty times,
sending Evelyn flowers and lavish gifts. Aside from his attraction
to Evelyn, Harry knew about Stanford's preference for having sex
with miners and felt compelled to save her. When Evelyn
developed pendicitis, Harry was at her side at the hospital
(23:46):
while she healed. He offered to take Evelyn and her
mother on a trip to Europe. After their arrival, Evelyn
told Harry about the attack. Harry misused drugs and frequently
experienced fits of rage and mental instability. Evelyn knew this,
but when Harry proposed, she accepted. The two married on
April five of nineteen o five. A year later, in
(24:08):
June of nineteen o six, Evelyn and Harry attended a
musical at Madison Square Garden. Harry caught sight of Stanford
setting a few rows away. Harry stood fists clenching. Evelyn
asked to leave. She thought her husband was behind her,
but when she reached the elevator he was nowhere to
be found. Then she heard the shots. When the police arrived,
(24:31):
Harry insisted Hid shot Stanford for the atrocities committed against
his wife. The case was a field day for the press,
and the four women sitting at the table in the
courtroom took to Evelyn's story with enthusiasm and heart. When
their stories appeared, journalist Irving Cobb commented on their emotional
retelling and dubbed them the Sob Sisters. Despite this derogatory nickname,
(24:55):
it said that the women's stories helped effect the trial's outcome.
After to try else, Harry Thaw was found not guilty
by reason of insanity. All four women had successful careers
telling human stories and ways that, like Nellie Bly, reshaped journalism.
(25:18):
American Shadows is hosted by me Lauren Vogelbaum, researched by
Genneros That are Caught, and produced by Jesse Funk and
Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and
Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit Grim
and Mild dot com. And four more podcasts from my
Heart Radio visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
(25:41):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Just heads up. This episode contains references to sexual assault.
Please take care while listening. You're listening to American Shadows,
a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild
from Aaron Mankey. Ambitious, intelligent, and fearless journalist Sandy Fox
(00:26):
would do anything for a story, and the tall, handsome,
younger man smiling at her at the hotel bar was
about to become her biggest story. Her wit and beauty
attracted men wherever she went, and younger men were a favorite.
And though she didn't care much for the floral tie,
her new admirer war His movie star good looks and
(00:47):
hair she later described as the color of Scotch and
water intrigued her, but still she politely declined his offer
to dance. It had been a trying day. The Fox
had spent the better part of it trying to get
an interview with former Vice President Spiro Agnew, unsuccessful. She
just wanted to unwind with a drinker too. In November
(01:08):
of nineteen seventy four, journalism was still mostly a man's job,
but she was determined to succeed. Divorced and in her
mid forties, English born Fox had recently accepted a one
month trial with an American newspaper. They paid for all
her expenses and flew her to Atlanta alone and board.
She left the bar and headed to the Atlanta Constitution office,
(01:30):
hoping to entice fellow journalists to show her around town.
No one offered. Fox returned to the hotel bar to
find the handsome man still there. He introduced himself as
Darrell Golden and asked if she had changed her mind
about that dance. This time she accepted. They hit it
off and sat and talked for a while. He told
(01:51):
her that he had traveled quite a bit and planned
to drive to Miami the next day. She told him
she was also traveling and leaving for West Palm Beach
in the morning. Golden suggested they share a ride. The
Fox choked that he could be a serial killer for
all she knew. The two laughed, then she finally accepted.
They spent the night together, and Golden told her he
(02:13):
wouldn't move long. His lawyer had secret tapes in a
vault and some one was bound to kill him. He
suggested that Fox write a book about him, and despite
this odd behavior in her misgivings, she spent the next
two days traveling with Golden once they arrived in West Palm.
Though Fox bid him farewell, Golden pleaded for one more night,
(02:35):
she declined. The following day, she learned that Golden had
picked up the wife of a fellow journalist and attempted
to rape her before she got away. As it turned out,
Darrell Golden was actually Paul Knowles, the infamous Casanova killer.
He'd escaped from prison and had killed women in multiple states. Later,
he had admit to killing thirty five women, though authorities
(02:58):
only tied him to eighteen. One month later, Knowles died
while attempting to escape. Fox returned to London with not
only a story to tell, but the realization that she
agreed with her former travel companion on one thing. She
would indeed write a book about him. Fox hadn't intentionally
placed herself in danger, but she wasn't the only female
(03:21):
journalist who would do anything for a story. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum.
Welcome to American Shadows. One day in eighteen eighty five,
the headline for the Pittsburgh Dispatch read what Girls Are
Good for? Erasmus Wilson, the father of five girls and
(03:42):
the papers most popular columnist, penned the story under the
pseudonym Quiet Observer. In the article, Wilson stated that a
woman's worth was housework and bearing children. He also said
that working women were monstrosities, perhaps naturally women readers didn't
take to Wilson's opinion. One angry woman anonymously wrote a
(04:03):
lengthy rebuttal, pointing out that women equally intelligent were not
given the same opportunities as men in the workplace. They
did their jobs as well as their male counterparts for
half the pay. The reader eloquently pointed out that a
woman's shortcomings were the men who held them back. Not
one to complain without a solution, the author made several
keen suggestions to enrich the lives of women and the
(04:26):
state of society. The letter caught the attention of George Madden,
the papers editor. He published a notice asking for the
anonymous author to step forward, and when Elizabeth Jane Cochrane
walked into his office, he offered her a job as
a reporter, and so began her wild career. Elizabeth was
no stranger to hard work and pushing to get ahead.
(04:49):
She had fourteen siblings. Her father, Michael, had ten children
with his first wife, But when she passed away. He
went Mary Jane Kennedy, also a widow. Kennedy Cochrane had
five children together. Elizabeth was born on May fifth of
eighteen sixty four and became her father's thirteen daughter. Superstition
about the numbers seemed to do little except to make
(05:11):
her more ambitious. Michael Cochrane died when Elizabeth was six
years old. Although he had been the successful judge and
prosperous landowner, his untimely death presented a serious financial hardship
for his second family. Some sources say his second family
had very little to live on by the time the
estate was divided among all his children. Others say Michael
(05:33):
died without a will, leaving Mary without access or claim
to his estate. Either way, the family struggled to make
ends meet and became destitute. Early on, Elizabeth realized that
survival meant earning a decent wage. Given the limited choices
presented to women, it was a monumental task, but Elizabeth
(05:54):
was smart and very determined. At fifteen, she enrolled in
a small school to become a teacher, but dropped out
when she could no longer afford classes. Instead, the mother
and daughter moved to Pittsburgh to run a boarding house.
She was just eighteen when she penned her controversial response
to Wilson's article, and after accepting the job as a reporter,
(06:16):
Elizabeth got straight to work. The editor wanted her to
have a catchy pseudonym, and her fellow journalists tossed around
a few suggestions, but one of them suggested Nellie Bly,
and it stuck. Pittsburgh songwriter Stephen Foster had made the
name famous in his song Nellie Bly, though he spelled
Nellie with a y instead of an I e. The
(06:37):
lyrics portrayed a young woman with fortitude and grit, traits
Elizabeth possessed, and with that, Elizabeth Cochrane became Nellie Bly.
A reporter for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Her new career gave
her the freedom to shine a light on a subject
She was passionate about women's issues. While she wrote about
all injustices, she primarily focused on working when men. Her
(07:00):
new career seemed nearly perfect, including the salary of five
dollars a week, at least for a while. Bli's articles
were highly controversial in the Victorian era. In her first article,
titled The Girl Puzzle, she argued that women needed better opportunities,
(07:22):
especially impoverished women. Even more radical, Blin made a case
for some women to remain single. She titled her second
article Mad Marriages, which called for divorce law reform. Blin
didn't stop there. To get to the heart of another story.
She went undercover working in a factory. Women at sweatshops
(07:43):
worked for pitiful wages. They endured unsafe working conditions and
unreasonably long hours to earn more money. Bli thought wealthy
business men taking advantage of women made for a great story.
The factory owners didn't agree. They had money and power,
and immediing le pressured George Madden to stop printing the stories.
(08:03):
Fearing repercussions from the city's elite and powerful, Madden reassigned
Bli to the Societal pages to cover more woman appropriate
topics like gardening, social events, and fashion. The reassignment didn't
sit well with Bli. She proposed that the paper center
to Mexico to write an article about life under Dictator
por Furio Diaz. Unfortunately, the assignment was cut short and
(08:27):
Bli returned home, where Madden promptly assigned her to the
Societal pages again. Bli wanted more out of her career
and quit. She wrote a note to Erasmus Wilson, addressing
him by his pen name dear q O. She wrote,
I'm off for New York. Look out for me, signed BLI.
(08:47):
For six months, she applied to one newspaper after another.
No one wanted to hire a woman journalist. Finally, she
landed an interview with John Cockrill, the managing editor for
Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. The paper had a long
standing reputation for provocative and sensationalist stories and captivating headlines.
Cockerell wanted someone who could deeply investigate tough topics and
(09:10):
write powerful stories. Bli assured Pulitzer and Cockerell that she
could get the job done. The men said that she'd
need something wild and over the top to secure the position.
In fact, they had just the assignment go undercover at
the Blackwell Island Insane Asylum. For years, rumors had swirled
around the conditions inside Blackwell. There were whispers of cruelty
(09:34):
and neglect. The job wouldn't be for the faint of heart,
they warned. Did she have enough courage to endure a
stay at Blackwell? And could she manage to fool doctors
and staff into believing she was insane. Bli replied that
she most definitely did and could. Cockerell cautioned her to
not write sensationalism for headline's sake. She must tell the truth,
(09:57):
good or bad. Again. Lie agreed. She assured them that
getting in would be easy. All she needed to do
was looking act like she had lost her mind, and
the real question was how her editors would get her out.
Cockerell shrugged and replied he had no idea. Bli took
the job. Her editors left it up to her to
(10:19):
figure out how to get inside Blackwell. She decided on
the persona of Nellie Brown. The initials matched her own
for simplicity's sake. For a while, she considered asking friends
for help, but that would have required them to act
and pretend to be poor and Blackwell when we took
in those without money, she decided the best plan was
(10:39):
to leave them out of it. She found tattered second
hand clothes to wear and rehearsed dazed expressions in front
of a mirror. She practiced acting strangely and stayed up
most of the night telling herself ghost stories fully In
her new role, Bli rented a room at a boarding house.
She shouted about murder and mayhem and accute as her
(11:00):
fellow borders of being insane. That first night, one of
the boarders had a nightmare about her. The next day,
the rest of the tenants became so terrified of her
that they called the police. Bli later wrote that her
performance was the greatest of her life. The police took
her to court to stand in front of a judge.
Bli continued to play her role. The judge didn't take
(11:22):
long to send her to Bellevue for an evaluation. Now,
all Bligh had to do was fool the doctors. As
the doctors poked, prodded, and questioned her, Bli stared blankly,
and she told them she had no idea how she
got to New York. After the doctors determined that she
(11:44):
was not drugged, they declared her insane. Bli listened as
the doctors examined another woman till he Maynard. No matter
how many times Maynard asked for a test to prove
her sanity, the staff refused and locked her away for
being difficult. Another mean, an immigrant from Germany, pleaded with
the doctor in her native language. Unable to understand her,
(12:05):
he declared her anxiety in pleading word signs of insanity
and ordered her committed. Bli was stunned. Without any translator
or family, this woman and those like her would most
likely live out the rest of their lives at Blackwell.
Bli quickly dropped the insanity act, and, as it turned out,
being committed had little if anything to do with mental illness.
(12:28):
She and the others were ushered onto a ferry and
taken to Blackwell. The hundred and twenty acre island stretches
along the East River, running alongside Manhattan from fifty first
Street to eight Blackwell A later renamed Roosevelt Island, had
one more name, Welfare Island. The island contained more than
(12:48):
the asylum. It included prisons, hospitals, and charity housing for
the needy and disabled. I'll told eleven institutions existed on
the island In eighteen seventy two. The asylum, which had
been expanded to accommodate around a thousand patients, now housed
one thousand, six hundred. Just sixteen doctors were assigned to
(13:09):
care for all of them. Bli gathered her courage and
allowed the staff to take her inside. She made friends
with fellow inmates and asked for their stories. She found
many were not clinically insane at all. Immigrant women who
couldn't speak English had been declared incompetent. Indigent women without
husbands or family had also been committed. Given their treatment,
(13:32):
Bli had no doubt that anyone who arrived saying wouldn't
remain that way long. Patients suffered immense cruelty from the
doctors and staff. The staff forced Blith and the others
to sit motionless, without speaking, on benches for up to
twelve hours. Anyone who dared complain or resist was beaten
or threatened, sometimes with sexual violence. They were harnessed together
(13:54):
like livestock and made the pull carts. Meals consisted of
moldy bread and other rotting food. The staff didn't provide utensils,
forcing the women to tear apart their food by hand.
Each patient was doused with buckets of cold water instead
of showering. At night, she and the others slept with
pillows stuffed with straw and blankets too thin to keep
(14:15):
them warm. In the dark, a woman sobbed and pleaded
with God to let her die over several days, Bly
witnessed more abuse. Tillie Maynard suffered a seizure. Instead of
offering help, the nurses cursed her. One told the others
that have falled to the floor might teach Maynard a lesson.
Nurses threw another woman into a closet for muttering to herself.
(14:37):
The staff slapped and punched the patients. Nurses nearly choked
one woman to death. The patients were tied up with
bed sheets and dunked in frigid water. Beatings with broomsticks
were common. Doses of morphine and coral hydrate were administered
liberally and created addictions in some patients, and doctors continued
to examine and questioned Bly. The more she declared herself, saying,
(14:59):
the more they doubt at her. After ten excruciating days,
her editor sent a lawyer to secure her release. Freedom
was bitter sweet. Although she was glad to put the
experience and blackwell behind her, Bly felt determined to help
those she had left behind. In October seven, the first
installment of her story, titled Behind Asylum, Bars hit the
(15:21):
streets and Bly became an instant media sensation. Authorities immediately
launched an investigation doctors and nurses scrambled to cover up
the allegations. Patients who had been committed were released or
transferred to prevent them from speaking to investigators. The investigators
pursued the charges for months, and no one was happier
(15:41):
to be summoned before a grand jury than Nellie bly.
Despite the asylum's attempted to cover up, the jury believed
her account. Blive and New York Assistant District Attorney Vernon
Davis worked to bring about reform in mental institutions. A
bill was passed allowing additional funding. Regulations monitoring staff and
patient care followed. After it was over, Nellie Bligh returned home.
(16:05):
She slept easier knowing that she had not only helped
those she left behind a Blackwell, but also other patients
in mental hospitals throughout the state. After her Blackwell Asylum
expos a, Bligh's career took off, it should proven that
women were equally capable of investigative reporting as their male counterparts.
(16:27):
Two years later, she made the news again. She asked
her editor at The World News to send her around
the world, though not as an investigator. Bli suggested a
publicity stunt readers would love, she would travel around the
globe and try to match Jules Verne's fictional voyage around
the world in eighty days. Paper sales soared as readers
(16:48):
kept track of Blige's whereabouts. The paper hosted a contest
with the prize of a European trip for anyone who
could guess Blig's return date. While in France, Bli stopped
to meet Jules Verne briefly. The clock was ticking, after all.
She arrived back in New York seventy two days later,
beating the fictional record. Bli had become a household name
(17:10):
and one of the most well known journalists in America.
Although the paper sold more copies than ever, her editor
refused to give her a raise or a bonus. She
left and went on tour as a lecturer and novelist,
recounting her trip around the world. Employment came knocking once
more when a publisher contracted her to write fiction for
three years, earning her far more than she ever had
(17:32):
at the paper. When new editors took over the World
News in three they convinced Bli to return, but by
the age of thirty, she retired from reporting and married
Robert Livingston. Seaman, the millionaire owner of the iron Clad
Manufacturing Company. She co ran her husband's company, even designing
a milk can and patenting the first fifty five gallons
(17:53):
steel drum. Robert died in nineteen o four, leaving Bli
to run the company alone. She added employees with healthcare, libraries,
and even a gym. The company failed, though a factory
manager's embezzlement helped bankrupt it. Bli returned to writing covering
women's rights for the New York Evening Journal. She accurately
(18:14):
predicted that women wouldn't get the right to vote until
nineteen twenty. Her number of firsts weren't complete, though. Bli
became the world's first woman to cover the front lines
as a foreign correspondent during World War One, where she
was briefly arrested when authorities mistook her for a British spy.
She continued writing about the war after returning to New York.
(18:35):
In nine two, Bli became ill with pneumonia. She died
at St. Mark's Hospital at age fifty seven and was
buried at a simple grave at Wood Lawn. In nineteen
seventy eight, the New York Press Club purchased a proper
headstone for her grave site, and in nine Bli was
inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Four years later,
(18:56):
she and other women journalists were honored on American post stamps.
Even then, Nellie Bligh wasn't done. A monument was erected
in consisting of multiple pieces sprawling along a walkway. The
faces of four women, each rendered seven feet tall and
bronze interspersed with large mirrored spheres, then invite the viewer
(19:17):
to see the statues and themselves and the reflections, all
leading to a bronze statue of Blith's face observing all.
Designed by artist Amanda Matthews, the memorial honors Blig's courageous
life and outstanding journalism, along with other women who have
helped reshape the world. The monument, named the Girl Puzzle
after Bligh's first article, stands in Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island.
(19:42):
The location isn't far from where she went undercover at
Blackwell Asylum. The asylum itself, along with many other original buildings,
fell into disrepair. An octagon shaped tower is all that's left.
I've been there. It's a quieting place, once a house
of horror. Blackwell now stands in ruins and in the
(20:03):
shadow of the bronze monument. There's more to this story.
Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all
about it. On February eighth, nine seven, Evelyn Nesbitt took
to the witness stand, heart pounding. All eyes were on her.
(20:26):
Yet it wasn't the black curls framing her flawless complexion
that caught their attention. It wasn't her famous beauty or
status is a well known model that had everyone's focus.
It was her testimony. She recounted the events as that
unfolded with Stanford White, new York's top architect, and while
he was well known for designing homes for the city's
(20:47):
wealthy elite, he harbored a dark secret. Evelyn told the
court how Stanford had insisted she'd drink the champagne he
had handed her, despite telling him that it tasted terrible.
Everything went black. Shortly afterward, she awoke naked in a
room full of mirrors and realized what had happened. The
memory caused her to tremble and collapse on the stand.
(21:09):
I can't, I can't go on, she sobbed. The court
waited anyway, Evelyn bravely pushed on with the events. When
she realized Stanford had raped her, Evelyn screamed. Stanford told
her it was over now and that she should be quiet.
He threw her a kimono to put on and left
the room for a while. She screamed harder than before.
(21:30):
Evelyn raised her eyes to look at the courtroom and
primarily filled with men, except for the small table in
the corner where four women sat in n seven women
weren't permitted in a courtroom unless they were relatives or witnesses.
The women, Dorothy Dix, Winnifred Black, Nicola Greeley Smith, and
Ada Patterson, weren't either of those. They were journalists sent
(21:53):
to cover what some called the trial of the century.
Yet Stanford wasn't on trial for sexual salt. Evelyn had
been called to testify in the murder trial being conducted
against her husband, Harry Thaw, a feigned heir to a
railroad fortune. Evelyn worked as a professional model, posing for
everything from the Gibson Girl Drawings to several top magazines.
(22:15):
She served as an inspiration for Anne of Green Gables.
Her beauty meant that she had plenty of suitors, including
Stanford White. She was sixteen when they met and he
was forty eight. Though Stanford was married, he groomed Evelyn
and her mother for what was to come. He bought
them expensive gifts and paid for their apartment. Stanford had
(22:36):
a long history of grooming young girls for sex. He
and other members of the Union Club participated in orgies
and other sexual escapades. Reportedly, the ultra rich new of
Stanford's affinity for underaged girls, and that depravity made the
story much more interesting to the public. Even after the assault,
Stanford pursued Evelyn with the help of her mother. Feeling helpless,
(23:00):
Evelyn remained trapped in the abusive relationship for six months.
When she turned seventeen, Evelyn broke away from the relationship
and dated twenty one year old actor John Barrymore. Unfortunately,
both Stanford and her mother conspired to end the relationship.
Barrymore was down on his luck and Stanford had plenty
of money. But another suitor was equally taken with Evelyn,
(23:23):
harry Thaw. He first met her while she starred in
the Broadway show The Wild Rose. He attended forty times,
sending Evelyn flowers and lavish gifts. Aside from his attraction
to Evelyn, Harry knew about Stanford's preference for having sex
with miners and felt compelled to save her. When Evelyn
developed pendicitis, Harry was at her side at the hospital
(23:46):
while she healed. He offered to take Evelyn and her
mother on a trip to Europe. After their arrival, Evelyn
told Harry about the attack. Harry misused drugs and frequently
experienced fits of rage and mental instability. Evelyn knew this,
but when Harry proposed, she accepted. The two married on
April five of nineteen o five. A year later, in
(24:08):
June of nineteen o six, Evelyn and Harry attended a
musical at Madison Square Garden. Harry caught sight of Stanford
setting a few rows away. Harry stood fists clenching. Evelyn
asked to leave. She thought her husband was behind her,
but when she reached the elevator he was nowhere to
be found. Then she heard the shots. When the police arrived,
(24:31):
Harry insisted Hid shot Stanford for the atrocities committed against
his wife. The case was a field day for the press,
and the four women sitting at the table in the
courtroom took to Evelyn's story with enthusiasm and heart. When
their stories appeared, journalist Irving Cobb commented on their emotional
retelling and dubbed them the Sob Sisters. Despite this derogatory nickname,
(24:55):
it said that the women's stories helped effect the trial's outcome.
After to try else, Harry Thaw was found not guilty
by reason of insanity. All four women had successful careers
telling human stories and ways that, like Nellie Bly, reshaped journalism.
(25:18):
American Shadows is hosted by me Lauren Vogelbaum, researched by
Genneros That are Caught, and produced by Jesse Funk and
Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and
Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit Grim
and Mild dot com. And four more podcasts from my
Heart Radio visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
(25:41):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.