Mischief Makers: “Big” Bertha Heyman

Bertha Heyman (1851-unknown) was a confidence queen who fleeced men out of thousands of dollars using her smarts and charisma – despite her unconventional looks.

This month, we’re talking about Mischief Makers:  oddballs, chameleons, and nonconformists. Queens of quick wit.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more.  Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures. 

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Abbey Delk. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. 

Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello for Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month, we're talking about mischief makers, oddballs, chameleons,
and nonconformists, queens of quick wit. Today we're talking about
a confidence queen who fleeced men out of thousands of
dollars using her smarts and charisma despite her unconventional looks.

(00:25):
Let's talk about Big Bertha Heyman. Bertha Schlessinger was born
in Prussia in eighteen fifty one. She did not have
the best role models growing up. Her father spent five
years in jail for forging checks, setting in motion a
long line of cons and swindles for Bertha. In eighteen

(00:49):
seventy eight, Bertha moved to the United States. Her first
stop was New York, where she met and married her
first husband, Fritz Cargo. Bertha then moved to Milwaukee and
married her second time husband, John Hayman. Bertha was still
legally married to her first husband when she married John,
but she took Hayman as a last name anyway. At

(01:10):
five feet four inches and two hundred and fifty pounds,
Bertha was a force. She was described as elephantine and unattractive,
but she had enough charisma to charm any man, and
charm she did. Bertha often claimed to be an extremely
wealthy woman who had trouble accessing her accounts. All she

(01:32):
needed was a generous man to lend her some money.
When Bertha received the loan, she disappeared with the cash
and never paid the unsuspecting man back. Bertha would also
drift around cities, stealing jewelry and forging checks, which often
landed her in jail, But jail didn't stop Bertha's cons

(01:52):
She once tricked one of her visitors into giving her
nine hundred dollars the equivalent of more like twenty thousand
dollars today. Bertha then used that cash to bribe the
warden for special treatment. The Department of Corrections investigated this
strange scenario and revealed that Bertha swindled her into a
work detail at the warden's home as a servant. Bertha

(02:13):
was eventually released from jail, and by February eighteen eighty eight,
she'd made her way to San Francisco. There, Bertha visited
the chief rabbi of a temple and started spinning another story.
Using a false last name, she claimed she was a widow.
She had inherited three hundred thousand dollars from her first husband,

(02:35):
and she was looking for a new Jewish husband and
father for her step son, Willie. Willie was actually just
a friend of hers. To seal the deal, Bertha also
offered one thousand dollars to the person who could help
her find the right man. Luckily for her, the rabbi's
brother in law, Abraham, was a wealthy businessman and single.

(03:00):
Abraham quickly fell for Bertha. He proposed, and Bertha charmed
her way to the temple's top social circle. Her thousand
dollars donation bought her invitation to many parties. When Abraham
pushed for marriage, Bertha claimed Willie disagreed with the union.
Abraham lent him money to gain approval. With the cash
and some stolen jewels in hand, Bertha and Willie took

(03:23):
off Bertha's check to the temple bounced, and Abraham went
to the police. When he described Bertha, the detective took
out the book Professional Criminals of America by Thomas F.
Burns and asked, is this the woman? There was a
picture of Bertha above the caption. Bertha Hayman alias Big Bertha,

(03:45):
Confidence Queen Willie and Bertha were eventually captured and arrested
in Texas. News of the crime spread like wildfire, and
Bertha became a media darling. Her outraged innocence caught the eye.
I have a show promoter who bailed her out of
jail and gave her a one woman's show. Bertha had

(04:05):
swindled herself into celebrity. Still, Bertha couldn't help herself. One night,
after a show, she told her promoter that her suitcase
had a false bottom with ten thousand dollars in Canadian
bonds and jewelry inside. She eventually convinced him to buy
the trunk, but before the sale went through, he snuck

(04:27):
into her room and discovered the grift. Bertha was always
intentional about her cons. She didn't look for an easy mark,
and she reveled in the art of trickery. She once said,
the moment I discover a man's a fool, I let
him drop. But I delight in getting into the confidence
and pockets of men who think they can't be skinned.

(04:47):
It ministers to my intellectual pride. Eventually, Bertha faded from
the public eye. It's unclear exactly how and when she died.
All month, we're talking about mischief makers. For more information,
check us out on Facebook and Instagram at Wimanica Podcast
special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator.

(05:10):
Talk to you tomorrow