Murder of Elsie Sigel

Elsie Sigel (1889 – June 1909) was a granddaughter of General Franz Sigel, and the victim of a notorious murder at the age of 19 in New York City in 1909.

The Chinatown mission at 10 Mott Street where Sigel volunteered, viewed from the balcony of the Port Arthur Restaurant.
Elsie Sigel
L-R: Elsie Sigel; Chong Sing (witness); Mabel and Paul Sigel (sister and father). From the Los Angeles Herald, 27 June 1909.
L-R: Elsie Sigel; Chong Sing (witness); Mabel and Paul Sigel (sister and father). From the Los Angeles Herald, 27 June 1909.
Born1888
DiedJune 9, 1909 (age 20-21)
New York City, New York
Body discovered18 June 1909
NationalityAmerican
Occupationmissionary
Known forBeing murdered

Sigel, who had been a missionary in Chinatown, was found strangled inside a trunk on June 18th 1909 in the apartment of the prime suspect, a Chinese man named "William" Leon Ling, a waiter in a Chinese restaurant.[1] Sigel had been missing since June 9th, when she was last seen leaving her parents' apartment to visit her grandmother.[1]

Background
Sigel's body was found on the top floor of 782 8th Avenue.

Sigel's mother taught a Chinese Sunday school class in St. Andrew's Church at 127th Street and Fifth Avenue,[2] while Sigel did missionary work at the Chinatown Rescue Settlement and Recreation Room,[2] reaching out to "American, English, German, French, Hebrew, Italian, [and] Bohemian" girls who had gotten involved with drugs and prostitution.[3] Four years prior to the murder, Leon had kept a chop suey restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue, close to the Sigel home, and Sigel and her mother had first met Leon there during missionary rounds of the local Chinese restaurants.[2]

Investigation

During the murder investigation, 35 love letters signed by Sigel were found in Leon's apartment, along with numerous letters from other women.[1] It was speculated that the motive for murder might have been jealousy, as Chu Gain, manager of the Port Arthur Restaurant on Mott Street, was also found to be in possession of recent love letters from Sigel. Chu reported that he had recently received an anonymous letter threatening Sigel's life if they did not cut off their relationship.[2] Leon was never apprehended, and the murder remains unsolved.

Aftermath

Sigel's murder gained widespread notoriety due to the inter-racial aspects of the relationship as well as the fame of her grandfather, Franz Sigel, who was a U.S. Civil War general. The murder set off a wave of anti-Chinese hysteria, as well as suggestions that the murder was Sigel's own fault. The murder became the subject of a play, The Chinatown Trunk Mystery, which was performed around the country.[4]

See also

References
  1. "FIND MISS SIGEL DEAD IN TRUNK;" (PDF). The New York Times. June 19, 1909. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  2. "ARREST FRIEND OF MISS SIGEL;" (PDF). The New York Times. June 20, 1909. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  3. Woods, Robert Archey; Kennedy, Albert Joseph (1911). Handbook of Settlements. New York: Charities Publication Committee.
  4. "Drama Exploits Fiendish Crimes" (PDF). San Francisco Call. 12 February 1911. p. 28. Retrieved 20 February 2023.

Bibliography
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