52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks: Surprise

Ironton, Iron County, Missouri May, 1878

As I take my seat in the back of the courtroom, I scrunch myself onto the crowded bench. The courtroom is packed with curiosity seekers. They all want to view the face of the accused woman…accused of murder…accused of murder of a child.

This criminal case had taken many years to come to trial. The accused had used tactics to delay it, to change the venue, to play her cards just right. Were her actions that of a mentally ill defendant or that of a skilled actress? The element of surprise in this case was that the defendant was able to bring the legal wheels of justice to many screeching halts.

On trial is Rosabelle Rebecca Eldridge Freeland Eads Howard Boltinghouse, aged 49 years old. She had been described as “a beautiful fiend in a human body”. So many stories about her…about her four marriages…about her alleged conspiracy to do away with her parents so she could inherit their land…about her dealings with horse thief Joe Howard who had been hung by vigilantes…about her hysterics and fainting in another courtroom in another county. Rumors had it that vigilantes wanted to hang her, too, to get justice done and over. She has been escorted by armed guards from her hotel to the jail in the middle of the night…a hotel she had refused to leave. Doctors assigned by the court have examined her to determine if she was playing it for all it was worth or is really mentally ill.

Rosabelle is accused of murdering a 6 year old boy, whom she had adopted. The murder took place on 1 April 1872. When little Louis Taylor had lied to her about stealing three eggs, she beat him with an axe handle until he was deceased. She asked her lover Charles Eads to help her hide the body. All of this had been witnessed by the boy’s older sister, Mary Josephine Taylor. A few days later, she and Eads left the older sister in a deserted area of mountains to die so there would be no living witness. Eads left for parts unknown while Rosabelle headed to St. Louis.

Eads was apprehended after several years…the older sister had lived and reported the crime to authorities. He was arrested and jailed. While there, he wrote letters to Mrs. Rosa Boltinghouse in St. Louis. Jailers and detectives took note and decided to seek out this Mrs. Boltinghouse as they felt this was his accomplice they were seeking.

When located in St. Louis, she was found to be living with a Frank Boltinghouse. She stated that she was expecting a child as she pleaded with authorities not to arrest her. She was arrested and jailed. Frank came to the jail to see her. He reported that Rosabelle was his mistress. He stated his age as 24 when in actuality he was only 15. They were married in a police captain’s office. There are no records of the expected child…was that another ruse?

And so six years later, the day of the trial has finally come. Dressed in black, the defendant enters the courtroom. She swoons and asks to be lie down on a bench. Groaning and screaming, she attempts to delay the proceedings. This time, Rosa will not be successful. The main witness for the prosecution is the older sister, Mary Josephine, who was left to die. She is now 20 years old and remembers that murderous day so well. She testifies. When the jury returns with a verdict, Rosa is found guilty of second degree murder. It will be three years later when she will begin her sentence of 10 years in the penitentiary. No surprise…convicted at last. But was justice done with serving only a ten year sentence?

~Reported by MaryAnne Slabik-Haffner, 21st Century Time Traveler

Note: Frank Boltinghouse was my second great uncle. Divorce records cannot be located for the couple. The trial was covered by newspapers from Cincinnati, Ohio, to St. Louis, Missouri. Rosa would serve her time, return to St. Louis, and pass away in 1900.