I am an avid genealogist. The past is very important to me. I spend a lot of time in cemeteries photographing tombstones to upload on the website FindAGrave.
I enjoy recognizing long dead people by putting memorials to them online. However, every once and a while something grabs me about a specific grave. It could be the name, or the dates or a ceramic photo. In those cases, I feel compelled to dig a little deeper. That's what this series of blogs is about: The tales behind those graves. Some of my subjects will be heroes. Some will be villains. Some will be victims. And some will linger in between, like most of us. However, don't be surprised if the tales are inherently tragic. These are grave tales. They all end in death.
I return to one of my favorite cemeteries, Ohr Knesseth Israel Anshe Sfard Cemetery, for the tale of Samuel Shlian. I was drawn to research him because of his youth at the time of his death. He was only eighteen-years-old. Of course, when you combine Samuel's age with his date of death, 17 May 1944, you would naturally assume that he was a casualty of World War II. But you'd be wrong. He, instead, was a possible victim of murder by elevator.
The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 18 May 1944, Thursday:
ELEVATOR DEATH ARREST MADE
An elevator operator today was released on bail for a later hearing on possible manslaughter charges as the result of a fellow employe's death from injuries caused by an industrial plant elevator.
Samuel Shlian, 18, of 2813 Keyworth avenue, shipping clerk at a knitwear factory in the 300 block of West Baltimore street, was struck on the head yesterday by a descending elevator operated by Lafayette Tracey, a Negro, 58, of 409 George street, it was reported to police.
Police were told that Shlian looked into the elevator shaft as the freight elevator reached the same floor. He died later at University Hospital. Tracey was released by Western District Magistrate Preston A. Pairo on $1,000 bail on a charge of assaulting and striking Shlian with an elevator and causing the man's death.
Wow. That headline got me interested. Murder by elevator? I wanted to know more. Sadly, I could find no follow-up stories. There were no further references to Lafayette Tracey at all, and I searched for him under a couple of alternate spelling. (The newspapers at the time were rather careless with spelling.)
Obviously, the charge of manslaughter proved groundless or there would have been newspaper articles about a trial. When I first read this story, I suspected the charge might have been based on racism. After all, the newspaper was quick to point out Tracey's race, while not mentioning Shlian's race. However, I have softened my opinion after subsequently reading many other stories about accidental deaths during this period. It seemed that the police tended to arrest people involved in a death first, and then ask questions later, regardless of the race of the suspect. I can't say there was no racism involved in this case, but the actions of the police seemed consistent with their normal procedures at the time.
The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 18 May 1944, Thursday:
SHLIAN--On May 17, 1944, SAMUEL, beloved son of the late Benjamin and Ida Shlian and the brother of Miss Rose Shlian, Mrs. Tillie Goldstein, Staff Sergeant Max Shlian and Corporal Louis Shlian, USA. Services at the Jack Lewis Home, 20110-02 Eutaw Place, on Friday morning, May 19, precisely at 11 o'clock. Interment in Anshe Sphard Congregation Cemetery, Hebrew Mount Carmel. [Kindly omit flowers.] In mourning at 2813 Keyworth avenue.
The death notice gives you an idea of the hole Samuel's death must have left in the family. His parents were already dead. His mother
Ida had died in 1929, but his father
Benjamin died recently in April of 1943. Samuel's two older brothers were fighting overseas so their survival was not guaranteed. In fact, a later story in the newspaper indicated that brother Max would be wounded in the shoulder soon afterwards on June 15th. I can imagine the heartache the two sisters must have felt knowing that all of their immediate male relatives were either dead or in harm's way. Fortunately, both of Samuel's brothers would survive the war. But, sadly, Samuel would not be waiting for them when when they arrived home.
Samuel's story touched me because it reminded me of a tale from my own family. My first cousin, 3 times removed,
Vincent Klima, was allowed to stay home from World War I to look after his widowed mother and three sisters while his younger brother James went to war. Vincent would die on the home front as a result of the Spanish Influenza. Sadly, James would die soon afterwards in France leaving the family without a male heir.
Remember, there is a story behind every grave. You never know what you're missing when you walk past one...
Grave Tales:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Learn more about the book, click
Here.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An IntroductionThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The HouseThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is UsThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, ArrivalThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, MethodologyThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's TaleThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
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