Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told

Unraveling the Threads: Capone, Cons, and a Child's Survival

• Natalie Zett • Season 2 • Episode 73

Share episode

Send us a text

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of sensitive topics that may be distressing to some listeners. We cover historical events involving child abuse, exploitation, and trauma related to the aftermath of the Eastland disaster. The second half of the episode includes descriptions of violence against a minor. Listener discretion is advised. If you find these topics particularly difficult, please prioritize your mental health and well-being. Remember, it's okay to pause or stop listening if needed.

Welcome to episode 73 of Flower in the River podcast! This week, I'm diving into two intriguing stories connected to my family's Chicago history and the 1915 Eastland disaster.

In the first part, I share a goofy yet fascinating tale about my extended family's unexpected connection to Al Capone in Cicero, Illinois. My uncle's father, a skilled upholsterer, was often blindfolded and taken to secret locations to work for Capone and his henchmen. We explore the possible reasons behind this curious arrangement.

But wait, there’s more! My Aunt worked for the Chicago Daily News, a real-life newsroom adventure that adds a dash of old-school journalism glamour to our family's story.

The second part of the episode takes a more somber turn as we investigate a disturbing story related to the Eastland disaster's aftermath. I discuss the case of Doly Schappacher, an 11-year-old girl whose father exploited the tragedy for personal gain. This heart-wrenching tale sheds light on the vulnerabilities of children in the early 20th century and raises important questions about the fate of genuine Eastland orphans.

Key points covered:

  • My family's unexpected connection to Al Capone
  • My aunt's work with the Chicago Daily News 
  • The story of Doly Schappacher and how the Eastland disaster was exploited
  • The importance of uncovering and sharing these hidden histories
  • A call for further research into what happened to Eastland orphans

Thank you for listening to this challenging yet important episode. Don't forget to subscribe and visit flowerintheriver.com for more information. The podcast and my book are dedicated to the memory of all who experienced the Eastland disaster of 1915.

Music:
ArtList

Links:
The Day Book

Speaker 1:

Hello, I'm Natalie Zett and welcome to Flower in the River. This podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery. Hey, this is Natalie, and welcome to Episode 73 of Flower in the River Podcast. I hope you had a good week and yes, that's my papers rustling in the background. I have so many of them for this episode and, without further ado, I am going to jump in and tell you the extremely goofy story about my extended family's connection to Al Capone in Cicero, illinois. We covered Cicero a couple of episodes ago and it will repeat a few times because a lot of the action took place there. So I'm assuming that Al Capone and the Chicago outfit need no introduction, and for reasons we don't quite understand, al Scarface Capone is someone whose fame or infamy lives on. Fame or infamy lives on, and for a while he set up shop in Cicero, illinois. In fact, you would say he took it over and this was in the 1920s, and I'm going to share that story in the first part of this episode. Now the second part is going to be difficult to talk about. I'm going to introduce you to two people who make Al Capone look good. I'm not kidding, and this story has to do with orphans and the Eastland disaster. That topic is something that's difficult for you to listen to. I understand it was actually one of the more difficult things for me to research and it's going to be difficult to share. I'll tell you that out the gate. But it needs to be talked about because, once again, it's one of those things that has not been discussed as much as it ought to be discussed, and it is part of what happens when a huge disaster occurs, so we'll talk about that as well. So in the last couple of months I've ended up with a lot of new listeners and that's really exciting for me and I'm glad you keep coming back. But I'll need to stop for a little bit and give you background and introduction to my family so you understand what all of this is about.

Speaker 1:

So, growing up, we were not aware of our family's deep Chicago history. I was born like so many other members of my family were born in Johnstown, pennsylvania. My branch of the family went to Cleveland and from there I went all over the place. But our immigrant origins are all in Johnstown and from there people branched off. One branch went to Chicago and this is where most of my mother's family ended up and had her own mother lived. My mother would have, of course, understood her own Chicago connection and in turn we would have also understood that Chicago connection and in turn we would have also understood that Chicago connection and perhaps we would have spent our summers visiting family in Chicago. But things didn't work out that way.

Speaker 1:

But my Aunt, pearl that would be Pearl Donovan Cerny, who was my mother's older half-sister when she was in her 80s she bridged that gap by documenting the family's history, including our extremely deep roots in Chicago and our connection to the Eastland disaster. But our family had other connections as well. Pearl's father he's my step-grandfather was a teamster and he was part of the Irish gang in Chicago. We don't have a lot of details on that, but his death at age 27 is still a bit of a head-scratcher and Pearl again is responsible for this. I call it the book of shadows, this family history that she provided. That changed my life and thus I created a fictionalized version of her for my book.

Speaker 1:

Flower in the River and Pearl was a journalist working for many, many papers in Chicago, including the Chicago Herald, but I don't think I ever shared her actual words with you, and I want to do so now. She left a bunch of papers behind for me to sort through, and I do mean a bunch. So, beyond our family history, she has some personal stories as well, and I've never shared those before. But I want her to talk to you so you can hear her words, and she's opening with this story. So her mother, who's also my mother's mother, married a second time and that's why she was in Johnstown. She was married to my grandfather and here's what happened.

Speaker 1:

July 17th 1934. I was back in Chicago. Everything was done so hastily. Mother died June 25, 1934. I had various jobs. I got a job in September 1934 at the Chicago Daily News. I worked five and a half days a week for $12 a week, worked there from 1934 until 1941, and when I was married in 1938, I was making $20 a week. They were very good. We got coffee breaks, paid vacations and sick pay. Social Security just started in 1935, and they deducted one penny for each dollar.

Speaker 1:

Now the Chicago Daily News has a rich history as a prominent newspaper in Chicago. Here's a brief overview so you understand who Pearl was working for. The Chicago Daily News was founded in December 23, 1875, by Melville E Stone, percy Meggie and William Dougherty. It aimed to be an affordable newspaper, initially priced at one cent, making it accessible to a broad audience. During the early years, the newspaper quickly gained popularity for its focus on local news, concise writing and appealing layout. Emphasis on journalistic integrity and innovation helped establish the paper as a significant player in Chicago's media landscape. And by the early 20th century this was the period of growth and prestige for the Chicago Daily News. It became known for its excellent reporting and was home to many notable journalists, including Carl Sandburg and Ben Hecht. The paper won several Pulitzer Prizes for its investigative journalism and international reporting events such as the Eastland disaster, the 1919 Chicago race riot Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II, often providing in-depth analysis and comprehensive reports that shaped public opinion. And although the paper continued to thrive during the mid-20th century, the landscape changed and they faced more competition and sadly, by the 1970s the newspaper industry itself faced challenges due to changing reader habits, tv news, financial difficulties there were so many other things, basically kind of squeezing them out, and the Chicago Daily News seized publication March 4th 1978.

Speaker 1:

But what a training ground for my Aunt Pearl. It was nice to find this bit of writing of hers because it told me again why she was so extraordinarily good at what she did, why she was so thorough and why she would go to great pains to try to find out what was really going on with the story. And that's why this I suppose her own writing, her family history, resonated so much with me, because that's one part of the gene pool that I do seem to have inherited. That would be the investigative reporting proclivity or whatever. Now let's get on to what happened with our family and Al Capone. So this is a continuation of my Aunt Pearl's writings, and here she's talking about what happened after she married. She married a man called Miles Cerny and we always knew him as Uncle Miles. This is from Pearl.

Speaker 1:

Uncle Miles' father came from Czechoslovakia. When he was 21 years of age, they gave him a feather bed comforter filled with feathers and a pillow Was a good idea if necessary. One filled with feathers and a pillow was a good idea. If necessary, one could always find a shack and keep warm. Miles' mother had it redone when we were married and gave it to us when Miles was five years old and they were living in Cicero.

Speaker 1:

By the way, his father rented a horse and buggy, kept it in his backyard and would get produce from the market and peddle it. Miles went with him. He only did that one summer and soon he learned the upholstery business and had a business in his home. Often he did work for hoodlums Al Capone or one of his henchmen. They would blindfold him and take him to the place Once inside where they wanted him to work. They would take off the blindfolds and put them on again for the return trip home and that was all she wrote. That was all she needed to write, really, when you think about it.

Speaker 1:

So the whole thing about Al Capone needing a lot of upholstery work, I had to actually think about that for a while. I thought maybe Al just wanted to repurpose those couches or whatever. But no, by the way. Well, al was actually very tight with the various members of the Czech community and Uncle Miles' family was Czech, not Slovak, and this is just conjecture on my part. But I'm thinking that upholstery, well, it could be used to dispose of evidence. It could be used to hide or transport bodies or other evidence, and upholsters might be involved in dismantling or modifying furniture to facilitate this After a crime. They could also alter the appearance of a room to prevent it from being linked to an incident and things like this. And I suppose car trunks would fall underneath that category as well, but I don't know.

Speaker 1:

And the thing with Al Capone if he asked you to do something, you didn't have a choice, and my uncle's father would have had to have been very discreet and trustworthy or he would have not stayed alive right. And working on these types of projects would require a high level of secrecy. The ability to work quietly and efficiently without drawing attention would be paramount. The other thing, too, is that my uncle's father was part of a rapid response team where the urgency and unpredictability of these situations would explain why his services were needed at all hours. Quick turnarounds would help Capone manage his operations in Cicero without leaving evidence behind During Prohibition. The illegal nature of Al Capone's business during that time meant any hint of violence or crime had to be swiftly and effectively concealed to avoid unwanted attention from the authorities. As you may know, al eventually well, his luck ran out. We'll put it that way. They got him on tax evasion and that's often the way that they would take out these criminal enterprises.

Speaker 1:

But we're going to continue. That's our family's Al Capone story. And now we're going to move to something much more sinister than what I have shared with you already. Now, before we go into the second part of this episode, I want to put in this trigger warning. It refers to the abuse of a child by a couple of adults. So this story should rightfully disturb anybody. But if you can listen to it, that's great. If you don't want to listen to it, please don't, because I have to say this was one of the most difficult things I put together, but I thought, much like Maisie Dobbs.

Speaker 1:

I want to speak on behalf of the dead, because they're not here to talk about this, and I want to talk about what happened, and I want to encourage other researchers to start digging into what happened to orphan children during this time period. So let me tell you about one of the strange little. It's not even an article. It was an advertisement from the Chicago Livestock World, august 5th 1915. It had a reference to the Eastland disaster and I thought what? Here is the advertisement Headline Farmer would adopt Eastland orphan.

Speaker 1:

Many offers to adopt children made parentless by the Eastland disaster have been received. About 35 were orphaned by the catastrophe. The latest offer came from Paul J Kreidlich, a farmer of near Reedsburg, wisconsin, who writes that he would like to adopt a boy of 12 years or older to rear with his own children. What's interesting about this is that very few of the stories that are brought front and center about the Eastland disaster focus on children who lost one or both parents, and the focus has primarily been on stories of entire families who were wiped out. True, there are some stories about children who lost one or both parents and ended up living with other relatives, but what about those who had no relatives who could take them on?

Speaker 1:

I was looking through the final report of the Eastland Disaster Relief Committee. This is the Chicago chapter of the American Red Cross in 1918. This big report was done. It's pretty useful, but it does have some shortcomings. So in the Red Cross book there are records of various groups that were impacted, such as orphans, but the downside of this document is that they don't list names. They just assign numbers for the people and it makes it challenging to cross-reference who they might be talking about. And I do question some of what's written because even for the family that is allegedly mine they got a significant detail wrong. So it's a useful document, but it also has to be weighed against other evidence. Now back to that ad from the Chicago Livestock World, to quote Luke Skywalker. After I read that piece I had a very bad feeling. After I read that piece, I had a very bad feeling.

Speaker 1:

In the early 20th century, child adoptions and that's in air quotes often masked darker motives, particularly in rural areas. Some farmers and others sought orphans not out of compassion but as a source of cheap labor. Passion, but as a source of cheap labor. This practice was disturbingly common, especially following tragedies like the Eastland disaster, and the idea of a farmer advertising to adopt an Eastland orphan raises several concerns Potential labor exploitation, lack of adoption oversight, exploitation of public sympathy and a high risk of child abuse. And of course, not all people were nefarious and some may have had good intentions. But here's the thing this era's lack of safeguards meant many children faced harmful situations under the guise of adoption. It's crucial to approach these historical accounts very critically considering the context and potential for exploitation. And in 1915, at least in the city of Chicago orphaned children without family support faced several possible outcomes Placement in orphanages or children's homes they did have those back then Informal foster care arrangements, workhouses or industrial schools for older children those were pretty bleak, by the way and adoptions, though largely unregulated, or finally, life on the streets. So this is another one of those chapters of the Eastland disaster that hasn't been explored as extensively, at least in what I have been seeing. There's very little information about what might have happened to these orphaned children, so the future remained uncertain and often difficult for many orphaned children Now I am talking about authentically orphaned children after the Eastland disaster.

Speaker 1:

But we're going to hear a twist on this. A twist on this. This is the story of Dolly. She's sometimes called Dilly, or even D-A-L-L-Y Schapacher, s-c-h-a-p-p-a-c-h-e-r, an 11-year-old girl whose life was irrevocably changed, not by the Eastland disaster but by exploiting the Eastland disaster. I am going to read this article and warning again and again this is going to be hard to hear.

Speaker 1:

This is from the Day Book in Chicago. The date for this article is November 22, 1915. Please note that this article appeared all across the United States. It probably came from the AP. The headline Eastland Orphan, beaten Up by Farmer and Wife. Location is St Louis, missouri. The date is November 22, 1915.

Speaker 1:

Dolly Schapacher, 11-year-old girl, is lying near death as a result of being attacked and almost worked to death on a farm near Netherlands, missouri, where she was placed with her nine-year-old brother after the death of her mother in the Eastland disaster. Physicians declare that even if she should live, her mind will probably be impaired permanently. Mrs Martha Ivey, who is charged with felonious assault upon the child she adopted, is in the Pemiscot County Jail at Carothersville. Adopted, is in the Pemiscot County Jail at Carothersville. She admitted that she tied Dolly to a bed and had abused her. Her husband, who is charged with the crime upon the child, for which the maximum punishment is article, and I think you can read in between the lines as to what happened to this little girl.

Speaker 1:

I normally, in fact all the time, read the articles as I find them. In this case, because the details are so gruesome, I left those details out and replaced them with words like abuse. I will leave a link in the show notes and a link on my webpage as to where you can find a copy of the original article. But put it this way what happened on the Eastland disaster, the actual Eastland disaster, was an accident, a preventable accident, but it was an accident. So some of the stories, of course, are quite gruesome, but not because one human being or two human beings were doing something to another human being. But that's what this story is about and that's what makes it different. But this story, it was reprinted all over the United States and I'm going to tell you what really happened and I don't want to keep you on the edge of your seat. Okay, dolly does survive and she actually helps take down these wretched individuals, at least for a little while Out of the gate.

Speaker 1:

I have to say there was something about this story that I had a bad feeling about, and I could not find Dolly's mother, who supposedly died on the Eastland. She wasn't anywhere and at first that didn't surprise me because, as I've been doing the research for this podcast, I've found a lot of people who have not been documented in any of the Eastland disaster accounts that I've been able to locate. If they have been, I just haven't found them. The news about Dolly seemed to stop, at least in the publications that I have access to. But let's back up a little bit here.

Speaker 1:

You just heard the story of Dolly Schabacher, an 11-year-old girl whose life was manipulated by her father's deceitful claims surrounding the Eastland disaster. I'll explain what I mean. On November 22, 1915, a report from St Louis, missouri, revealed the devastating consequences of how her father exploited the tragedy for personal gain. Edward Schapbacher falsely claimed that his wife had died in the disaster, allowing him to farm out his children, dolly and her nine-year-old brother, john, to a family who had promised to care for them. However, the Ivey family was anything but caring. The siblings were sent to this farm near Netherlands, missouri, where their lives became a living hell. Lives became a living hell. Now, how did Dolly get out of there? Well, she either escaped or was sent away, but there are a lot of conflicts in this story. But regardless, she ended up in the Union Station I'm assuming that's somewhere in Missouri on November 18th 1915, and she was described as weak, hysterical, covered in bruises and carrying a note to her aunt, mrs Paloma Bacher, in St Louis. This note was written by Martha Ivey, one of the perpetrators, and she falsely claimed to be from Easley, south Carolina, and alleged that Dolly had been attacked on her way to school and subsequently beaten. However, this was soon exposed as a lie to protect the Ivies.

Speaker 1:

In January of the following year, justice began to unfold. Ora Ivy, the man responsible for the vicious attacks, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. His wife, martha, was convicted of beating Dolly and received a three-year prison sentence. These convictions provided a small bit of closure to this case, but hang in there with us because we're not done. After she regained the ability to speak and she did get that back Dolly revealed the true horrors of what she had endured and she described in detail what Ora Ivy did to her. That's the guy. And when she complained to Martha Ivy, she was beaten in response, and the authorities arrested two men based on Mrs Ivey's false accusations, but later released them when the deceit was uncovered.

Speaker 1:

For many days, the doctors were uncertain if Dolly would survive. Her condition was so dire that they resorted to stimulating her with champagne to keep her alive. Hey, whatever works right. Despite the ordeal, dolly demonstrated incredible resilience. Eventually, she and her brother went to live with her father, edward Schottbacher, at 2813 Cass Avenue in St Louis. Seems like, if not a happy ending, a better ending. But just when her story seemed to be concluding, a new revelation emerged.

Speaker 1:

Here's a news clip from November 25, 1915. Headline schottbacher refuses to let wife have their daughter. He bars wife, from whom he is separated from home when she calls with policemen. Mrs Mabel Schapacher, mother of Dolly Schapacher, 11 years old, whose mistreatment on a farm near Netherlands, missouri, caused the arrest last Saturday in Pemiscot County of Ora, ivy, and his wife, was refused admission to the home of her husband Edward, by her mother-in-law, mrs John Schottbacher, this morning when she went to 2813 Cass Avenue with the avowed intention of taking her daughter from the home. Schottbacher and his wife had been separated about three years. The mother was not permitted to see either her daughter or eight-year-old son. Neighbors of the Schottbacher's were surprised at the appearance of the mother at the home, as they had been told that she had been drowned when the steamer Eastland turned over in the Chicago River last spring. Mrs Mabel Schottbacher, dolly's mother, was not a victim of the Eastland disaster, as previously believed.

Speaker 1:

In another article that I found, I learned that the father Edward decided to tell the children that their mother had died on the Eastland because and I quote he was tired of their asking questions about her. Yet another newspaper from November 25th detailed an additionally heartbreaking scene. So when the mother was at the house trying to see her children, they wouldn't let her in. But her son, john, heard her outside and ran out to her and they wept together briefly before he was pulled back into the house. Mabel walked away sobbing, unable to see Dolly, who was inside propped up by pillows, emaciated and bruised. So another question I have, and why this is not adding up? Why did Dolly's father give her and her brother, john, to these people and I use the term loosely when he was on the scene? His mother, dolly's and John's grandmother was on the scene and presumably the aunt, which probably was his sister, was also available. Why did he give them to these people? Dolly's story, unlike the story that I shared a few weeks ago about Arthur Loeb, who was also a conman, also a person who robbed corpses and who presented himself as a hero of the Eastland this pales in comparison. Dolly's story is a stark reminder of how fraudulent claims can detract from those who truly suffered in the aftermath of disasters like the Eastland tragedy. Her story raises critical questions about the many children genuinely orphaned by the disaster.

Speaker 1:

Here's what I was able to piece together by doing genealogy. Dolly's mother remained in Chicago where she married eventually a second time. And despite the fact that there were only two children mentioned, there were actually four children born to this marriage, two other sisters that Dolly had for whatever reason they were not mentioned. They may have been living with her mother in Chicago, had been living with her mother in Chicago when Dolly's mother died at age 101, the obituary was very loving and all of her children, most of whom were dead by then, were mentioned. Meanwhile, edward Schottbacher that's the father remained in Missouri where he married and divorced again before passing away in 1939. Dolly's younger brother, john, also stayed in Missouri. He married at least three times and, ironically, one of his ex-wives adopted out three of their children to another couple, continuing this cycle of separation and disruption.

Speaker 1:

As for the perpetrators, the guy Ora Ivy was paroled just five years later. Not sure what became of his wife, the other perpetrator, but she was out as well and, quite honestly, I did not pursue what happened to these people. And despite the horror of this situation, dolly's survival is a testament to whatever strength and resilience she possessed. After recovering from her ordeal, dolly and her two sisters reunited with their mother Mabel. No one seemed to stay in Chicago for long, but Dolly married and she had at least five children, one of whom was a hero during World War II, and Dolly died in 1979. And when I was researching her online, I did locate some family photos of her and she's absolutely beautiful, and Dolly's descendants are many and, from what I can see, they all know her story and I think that's a wonderful thing.

Speaker 1:

So what on earth do we take away from something like this? Well, someone might say that that had nothing to do with the Eastland disaster, and to which I have to reply I thoroughly disagree. When someone uses something like the Eastland disaster for personal gain whether it's an Arthur Loeb, whether it's these awful people it's reprehensible. But it also casts a light on the situation itself. In other words, it casts a big light on okay, this wasn't an actual orphan of the Eastland disaster. But what happened to the actual orphans of the Eastland disaster? That is a question. This one's going to take more than a week's worth of exploration, because I really do need to consult with people who specialize in this type of history, but I do want to get to the bottom of this and find out what happened.

Speaker 1:

I thank you if you were able to listen to this. As you can tell, I barely got through it. I had to stop recording several times because this is as hard as the Eastland stories are. This one just sent me over the edge. It was difficult to get through. I started crying. Hopefully you didn't hear any of that in the recording, but it was just so horrible hear any of that in the recording, but it was just so horrible.

Speaker 1:

In spite of that, I want to do what Dolly would do and stand up and say she survived, she got through. I don't like the idea of when they present somebody living happily ever after. But she lived after and she had what seemed like a long and loving marriage. She had a wonderful family. Based on the family photos I saw, there seemed to be a lot of love and warmth and joking around and things like that. And looking at her and looking at her family, you would never guess what she was carrying and I'm so glad again that her descendants continue to remember and honor her journey. That's how I was able to get a lot of these newspaper clips. So unfortunately, this probably won't be the last story that we hear about the Eastland disaster being exploited either. Then and now. But the only remedy that I know to counter these false claims is to tell the truth. It was a serious story but it needed to be told. And again, I honor Dolly and I embrace her as part of our Eastland family, simply because unwillingly she was brought into it. But we care about her and definitely send her and her descendants love and respect.

Speaker 1:

Until next week. Have a good one. Hey, that's it for this episode and thanks for coming along for the ride. Please subscribe or follow so you can keep up with all the episodes, and for more information, please go to my website, that's wwwflowerintherivercom. I hope you'll consider buying my book, available as audiobook, ebook, paperback and hardcover, because I still owe people money and that's my running joke. But the one thing I'm serious about is that this podcast and my book are dedicated to the memory of all who experienced the Eastland disaster of 1915. Goodbye for now.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Natalie Zett

Host