*June
18, 1892 – On this date, Mamie Schwartz, a little four and a half-year-old
girl was last seen near her home at 174 East Ninth Street, St. Paul, between 3
and 4 p.m. When neighbors hear of the child’s disappearance, some of them said
they had seen her standing near a street organ grinder, which was playing in
the block. All that (Saturday) night a search was made by her parents, assisted
by relatives, but no trace of the girl could be found.
Mamie Schwartz
The missing child, from a photograph taken when she was two years old1
The most important, and in fact, the only clue to the disappearance of the girl
was given to police detectives on Monday morning, when the proprietor of the
West House hotel, on West Tenth Street, informed Mrs. Schwartz that on Saturday
afternoon a woman called at his place. She put a dollar on the desk and said
she wanted to use his sitting room for a short time. She left a small yellow
satchel and went out. As near as he could tell it was about 3 p.m. when she
first called. Sometime afterward she returned with a child and asked for soap,
water, a towel and a pair of scissors. These were furnished and she cut the
child’s hair and put on a dress, which she took from the satchel. As she
entered the hotel, she remarked, “Well, I have found my child.” Because the
proprietor would not accept pay for the use of the room, she ordered a lunch,
which was brought to her. A few minutes later when the hotel keeper looked into
the room, both the woman and child were gone.
The proprietor of the hotel did not pay much attention to the woman, and the only
description he could give was that she was of slender build, dressed neatly in
black, and acted very nervously. The child’s appearance he did not notice,
except that she had a habit of looking up sideways to anyone talking. This,
Mrs. Schwartz says, convinces her that the girl was her daughter.
A plea was made to Minn. Governor Nelson for help and a state reward of $500
was offered upon Mamie’s disappearance. A circular announcing this was sent to
the Superior police and the matter was turned over to Capt. Gallagher of the
police force.
The family and police continued to look for the girl, but it was as if she had
disappeared from the face of the earth, until…
On June 4, 1893, Valentine J. Schwartz, a pressman on the Daily Volkszeitung, identified his five-year-old daughter, Mamie
Florence Schwartz, abducted from her St. Paul home last June, today in West
Superior, Wis.
Three weeks ago, at a circus in West Superior, Capt. Gallagher identified the
child but preferred to communicate with Minn. Gov. Nelson before taking
proceedings to recover her. She was discovered through a birthmark, a small red
spot on the back of her neck. This information was given to Mr. Schwartz and he
arrived in the city late Saturday night. Sunday morning he identified the girl
as his daughter, and there was a most happy reunion. The little girl recognized
him at once, and, throwing her arms about his neck, kissed him fervently and
called him father. Information at hand led the police to believe the child was
taken immediately from St. Paul to Duluth, where she was kept by her unknown
abdustress for several months.
Mamie when she was found2
“The woman took me to Duluth on a street car.” Her
abductress had evidently become tired of keeping her, and had placed her in the
family of the Levins, of the East end, to board. She was to pay them $3 per
week board, but only paid this for a few weeks. In Feb. the Levins determined
to move to N. D., and were about to turn the child over to the county, when
Joseph Allard, a Northern Pacific switchman, went through the legal formality
of adopting her. Allard had no children, and was very much attached to the
little girl.
He was loath to turn her over to her father, and kissed her an affectionate
goodbye. Mrs. Schwartz had several months ago given up hope of ever finding his
little daughter. He said: “When I was coming on the train from St. Paul
Saturday night I thought to myself if I do not find Mamie this time…I will give
up all hope of ever seeing her again.”
Little is known of the child’s abductress, as the Levins family gave the child
to Allard, and had themselves little or no information or history to share.
1Saint
Paul Daily Globe; “Where Is Mamie? Not the Slightest Trace
Obtained of the Missing Child. The Detectives Beginning to Move With a Little
Vigor. Facts of the Disappearance and Description of the Girl. Evidence
Indicates That Mamie Schwartz has Been Kidnaped.”; June 26, 1892; p. 2.
St. Paul Daily Globe; “Little Mamie
Found. Capt. Gallagher, of the West Superior Police. Locates the Lost Child.
She Is Recognized by a Birthmark on the Back of Her Neck. Recognized by her
Father and Now on Her Way to St. Paul. The Child First Taken to Duluth by an
Unknown to Abductress.”; June 5, 1893; p. 1.
2The Saint Paul Globe; May
4, 1895; p. 3.
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