"AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY" — 1906

Mill Girl

The story of Grace Brown's life and murder—later immortalized in Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy (1925)—not only brought to public attention the plight of mill girls but also symbolized the dangers inherent in America's transformation from a rural to an industrialized economy. Like many young men and women, Brown left a rural life—in her case, a life on her father's impoverished farm in Otselic, New York—to move to the city to find work. As a young woman in the textile industry in Cortland, New York, she encountered poor working conditions, low wages, and exploitation. Her life was controlled by the factory owners and operators.

Gillette

When he met Grace Brown, Chester E. Gillette, the son of roving evangelical missionary parents who ran a nonaffiliated religious mission out of their home in Kansas City, Missouri, was twenty-two-years old. Gillette had moved to Cortland in 1905 to escape an impoverished, unhappy, and recently troubled life. Although poorly educated and unskilled, Gillette became a supervisor at the shirtwaist factory owned by his paternal uncle. Brown, then nineteen, had worked at the factory for three years. While Brown hoped her romance with Gillette would lead to marriage, Gillette thought it was nothing more than a superficial relationship that passed his time.

Murder on Big Moose Lake

When Brown discovered that she was pregnant, she wrote Gillette several letters, requesting that he marry her. Her pitiful requests became demands as she finally threatened to go to his relatives with her news. Gillette, however, had higher ambitions and hoped to marry a young, rich socialite he had recently met. To extricate himself from the relationship, Gillette used the promise of marriage to lure Brown to the Adirondack Mountains, portraying the trip as a marriage and honeymoon adventure. Arriving by train, they checked into the Glenmore Hotel on Wednesday, 11 July, under the name of "Carl Graham of Albany and Grace Brown of Otselic." After being at the hotel only a matter of minutes, Gillette hired a rowboat to take Brown out on Big Moose Lake. The couple did not return to the hotel. On Thursday, 12 July, searchers found the capsized boat and Brown's body in shallow water. The lake was dragged for a second body until dark, but the only discovery was the retrieval of a man's hat. The coroner, whose suspicions were aroused by Brown's head injuries, suspected murder. The search soon began for Chester Gillette, a.k.a. Carl Graham, and the story started making headlines around the world.

Arrest

Gillette was found and arrested on Saturday, 14 July, at Lake Arrowhead, a resort just twelve miles from Big Moose Lake. He initially denied that he was the person registered as Carl Graham, despite a dozen eyewitness identifications. Brown's father also gave evidence that the last person he had seen his daughter with was Gillette. After admitting that he was with Brown, Gillette adamantly denied killing her, stating that the boat capsized and he had difficulty saving himself. Despite his story, Gillette was accused of beating Grace Brown unconscious with an oar and throwing her overboard.

Story Crumbles

Many inconsistencies undermined Gillette's testimony. The couple had attracted attention on the train because of their overtly happy behavior, but witnesses at the hotel described Gillette pacing and distant and inattentive to Brown. Gillette had difficulty explaining his not going for help after the "accident" as well as his clothes, which several witnesses had observed were completely dry though he claimed to have swum ashore. Neither could Gillette adequately explain why he had gone to a resort twelve miles from the scene of the accident. Though he steadfastly maintained that he was innocent, Chester Gillette was convicted for the murder of Grace Brown. He was electrocuted at Auburn prison on 20 March 1908.