Elsie Sigel (1889 – '' ca.'' June 1909) was a granddaughter of General

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

, and the victim of a notorious murder at the age of 19 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1909. Sigel, who had been a missionary in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austr ...

, was found strangled inside a trunk on 18 June 1909 in the apartment of the prime suspect, a Chinese man named "William" Leon Ling, a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. Sigel had been missing since June 9, when she was last seen leaving her parents' apartment to visit her grandmother.

Background

Sigel's mother taught a Chinese

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

class in St. Andrew's Church at 127th Street and

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Har ...

, while Sigel did missionary work at the Chinatown Rescue Settlement and Recreation Room, reaching out to "American, English, German, French, Hebrew, Italian, nd

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohe ...

n" girls who had gotten involved with drugs and prostitution. Four years prior to the murder, Leon had kept a

chop suey Chop suey () is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celer ...

restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue, close to the Sigel home, and Sigel and her mother had first met Leon there during missionary rounds of the local Chinese restaurants.

Investigation

During the murder investigation, 35 love letters signed by Sigel were found in Leon's apartment, along with numerous letters from other women. It was speculated that the motive for murder might have been jealousy, as Chu Gain, manager of the Port Arthur Restaurant on

Mott Street Mott Street () is a narrow but busy thoroughfare that runs in a north–south direction in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is regarded as Chinatown's unofficial " Main Street". Mott Street runs from Bleecker Street in the north to ...

, was also found to be in possession of recent love letters from Sigel. Chu reported that he had recently received an anonymous letter threatening Sigel's life if they did not cut off their relationship. Leon was never apprehended, and the murder remains unsolved.

Aftermath

Sigel's murder gained widespread notoriety due to the inter-racial aspects of the relationship as well as the fame of her grandfather,

, who was a

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

general. The murder set off a wave of anti-Chinese hysteria, as well as suggestions that the murder was Sigel's own fault. The murder became the subject of a play, The Chinatown Trunk Mystery, which was performed around the country.

References

Bibliography

External links