American Folk Figure. Born Annie Stone in Syracuse, New York, the daughter of a successful merchant, she was an acknowledged beauty by the time she was a teenager. At 15, she ran away from home in the company of a man called Moore. It is generally accepted that she was his mistress for some time and eventually took his name as her professional moniker. After she and Moore split up, she made her way to Cincinnati, where she worked under the name Bessie Moore in an upper-end brothel where she was said to often accept fine jewelry for services rendered. Eventually, she moved on to other houses in New Orleans and Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was there, in 1875, that she met Abe Rothschild, the black sheep son of a Cincinnati diamond merchant. A reported drunkard, gambler, and womanizer, he and Bessie began keeping company. Reports indicated he insisted she continue her work so he might dip into her funds to support his habits. He was also said to have been physically abusive and was once arrested in Cincinnati for slapping her in public, but she refused to press charges. Although they entered into what was essentially a common law union, there is no record of a legal marriage. In 1877, the couple traveled to Jefferson, Texas, where they registered as Mr and Mrs A. Monroe at the local hotel. Since they had previously used his real name in other hotels, there is rampant speculation as to why he registered under a false name in Jefferson. They were a handsome couple and were noticed in town; it was there she acquired the nickname "Diamond Bessie" in reference to her prominently worn jewelry. On Sunday morning, January 21, the couple collected picnic lunches and disappeared into the woods despite unusually cold weather. When he returned from the picnic alone, he indicated that she was visiting friends, but at least one person noted he was wearing her rings. He later slipped onto an outbound train alone. The following Tuesday, Bessie's body was discovered sitting against a tree, with a bullet wound to her head and her jewelry missing. Rothschild was the only suspect in her death. He was discovered in Cincinnati after attempting suicide but only succeeded in blinding himself in one eye. He was extradited to Texas despite his family's attempts to block it and tried for Bessie's murder. The first trial returned a verdict of guilty and a sentence of death, but his battery of lawyers succeeded in obtaining a mistrial decision. A second trial introduced new evidence that may or may not have been bought but was sufficient to bring in an acquittal after almost three years of legal wrangling. The people of Jefferson provided a grave for Bessie and, to this day, sponsored annual performances of a play entitled "The Murder of Diamond Bessie."