The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, December 31,1912, page 7
The identity of a man who broke his neck Sunday night by falling out of a bathtub in a rooming house at 323 Dauphine, formerly conducted by the negro woman, Virginia Reed, became shrouded in mystery Monday when it was learned that Adolph Gotch, the name he had used, was fictitious, and that he was no relation to Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, whose brother he was purported to be. Mrs Emily Junker, proprietress of the place in which occurred the unusual accident by which the young man was killed, Monday sent a batch of letters to Coroner O'Hara's office, which showed that, instead of being a brother of the champion wrestler, the man was an Austrian of obscure antecedents and without relatives in this country. The letters, however, did not establish the man's identity any more than did several persons who viewed the body in the morgue Monday, and who said the man had called himself Gotch, though they knew it was not his real name. The latter was known to none of them.
The letters, which are in Dr O'Hara's keeping, were sent from Zara, Austria. All of them begin, "Dear Alfred," although Gotch, or whatever his name was, called himself Adolph among his associates here. The letters were written in German.
Telegrams sent by the police Sunday night to Frank Gotch and other members of the Gotch family in Chicago resulted in no replies up to a late hour Monday night. This the police and the coroner consider as additional evidence that the dead man was no connection of the noted wrestler. If the body is not claimed Tuesday, Dr O'Hara will have it buried y the city. In the meantime the police are attempting to find a clew leading to the man's identity.
As though to pile mystery upon mystery, the Charity Hospital surgeons who were called to the Dauphine street house Sunday night expressed astonishment at the publication of the coroner's verdict. Although Coroner O'Hara was positive that death had been caused by a fracture of the neck, the young men of the Charity Hospital were skeptical, and seemed to lean toward the earlier report that "Gotch" was asphyxiated. The surgeons said that when they responded to the ambulance call they were told by persons in the house that the man had been asphyxiated, and that artificial respiration was applied for forty-five minutes before he died. The doctors said they were told the persons who dragged the body out of the bathroom were almost overcome themselves, and when the surgeons were leaving the house a woman in the hallway remarked that she still smelled gas.
The surgeons admitted, though, that they did not take the trouble to examine the body, because the man was dead already, and they took it for granted that he had been asphyxiated.
When Mrs Junker was seen again Monday she denied that there was any gas in the house, but later stated that an instantaneous gas heater had been installed in the bathroom. She said she did not know how to operate it, and could not say whether it was connected with the gas main in the street. She admitted that persons who rescued her boarder by breaking down the door of the bathroom, in which he was said to have been found naked and dying, had told of smelling gas. She said she was on the ground floor and that the bathroom was on the second floor, consequently she had not noticed gas fumes herself.
In explanation of the removal of the dying man from the bathroom to the veranda, Mrs Junker said it was evidently done so he might have some fresh air. She said the ambulance surgeons placed the victim over a chair and then worked his arms back and forth vigorously for some time before he died.
Coroner O'Hara arrived at the house a few minutes after the ambulance surgeons left. He at once declared the man had succumbed to a fracture of the neck and that it had been sustained in a fall out of the bathtub. Although there was no water in the tub when person in the house ran into the room following the bursting in of the door, the presumption is that the man had taken a bath and then drawn the water off, falling as he was getting out of the tub and striking his head in such as way as to break his neck.
Physicians at the Charity Hospital Monday insisted the accident was a most unusual one. They said they thought the whole thing mysterious. "I could understand a man's neck being broken in a fall from a second story window, but that he should fall out of a bathtub and sustain such a fracture seems to me improbable," said one physician.
Dr O'Hara Monday night reiterated his belief as to the manner in which the man had been killed. All other reports to the contrary notwithstanding, he said, the man's death unquestionably was due to a fracture of the neck. There were no signs of asphyxiation he said. The coroner added that there were no abrasions on the body.
It was said that the dead man wore the name of Gotch and set himself up as Frank Gotch's brother for advertising purposes. He was a professional wrestler in a mild sort of a way, and his pose as a brother of the champion was good drawing card. Men who worked with him on the Southern Pacific docks, where he was employed as an engineman, said Monday that they called him "Gotch," but were aware it was not his true name.
The police do not seem to entertain a suspicion that the man met death through foul play. Apparently they have accepted without question the coroner's opinion that his neck was broken by falling out of the bathtub instead of in any other way.
The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wednesday, January 1,1913, page 5
All efforts to obtain complete identification failing, Coroner O'Hara Tuesday afternoon decided that it was useless to hold the body of the man who broke his neck in stepping out of a bathtub in a Dauphine street rooming house Sunday afternoon, any longer, and he ordered its interment. This was done at the city's; expense, and the the body of the man who was first said to be a brother of Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, was laid to rest in what is styled Holt's Cemetery, but which is better known as the potter's field.
Exactly who the fellow was, no one in New Orleans seems able to say, but that he came from Austria is established by letters from his father, found in his possession. With a photograph of him to go by, Coroner O'Hara will continue trying to clear away the clouds about his identity and to this end will communicate with the parent in Austria.
The latter's letters were translated in part Tuesday by Assistant Coroner Groetch, and it was indicated by portions of them that the dead man was married since coming to America. There is not the slightest clew to the present whereabouts of his wife, however, and it was further understood by the local authorities that Gotch, or whatever his right name may be, had been devoted in his attentions to a New Orleans girl recently.
The possessions of the dead man, a little clothing, etc, found in his room, and the sum of $1.50, found on his person, are filed away in the Coroner's office in case a claim may later be made on them.
Tuesday, December 31,1912, page 7
The identity of a man who broke his neck Sunday night by falling out of a bathtub in a rooming house at 323 Dauphine, formerly conducted by the negro woman, Virginia Reed, became shrouded in mystery Monday when it was learned that Adolph Gotch, the name he had used, was fictitious, and that he was no relation to Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, whose brother he was purported to be. Mrs Emily Junker, proprietress of the place in which occurred the unusual accident by which the young man was killed, Monday sent a batch of letters to Coroner O'Hara's office, which showed that, instead of being a brother of the champion wrestler, the man was an Austrian of obscure antecedents and without relatives in this country. The letters, however, did not establish the man's identity any more than did several persons who viewed the body in the morgue Monday, and who said the man had called himself Gotch, though they knew it was not his real name. The latter was known to none of them.
The letters, which are in Dr O'Hara's keeping, were sent from Zara, Austria. All of them begin, "Dear Alfred," although Gotch, or whatever his name was, called himself Adolph among his associates here. The letters were written in German.
Telegrams sent by the police Sunday night to Frank Gotch and other members of the Gotch family in Chicago resulted in no replies up to a late hour Monday night. This the police and the coroner consider as additional evidence that the dead man was no connection of the noted wrestler. If the body is not claimed Tuesday, Dr O'Hara will have it buried y the city. In the meantime the police are attempting to find a clew leading to the man's identity.
As though to pile mystery upon mystery, the Charity Hospital surgeons who were called to the Dauphine street house Sunday night expressed astonishment at the publication of the coroner's verdict. Although Coroner O'Hara was positive that death had been caused by a fracture of the neck, the young men of the Charity Hospital were skeptical, and seemed to lean toward the earlier report that "Gotch" was asphyxiated. The surgeons said that when they responded to the ambulance call they were told by persons in the house that the man had been asphyxiated, and that artificial respiration was applied for forty-five minutes before he died. The doctors said they were told the persons who dragged the body out of the bathroom were almost overcome themselves, and when the surgeons were leaving the house a woman in the hallway remarked that she still smelled gas.
The surgeons admitted, though, that they did not take the trouble to examine the body, because the man was dead already, and they took it for granted that he had been asphyxiated.
When Mrs Junker was seen again Monday she denied that there was any gas in the house, but later stated that an instantaneous gas heater had been installed in the bathroom. She said she did not know how to operate it, and could not say whether it was connected with the gas main in the street. She admitted that persons who rescued her boarder by breaking down the door of the bathroom, in which he was said to have been found naked and dying, had told of smelling gas. She said she was on the ground floor and that the bathroom was on the second floor, consequently she had not noticed gas fumes herself.
In explanation of the removal of the dying man from the bathroom to the veranda, Mrs Junker said it was evidently done so he might have some fresh air. She said the ambulance surgeons placed the victim over a chair and then worked his arms back and forth vigorously for some time before he died.
Coroner O'Hara arrived at the house a few minutes after the ambulance surgeons left. He at once declared the man had succumbed to a fracture of the neck and that it had been sustained in a fall out of the bathtub. Although there was no water in the tub when person in the house ran into the room following the bursting in of the door, the presumption is that the man had taken a bath and then drawn the water off, falling as he was getting out of the tub and striking his head in such as way as to break his neck.
Physicians at the Charity Hospital Monday insisted the accident was a most unusual one. They said they thought the whole thing mysterious. "I could understand a man's neck being broken in a fall from a second story window, but that he should fall out of a bathtub and sustain such a fracture seems to me improbable," said one physician.
Dr O'Hara Monday night reiterated his belief as to the manner in which the man had been killed. All other reports to the contrary notwithstanding, he said, the man's death unquestionably was due to a fracture of the neck. There were no signs of asphyxiation he said. The coroner added that there were no abrasions on the body.
It was said that the dead man wore the name of Gotch and set himself up as Frank Gotch's brother for advertising purposes. He was a professional wrestler in a mild sort of a way, and his pose as a brother of the champion was good drawing card. Men who worked with him on the Southern Pacific docks, where he was employed as an engineman, said Monday that they called him "Gotch," but were aware it was not his true name.
The police do not seem to entertain a suspicion that the man met death through foul play. Apparently they have accepted without question the coroner's opinion that his neck was broken by falling out of the bathtub instead of in any other way.
The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wednesday, January 1,1913, page 5
All efforts to obtain complete identification failing, Coroner O'Hara Tuesday afternoon decided that it was useless to hold the body of the man who broke his neck in stepping out of a bathtub in a Dauphine street rooming house Sunday afternoon, any longer, and he ordered its interment. This was done at the city's; expense, and the the body of the man who was first said to be a brother of Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, was laid to rest in what is styled Holt's Cemetery, but which is better known as the potter's field.
Exactly who the fellow was, no one in New Orleans seems able to say, but that he came from Austria is established by letters from his father, found in his possession. With a photograph of him to go by, Coroner O'Hara will continue trying to clear away the clouds about his identity and to this end will communicate with the parent in Austria.
The latter's letters were translated in part Tuesday by Assistant Coroner Groetch, and it was indicated by portions of them that the dead man was married since coming to America. There is not the slightest clew to the present whereabouts of his wife, however, and it was further understood by the local authorities that Gotch, or whatever his right name may be, had been devoted in his attentions to a New Orleans girl recently.
The possessions of the dead man, a little clothing, etc, found in his room, and the sum of $1.50, found on his person, are filed away in the Coroner's office in case a claim may later be made on them.
The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, December 31,1912, page 7
The identity of a man who broke his neck Sunday night by falling out of a bathtub in a rooming house at 323 Dauphine, formerly conducted by the negro woman, Virginia Reed, became shrouded in mystery Monday when it was learned that Adolph Gotch, the name he had used, was fictitious, and that he was no relation to Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, whose brother he was purported to be. Mrs Emily Junker, proprietress of the place in which occurred the unusual accident by which the young man was killed, Monday sent a batch of letters to Coroner O'Hara's office, which showed that, instead of being a brother of the champion wrestler, the man was an Austrian of obscure antecedents and without relatives in this country. The letters, however, did not establish the man's identity any more than did several persons who viewed the body in the morgue Monday, and who said the man had called himself Gotch, though they knew it was not his real name. The latter was known to none of them.
The letters, which are in Dr O'Hara's keeping, were sent from Zara, Austria. All of them begin, "Dear Alfred," although Gotch, or whatever his name was, called himself Adolph among his associates here. The letters were written in German.
Telegrams sent by the police Sunday night to Frank Gotch and other members of the Gotch family in Chicago resulted in no replies up to a late hour Monday night. This the police and the coroner consider as additional evidence that the dead man was no connection of the noted wrestler. If the body is not claimed Tuesday, Dr O'Hara will have it buried y the city. In the meantime the police are attempting to find a clew leading to the man's identity.
As though to pile mystery upon mystery, the Charity Hospital surgeons who were called to the Dauphine street house Sunday night expressed astonishment at the publication of the coroner's verdict. Although Coroner O'Hara was positive that death had been caused by a fracture of the neck, the young men of the Charity Hospital were skeptical, and seemed to lean toward the earlier report that "Gotch" was asphyxiated. The surgeons said that when they responded to the ambulance call they were told by persons in the house that the man had been asphyxiated, and that artificial respiration was applied for forty-five minutes before he died. The doctors said they were told the persons who dragged the body out of the bathroom were almost overcome themselves, and when the surgeons were leaving the house a woman in the hallway remarked that she still smelled gas.
The surgeons admitted, though, that they did not take the trouble to examine the body, because the man was dead already, and they took it for granted that he had been asphyxiated.
When Mrs Junker was seen again Monday she denied that there was any gas in the house, but later stated that an instantaneous gas heater had been installed in the bathroom. She said she did not know how to operate it, and could not say whether it was connected with the gas main in the street. She admitted that persons who rescued her boarder by breaking down the door of the bathroom, in which he was said to have been found naked and dying, had told of smelling gas. She said she was on the ground floor and that the bathroom was on the second floor, consequently she had not noticed gas fumes herself.
In explanation of the removal of the dying man from the bathroom to the veranda, Mrs Junker said it was evidently done so he might have some fresh air. She said the ambulance surgeons placed the victim over a chair and then worked his arms back and forth vigorously for some time before he died.
Coroner O'Hara arrived at the house a few minutes after the ambulance surgeons left. He at once declared the man had succumbed to a fracture of the neck and that it had been sustained in a fall out of the bathtub. Although there was no water in the tub when person in the house ran into the room following the bursting in of the door, the presumption is that the man had taken a bath and then drawn the water off, falling as he was getting out of the tub and striking his head in such as way as to break his neck.
Physicians at the Charity Hospital Monday insisted the accident was a most unusual one. They said they thought the whole thing mysterious. "I could understand a man's neck being broken in a fall from a second story window, but that he should fall out of a bathtub and sustain such a fracture seems to me improbable," said one physician.
Dr O'Hara Monday night reiterated his belief as to the manner in which the man had been killed. All other reports to the contrary notwithstanding, he said, the man's death unquestionably was due to a fracture of the neck. There were no signs of asphyxiation he said. The coroner added that there were no abrasions on the body.
It was said that the dead man wore the name of Gotch and set himself up as Frank Gotch's brother for advertising purposes. He was a professional wrestler in a mild sort of a way, and his pose as a brother of the champion was good drawing card. Men who worked with him on the Southern Pacific docks, where he was employed as an engineman, said Monday that they called him "Gotch," but were aware it was not his true name.
The police do not seem to entertain a suspicion that the man met death through foul play. Apparently they have accepted without question the coroner's opinion that his neck was broken by falling out of the bathtub instead of in any other way.
The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wednesday, January 1,1913, page 5
All efforts to obtain complete identification failing, Coroner O'Hara Tuesday afternoon decided that it was useless to hold the body of the man who broke his neck in stepping out of a bathtub in a Dauphine street rooming house Sunday afternoon, any longer, and he ordered its interment. This was done at the city's; expense, and the the body of the man who was first said to be a brother of Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, was laid to rest in what is styled Holt's Cemetery, but which is better known as the potter's field.
Exactly who the fellow was, no one in New Orleans seems able to say, but that he came from Austria is established by letters from his father, found in his possession. With a photograph of him to go by, Coroner O'Hara will continue trying to clear away the clouds about his identity and to this end will communicate with the parent in Austria.
The latter's letters were translated in part Tuesday by Assistant Coroner Groetch, and it was indicated by portions of them that the dead man was married since coming to America. There is not the slightest clew to the present whereabouts of his wife, however, and it was further understood by the local authorities that Gotch, or whatever his right name may be, had been devoted in his attentions to a New Orleans girl recently.
The possessions of the dead man, a little clothing, etc, found in his room, and the sum of $1.50, found on his person, are filed away in the Coroner's office in case a claim may later be made on them.
Tuesday, December 31,1912, page 7
The identity of a man who broke his neck Sunday night by falling out of a bathtub in a rooming house at 323 Dauphine, formerly conducted by the negro woman, Virginia Reed, became shrouded in mystery Monday when it was learned that Adolph Gotch, the name he had used, was fictitious, and that he was no relation to Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, whose brother he was purported to be. Mrs Emily Junker, proprietress of the place in which occurred the unusual accident by which the young man was killed, Monday sent a batch of letters to Coroner O'Hara's office, which showed that, instead of being a brother of the champion wrestler, the man was an Austrian of obscure antecedents and without relatives in this country. The letters, however, did not establish the man's identity any more than did several persons who viewed the body in the morgue Monday, and who said the man had called himself Gotch, though they knew it was not his real name. The latter was known to none of them.
The letters, which are in Dr O'Hara's keeping, were sent from Zara, Austria. All of them begin, "Dear Alfred," although Gotch, or whatever his name was, called himself Adolph among his associates here. The letters were written in German.
Telegrams sent by the police Sunday night to Frank Gotch and other members of the Gotch family in Chicago resulted in no replies up to a late hour Monday night. This the police and the coroner consider as additional evidence that the dead man was no connection of the noted wrestler. If the body is not claimed Tuesday, Dr O'Hara will have it buried y the city. In the meantime the police are attempting to find a clew leading to the man's identity.
As though to pile mystery upon mystery, the Charity Hospital surgeons who were called to the Dauphine street house Sunday night expressed astonishment at the publication of the coroner's verdict. Although Coroner O'Hara was positive that death had been caused by a fracture of the neck, the young men of the Charity Hospital were skeptical, and seemed to lean toward the earlier report that "Gotch" was asphyxiated. The surgeons said that when they responded to the ambulance call they were told by persons in the house that the man had been asphyxiated, and that artificial respiration was applied for forty-five minutes before he died. The doctors said they were told the persons who dragged the body out of the bathroom were almost overcome themselves, and when the surgeons were leaving the house a woman in the hallway remarked that she still smelled gas.
The surgeons admitted, though, that they did not take the trouble to examine the body, because the man was dead already, and they took it for granted that he had been asphyxiated.
When Mrs Junker was seen again Monday she denied that there was any gas in the house, but later stated that an instantaneous gas heater had been installed in the bathroom. She said she did not know how to operate it, and could not say whether it was connected with the gas main in the street. She admitted that persons who rescued her boarder by breaking down the door of the bathroom, in which he was said to have been found naked and dying, had told of smelling gas. She said she was on the ground floor and that the bathroom was on the second floor, consequently she had not noticed gas fumes herself.
In explanation of the removal of the dying man from the bathroom to the veranda, Mrs Junker said it was evidently done so he might have some fresh air. She said the ambulance surgeons placed the victim over a chair and then worked his arms back and forth vigorously for some time before he died.
Coroner O'Hara arrived at the house a few minutes after the ambulance surgeons left. He at once declared the man had succumbed to a fracture of the neck and that it had been sustained in a fall out of the bathtub. Although there was no water in the tub when person in the house ran into the room following the bursting in of the door, the presumption is that the man had taken a bath and then drawn the water off, falling as he was getting out of the tub and striking his head in such as way as to break his neck.
Physicians at the Charity Hospital Monday insisted the accident was a most unusual one. They said they thought the whole thing mysterious. "I could understand a man's neck being broken in a fall from a second story window, but that he should fall out of a bathtub and sustain such a fracture seems to me improbable," said one physician.
Dr O'Hara Monday night reiterated his belief as to the manner in which the man had been killed. All other reports to the contrary notwithstanding, he said, the man's death unquestionably was due to a fracture of the neck. There were no signs of asphyxiation he said. The coroner added that there were no abrasions on the body.
It was said that the dead man wore the name of Gotch and set himself up as Frank Gotch's brother for advertising purposes. He was a professional wrestler in a mild sort of a way, and his pose as a brother of the champion was good drawing card. Men who worked with him on the Southern Pacific docks, where he was employed as an engineman, said Monday that they called him "Gotch," but were aware it was not his true name.
The police do not seem to entertain a suspicion that the man met death through foul play. Apparently they have accepted without question the coroner's opinion that his neck was broken by falling out of the bathtub instead of in any other way.
The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wednesday, January 1,1913, page 5
All efforts to obtain complete identification failing, Coroner O'Hara Tuesday afternoon decided that it was useless to hold the body of the man who broke his neck in stepping out of a bathtub in a Dauphine street rooming house Sunday afternoon, any longer, and he ordered its interment. This was done at the city's; expense, and the the body of the man who was first said to be a brother of Frank Gotch, the famous wrestler, was laid to rest in what is styled Holt's Cemetery, but which is better known as the potter's field.
Exactly who the fellow was, no one in New Orleans seems able to say, but that he came from Austria is established by letters from his father, found in his possession. With a photograph of him to go by, Coroner O'Hara will continue trying to clear away the clouds about his identity and to this end will communicate with the parent in Austria.
The latter's letters were translated in part Tuesday by Assistant Coroner Groetch, and it was indicated by portions of them that the dead man was married since coming to America. There is not the slightest clew to the present whereabouts of his wife, however, and it was further understood by the local authorities that Gotch, or whatever his right name may be, had been devoted in his attentions to a New Orleans girl recently.
The possessions of the dead man, a little clothing, etc, found in his room, and the sum of $1.50, found on his person, are filed away in the Coroner's office in case a claim may later be made on them.
Gravesite Details
Age adt, Name on Plot Junca, Date of Burial 2/18/1913, Ref: Cemetery Records
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
