NY NY - Alice Parsons: Heiress, Long Island, 1937

[Pink Panther]

I would love to see them. This is not my area of expertise either, unfortunately, and my technical help has just gone to bed. Maybe another poster can provide step by steps on how to post a pic, please?

I have saved the pic to my computer and I used to know how to link through photobucket but I don't know how to do it anymore.

 

[zwiebel]

I've only posted pics through flicker, and i know that's easy because I did it all by myself! Somebody has got to be able to help us out here....

 

[zwiebel]

Got it! When you reply, hit Go Advanced, then hit Attachments. Just paste the link to the Jpeg you have on your computer, or whatever it is there.

 

[Pink Panther]

Got it! When you reply, hit Go Advanced, then hit Attachments. Just paste the link to the Jpeg you have on your computer, or whatever it is there.

Where do I hit Go Advanced?

 

[fred&edna]

Click the "Quote" (as if quote my post here). Then click the "insert image" icon ^up there^ (it will be in the row of icons) and paste the photobucket url... maybe???

 

[Pink Panther]

Where do I hit Go Advanced?

Click the "Quote" (as if quote my post here). Then click the "insert image" icon ^up there^ (it will be in the row of icons) and paste the photobucket url... maybe???

Nope. Sorry. Can't find a way to do it without a host source. I'll try to find my photobucket info tomorrow to load the image there. I'm way too tired tonight but I'll do my best tomorrow.

: I

 

[Pink Panther]

I am quite curious now to know what prevented Alice from having children? William certainly had many years to have them with Anna but didn't produce any. What illness did Anna start to exhibit in 1931 that precipitated Anna coming on board as a housekeeper/"companion"???

 

[zwiebel]

Just a thought:

Here's a link to pest treatments for pigeons (mites are an ever-present problem for pigeon-keepers). The 'organ phosphates' are a mistranslation of organo-phosphates, I believe.

http://www.federmilben.de/en/control.html

And here's the wiki link to organo-phosphate poisoning. Reproductive effects are among the symptoms, they have their own section. This kind of poisoning used to be widespread in Europe and still is, in many parts of the world. You're talking nerve agents and chemical-weapon ingredients here. I suspect the US was the same.

Organophosphate poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ETA: Everyone here knows a squab is a pigeon, right? It's just I had no idea for a long time!
ETA: Of interest, it says someone who survives a dose of acute poisoning (say spilling a bucket of pigeon treatment over themselves?) can go on to have personality changes, aggressive events and psychotic episodes. Wonder if Anna had squab-caring duties as part of her tasks?

 

[Marilynilpa]

Marilynilpa - Can you fill us in with a little more info from Alice's side? Why was she unable to have children? Where did she and William meet? Where did they go on their honeymoon? What happened to her mother and why was her father in Canada?

Just a bit curious and looking for a few more leads for research...

It was reported that Alice couldn't have children due to some type of childhood injury - I have no idea what.

I believe William and Alice met through William's sister Mary, who was a friend of Alice's. They all ran in the same social circles, so Alice and William had many of the same friends.

For their honeymoon, Alice, William and Mary traveled by boat to Havana, Cuba - William was still working for his father's paper company at the time, so it was a combined honeymoon and business trip.

Alice's mother died when Alice was only 5 years old. They lived in Bay City, Michigan, where Alice's father and his family were involved in numerous business including a law practice and a hardware store. They were also involved in logging.

Her father was originally from Canada, and returned there after his wife died. He was not cut out to be a single father, so the children were sent to live with Colonel Timothy S. Williams, who was their mother's uncle.

By all accounts, Colonel Williams loved the kids, and sent both of Alice's brother's through college - Syracuse University in Ithaca, New York.

I have some great pictures of Alice and her brothers when they were young, frolicking on the massive grounds of Colonel Williams' estate. I won't post them here as they were given to me by members of Alice's family with the understanding that I could use them in my book, but could not use them in any other way without their permission.

I even have a photo of Alice in her wedding dress - a fairly simple white gown that suited her very well, IMO.

 

[Pink Panther]

I've found another newspaper article where Anna claims to be the daughter of an attendant of the czar's court and to have been an officer in the White Russian Army. She also claimed to be a countess and noble.

Noble families of Russia:

http://www.nswiki.net/index.php?title=Noble_Families_of_TheRussianEmpire

Anna Stepanova Demidova:

Anna Demidova - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Livadia Palace in Crimea:

Livadia Palace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Marilynilpa]

I've found another newspaper article where Anna claims to be the daughter of an attendant of the czar's court and to have been an officer in the White Russian Army. She also claimed to be a countess and noble.

Noble families of Russia:

http://www.nswiki.net/index.php?title=Noble_Families_of_TheRussianEmpire

Anna sure said a lot of interesting things, didn't she . . . but who knows how many of them were true!

 

[Pink Panther]

Oooohhh. Some more interesting stuff. Alex did not tell the (exact) truth! Anna may well have travelled back to the US at a later date with her son but...She TRIED TO travel into the States in 1924!

New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 about Anna Kupryanova

Name: Anna Kupryanova
Arrival Date: 11 Mar 1924
Birth Date: abt 1902
Birth Location: Russia
Birth Location Other: krim
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Ethnicity/ Nationality: Russian
Port of Departure: Cherbourg
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Aquitania
Search Ship Database: Search the Aquitania in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database

NOTE - The Aquitania ship is listed in the inquiry I posted above. Also...Some more interesting information on her arrival document that relates to Alex's arrival document:

Anna lists her profession as "teacher", able to read both Russian and German. She lists Nationality as Russian and her last residence as "Yugoslavia Grubidno". Nearest relative or friend from whence she came: "Friend Ana Sokolova from Grubidnopolje Croatia" and DRUM ROLLS PLEASE, her final destination is listed as Ohio, Cleveland. In hand writing over typed notes, the document shows her as going to join relative/friend Alexander Kuprianoff. Her place of birth was listed as Symferopol, Russia.

She was detained for special inquiry.
SHE WAS NOT ALLOWED IN! "DEPORTED" IS STAMPED BY HER NAME!

I was reviewing this document and noticed that I had made two mistakes. Anna's place of birth is listed as "Krim" (I think for Crimea) not Symferopol which is what was actually listed for the person beneath her listing. Also, on this document, Anna's height is listed as 5'8".

 

[Pink Panther]

Anna sure said a lot of interesting things, didn't she . . . but who knows how many of them were true!

Anna was probably able to speak at least three if not four languages. I think that she had had some form of education prior to leaving Russia and certainly was capable of taking care of herself. She was definitely "crafty" and most probably a good liar but there may have been a smidgen of truth regarding what she stated about her background???

 

[Pink Panther]

William took a boat to Los Angeles on October 1rst 1937. It took him 18 days to get there and he subsequently settled in California. I have not found records yet of Anna's trip to California - she may have travelled by land which would not show up on ancestry. William's sister Mary took a trip south to the Carribean in July of 1938. Despite their wealth, these people really don't seem to have travelled much. I have only been able to find two (2) trips that William made. One to Nassau and one to England (late 1925!)

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

IHAVENOCLUE, I think this is the most intriguing case too, although I'm astounded that I've done so much sleuthing and have found precisely nothing new! Still trying though. I'm not going to let a little thing like three foreign languages, four different countries and over half a century put me off!

Three foreign languages (and English isn't even the easiest to understand at times :giggle: ), four countries, fifty plus years.... Minor obstacles!

:floorlaugh:

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Garbage collectors told the FBI that they were "barred" from the home on the day that Alice Parsons was kidnapped:

http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper ...NY Herald Statesman 1937 Grayscale - 2518.pdf

This 1961 article mentions a letter that was sent many years later indicating that Alice was buried in a cornfield on her "husband's 32-acre" estate:

http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper ...961 a PDF/Utica NY Observer 1961 a - 0447.pdf

This articles has pictures of both Alice and Anna:

http://newspaper.twinfallspubliclibrary.org/files/Idaho-Evening-Times_TF050/PDF/1937_06_12.pdf

O/T.....The newspaper with the article showing pix of Alice and Anna advertises Chevrolet sedan for $495! A bargain!

 

[zwiebel]

Yes, and Stoneybrook farm was sold for around $15,000. If you compare that to the amounts Alice inherited or was about to inherit - $104,000 and $150,000 - well, she was a very wealthy woman indeed.

Despite this though, I'm not completely convinced money was the sole motive in her disappearance. What do others think?

 

[zwiebel]

I've found another newspaper article where Anna claims to be the daughter of an attendant of the czar's court and to have been an officer in the White Russian Army. She also claimed to be a countess and noble.

Noble families of Russia:

http://www.nswiki.net/index.php?title=Noble_Families_of_TheRussianEmpire

Anna Stepanova Demidova:

Anna Demidova - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Livadia Palace in Crimea:

Livadia Palace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sorry Pink Panther, I'm not quite getting what the connection between our Anna and this Anna might be.

I haven't had any reply on the royal russian forums yet, but they are very slow moving. lf there is any connection to be found between our Anna and Anna Demidova, I could post a question on an individual palace thread/ royal family too, with better hopes of getting a quicker answer.

By the way, are you using an ipad, pink panther? If so, all the instructions in the world won't help as the options to post won't come up here - you will only be able to post pics by putting them on flicker or photobucket first, and then posting them from there.

 

[Ausgirl]

Poor Alice.. no mother, no father.. no children of her own.. and then murdered (by people she trusted, IMO).

Marilynilpa, I love that you're writing a book about this crime. At least Alice's story will live on, then. Put me down for a (signed!) copy, okay?

 

[zwiebel]

Hey, get in line, Ausgirl! Or should I say queue, as I'm English?