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

[zwiebel]

I keep finding stuff that contradicts my own opinions. I was sure the Russians with the squab recipe were made up, but here's a link to a recipe, posted by someone who says squab dishes were very popular in Georgia during Soviet times. Georgia was the birthplace of Stalin himself so who knows; the terrible old Uncle Joe may have been a squab paste fan himself.
http://www.grouprecipes.com/37564/chicken-tabaka---simple-georgian-dish.html

 

[Marilynilpa]

I keep finding stuff that contradicts my own opinions. I was sure the Russians with the squab recipe were made up, but here's a link to a recipe, posted by someone who says squab dishes were very popular in Georgia during Soviet times. Georgia was the birthplace of Stalin himself so who knows; the terrible old Uncle Joe may have been a squab paste fan himself.
http://www.grouprecipes.com/37564/chicken-tabaka---simple-georgian-dish.html

Yes, as gross as it sounds, squab paste was quite the delicacy. In "sophisticated society" back in the 20's and 30's, no party or social gathering would be complete without squab paste.

I understand that Alice often made squab pies to sell at her garden club fundraisers. I don't know if she also sold squab paste at those fundraisers.

It's interesting how tastes can change over the decades.

 

[Pink Panther]

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

 

[Marilynilpa]

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

Yes, the trash collectors normally went into the basement to collect the trash, but on the day of Alice's disappearance the trash was left outside and the collectors were told they could not enter the basement.

I find it interesting to see how the Parsons "estate" has been described - anywhere from 11 acres to 32 acres. In reality, it was slightly over 12 acres. And every inch of it was scoured by LE, Boy Scouts, scent dogs, and volunteers over several days, to no avail.

Poor Alice - betrayed by those she loved and who supposedly loved her.

 

[Pink Panther]

Yes, the trash collectors normally went into the basement to collect the trash, but on the day of Alice's disappearance the trash was left outside and the collectors were told they could not enter the basement.

I find it interesting to see how the Parsons "estate" has been described - anywhere from 11 acres to 32 acres. In reality, it was slightly over 12 acres. And every inch of it was scoured by LE, Boy Scouts, scent dogs, and volunteers over several days, to no avail.

Poor Alice - betrayed by those she loved and who supposedly loved her.

I found another article which I cannot link but I saved to my computer. It states that the police took Alex Kuprianoff (43 years old) into custody for questioning. He says that he and Anna were married in Russia in 1918 and that he came to the US in 1923 while she remained in England. He says that in 1928, he obtained a divorce from her in Cleveland, Ohio. He also says that she came to New York in 1930 and that they reconciled and ran a boarding house in Brigeport, Conneticut but that she later left for another job.

This article has pictures of Anna, Alex and Roy. In it, Alex denies paternity of Roy. Also, Anna seems to have indicated that she and Alice had written "reciprocal wills". (I'm not sure quite how that would work with Alice having all of the money???)

http://newspaper.twinfallspubliclibrary.org/files/Idaho-Evening-Times_TF050/PDF/1937_06_15.pdf

 

[zwiebel]

"Mrs Anna Kupryanova.....who pointed to a large packet tied wih cord and told them, 'That's all'.

The package sound suspicious, but more suspicious is Anna did not allow the garabage collecters into the basement that day, for the first time in four year.

I really hope the original ransom notes and the later one sent to the FBI in the sixties, indicating Alice's remains were in a field at Stoneybrook, have been kept. Comparisons could be really interesting.

 

[Marilynilpa]

"Mrs Anna Kupryanova.....who pointed to a large packet tied wih cord and told them, 'That's all'.

The package sound suspicious, but more suspicious is Anna did not allow the garabage collecters into the basement that day, for the first time in four year.

I really hope the original ransom notes and the later one sent to the FBI in the sixties, indicating Alice's remains were in a field at Stoneybrook, have been kept. Comparisons could be really interesting.

The ransom note is part of the records I reviewed at the National Archives. I don't recall seeing the letter from the sixties.

 

[zwiebel]

Grrr. Bet there are handwriting analysts today who could link them, if there was any link. Might be worth getting any samples of Anna's writing and the ransom notes looked at, anyway.

 

[Pink Panther]

Alex was living in Ohio in 1926:

U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)

Name: Alex Kuprianoff
Residence Year: 1926
Street Address: 2010 Vega av
Residence Place: Cleveland, Ohio
Occupation: Lab
Publication Title: Cleveland, Ohio, City Directory, 1926

He arrived in the US in 1923:

Alexandre Kuprianoff
Arrival Date: 1 Sep 1923
Birth Date: abt 1894
Birth Location: Russia
Birth Location Other: moscow
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/ Nationality: Russian
Port of Departure: Cherbourg,FRA
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: America
Search Ship Database: Search the America in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database

On his arrival documents, it states his last residence as being Jugoslavia.
The closest relative/friend he lists at this residence is "Friend. Mr. A Sokoluff, Groubenopole, Jugoslavia".
He states that he is going to visit his sister "Stana Ladevitch, 1894 Dublin Street, Akron, Ohio".

 

[Pink Panther]

On June 26th, 1937, New York State Trooper's requested naturalization record copies for both Alex Kuprianoff and Anna Parsons (Kupryanova):

U.S. Subject Index to Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1903-1959:

Names of Persons in Entry: Alexander Kuprianoff
Subject Title: Photostat
Date: 26 Jun 1937
INS Reference Number: 392-C-3318791
Roll Content Description: Perjury-Conviction - Printers
Roll Number: 22
Archive Publication Number: Subject Index to Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1903-1952

 

[Marilynilpa]

Grrr. Bet there are handwriting analysts today who could link them, if there was any link. Might be worth getting any samples of Anna's writing and the ransome notes looked at, anyway.

I suspect, but cannot prove, that Roy Parsons wrote the ransom note at his mother's request/insistence. Roy was asked to give literally hundreds of samples of his handwriting, and to my amateur eye his writing looked quite similar to the writing in the ransom note.

 

[zwiebel]

Please correct me because this can't be right, but:

Anna marries Alex in Russia, they go to live in England, he leaves her and heads to the US in 1923, but somehow manages to go via Yugoslavia and Bremen/Cherbourg, according to his immigration documents? And lived in Malapieratvirtsa and Groubenpole in Yugoslavia (no trace of either to be found).
*
Anna meanwhile has a baby in Richmond, which coincidentally is where a branch of Aristocratic Yugoslavians are living. The English/Indian father is vaguely killed somewhere vaguely in southern europe, Anna and son later sail to NY in June 1930. And are happily reconciled with Alex, who says he has divorced her in 1928. So, they all lived happily ever after.

No, hang on. By 1931, Anna's already working for Alice Parsons, and had apparently worked for her sister before that. So, exactly how long did this reconciliation with Alex last? And why did he lie about the divorce, which Marilynilpa says happened much later?

I want to know more about that aristo family in Richmond. Especially the names of any housekeepers they may have employed.

 

[Pink Panther]

Alex registered for the WW II draft.

He listed himself as being born in Moscow on April 13, 1894.
He lists his address as 1445 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings NY
His nearest relative as Vera Kuprianoff (at his same address).
His place of work as Lion Match Company, Long Island City, NY

U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Name: Alexander Kuprianoff
Birth Date: 13 Apr 1894
Birth Place: Moscow, Russia
Residence: Kings, New York
Race: White

 

[Pink Panther]

Please correct me because this can't be right, but:

Anna marries Alex in Russia, they go to live in England, he leaves her and heads to the US in 1923, but somehow manages to go via Yugoslavia and Bremen/Cherbourg, according to his immigration documents? And lived in Malapieratvirtsa and Groubenpole in Yugoslavia (no trace of either to be found).
*
Anna meanwhile has a baby in Richmond, which coincidentally is where a branch of Aristocratic Yugoslavians are living. The English/Indian father is vaguely killed somewhere vaguely in southern europe, Anna and son later sail to NY in June 1930. And are happily reconciled with Alex, who says he has divorced her in 1928. So, they all lived happily ever after.

No, hang on. By 1931, Anna's already working for Alice Parsons, and had apparently worked for her sister before that. So, exactly how long did this reconciliation with Alex last? And why did he lie about the divorce, which Marilynilpa says happened much later?

I want to know more about that aristo family in Richmond. Especially the names of any housekeepers they may have employed.

He never states that he went to live in England. The article states exactly what I wrote above. They married in Russia in 1918. He came to the US in 1923 while she remained in London. He obtained a divorce in 1928 in Cleveland Ohio. She came to New York in 1930. (My note - She may have already been in the US before that.)

 

[Pink Panther]

Anna was granted Naturalization on July 7, 1936.
She listed her address as 4222 205th St., Bayside NY

U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995

Name: Anna Parsons
[Anna Kupryanova]
Age: 35
Birth Date: abt 1901
Issue Date: 7 Jul 1936
State: New York
Locality, Court: Eastern District of New York, District Court

 

[Pink Panther]

I've found an unusual document for Anna on Ancestry that I don't understand. It's listed as follows:

Names of Persons in Entry: Anna Kupryanova
Subject Title: Cunard Line
Date: 7 Feb 1925
INS Reference Number: 55,395-357
Roll Content Description: Constitution of the United States - Czechoslovakia, Embassy of
Roll Number: 9
Archive Publication Number: Subject Index to Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1903-1952

Names of Persons in Entry: Anna Kupryanova
Subject Title: Cunard Line
Date: 7 Feb 1925
INS Reference Number: 55,395-357
Roll Content Description: Constitution of the United States - Czechoslovakia, Embassy of
Roll Number: 9
Archive Publication Number: Subject Index to Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1903-1952

I'll do some more searches. What's interesting about this is that someone made an inquiry about her possible arrival into the US and it's somehow tied to Czechoslovakia.

 

[fred&edna]

I suspect, but cannot prove, that Roy Parsons wrote the ransom note at his mother's request/insistence. Roy was asked to give literally hundreds of samples of his handwriting, and to my amateur eye his writing looked quite similar to the writing in the ransom note.

Poor Roy

 

[fred&edna]

Please correct me because this can't be right, but:

Anna marries Alex in Russia, they go to live in England, he leaves her and heads to the US in 1923, but somehow manages to go via Yugoslavia and Bremen/Cherbourg, according to his immigration documents? And lived in Malapieratvirtsa and Groubenpole in Yugoslavia (no trace of either to be found).
*
Anna meanwhile has a baby in Richmond, which coincidentally is where a branch of Aristocratic Yugoslavians are living. The English/Indian father is vaguely killed somewhere vaguely in southern europe, Anna and son later sail to NY in June 1930. And are happily reconciled with Alex, who says he has divorced her in 1928. So, they all lived happily ever after.

No, hang on. By 1931, Anna's already working for Alice Parsons, and had apparently worked for her sister before that. So, exactly how long did this reconciliation with Alex last? And why did he lie about the divorce, which Marilynilpa says happened much later?

I want to know more about that aristo family in Richmond. Especially the names of any housekeepers they may have employed.

I found this "in a nutshell" version quite humorous, Mrs Z

 

[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!

 

[fred&edna]

Yay, I found one location:

Grubišno Polje is a town in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grubišno_Polje