Lemp Reality Tour

13/02/2024

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for “Ladies of Lemp” at the St. Charles City/County Library on Hwy. K in O’Fallon, MO. The presentation is on Tuesday, March 12, from 7-8 pm in honor of Women’s History Month. It pays tribute to Lillian, Annie, Hilda and Elsa; the ladies of the Lemp family.

A book signing will follow the discussion. The event is free, but registration is required: https://stcharles.librarycalendar.com/event/ladies-lemp-69200?fbclid=IwAR1emDY1X_HSPRbmDYoLnMf1Fb25nhIvrfETNQBx0w4qXxNRPBaqUtqcPbc

The same presentation will also take place at the St. Louis Public Library Central Branch on Olive Street in downtown St. Louis, on Sunday, March 10, from 2-3 pm. The event is also free.

23/01/2024

Looking at an exciting year ahead; but there's always room for more events. Let me know if your company, library, or other organization is interested in hosting a Lemp Powerpoint discussion and book signing.
Make plans now to attend one of the events listed here. There's no charge for admission, but please contact the individual venues regarding registration requirements. Be sure to share with your history-loving friends, too!

24/12/2023

Merry Christmas, and Happy 2024!

14/08/2022

Check out the first video in my "Lemp Lessons" series!

Enjoy this inside look at the historic Lemp family mausoleum in St. Louis' beautiful Bellefontaine Cemetery.

12/06/2022

Come by and celebrate, and pick up a signed copy of my book, "Lemp: The Haunting History!"

The Lemp Mansion Restaurant and Inn, St. Louis, Missouri, featuring restaurant with lunch and dinner, bar, inn, mystery dinner theater, gift shop, museum, banquet facilities, Lemp Experience, 314-664-8024. Famous from Ghost to Ghost.

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas to all, from Billy Lemp!

17/12/2021

Okay, very unusual request here. Do I have any friends or associates with connections to the inner workings of the St. Louis Police Dept? I ask because I’m doing a deep dive for info about the death of Elsa Lemp Wright, who died on March 20, 1920. I have the police report and the report from the coroner’s office, but I feel like there is more to be learned, than what was released to the press in 1920. If anyone can provide assistance, I’d love to see what other evidence, interviews, etc. may still exist deep in the dusty vaults. Feel free to message me to preserve your privacy. And let me know if you need any other details. Thanks!

27/11/2021

The wealthy family. The lives cut short. And the restless spirits of a haunted mansion.

Here's the perfect gift for that person on your list who enjoys beer, St. Louis history, and as much drama as one family has ever produced. And did I mention ghosts?

Lemp: The Haunting History

20/03/2021

On March 20, 1920, Elsa Lemp Wright awoke to see the last morning she would ever experience. It was, like today, the first day of Spring, and a day full of joy and promise.

As the tragic circumstances of her death have been examined in detail for many years on this and other pages, I thought it appropriate to mark the end of her life in a simple moment of peaceful reflection, with the song that was performed at her funeral service: "Lead Kindly Light"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umLv5lX-63I&list=RDumLv5lX-63I&start_radio=1

23/01/2021

13/11/2020

On this Friday the 13th, we look at some of the ways the number 13 is connected to the tragic Lemp family.

09/05/2020

THE RESTLESS SOUL OF CHARLES LEMP
Posted by Stephen Walker, author of “Lemp: The Haunting History,” with information discovered since the publication of my book.

DEATH VISITS THE LEMP MANSION
On the morning of Tuesday, May 10, 1949, as was her custom, Charles Lemp’s cook, Lena Bittner, delivered Mr. Lemp’s breakfast on a tray that she left in the library room adjoining his bedroom on the first floor of the stately Lemp Mansion. Later, when she went to retrieve the tray, she saw that the food was untouched. She called to her husband, Albert, who entered the bedroom and encountered a shocking scene: Charles was lying in his bed, dead, with a gunshot wound to the head and a gun near his right hand.

Mr. Bittner informed his wife of the grim news, and she immediately contacted Richard Hawes, the husband of Charles’ niece, Marion. Hawes then summoned police to the mansion. A su***de note, written in pencil on plain paper, was found nearby. It stated “In case I am found dead, blame it on no one but me.” It was dated May 9, 1949, and signed by Mr. Lemp.

At the time of his death, at age 77, Charles had been suffering from ill health, including arthritis and nervousness. Mrs. Bittner said that on the day before his passing, Lemp told her “I am so nervous I don’t know what I am doing, or what I’m about to do.”

DATE OF DEATH: ACTUAL vs OFFICIAL
Since Charles wrote and dated his note on Monday, May 9, I believe that was his actual date of death. But as there were no witnesses to the tragedy, and the former brewer was not discovered until Tuesday, May 10 (and officially declared dead by Dr. Joseph Falk at 9:10 a.m.), the 10th will remain the official date of death, as inscribed on his death certificate.

In the St. Louis Star-Times of May 10, police on the scene expressed the opinion that Mr. Lemp shot himself some time on the night of May 9. (It would have been sometime after 8 pm, the last time Mr. Bittner saw Charles alive.) The officers reported that the bed light was burning when they reported to the house, which the author takes as evidence in favor of Charles having shot himself in the evening of May 9, shortly after he composed his note.

UNUSUAL FUNERAL REQUESTS
As for the disposition of his body, Charles made arrangements with a south St. Louis funeral home in in a letter dated April 16, 1941. He instructed that immediately upon his death, his body should be conveyed by ambulance to the Missouri Crematory for cremation. It was not to be bathed, changed, or clothed. No services were to be held over the body, nor was a death notice to be published. He further ordered that his ashes be placed in a wicker box and buried on his farm.

ABOUT THAT FARM
Last year, John Sarkis, who once lived in Charles’ old farmhouse, posted photos and reflections from that time on this page. It was via that post that I first learned of the location of the farm.

Here are some of his recollections:
“…6902 Christopher, overlooking the Mississippi…had served as the summer home of Charles Lemp, of the Lemp Brewery family. After he committed su***de in the Lemp Mansion, he was cremated, and his cremains supposedly buried here, on what would become our property ten years later. The flagstone driveway was flanked by sixteen maple trees, which were fun to climb, but raking leaves provided a massive chore each fall.

After suffering a house fire, our home was sold to the Hoffmeister family, who would tear it down in 1975.

In the 1880s, the J.S. Meyer family purchased the farm from the Blow Estate. Most are aware of the Blow family's association with local history, with everything from the Iron Mountain Railroad to Kindergartens & Dred Scott. They also owned much of the land in what would later become known as Oakville.

In addition to the log house covered with clapboard siding that we lived in, Lemp's Farm had a caretaker's house, with a water tower, holding water pumped from the Mississippi to irrigate the vineyard and orchards during the dry months. Other structures included a 2-story log garage, and a barn. One unique feature was a phone, which connected the house and barn.
Charles Lemp purchased the farm in the 1920s, and after his su***de at the Lemp Mansion, his estate sold the farm in 1950 to Robert Kilpatrick, a retired Falstaff executive. We purchased the house from him in 1959.

Our house was torn down and replaced. The garage was also torn down. And the caretakers house, along with the barn and all the farm and pasture has become a subdivision. [The wicker box containing Charles’ cremains] was probably plowed up, and not knowing what it was, either discarded or unceremoniously reburied.”

IS CHARLES INTERRED AT THE CREMATORY?
To investigate the notion held by some that Charles rests for eternity at the Missouri Crematory (now known as Hillcrest Abbey), I visited the facility and met with Steve Dulaney, its manager. According to their log book, Charles’ body was taken into the crematory on May 10. On the following day, his cremains (the funeral industry’s preferred term for what is left of a person who has been cremated) were taken from the crematory by a representative of the funeral home that handled his arrangements.

BUT CHARLES’ FINAL INSTRUCTIONS AREN’T INCLUDED IN HIS WILL!
It’s true that Charles’ funeral arrangements do not appear in his will, which has led some to believe they were never expressed, at least not in a letter to the funeral home. But while wills are a great way to divide property, they may go weeks without being read or acted upon, which makes them a bad way to outline your funeral arrangements, which have more immediacy and need to be acted upon within days of death.

It’s pretty unlikely that whatever remains of Charles’ physical body will ever be found. But as he is frequently identified by paranormal researchers to be the haunting spirit of the Lemp Mansion, paying a visit to the old family home may be the only way you’ll ever encounter Charles on this earthly plane. Best of luck.

21/04/2020

LEMPS AMONG THE FIRST TO OWN AUTOS IN ST. LOUIS

A feature in the April 21, 1907, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated that “In all large cities the rich people are selling their horses, disposing of their harness and carriages and discharging their stablemen. The grooms are turning themselves into chauffeurs.” The writer predicted that within two years “all the private stables in this city, with very few exceptions, will be given up. No society dame will hereafter have her ‘carriage and pair.’ This peculiar distinction of the wealthy will become a thing of the past.”

The writer further stated that the automobile “appears to have reached a state of perfection, where it is under absolute control at any moderate speed and where a careful, painstaking chauffeur can drive the wife and daughters daily for years without encountering disaster.” And, “a man can go 15 miles out into the country in an automobile in the time required to go three miles behind a horse. A powerful automobile, such as those which the millionaires of St. Louis have been purchasing during the past winter can ‘get away with’ a country road which to a horse would be impassable.”

At the time of the article’s publication, 22 wealthy St. Louisans had sold their horses and purchased automobiles. Among them were four Lemps: Elsa, Edwin, Billy and Charles.

29/03/2020

As we commemorate the passing of Lillian Handlan Lemp on March 29, 1960, let us celebrate some noteworthy facts about her wondrous life:

Lillian earned her nickname, “The Lavender Lady,” as a result of her habit of outfitting her petite 4’ 11” frame (with a reputed 18-inch waist) in that color every day. Even the horses that pulled her stylish carriages were outfitted in lavender harnesses.

Lillian was born Lilly May, but changed her name later in life. Thereafter, she would refuse to answer to any other name; especially “Lil,” a nickname she detested.

As the daughter of Alexander Handlan, president of a large and successful railroad supply firm, Lillian was already wealthy and well-connected before she married Wm. J. “Billy” Lemp Jr. in 1899.

Lillian never lived in the Lemp Mansion. Instead, after her marriage to Billy, the two resided across the street at 3343 S. 13th (now DeMenil Place). The house is still there.

As her marriage deteriorated beyond repair, it was she who filed the petition for divorce, a bold move for a woman in the early 1900s.

After the Lemps’ sensational 1909 divorce trial, which occupied the front pages of all four St. Louis newspapers for weeks, Lillian was granted annual alimony of $6,000. Not satisfied with this judgment, Lillian fought all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court, where she was granted a lump sum alimony of $100,000, at that time the largest such sum ever awarded in Missouri. She was also granted primary custody of their son, Wm. J. Lemp III.

In 1914, Lillian was sued by John Leahy, her divorce attorney, for $5,200 in unpaid bills in connection with the divorce case.

Lillian regarded William III to be the light of her life, and upon his sudden passing in 1943, at the age of 43, she went into deep mourning, and never wore lavender again.

Lillian died of infirmities at Jewish Hospital at the age of 83, not far from her last residence in the 500 block of Lake Avenue, in St. Louis’ fashionable Central West End.

Late in her life, Lillian sought permission from Edwin Lemp to be interred in the Lemp Mausoleum at Bellefontaine Cemetery in order to spend eternity with William III. Since she was no longer a Lemp, she was technically not entitled to be entombed there, but the kind-hearted Edwin granted her request and she now rests forever next to her beloved son.

21/03/2020

https://www.amazon.com/Lemp-Haunting-Stephen-P-Walker/dp/057848112X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AJAP9HLYGBNF&keywords=lemp+the+haunting+history&qid=1584809096&sprefix=Lemp+the+haunting+history%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1

The chilling true story of one of St. Louis' most mysterious families, and their ghostly legacy. This book provides an in-depth chronicle of the Lemp brewing family, their haunted mansion, and the family su***des that sealed their fate.

21/03/2020

SECTION FOUR: DOUBTS AND DISCREPENCIES

TIMEFRAME
Thomas Wright claimed that he heard a noise (which turned out to be a gunshot) at about 8:05 a.m. on the morning of March 20, 1920. After finding Elsa in her bed with a bullet wound to the chest, he inexplicably waited about half an hour before calling out for one of his maids to summon a doctor. When asked by police about the delay, Wright stated that he was confused, and did not know what to do. But he wasn’t too confused to call his personal attorney, Samuel Fordyce, who ended up being Wright’s spokesman. But neither he, nor his servants, ever called the police, who became aware of the tragedy more than three hours after the fact.

INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS FROM THE SERVANTS
There were four servants in the house at the time of Elsa’s shooting; three maids and a cook. ALL of them testified in the coroner’s report that they heard no gunshot. But one of the officers on the scene said, in the same report, that “one of the maids” (he didn’t name her) told him she heard a shot, entered the bedroom, and found Mrs. Wright “still alive and gasping.”

INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS FROM THOMAS WRIGHT
In multiple interviews, Thomas Wright claimed that he didn’t know Elsa owned a gun. In an excerpt from the coroner’s inquest, he said of the gun: “I had never seen it before; I didn’t know anything about it.” In the Post-Dispatch of March 20, a reporter stated that, “In a direct report to a policeman, Wright said this revolver was his wife’s property and that each night she laid it on a table between their twin beds as a protection against burglars.”

WAS THERE A MOTIVE FOR SU***DE?
Elsa’s servants were interviewed thoroughly, and none of them expressed an opinion that Elsa had any reason to take her own life. The coroner ruled that her death came about as a result of depression brought on by a bout of nausea and indigestion. In a St. Louis Globe-Democrat interview, Elsa’s brother Edwin, who knew her as well as anyone, said he was certain his sister’s death was not a su***de.

WHAT ABOUT THE METHOD OF DEATH?
Statistics from the 1920s indicate that when women wanted to commit su***de, they almost always used pills or poison. Men almost always used guns. Those facts remain unchanged even today. If Elsa shot herself, her technique was very uncommon. Also, victims of su***de rarely fire through their clothing. In Elsa’s case, the police and coroner reported that the fatal bullet went through her nightclothes, and there was a powder burn on the front of her clothing, at the entrance wound. Therefore, this methodology would have placed Elsa in a very small minority of su***de victims.

THE EASY WAY, OR THE HARD WAY?
Elsa was found lying on her back, in her bed, after allegedly shooting herself. It seems odd to this author that Elsa would reach over to her nightstand, find the handle and open the drawer, locate and grasp her gun, lie back down, and shoot herself. It’s human nature to do things in the easiest, most efficient manner, rather than in a method that involves unnecessary movement or effort. So why not sit up to find the gun, then fire it while seated on her bed?

HUSBAND SUPPOSED TO GET NOTHING, ENDS UP WITH HALF
Before her second time at the altar with Mr. Wright, Elsa intended to make sure her husband would receive none of her estate upon her death. However, it didn’t turn out that way, due to a provision in the law that she may not have been aware of. Here, in an article from the March 23, 1920 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a revealing look at what happened: “It was learned today that in the period when she was divorced from Wright she made a will, in which Wright was not mentioned, but that since the remarriage, March 8, last, she had not made a will. Under the law her remarriage invalidated the will, which she made as a single person, the effect being that she died intestate. Her estate has an estimated value of about $500,000. According to the law governing the estates of those who die intestate, Wright, as the widower, will be entitled to one-half of the estate.”

THE CORONER’S VERDICT
A blank verdict was signed by the coroner’s jury before the final decision regarding cause of death was made. This was unusual, according to contemporary newspaper accounts. Every news reporter found this to be a break from standard protocol, in that it seemed to imply that the investigation was a sham, and that the verdict was predetermined.

A CLOSING THOUGHT
Elsa has a story to tell us. It’s a complex and tragic legacy that lies beneath a century’s worth of dusty newspaper clippings, police interviews, and coroner’s reports. And since those who played a part in this drama are gone, we may never know exactly what happened on the morning of March 20, 1920. If Elsa’s death did not come by her own hand, it’s beyond our power to bring her justice. Instead, the best we can do is give her a measure of dignity by keeping her in our thoughts. Because we are never truly gone as long as we are remembered.

20/03/2020

SECTION THREE: THE EVENTS OF MARCH 20, 1920
And now we come to the events of Saturday morning, March 20, 1920, the last morning Elsa would ever see. The scene is the new residence of Thomas and Elsa Wright, at 13 Hortense Place, in St. Louis’ fashionable Central West End.

It was the first day of Spring, and the morning dawned bright and brisk. Inside the house, the air was thick with the fragrance from dozens of flower arrangements sent by well-wishers upon Thomas and Elsa’s remarriage. They were newlyweds for the second time. After a 13-month divorce, their new marriage was entering its 13th day.

Outside, neighbors were walking their dogs, heading to the market, enjoying the start of their weekend. If there were any passersby in the vicinity, they could be forgiven if they didn’t hear the firing of a 32-caliber pistol in the home’s master bedroom a few minutes after 8 a.m. At that hour, the outside temperature was 41 degrees, so the windows would have been closed, making it even less likely that anyone would have been aware of the moment that Elsa’s life came to an end at the age of 37.

Not surprisingly, Elsa’s death caused shockwaves through the city, and it was widely reported and discussed in the newspapers of the day.

The primary source of information about the case is the inquest conducted by Deputy Coroner William Dever, whose report included interviews or written statements from those who were in the home at the time of the shooting, as well as the doctor who was summoned to the house and the police who investigated the tragedy.

Here’s the list of who was interviewed:
• Sgt. Michael Burke, SLPD
• Officer August Klein, SLPD
• Martha Westin, (maid)
• Elizabeth Bender (cook)
• Minnie Stover (downstairs maid)
• Kate Rueckert (upstairs maid)
• Thomas H. Wright
• Dr. M. B. Clopton

From the information in this report, it’s possible to lay out a timeline of the events of March 20. I’m going to start with the sworn testimony of the witness who was closer to the event than anyone besides Elsa herself: her husband, Thomas, who was interviewed by Officer August Klein of the St. Louis Police Department.

8 am: THE DAY BEGINS
From that interview we know that the Wrights arose at 8 a.m. Thomas said Elsa had been up much of the night with an upset stomach, and she felt tired when she awoke, so she said she would stay in bed an hour or so. Thomas told her he thought that was wise, and then he went to the bathroom to start filling the tub.

Here’s what happened next, in a direct quote from Thomas: “I started to draw the water, and then I realized that I hadn’t taken my clean underclothes, so I went out into the room and into a closet…and got this underwear and went back into the bathroom, and of course shut the door.”

8:05 am: “I HEARD A SHARP NOISE.”
The next event in the timeline occurred at 8:05. Again, quoting Thomas: “I heard a quick, but very slight sharp noise, and I opened the door. I thought maybe Mrs. Wright had fallen. When first I opened the door she was apparently looking right at me, and I said, ‘Did you call, did you throw something against the door to call me?’ And by that time I had advanced to practically the middle of the room, and then I saw this revolver on the bed.”

The gun was a 32-caliber C**t police special, identical to the model pictured in this post. When police entered the room, the revolver was on a couch not far from the bed. Wright said he must have “taken it unconsciously and laid it on the couch.” He said the gun wasn’t his, and supposed it belonged to Elsa. But he claimed to have had no knowledge of where it came from.

8:35 am: “SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED.”
When the maids were interviewed by police, all of them gave fairly consistent testimony. All said they heard no gunshot, and the consensus was that Wright first shouted for them around 8:30 or 8:40.

Martha Westin testified that Mr. Wright shouted for her to call to the doctor, because something terrible had happened to Mrs. Wright. After some difficulty in making a connection, Wright took the phone and made a call to Dr. M. B. Clopton, who arrived to find Elsa dead from a gunshot wound to the heart.

Another maid, Kate Rueckert, said Wright told her to go into the bedroom, and to stay with Elsa. Rueckert said she entered the room and found Elsa still alive, and sat with her and rubbed Elsa’s arm.

Another phone call made by Mr. Wright that morning was to his lawyer and long-time friend, Samuel Fordyce. He was Wright’s right-hand man in times of trouble. Fordyce had a good number of well-placed, important friends and fellow legal associates, and after the call from Wright, he began notifying a number of them, including a local circuit attorney, circuit judge, and a circuit court clerk.

9:35 am: “COME TO MY OFFICE IMMEDIATELY.”
A number of friends and family were notified of the shooting. Included in this group was St. Louis Associate City Counselor William Killoren, who happened to be a good friend of Elsa’s brother, Edwin.

Coincidentally, on the morning of Elsa’s shooting, Edwin telephoned Killoren to invite him to Edwin’s country estate for a visit the next day. Under the circumstances, Killoren was surprised by Edwin’s casual attitude, and soon realized that he hadn’t yet heard the news about his sister, so he summoned him to his City Hall office, saying he had something important to tell him. When Edwin arrived, Killoren told him of the news about Elsa, and they got in Edwin’s car and rushed toward her home.

11 am: EDWIN’S ACCIDENT
Along the way, shortly before 11 a.m., Edwin’s car struck a young woman who was crossing the street at the downtown intersection of Jefferson and Locust – the actual intersection is pictured here (and that building still stands). She was not seriously injured, but a traffic officer was called. Edwin explained the reason for their haste, and through him, word was relayed to the Newstead Avenue police station, and police were dispatched to the Wright residence.

11:20 am: THE POLICE ARRIVE
At about 11:20, more than three hours after the shooting, police officers Michael Burke and August Klein arrived on the scene. And what did the police encounter upon their arrival? A horde of newspaper reporters already at the house, with Fordyce holding court and fielding their questions, while shielding Mr. Wright from the spotlight.

2 pm: CORONER’S INQUEST
No autopsy was performed on Elsa’s body. Instead, she was left in her bed until 2 p.m., when an inquest was conducted by Deputy Coroner William Dever. At the end of the brief inquest, a six-member jury signed a blank verdict, which was filled in later, listing the cause of death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound of the chest.

Elsa’s death certificate defines her death as a su***de. But was it really?

Tomorrow: Doubts and Discrepancies

19/03/2020

SECTION TWO: MARRIAGE, AND A NEW ADVENTURE

Sometime during the first decade of the 20th century, Elsa met Thomas Wright, a wealthy bachelor born in St. Louis in 1877. He graduated from St. Louis’ prestigious Smith Academy, the predecessor to the Mary Institute and Country Day School in Ladue. Elsa’s brothers also attended the same exclusive private school, so it’s natural that Thomas and Elsa moved in the same social circles and were eventually attracted to each other. At the time he and Elsa met, Thomas was living with his sister and mother at 33 Westmoreland Place, in a residence owned by his brother-in-law, Charles Pettus.

Wright attended Washington University, and was also a prominent member of several prestigious private clubs, among them the Racquet Club, the St. Louis Club, and the St. Louis Country Club, as well as other business-related organizations. Through these associations, Thomas was well-connected both in business circles and the busy St. Louis social scene. In 1911 Thomas would join the More-Jones Brass and Metal Company, which made wheels and other supplies for railroads, streetcars, trolleys, subway, etc. In 1912 He was elected vice-president of the company.

1910 was a grand year for Elsa/Thomas. Their engagement was announced in a feature on the Society page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, describing notable Easter-season brides. The beautiful season of Easter, the season of rebirth and hope, must have seemed like the perfect time for Elsa and Thomas to begin their life together.

Miss Lemp was given in marriage by her brother, Edwin, with whom she enjoyed a particularly close relationship. After the death of her mother in 1906, and until her marriage, Elsa resided with Edwin in his luxurious apartment at the St. Regis Apartments, across from the Chase-Park Plaza.

And so, on April 12, 1910, a couple of weeks after Easter Sunday, the Wrights were joined in matrimony in a quiet ceremony held in Milwaukee at the home of Elsa’s sister and brother-in-law, Hilda and Gustav Pabst. There were no wedding showers for her, no bachelor parties for him, and only family was present at the small ceremony, in keeping with Elsa’s preference for an event unmarked by display. Nonetheless, the Wright marriage was a notable one, owing to the wealth of both parties, and as such, was reported in many major newspapers. In their report on the nuptials, the Los Angeles Times said of Elsa, “She is a blonde of unaffected manner, and has been greatly admired since she entered society, several years ago.” Meaning of unaffected manner: free of artificiality; sincere and genuine.

Upon their marriage, the Wrights would make their home at number 48 Portland Place in the Central West End. Portland was, and still is, one of St. Louis’ most exclusive neighborhoods. Elsa bought the palatial home herself, for $80,000. As darlings of high society, the comings and goings of Elsa and Thomas, including the glittering parties they attended and hosted, were regular features on the Society pages, and they enjoyed much notoriety among the fashionable elite of St. Louis. But a few years into the marriage, there developed strife and conflict in what seemed to the public to be a happy and stable relationship. But according to Elsa, Mr. Wright was becoming increasingly cold and indifferent.

The already rocky relationship suffered a severe shock when, on Aug. 8, 1914, Elsa gave birth to their only child, a daughter whom she named Patricia. She’s believed to have lived only a couple of hours, and now rests for eternity in the Lemp Mausoleum in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

The marriage continued to slide downhill, and Thomas and Elsa separated, during which time Elsa continued to reside at the house on Portland Place. The separation lasted until December 1918, when Elsa filed for divorce. In her divorce petition, Elsa laid out many complaints about her marriage, claiming that Thomas had destroyed her peace and happiness by his conduct and had long since ceased to love her. She said he often made himself absent from their home in order to be away from her, and that the situation had caused her great mental anguish and an impairment of her physical health. A noteworthy feature of the divorce was its expediency. The divorce was granted within one hour of the petition being filed, and was granted on the grounds of general indignities.

Another unusual aspect of the Wright divorce was that it did not last long. After a little more than a year apart, a reconciliation came about and Elsa and Thomas were remarried on March 8, 1920, in New York City. Nobody knows with certainty why Elsa remarried Thomas, but there is no doubt it was the most fateful decision she would ever make.

Tomorrow: The events of March 20, 1920