Helen Josephine Mansfield
| Helen Josephine Mansfield | |
|---|---|
Helen Josephine Mansfield Lawler
|
|
| Born |
December 15, 1847 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | October 27, 1931 (aged 83) Paris, France |
| Cause of death | Stomach cancer |
| Resting place | Montparnasse Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5' 5.5" |
| Spouse(s) | John Lawlor; Robert L. Reade |
| Partner(s) | Jim Fisk; Ned Stokes; Ella Wesner |
| Parent(s) | Joseph Mansfield; Sarah H. Gannett |
Helen Josephine Mansfield (December 15, 1847 – October 27, 1931) – known as "Josie" – was an American woman who became famous when one of her two wealthy lovers murdered the other.
Mansfield was a descendant of many colonial families of Massachusetts, most notably John Alden, and was a distant cousin of Frank Gannett. She was born in 1847 on Kingston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, the first and only child of Sarah H. Gannett Mansfield and Joseph Mansfield, who had both been employed at the Boston Transcript. When Josie Mansfield was about three months old, her parents moved to a boarding house at 13 Lincoln St. They later moved to 15 Crescent Place, where they lived for six months.
In 1849 or 1850, Joseph Mansfield joined the California gold rush. On August 12, 1850, the U.S. Census shows Josie Mansfield, 3, living in Boston Ward 8 with her uncle, Charles H. Mansfield, 26, her grandmother Caroline Mansfield, 50, and her aunt Caroline Mansfield, 19. The absence of Sarah Gannett Mansfield suggests that she may have been in California with her husband.
On the morning of June 23, 1854, Joseph Mansfield was murdered on the streets of by a business rival.
After her father’s death, Mansfield moved with her mother Sarah to Mystic Street, near the Bunker Hill Monument. Charles Mansfield, Joseph’s brother, also lived in Charlestown at the time of his brother’s death, and reportedly took a great interest in his widowed sister-in-law. He invited Sarah and Josie to live with him. The 1855 Massachusetts Census lists Charles H. Mansfield, 32, living with Sarah H. Mansfield, 26, and Hellen J. Mansfield (Josie), 8. On October 27, 1856, Charles and Sarah married in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
According to Barbara Goldsmith, "Josie would later say that her stepfather sexually molested her when she was twelve and continued to do so for three years, threatening to maim her if she ever spoke of it. Josie did not tell her mother, who by this time was drinking heavily."
On July 21, 1860, the United States Census shows Charles Mansfield, 40, fish dealer, living in Charlestown with Sarah Mansfield, 38, Josephine Mansfield, 14, and Lizzy Spillard, 27, an Irish-born house keeper. At the time, Charles owned $5,000 worth of real estate and $1,000 worth of personal estate.
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