We chose to research Cassie Chadwick due to the complexity and success of her largest con. We were very interested by her life story and found ourselves drawn into the excitement that followed her.
Cassie Chadwick was born Elizabeth Bigley on October 10, 1857 in Eastwood, Ontario to Dan and Annie Bigley. She was known as a child for daydreaming and telling lies. By the age of 14 she had already been arrested for passing worthless checks to various merchants. In 1882 she was first married to Dr. Wallace S. Springsteen while under the alias Madame Lydia DeVere and working as a fortuneteller. Their marriage was published in the Plain Dealer and this led her sister and various trades-people to the home of Dr. Springsteen, where they demanded he pay for the debts that his wife had accumulated. Outraged he paid her debts and threw her out of his house, filing for divorce 11 days after they were married.
In 1883 she once again claimed to be a clairvoyant and, this time as Madame Marie LaRose, she met a farmer from Ohio named John R. Scott. They were soon married. Under her next alias Cassie Hoover she opened a brothel where she met Dr. Leroy Chadwick. The two were married in 1897 and he (unknowingly) fathered her son Emil Chadwick.
She began her biggest scan later that year, claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie the wealthiest bachelor in America. She told this to an acquaintance of her husband, who took her to see Carnegie, and during her visit she just spoke to the housekeeper. When she emerged from the house she dropped a piece of paper which was a promissory note for 2 million dollars with Carnegie’s signature. The information of her heritage was leaked and soon banks all over northern Ohio were offering their services to her. She was able to use her fake background for the eight years and received between 10 and 20 million dollars. During her reign she had bought clothes to fit 30 closets, diamond necklaces, and a gold organ, she was also nicknamed the Queen of Ohio.
Her downfall came in the name of a man named Herbert B. Newton who gave her a loan of $190,000. When he learned of her other loans he revoked the loan and when she could not pay the bank sued her. Cassie fled to New York but was arrested in her apartment at the Hotel Breslin, wearing a money belt containing $100,000. She was put on trial, and Andrew Carnegie attended her trial to see the woman that had conned so much money out of the banks by pretending to be his child.
On March 10 1905 she was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a fine of $70,000. She brought furniture, clothing, and pictures for her prison cell and due to her celebrity status she was allowed to keep her belongings. She suffered a “nervous collapse” in September 1907, which left her blind. She died on October 10, 1907 at the age of 50.
Cassie Chadwick was born Elizabeth Bigley on October 10, 1857 in Eastwood, Ontario to Dan and Annie Bigley. She was known as a child for daydreaming and telling lies. By the age of 14 she had already been arrested for passing worthless checks to various merchants. In 1882 she was first married to Dr. Wallace S. Springsteen while under the alias Madame Lydia DeVere and working as a fortuneteller. Their marriage was published in the Plain Dealer and this led her sister and various trades-people to the home of Dr. Springsteen, where they demanded he pay for the debts that his wife had accumulated. Outraged he paid her debts and threw her out of his house, filing for divorce 11 days after they were married.
In 1883 she once again claimed to be a clairvoyant and, this time as Madame Marie LaRose, she met a farmer from Ohio named John R. Scott. They were soon married. Under her next alias Cassie Hoover she opened a brothel where she met Dr. Leroy Chadwick. The two were married in 1897 and he (unknowingly) fathered her son Emil Chadwick.
She began her biggest scan later that year, claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie the wealthiest bachelor in America. She told this to an acquaintance of her husband, who took her to see Carnegie, and during her visit she just spoke to the housekeeper. When she emerged from the house she dropped a piece of paper which was a promissory note for 2 million dollars with Carnegie’s signature. The information of her heritage was leaked and soon banks all over northern Ohio were offering their services to her. She was able to use her fake background for the eight years and received between 10 and 20 million dollars. During her reign she had bought clothes to fit 30 closets, diamond necklaces, and a gold organ, she was also nicknamed the Queen of Ohio.
Her downfall came in the name of a man named Herbert B. Newton who gave her a loan of $190,000. When he learned of her other loans he revoked the loan and when she could not pay the bank sued her. Cassie fled to New York but was arrested in her apartment at the Hotel Breslin, wearing a money belt containing $100,000. She was put on trial, and Andrew Carnegie attended her trial to see the woman that had conned so much money out of the banks by pretending to be his child.
On March 10 1905 she was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a fine of $70,000. She brought furniture, clothing, and pictures for her prison cell and due to her celebrity status she was allowed to keep her belongings. She suffered a “nervous collapse” in September 1907, which left her blind. She died on October 10, 1907 at the age of 50.
Cassie's house at Euclid Avenue
An artistic interpretation of Cassie's psychic agency by Ben Taylor
Sources:
"Femme Fatale" Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. D & B Reports; Jul/Aug 1992; 40, 4; ProQuest Research Librarypg. 47.
The Ultimate Book of Impostors
"Femme Fatale" Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. D & B Reports; Jul/Aug 1992; 40, 4; ProQuest Research Librarypg. 47.
The Ultimate Book of Impostors