Who's Who in Alchemy of Bones

Who's Who
Names beginning with
A B C D E F G H IJ K L M N O PQ R S T UV W XYZ
This index includes people in Alchemy of Bones, others connected with the Luetgert case and names that came up during the author's research.
Names in bold appear in the book. All addresses and ages are from 1897, and all addresses are in Chicago unless noted otherwise.
© 2003 Robert Loerzel.

Jack McClanahan	A farmer in Tekamah, Nebraska, who saw a woman resembling Mrs. Luetgert there.
Major Robert Wilson McClaughry	The warden at the Illinois State Penitentiary when Luetgert arrived in 1898. He quit the post in 1899, partly because he could no longer stand to breathe the polluted air at the prison. He was then the warden at the federal penitentiary in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 1899 to June 1913. McClaughry was noted as an early proponent of new scientific methods of identifying people. At Joliet in 1887, he introduced the Bertillion system, a French-invented procedure of measuring various lengths of bones in a person. Later, at Fort Leavenworth, he was a pioneer in the use of fingerprints to identify inmates.	McClaughry once told the Chicago Daily News: "I am not of that class of criminologists that claims to know a criminal the moment he is presented. I have to see a man several times. Probably on the first meeting I will be impressed one way with him. On a second meeting I will have another impression. Of course, there are some criminals on whom the trace of crime is indelibly stamped. Any one can recognize them. But the shrewd criminal is shrewd. He could deceive the elect… "I have sought always to eliminate aristocracy inside the bars, I have long contended that one man should not have more than another, simply because his friends are better fixed, financially, than the poor prisoner... "These men we call criminals have souls. They have the same passions, likes and hatreds inside the walls they had outside. Some people seem not to realize that. Always when a prisoner was brought before me, I thought of his family and the probable future of the man himself, when his term was up. "If a man was morose I put him in a cell with a cheerful fellow. If he was inclined to be suicidal, I put him in a cell with one whose talk was full of hope... I have trusted them. I have studied them. I have appealed to their better side, and I believe I have been successful in reforming them."
Cyrus H. McCormick Jr.	The son of one of Chicago's most famous business magnates, he was reported in 1897 to have pressured the city to keep Michael Schaack in his powerful police post.
McDermott	The police chief in Tonawanda, N.Y., he questioned a barge captain about a supposed sighting of Mrs. Luetgert.	First name unknown.
Willard M. McEwen	The First Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney, who prosecuted the Luetgert trials with State's Attorney Charles Deneen. Read more about McEwen.
Ernest McGaffey	The attorney of Henry Ullrich, the guard charged in the Dunning morgue thefts. Read more about the Dunning asylum and the case of the Dunning body-snatchers.
Andrew McGarry	A detective for the Luetgert defense.	Variations of name: James McGarry.
Hugh McGowan	Adolph Luetgert was suspected of foul play in McGowan's death in 1878, but the death was ruled accidental. View the Cook County Coroner's Inquest record for McGowan.	Occupation: Millwright. Died: September 9, 1878. Age at death: 64. Address in 1878: Corner of B and Dominick streets.
James McGowan	The son of Hugh McGowan, he was 17 at the time of his father’s death.	Address in 1897: 58 Lewis Street.
Alexander McIvor-Tyndall	A hypnotist from London who offered to hypnotize Luetgert. Read more about McIvor-Tyndall. His name is listed as J. Alexander McIvor-Tyndall in Alchemy of Bones, but the author has subsequently found information indiciating that J. was actually his middle initial.
John McKinney	A farmer in Kenosha, who saw the woman resembling Mrs. Luetgert.	Variations of name: John McKenney.
John McNally	McNally testified that he saw the Schimke sisters out on the night of May 1, 1897.	Address: 1209 Clybourn.
Francis W. McNamara	A physician at Cook County Jail who also cared for the jurors in the Luetgert trial whenever they needed medical assistance.
Charlie Maeder	An engineer at the Luetgert factory, he fled the country to avoid testifying. He apparently had not returned to Chicago by July 1899.	Variations of name: Charlie Mader, Charles Mather.
T. J. Mahoney	A juror in the first Luetgert trial. Chicago Daily News, Oct. 21, 1897.	Occupation: Salesman. Address: 209 Huron Street. Variations of name: T.G. Mahony.
Albert I. Mallory	Mallory testified that juror Henry Boasberg, who was his co-worker, had said he believed Luetgert was guilty. The testimony resulted in Boasberg's dismissal from the jury.	Occupation: Pressman and feeder for Donohue and Hereberry.
Hilda Malmgreen	Malmgreen found a ring that supposedly belonged at Mrs. Luetgert. On September 7, 1897, Captain Herman Schuettler told the Chicago Daily News: "Somebody went to work with a jackknife on an old and worthless brass ring and threw it away to await results. The ring, evidently, had not been in the street long, as there was little dirt on it when found." The defense attorney William Vincent said, "It is doubtless the work of some would-be joker."	Address: 1740 North Clark Street.
Dominick Marcus	A resident of the Dunning asylum whose body was stolen. An Italian laborer of unknown age with no known friends, he was admitted to Dunning on October 19, 1897, and died on October 21 of tuberculosis.	Variations of name: Dominie Marcas. Read more about the Dunning asylum and the case of the Dunning body-snatchers.
Margerstadt	A Cook County court clerk involved in the Luetgert trials.	First name unknown.
William Marquardt	A man who lived on the old Luetgert farm near Elgin, he said his mother had been approached by Adolph Luetgert's brother, Arnold, with a proposed plot to say she had seen Mrs. Luetgert. He was a neighbor of William Rabe, Diedrich Bicknese’s father-in-law.
Alice Martin	A Chicago woman murdered by George Painter.
Nic Marzen	Adolph Luetgert's cellmate in Cook County Jail. Read more about the Marzen case.	Variations of name: Nick Marsden. Chicago Journal, Aug. 25, 1897.
Fred B. Mason	An agent for Aetna Life Insurance Company at 325 Dearborn. "I was conversing with an agent about the time of the disappearance of Mrs. Luetgert," Mason told the Chicago Daily News on September 9, 1897. "The disappearance of the woman came up during the conversation, and the agent threw up his hands and breathed a sigh of relief. He stated that a few weeks before he had arranged with Luetgert to place the insurance on the sausage manufacturer's life for $100,000. Everything was about ready for the papers to be made out, when Luetgert told the agent that certain plans had failed. "Luetgert had stated that he intended to sell out his business to an English syndicate and that everything was ready for the deal, when, through the dishonesty of an agent who was conducting the sale it was declared off. A few days later the disappearance of Mrs. Luetgert and the arrest of the sausage manufacturer followed. I would not care to give the name of the agent ... but he is still considering himself lucky." The next day, the Daily News quoted Mason's father, Ira J. Mason, who was an Aetna Life Insurance agent, corroborating the story. But the son said he could not locate the agent who had supposedly heard Luetgert's statement. "The agent may have fled from town upon reading the article in the paper," he said. "Perhaps he knows more about the case than he cares to tell..." The story apparently never surfaced during the Luetgert trials.
Richard Mee	A juror in the second Luetgert trial.	Age: 52. Occupation: Blast-furnace worker. Address: 715 N. Ashland Avenue.
Louis Meinking	A cousin of Mrs. Luetgert who allegedly was in the Kankakee insane asylum at the time of the 1897 trial; probably the brother of Louise Law. It's also possible he may not have existed; someone may have incorrectly referred to Louise Law nee Meinking as Louise.	Variations of name: Louis Meinkings.
E.T. Melander	A photographer who took pictures of the Luetgert factory and later shot a portrait of the jury in the first trial.
Jacob Melber	A butcher in Wheaton who said he saw Mrs. Luetgert on May 6, 1897.
F.W. Merrill	One of the men who found an insane woman in Melrose Park, who was initially mistaken for Mrs. Luetgert.
Louis A. Merillat	A veterinary surgeon called by the defense as an expert witness in the second trial. The Chicago Tribune described Merrillat on October 3, 1897: The doctor proved to be a round-faced gentleman, with a loud, confident voice and a habit of working his eyebrows up and down. He gained the confidence of the spectators as to his ability to talk about hogs, sheep, etc., by announcing that he was a veterinarian, who was not only a practitioner but a college lecturer on the subject. He talked as lucidly as a man explaining anatomy to a class of boys. He was an instructor of comparative anatomy in a Wabash Avenue veterinary college.	Merillat's identification of certain bones contradicted that of another defense witness, Dr. Allport. When Merrillat said one bone seemed to come from the skeleton of a ruminant, McEwen asked, "Now, the only ruminating animal that works that you know of among the domestic animals is the ox... Do they use oxen in and about the city of Chicago?" "I have not seen any, not since -- I have never seen any here, I was going to say, since the (Chicago) fire, but I was not here," Merillat replied. Variations of name: Dr. S.A. Merillat.
Christopher Merry	Another Chicago man accused of murdering his wife at the time of the Luetgert trials, he was often mentioned in connection with Luetgert. Read more about the Merry case.
George Middleton	A dime museum manager who offered money to put Adolph Luetgert on display.
Grace Miller	An acquaintance of the Schimke sisters. Emma Schimke denied telling Miller, "We are paid for testifying this way; we know that is not true."	Age: 19. Address: She lived with the Kalkowsky family at 1147 North Lincoln. Occupation: Worked at Deering's factory.
J.H. Miller	A lawyer associated with A.W.C. Grottey.
Luther Laflin Mills	A well-known attorney and friend of Luetgert's, he had helped to prosecute the famous Dr. Cronin murder trial. He had also worked on behalf of accused killer George Painter. While not serving as a formal legal counsel for Luetgert, he did assist Luetgert's attorneys and funded the investigation of possible sightings in Wisconsin of Mrs. Luetgert. Explaining his role in the Luetgert case, Mills said, "I am not connected with the case, except that I have faith in the innocence of Luetgert. Occasionally some of the attorneys call upon me." (Chicago Inter Ocean, January 4, 1898.)
Albert J. Mills	Mills was on the witness list for the second Luetgert trial and was cited for contempt. His role in the case is uncertain.	Address: 632 Monroe.
Charles Mitchell	A reporter for the Chicago Journal, he took part in the scheme to listen in on the Luetgert jury.
Frank Moan	An employee of the Cook County Sheriff's Office who served a writ on Luetgert in the spring of 1897, when Foreman Brothers seized ownership of the factory.
John Moore	A reporter for the Chicago Journal, he took part in the scheme to listen in on the Luetgert jury.
Albert E. Morris	A former clerk in Judge Burke’s court, he was charged with complicity in an "alleged jury forgery matter." He was Luetgert's cellmate in Cell 21 at Cook County Jail in May 1897. "Morris occupied the lower berth in the cell, but when Luetgert was placed in his cell the ex-clerk kindly have up the more desirable bed and climbed into the upper one." (Chicago Daily Sun, May 19, 1897.)
Harry Morris	A comedian who asked Inspector Schaack for permission to wear one of his uniforms during a stage show.
Morrison	A Cook County deputy sheriff mentioned in coverage of the Luetgert case.	First name unknown.
Webb Morrison	A police officer in Monmouth, Illinois, where Mrs. Luetgert was supposedly seen.	Variations of name: P.W. Morrison, J.H. Morrison.
Clara Moss	Moss said Mrs. Luetgert had stayed at her boarding house in July 1897.	Address: 7 Bulfinch Street, Boston. Variations of name: Clara Morse.
A.J. Mount	An officer of the Library Bureau Company who commented to the press in 1904 about the fire at the former Luetgert factory.
Herman Mudgett	Regarded as America's first serial killer, he was reputed to have killed many people at his "castle" on Chicago's South Side. Like Luetgert, he was accused of dissolving or destroying the bodies of some victims. He was widely known by his alias, Dr. Henry H. Holmes.	To find out more about Mudgett, read Depraved by Harold Schechter, The Torture Doctor by David Franke or The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
Frederick C. Mueller	Louise Luetgert's nephew, he had worked as a treasurer for the Luetgert company and testified about the firm's shady business practices. View the Luetgert-Bicknese family tree.
Frederica "Frieda" Mueller	Louise Luetgert's niece. Chicago Journal, Sept. 14, 1897.
Wilhemina Mueller Chicago Record, Feb. 1, 1898.	Louise Luetgert's sister.
H.E. Mueller	A telegraph operator at the Northwestern depot in Kenosha, who saw the woman resembling Mrs. Luetgert.
Arthur Mundwiller	The owner of a saloon who said he saw woman resembling Mrs. Luetgert on September 24, 1897.	Occupation: Saloonkeeper. Address: 1033 W. North Avenue.
Everett J. Murphy	The warden at the Illinois State Penitentiary at the time of Luetgert's death. He was appointed to the post on July 1, 1899.


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