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| {{Short description|American housemaid (c. 1864 – 1892)}} | |||
| ] | |||
| {{for multi|the Welsh beauty queen, model and actress|Kate Alicia Morgan|the ''24'' character|Kate Morgan (24 character)|the American pornographic actress|Katie Morgan}} | |||
| {{Original research|article|date=November 2008}} | |||
| {{Infobox person | |||
| ⚫ | '''Kate Morgan''' ( |
||
| | image = Kate Morgan sepia.jpg | |||
| | alt = Kate Morgan in circa 1886. | |||
| | caption = Kate Morgan in circa 1886 | |||
| | birth_name = Kate Farmer | |||
| | birth_date = {{circa|1864}} | |||
| | birth_place = ] | |||
| | death_date = {{Death date and age|1892|11|28 |1864}} | |||
| | death_place = ] | |||
| | nationality = ] | |||
| | other_names = Lottie A. Bernard | |||
| | known_for = Ghost of ] | |||
| | occupation = | |||
| }} | |||
| ⚫ | '''Kate Morgan''' ({{circa|1864}} – November 28, 1892) was an American woman who died under mysterious circumstances, and is thought by locals to now haunt ] in ]. She was buried at nearby ] in Division 5, Section 1. | ||
| ==Background== | ==Background== | ||
| Kate Farmer was born in ], around the year of 1864. Her mother died on September 23, 1865,<ref name=gravestone>Gravestone, Mt. Olive Cemetery, Hamburg, Iowa.</ref> and at the age of two, young Kate was sent to live with her maternal grandfather, Joe Chandler.<ref name=official>Affidavit of Joseph Chandler, August 12, 1879, in the matter of the Estate of George W. Farmer.</ref> | |||
| Morgan (nee Farmer) was born in ] in 1865. At the age of 20, she married Tom Morgan, alleged to have been a ] who worked on ]s. According to the Hotel del Coronado's official book (see below) it is not clear whether this was true, or urban lore. The spectacular case of the 'Beautiful Stranger,' which became a national sensation in the ] of 1892, is filled with tantalizing clues, baffling dead ends, and mysterious interweaving threads. | |||
| On November 9, 1870, Kate's father, George Washington Farmer, was appointed to be the Postmaster of ].<ref name=postmaster>National Archives, Old Military and Civil Records.</ref> He remarried in 1871, fathered two more daughters, and then moved to ],<ref =eubank>Biography of Henry Eubank, "Wheatheart of the Plains - An Early History of Ochiltree County, 1969.</ref> where he died in 1876.<ref name=daughters>Affidavit of B. M. Burke, County Clerk, McCullouch County, Texas, July 7, 1880, in the matter of the Estate of George W. Farmer.</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==Death== | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| On December 30, 1885, Kate married Thomas Edwin Morgan and they had one child, a boy, born on October 31, 1886; he lived only two days.<ref name=child>Gravestone, Utterback Cemetery, Riverton, Iowa.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lamoureux |first=Aimee |date=2018-05-03 |title=Some Say This Woman Haunts A California Hotel, But Who Was She? |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/kate-morgan |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=All That's Interesting |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
| ==Haunting== | |||
| {{off-topic}} | |||
| ⚫ | There have been many putative ] sightings, and other potential ] events at Hotel del Coronado since then. The official |
||
| Around 1890, Kate Morgan ran off with Albert Allen, a stepson of Thomas' stepmother, Emily Dennison Allen Morgan.<ref name=allen>Written statement by Tom Morgan's daughter.</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | The hotel's Heritage Department has published an official book on this subject, written by the hotel's professional historian, titled ''The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado'' |
||
| This relationship also did not appear to have lasted. Although there are very few records of Morgan's life at this time, the next time she was reported sighted, she was ill and alone. | |||
| San Diego author John T. Cullen has published a new theory, in which he examines the facts presented in the Heritage Department's book, together with his own research. In his book ''Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado'' <ref name=DeadMove>''Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition (Nonfiction)'' by John T. Cullen ISBN 978-0743309509</ref>, Cullen conjectures that the reason for the entire affair was a blackmail plot against the hotel's owner, ]. The plot involved two women--Kate Morgan, described as a ruthless schemer and grifter who planned the entire affair; and Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Wyllie, a reportedly beautiful and gullible unmarried runaway from ] who had eloped with her lover, John G. Longfield, after their affair was found out and Wyllie was pregnant (a social death sentence for an unmarried woman in Victorian times). Longfield was married to another woman, and the father of several children. There likely was a second man involved, at least briefly. Although there is no smoking gun that proves the blackmail allegation, this book attempts to tie together all the various threads and clues that have been supposedly hidden in plain sight for generations to create a second theory. The body went through a series of identifications. One of the strong identifications made was that the body was that of Lizzie Wyllie. This i.d. was confirmed by Wyllie's mother in Detroit, but discarded by local authorities in favor of several other possible personas. Ultimately, disregarding the fact that the corpse and Wyllie both had two small birthmarks on the left cheek, the official story was changed on basis of evidence (pierced ears--Wyllie had them, but Morgan and the corpse reportedly did not) that the dead woman was Morgan. The author suggests reasons why John Spreckels' powerful security apparatus might have interfered in the investigation. The ill-fated plot could not have occurred at a worse moment, since Spreckels was at that moment in Washington, D.C., negotiating with ] ] and the ] to save the ]an monarchy. At the same time, Spreckels' father ] was doing last-minute shuttle diplomacy at the court of ] in ]. At stake was the family's fortune in Hawaii ] ]s. In the end, the author feels that Wyllie--betrayed and abandoned by everyone, a 'fallen ] angel'--killed herself out of remorse and despair. The final verdict on the ] is not yet in, but this is a totally fresh take on a tantalizing puzzle that now spans three centuries. Meanwhile, her ] is said to continue haunting the hotel, scaring both guests and employees.<ref name=cullen>Sample chapters of ''Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition (Nonfiction)'' by John T. Cullen (Clocktower Books, San Diego, 2008 </ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| {{off-topic}} | |||
| <references/> | |||
| Her next appearance was at Hotel del Coronado in 1892. She arrived on November 24,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Monteagudo|first=Merrie|year=2017|title=From the archives: 1892 death in Coronado|work=]|publication-place=San Diego, California|publication-date=|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/local-history/sd-me-archives-kate-morgan-20171120-story.html|access-date=}}</ref> checking in under the name "Mrs. Lottie A. Bernard, Detroit." The staff reported that she seemed ladylike, beautiful, reserved, and well-dressed, but troubled and very melancholy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/kate-morgan|title = Some Say This Woman Haunts a California Hotel, but Who Was She?|date = 3 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
| There is one other suggestion as to the identity of the ghost of the Hotel del Coronado that bears airing here. That belongs to Bonnie Vent, a medium in San Diego who claims to have spoken to the ghost, and whom she believes to be Lottie Bernard. This is the name shown on the Hotel's register. Like all other versions of the story mentioned herein, there is to date no factual evidence to prove or disprove her assertion. | |||
| ⚫ | ==Death== | ||
| Terry Girardot, a genealogist from Texas, has done extensive research on his maternal side of the family. Tom Morgan, Kate's husband, was the half-sister of his grandmother. | |||
| ⚫ | Kate was found dead on November 29, 1892, on the exterior staircase of ] leading to the beach, of what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head five days after checking into the hotel. A San Francisco lawyer, Alan May, speculated in the 1980s that her death involved foul play. Evidence for the alleged homicide was a passing statement during the coroner's inquest that the bullet found in her head did not match that of her own gun. There are many theories as to how Kate Morgan died, however none have been confirmed.<ref name=May>Alan M. May. ''The Legend of Kate Morgan: The Search for the Ghost of the Hotel del Coronado''</ref> | ||
| == Sightings == | |||
| He acquired the photograph shown on this web page from Tom Morgan's granddaughter. Tom Morgan's daughter wrote the following note on the back of the photograph: "Kate Farmer Morgan - Dad's first wife who committed suicide @ Long Beach (sic) Calif. She was originally from Hamburg & had lived where there (sic) baby boy was born, who only lived a couple day (sic). Kate ran away with another man." | |||
| ⚫ | There have been many putative ] sightings, and other potential ] events at ] since then. The official Hotel del Coronado website even mentions the ghost.<ref name="hoteldel">{{Cite web |title=Official website, Hotel del Coronado, History |url=http://www.hoteldel.com/about/history.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080428070707/http://www.hoteldel.com/about/history.cfm |archive-date=2008-04-28 |access-date=2008-05-06}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | The hotel's Heritage Department has published an official book on this subject, written by the hotel's professional historian, titled ''The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado''. It avoids speculation in its research of historical documents available in local public libraries, historical societies, and university libraries as well as city hall and police files. The Heritage Department's book leans toward the official suicide verdict.<ref name="Heritage">Official Heritage Dept. Book, ''The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado'' {{ISBN|978-0-916251-73-4}}.</ref> | ||
| A subsequent note read: "Thomas Edwin Morgan 1st married a Kate Farmer at Hamburg Iowa and they had 1 child - a boy who only lived a day or so and is buried back of church in lot with my parents . Kate ran away with a step-son of Emily Hope Allen Morgan who was my father's step-mother ... Thos. Edwin Morgan rec'd a telegram about a year after Kate left with Mr. Allen from authorities at Long Beach (sic) Calif. saying identification showed woman who committed suicide had committed suicide on beach there & what should they do with body - seems said Mr. Allen had deserted her - Dad wired back she left of her own accord & he wasn't claiming the body. Kate's folks lived at Hamburg but I don't think body was ever ret'd to Hamburg." | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| The man Kate ran away with was Albert Allen. George Allen, to whom the Hotel del Coronado sent a telegram on behalf of Kate (requesting funds to pay her bill) was his brother. George lived on a farm immediately adjacent to Tom Morgan's father, Marsena Morgan, who married Albert and George's step-mother, Emily Dennison Allen, in Illinois in 1871, twenty-one years prior to the death of Kate Morgan. | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| It is true Lizzie Wyllie's mother made an initial identification of the body, but it was based solely on a written description sent to police departments around the country. According to one newspaper article, she based her identification "on two small moles on the left cheek." The mortician sent her a detailed description of the body, noting the ears of the dead girl had never been pierced (as opposed to Lizzie's) along with a photograph of the deceased. Mrs. Wyllie made no further claim to the body and she was not heard from again. And, the man Lizzie supposedly ran away with wrote to Mrs. Wyllie saying he had received a letter from Lizzie - she was in Toronto and was not coming home. See Discussion. | |||
| Much has been made of a supposedly anonymous letter received by authorities that supposedly first identified the corpse as Kate Morgan. According to Alan May, this was written and mailed by Tom Morgan to throw authorities off the track. In fact, it was written and signed by A.D. Swarts, a former resident of Fremont County, Iowa. He wrote '''after''' she had been identified in the newspapers, and only to alert authorities of the names of her relatives in Iowa who might arrange for the disposal of her remains. The existence and location of his farm has been verified on an official plat plan of the county. | |||
| A photograph of Kate (the same as above?) was found in the trunk she left behind at the residence of her employer in Los Angeles. When shown to the San Diego Chief of Police, he made a positive identification, saying that "beyond a doubt" it was the corpse found on the beach. | |||
| Tom Morgan was NOT a gambler as has been so widely reported. He was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, a Christian organization that would have expelled him if he were a gambler . Several documents associated with the probate of his father's will show him to be in Fremont County, Iowa at the time he and Kate were allegedly riding the rails fleecing other card players at the poker table. For example, in 1888 Tom bought a milk cow from the estate for $25.88. At the time of Kate's death in 1892, he was living in Burchard, Nebraska. While in Burchard, he worked as a rural mail carrier and became the Postmaster of the town. In the years prior to his death in 1936, he was a Deputy Sheriff of Harlan County, Nebraska. The reason why Tom bears this misrepresentation of his occupation is because Kate told her employers she was married to a gambler. This, of course, was after she had deserted her husband and ran off with Albert Allen. | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| All of the information published above is documented in census, probate and family records. Those interested in the true story of Kate Morgan may consider it and arrive at their own conclusion as to which theory of the ghost's identity is the most credible. | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Kate}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Kate}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 23:17, 9 December 2024
American housemaid (c. 1864 – 1892) For the Welsh beauty queen, model and actress, see Kate Alicia Morgan. For the 24 character, see Kate Morgan (24 character). For the American pornographic actress, see Katie Morgan.| Kate Morgan | |
|---|---|
 Kate Morgan in circa 1886 | |
| Born | Kate Farmer c. 1864 Fremont County, Iowa |
| Died | November 28, 1892(1892-11-28) (aged 27–28) Coronado, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Lottie A. Bernard |
| Known for | Ghost of Hotel del Coronado |
Kate Morgan (c. 1864 – November 28, 1892) was an American woman who died under mysterious circumstances, and is thought by locals to now haunt Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California. She was buried at nearby Mount Hope Cemetery in Division 5, Section 1.
Background
Kate Farmer was born in Fremont County, Iowa, around the year of 1864. Her mother died on September 23, 1865, and at the age of two, young Kate was sent to live with her maternal grandfather, Joe Chandler.
On November 9, 1870, Kate's father, George Washington Farmer, was appointed to be the Postmaster of Hamburg, Iowa. He remarried in 1871, fathered two more daughters, and then moved to Texas, where he died in 1876.
On December 30, 1885, Kate married Thomas Edwin Morgan and they had one child, a boy, born on October 31, 1886; he lived only two days.
Around 1890, Kate Morgan ran off with Albert Allen, a stepson of Thomas' stepmother, Emily Dennison Allen Morgan.
This relationship also did not appear to have lasted. Although there are very few records of Morgan's life at this time, the next time she was reported sighted, she was ill and alone.
Her next appearance was at Hotel del Coronado in 1892. She arrived on November 24, checking in under the name "Mrs. Lottie A. Bernard, Detroit." The staff reported that she seemed ladylike, beautiful, reserved, and well-dressed, but troubled and very melancholy.
Death
Kate was found dead on November 29, 1892, on the exterior staircase of Hotel del Coronado leading to the beach, of what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head five days after checking into the hotel. A San Francisco lawyer, Alan May, speculated in the 1980s that her death involved foul play. Evidence for the alleged homicide was a passing statement during the coroner's inquest that the bullet found in her head did not match that of her own gun. There are many theories as to how Kate Morgan died, however none have been confirmed.
Sightings
There have been many putative ghost sightings, and other potential paranormal events at Hotel del Coronado since then. The official Hotel del Coronado website even mentions the ghost.
The hotel's Heritage Department has published an official book on this subject, written by the hotel's professional historian, titled The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado. It avoids speculation in its research of historical documents available in local public libraries, historical societies, and university libraries as well as city hall and police files. The Heritage Department's book leans toward the official suicide verdict.
References
- Gravestone, Mt. Olive Cemetery, Hamburg, Iowa.
- Affidavit of Joseph Chandler, August 12, 1879, in the matter of the Estate of George W. Farmer.
- National Archives, Old Military and Civil Records.
- Biography of Henry Eubank, "Wheatheart of the Plains - An Early History of Ochiltree County, 1969.
- Affidavit of B. M. Burke, County Clerk, McCullouch County, Texas, July 7, 1880, in the matter of the Estate of George W. Farmer.
- Gravestone, Utterback Cemetery, Riverton, Iowa.
- Lamoureux, Aimee (2018-05-03). "Some Say This Woman Haunts A California Hotel, But Who Was She?". All That's Interesting. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- Written statement by Tom Morgan's daughter.
- Monteagudo, Merrie (2017). "From the archives: 1892 death in Coronado". San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, California.
- "Some Say This Woman Haunts a California Hotel, but Who Was She?". 3 May 2018.
- Alan M. May. The Legend of Kate Morgan: The Search for the Ghost of the Hotel del Coronado
- "Official website, Hotel del Coronado, History". Archived from the original on 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- Official Heritage Dept. Book, The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado ISBN 978-0-916251-73-4.