A Seattle Hotel Death, a Body Exhumed, and a Family’s Slander Suit
Miss Witnail died suddenly after the Pollocks brought her west; when an Iowa coroner found childbirth, accusations and lawsuits followed.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Mason City, Iowa, Aug. 24.—The celebrated Pollock affair has at last found its way into court. Two years ago Miss Witnail, a woman of good family, came from England to make her home with her uncle, George Pollock, a wealthy citizen of this county. A year ago Pollock, his wife and Miss Witnail suddenly left for Seattle. While there Miss Witnail died suddenly, and her remains were brought to this city for interment. Neighbors suspected that all was not right, and the coroner had the body exhumed and found that Miss Witnail had died in childbirth. Pollock accused James Witnail, a brother of the unfortunate girl, of ruining his sister. Witnail has instituted a slander suit for $10,000 damages, and Mrs. Pollock is suing for a divorce and division of the property.
Miss Witnail died at the New England Hotel, in Seattle, in childbirth. She was attended by a physician, who came too late. The Pollocks affected not to know the cause of the girl’s illness, and went East at once with the body. It looked as though the party came West that the confinement might take place, yet Miss Witnail was not given proper medical care. The physician who was called before death reported the case to the proper county authorities.
“The coroner had the body exhumed and found that Miss Witnail had died in childbirth.”
A woman’s death became a family accusation and a public spectacle, with a coroner, a hotel and a slander suit doing the work that privacy might do today. The story is a reminder that scandals often turn on who gets to control a woman’s reputation after she can no longer speak.
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