Careful of being judgmental. None of us knows the individuals on the jury, and therefore have no way of knowing how they would have treated Grace and her child in life.
Women of ill repute in novels of that era are always redeemed by death. Oliver twist’s mother, the prostitute mother in Les Miserable, Mimi in La Boheme
“An American Tragedy” is a book that came out in 1925 about this story. It was subsequently made into a play in 1926 and then a film in 1931 both with the same title, starring Sylvia Sidney playing the role of Grace. In 1951 it was retold in the film “A Place In The Sun”with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor with Shelley Winters playing the role of Grace.
Weirdly I just watched the 1931 film yesterday! And total coincidence by cats are Chester and Clyde (Chester’s fictional version in An American Tragedy)
You beat me to it! Was just going to say the same thing. I found the book a bit of a slog, but the film version with Shelly Winters as Grace is fantastic and earned her an Oscar I believe. She always had played light comic roles before this movie and had to fight to even be considered for the part. But she knew it would change her life, and it did!
How so very sad. That poor girl. Sounds like all she did was fall for the wrong guy and paid the ultimate price. Thank you again Paul for a wonderfully told story
True but back then young women had much more need to be careful and to not be sleeping with other men until they were married . Things were just so incredibly different for young women back then .
She trapped him. Fast forward 50 years from this. Gals like Liz Taylor were picky about when and with whom they put out and gals like Shelley Winters took what they could get and got pregnant - but most got a meal ticket through welfare instead of muhDUHHH. It is still that way today.
@@michaelwhite2823 She didnt trap him, he trapped himself. If he kept his willie in his pants, like his uncle told him, there wouldn't have been a "scandal" or this unwed mother. She even wrote him in the letter saying she told him "no" many times, but he didn't listen. He pressured this young girl into sex and wanted to ignore the consequences of his actions. Being as nieve and vulnerable as she was, she likely thought, while they were house hunting, that Chester would stay with her and they could become a real family. He probably decided that killing her was easier because she wouldn't understand why he wasn't interested and he didn't love her or the unborn child of his.
Yeah, Chester just wanted one bam thank you mam. Poor grace brown doesn’t know about leeches like C. G. Justice is served. Rest in peace Grace Brown.💐🌺🌸🌼🌻🪴🌿🦋🦋
@@michaelwhite2823 believe you have it all wrong! He trapped her then didn’t want what he caught! I hope he’s still walking in the heat. And do you know anything about Elizabeth Taylor or Shelly Winters? Cause unless you are talking about a movie they were “Acting” in. You have it completely backwards! You really need to research them both!
So sad that to be in love, and to have a child by her lover, made her an outcast by society. She must have felt such shame but the rogue knew exactly what he was doing ... RIP Grace 💚
My grandmothers were something like Grace Brown: Farm girls, born in Texas near the turn of the 20th century, going out in their late teens to seek their fortunes. Of course, they didn’t suffer Grace’s fate. They got married, had children, and lived long lives. But this kind of story gives me a glimpse of what life for them may have been like, and how full of dangers it was.
life has always been full of dangers. This poor child Grace was just a child having a child, at a time when, unmarried, to do so, was a rescipie for disaster. At least the guy paid for the murder with his life. Many men get away with abuse for decades, and murder too.
@@billhester8821 This MAN needed to keep his pants up; hence, he would have avoided this tragedy. Always nice to hear from the best, brightest, and most enlightened of our species. 😜
This is regional for me because I live and was born and raised in the Adirondacks of New York State. You created a very respectful and clear history of the sad and tragic story of Grace Brown. Thank you for your professionalism.
My son in law used to be a camp couselor up at a camp on Big Moose Lake. We go up to Old Forge for the Fourth many years and went to Inlet last year. The Adirondacks are really beautiful.
Yes, I know the area well myself. The trial was in Herkimer at the old historic courthouse, jail was across the street. I lived in that area. Very tragic story.
Sigh. I think we've all met or dated a variation of Chester, except without the murder and (most of the time) pregnancy. Regular girl catches eye of smooth, handsome guy "out of our league" socially; girl gets swept off her feet by the attention from such a guy; guy makes her feel special and beautiful while doing what he wants elsewhere on the side; guy rejects girl when things get more serious; girl is left devastated and confused while he moves on without a backward glance. Oh, Grace. Poor sweet child. Rest in peace, honey 🥺
It's always extra satisfying when the murderer gets so cocky and ends up being caught in the end. Also, he ended two lives that day, not just one. With all that money, he could have just sent her away to live in a home with the child and paid child support in secret.
The never ending story, woman wants love, man wants sex = often the result is a child. The woman scorned, left on her own, man fleeing the results of his doing. 🥺
There are perpetrators and victims on both sides: look at how many men are cheated on then crucified in divorce courts afterwards: or how many men find out the children they have been raising aren't even their's. Misandry isn't going to change facts.
He wouldn't have been the first rich man to have a child out of wedlock. He just didn't want to be bothered with the entire thing, he didn't want to grow up and be responsible.
I was aware of this murder because it was the basis for "A Place in the Sun" with Taylor and Clift, as well as a 1931 version with Sylvia Sidney - but this is the most thorough retelling of the murder I've come across! Very, very good video! Thanks for sharing this.
I read the book “An American Tragedy” by Theodore Dreiser, one of my favorite novelists. I’ve also seen the 1951 movie several times. Shelley Winters and Montgomery Clift are great in that picture.
Haven’t watched this yet but read a great true book Murder in the Adirondacks , she was the nicest loveliest girl not pushy at all and super beautiful too , her letters in the book begging him to come for her and fulfill his promises and how she loved him and believed in him right up until the last minute are so awful heartbreakingly pitiful , she adored her parents and her terror and shame about her family finding out so sad .
Happy for you to be back Paul. She looked to be a lovely Gibson girl. Chester was never a responsible man. The fact that he finally embraced his parents religion in the end is proof that he always wanted the easy way.
Agree. He was always a grifter and a liar. Although I don't agree with the death penalty, a better sentence for him would have been to live with the harm he caused to that sweet girl and unborn child.
Being Christian is the 'easy-way'? It takes a lot to stand by your faith in an age where you are ridiculed by normies for doing so. On an aside, you'll be surprised at how many people turn to Christ when faced with their impending death. Just you wait.
It is disgusting how many people try to evade punishment in the afterlife and forgo the agony of death by becoming fervent deathbed Christians after having lived like the devil. Jesus will surely carry all their guilt and wash them all white and all will be well. And they choose denominations where there is not even any shadow of purgatory. I call it narcissism to the last. They will be sorely surprised when at the other side as well.
@@ljones2087 poor persecuted Christians. Yeah. Look at the actual stats. In the US, Evangelists are the one's destroying women's falopian tubes, removing the ability to give life as they have stopped Doctors from giving early medical intervention to those doomed pregnancies.
She didn't question why he brought a tennis racket to go rowing on the lake? Not being familiar with much off the farm, maybe she didn't know what it was. Too many young ladies experienced similar stories in that time. The class system kept her from being considered "marriageable" for someone like Gillette. She was too naive to realize it and should have listened to her friends.
*is Society still holds a rigid view on women compared to men. It’s improved but things are still sexist and society definitely still holds women to certain standards and restrictions. If I’m not wearing my wedding rings and have my kids in toe I get all kinds of judgy stares. If my husband takes the kids somewhere with or without a ring, people fawn over how he’s such a good dad for “helping out.”
I am glad that court was able to get justice for poor grace, she was naive and thought she'd finally found love only for it to end like this, it never is fair
@KelleyJohnson2284849…that’s where I first heard of this case as well and the supposed haunting of Big Moose Lake by Grace Brown’s restless spirit. It was nice to hear about this case again and hear more information than I remember from UM.
I admire the amount of research that goes into these videos....and the calm, no nonsense delivery of this man. Thanks for, as always, an interesting story.
I love this very British channel, he looks so British and classy with very strong British accent , calm gentleman telling the whole story without exaggerating
A great telling of a sensational case! How I wish stories like Grace's were rare and antiquated... unfortunately, there are still plenty of Gillette's type out there today, preying on the vulnerable 💔
2:54 must have been so sad for Grace's family to lose a son/grandson and then a sister/daughter so soon after one another. :( I know child death was more frequent in those days, but it still must have been a huge blow.
When Chester Gillette was in jail, during his trial, women wanted his autograph, thought he was so handsome & basically swooned over him. The book, "An American Tragedy" is a book of fiction based on Chester & written by Theodore Dreiser who then won the Pulitzer Prize for writing. There have been many adaptations of the book & the best IMHO is the six Academy Award-winning "A Place in the Sun".
This case I know well but always good to hear again Grace's story. That bastard DESERVED a cruel death. What a vile human he was, if he didn't want to be with her or be a dad, he could've at least helped her out on the down low. SO many rich, business men did that & had many affairs. It's just really, utterly sad to know Grace's fate everytime I hear her case. The poor baby inside her NEVER had a chance with that horrendous "man" of a father.
The song "Won't you come home, Bill Bailey" was very well known in the States; I believe you could find it with little trouble in Dixieland Jazz style recordings. Neither of these two people seemed very savvy. It became a real disaster showing that simply being pretty, rich, or well connected is not enough to navigate through life. And I think the lawyer's daughter really dodged a bullet there.
What a sad story.. 😢 Poor Grace was clearly blinded by love and didn't heed the warnings.. She imagined they could become a happy family! I have no time for "born again" Christians! I am glad Chester got what he deserved.. An intriguing case from a bygone era. Thank you, Paul.. 🙋🏻♀️🤗
@@pimpozza Okay so you have no time for what you call nonsense you also have no regard for any who do believe Why do you find it necessary to denigrate others beliefs? No one was pushing Being a born again Christian on you but you choose to attack born again Christians using any medium you can apparently.. what did this story have to do with you and Christians? I am not mad at you just pointing out an unnecessary comment. I will pray for you that the Lord will show you the truth. I'm glad you responded Now I have someone to pray for..🙂
Great video. This had to be the incident that the fictional movie "A Place In The Sun" was based. An excellent film for those interested starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.
The film "A Place in the Sun", 1951, was based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel An American Tragedy, a searing look at dysfunctional relationships and blind ambition. The film was a popular and critical hit, winning six Academy Awards. Dreiser's novel was indeed inspired by Chester's murder of Grace.
I read Theodore Dreiser’s book in high school during an American author reading period. It does not please now . I moved on to the Russian authors soon afterwards.
Thank you for your dignified and respectful retelling of this sad tale. (subscribed) Poor girl! I can't imagine how terrified she must have been out there in a secluded area of the lake with night falling, him arguing with her; then his whacking her with that heavy wooden tennis racket! Even if he had not beat her, if she had jumped in or fallen overboard; I doubt if she could have swam to safety (wearing her long skirt, heavy cotton petticoats, jacket, etc.) Lakes in the Adirondack Mountains are very cold! (Also,I don't think that most women of that era were taught to swim)
This is heartbreaking, "the world, and you, too, may think I am the one to blame, but somehow I can't. Just simply can't think that I am. i said *no* so many times"
I grow up down the street from the old Gillette building and a few blocks from the boarding house she stayed at. Both building are still here. We always heard about the Gillette murder but interesting to hear again.
“I said no so many times.” This is chilling. Poor girl was probably manipulated into it, if not outright assaulted, by modern standards. She refused to blame herself. Which adds to my suspicions.
Thank you Paul for a wonderful delivery and a well researched, sympathetic story. The sadness is in Grace receiving empathy in death from people who likely would have condemned her in life.
Always enjoy the stories. Look before to new ones and watching and rewatching old one. Thank you for the amazing work. You are very good at your craft. Respect to you.
Excellent video! I just happened to grow up in Zion, Illinois which is what the city is called now. The city definitely had a wacky beginning, but the church you mentioned, is now much more moderate and not wackadoodle anymore.
I live about 3 miles from Gracie’s original home in South Otselic and used to take care of a lady who attended school with her. I heard many first hand stories of their school days. Cortland is about 25 miles away but to get there from here required a 10 mile journey by horesedrawn wagon to the closet railway station in the next town, followed by an hour or so on a train. Occasionally local historical societies organize a bus trip visiting points of interest in Gracie’s tragic story.
As always, a very well presented video with clear explanations and all in that ever-recurring, somewhat mysterious tinged, Victorian or Edwardian atmosphere. I like it a lot. It's a pleasure to listen to you even though your stories are almost always about lurid matters. It's a bit like Tom Waits describes: ''I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.''
I love your voice! And they way you tell stories. You remind me of my 10th grade English teacher who shared with me her passion for literature and story telling.
My husband’s family owned a camp on the island in Big Moose Lake for many decades {see it’s pine trees to the right at 11:53 and to the left at 12:28 } This story was well known to the family, and the elders knew the teen son of the Higby’s who helped with the search and supposedly discovered Grace’s body. The family’s island camp had lots of other creepy stories 😁
When you are awaiting your appointment with the electric chair somehow it doesn't seem so terrible to have married a beautiful girl who was in love with you.
I'm sure someone else has probably mentioned this by now on this thread, but this true story was the basis of Theordore Dresier's novel "An American Tragedy,' which was then also made into a classic film (1931) directed by Josef von Sternberg
Me: **Listening to this as background noise while doing things** Him: "Then the family moved to Spokane WA where they lived comfortably..." Me: My ears perk up and I shift my attention to the video because I'm sitting on my bed... in my house... in Spokane WA... wondering,"Who the heck lives comfortably here!? That's possible?!?" Lol! J/k I love my home town! 💜😁
It will never cease to enrage me about the double standards for men and women. Thank goodness it’s starting to change for the better, but not quickly enough.
Cue all the blokes coming out of the woodwork to say how 'men have it bad too!' Yes, we're perfectly aware that there are injustices against men in society as much as there is against women, but historically women have been treated abominably. If a man and a woman had an affair and the woman became pregnant, she better hope her partner supports her by marrying her, otherwise her life would be essentially in tatters. Men often got a slap on the wrist, if that. Those are the double standards spoken of here. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes...
I live in South Otselic and the story of Grace Brown is local history. I often ride by her former farm home where she grew up. It is indeed a sad story. And the unnecessary end to three lives. Such a waste.
Thank you very much Paul for this heartbreaking true story. Excellent narration and putting the storyline together. God bless you abundantly AMEN 🙏🏻✝️♥️
@@zukazealanee Did he kill someone? I didn't know. Squeaky clean politicians and business leaders until Hunter B came along, right? The ones who were not, all rooted out and sent to jail. That's what you are saying. Lol. You just made my day. Btw this guy was not rich and powerful mate. He was a nobody, with a day job in a factory.
@@susivarga7303 You certainly seem to be very defensive of the current president, I don't recall saying any people in power before the Bidens weren't corrupt. I just gave an example of current events to justify my statement. Your immediate reaction and need to automatically assume my reasoning behind the example given and need to deflect by saying "X crime is worse, so this crime is ok" is very telling about your state of mind. It reveals your tribalism and is rather sad to see.
If a man's position (or woman's) is "I would rather be executed than marry you" then, perhaps, one should not be fornicating with them in the first place. 😢
There was a movie based on this murder however I can't remember the title of it. It starred Elizabeth Taylor and Shelly Winters. Thanks again for all the work you put into making these videos.
I grew up in Upstate NY and was rather familiar with the 1951(?) film “A Place in the Sun” (Elizabeth Taylor,Montgomery Cliff, and the outstanding Shelly Winters!). I knew that the film and the Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy” were based on real events but I had never come to know what they actually were! Well, I must say it was serendipitous that I happened upon this channel and came to learn the origins of these works. I cannot emphasise enough just how rural Otselic is. It is nearly 100% white, the next highest minority is comprised of Native Americans. Yeah, that rural! I am struck at how much the movie mirrors the actual events. Thinking that the bit about the romance with the stunning E.Taylor playing the socialite was put into the story for mere aesthetics. Boy, was I wrong! Thanks for a great video, and especially for the care taken at explaining a delicate subject as regards poor “Billy the Kid”. With this sobriquet, she sounds like a bright penny for her day and this day. Perhaps not as forlorn as S. Winter’s masterfully morose and dour made out.
Hello Paul thanks again for another great video watching and listening from sweet sunny saint Lucia hope everyone is safe and doing well on another great Friday
Wait! Chester Gillette’s parents lived in Zion! How did i never know that! My great-grandparents lived there. I grew up with stories about the alleged faith healer who was also an alleged embezzler.
Small world! I grew up in Zion, in the late 60s, 70s, and early 80s. Yes, John Alexander Dowie, the founder of Zion City (as it was called then) was nuts, as was Wilbur Voliva after him. Dowie had a stroke in 1907 or 1908 and had to step down from the Christian Catholic Church leadership. It was also proven that he was an embezzler and, as wacky as Voliva was, he did get the finances of the church in order after Dowie's "abdication." The church is now known as "Christ Community Church" and they subscribe to very few, if any, of the original teachings of the church. Dowie's house still stands, and it's now a museum and a place where weddings can be held. It's also home to the Zion Historical Society. It was an interesting place to grow up! Blue Laws were still very much in place, although not really enforced.
I've been learning more Voliva lately since I think he was in charge when my great-grandfather died. My great-grandma lived there till almost until the day she died. She and my great-grandpa worked in the hotel. I've been to the Dowie house. The lady who ran it then (this was in the 90s and I was probably 10 or 11) got very annoyed when I asked about the tunnel. I'd love to know more about the connections between the town and Chester Gillette's family, but I think his parents left there sometime after the execution.
No surprises on that account. All these faith healers are embezzlers already. Ever found one in the States who has had a verified healing and that is NOT hauling in the cash? Yet thousands, upon thousands are STILL suckered every year.
She and her baby were given sympathy in death by people who would have shunned them in life.. very sad.
Yup.
Careful of being judgmental. None of us knows the individuals on the jury, and therefore have no way of knowing how they would have treated Grace and her child in life.
@@raij465
.
Grace HERSELF, KNEW EXACTLY how society would treat her…Tis the REASON she contemplated offing herself!!!
Women of ill repute in novels of that era are always redeemed by death. Oliver twist’s mother, the prostitute mother in Les Miserable, Mimi in La Boheme
@@raij465Really ? One knows very that in Europe an unweded woman with a child out of marriage became an outcast.the same morality everywhere.
Grace's letter is heartbreaking. "I said no so many times."
That part broke my heart 😢
Heart breaking. Very sad and moving😢
😢😢😢
“An American Tragedy” is a book that came out in 1925 about this story.
It was subsequently made into a play in 1926 and then a film in 1931 both with the same title, starring Sylvia Sidney playing the role of Grace.
In 1951 it was retold in the film “A Place In The Sun”with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor with Shelley Winters playing the role of Grace.
Weirdly I just watched the 1931 film yesterday! And total coincidence by cats are Chester and Clyde (Chester’s fictional version in An American Tragedy)
You beat me to it! Was just going to say the same thing. I found the book a bit of a slog, but the film version with Shelly Winters as Grace is fantastic and earned her an Oscar I believe. She always had played light comic roles before this movie and had to fight to even be considered for the part. But she knew it would change her life, and it did!
oh snap! That's why it felt so familiar. I was only aware of the last one you mentioned. Powerful stuff with top tier talent.
Thank you for the information. 😊
That book was a slog. Thirty pages about how he could buy a rich girl a coat.
This poor poor lady, may her soul have finally found the peace she deserved in life with her child.
How so very sad. That poor girl. Sounds like all she did was fall for the wrong guy and paid the ultimate price. Thank you again Paul for a wonderfully told story
He was trash; a very punchable face😅
True but back then young women had much more need to be careful and to not be sleeping with other men until they were married .
Things were just so incredibly different for young women back then .
This poor, poor woman. Abused, manipulated, and violently murdered. Chester was a piece of sh*t
She trapped him. Fast forward 50 years from this. Gals like Liz Taylor were picky about when and with whom they put out and gals like Shelley Winters took what they could get and got pregnant - but most got a meal ticket through welfare instead of muhDUHHH.
It is still that way today.
Thanks for another cracking vlog very interesting 🤔
@@michaelwhite2823 She didnt trap him, he trapped himself. If he kept his willie in his pants, like his uncle told him, there wouldn't have been a "scandal" or this unwed mother. She even wrote him in the letter saying she told him "no" many times, but he didn't listen. He pressured this young girl into sex and wanted to ignore the consequences of his actions.
Being as nieve and vulnerable as she was, she likely thought, while they were house hunting, that Chester would stay with her and they could become a real family. He probably decided that killing her was easier because she wouldn't understand why he wasn't interested and he didn't love her or the unborn child of his.
Yeah, Chester just wanted one bam thank you mam. Poor grace brown doesn’t know about leeches like C. G. Justice is served. Rest in peace Grace Brown.💐🌺🌸🌼🌻🪴🌿🦋🦋
@@michaelwhite2823 believe you have it all wrong! He trapped her then didn’t want what he caught! I hope he’s still walking in the heat.
And do you know anything about Elizabeth Taylor or Shelly Winters? Cause unless you are talking about a movie they were “Acting” in. You have it completely backwards! You really need to research them both!
So sad that to be in love, and to have a child by her lover, made her an outcast by society. She must have felt such shame but the rogue knew exactly what he was doing ... RIP Grace 💚
"I said no so many times".... broke my heart.
My grandmothers were something like Grace Brown: Farm girls, born in Texas near the turn of the 20th century, going out in their late teens to seek their fortunes. Of course, they didn’t suffer Grace’s fate. They got married, had children, and lived long lives. But this kind of story gives me a glimpse of what life for them may have been like, and how full of dangers it was.
Fr
life has always been full of dangers. This poor child Grace was just a child having a child, at a time when, unmarried, to do so, was a rescipie for disaster.
At least the guy paid for the murder with his life.
Many men get away with abuse for decades, and murder too.
This young lady needed to keep her pants up. The price....was death
@@billhester8821 This MAN needed to keep his pants up; hence, he would have avoided this tragedy. Always nice to hear from the best, brightest, and most enlightened of our species. 😜
" I said no so Many Times"! wow
This is regional for me because I live and was born and raised in the Adirondacks of New York State. You created a very respectful and clear history of the sad and tragic story of Grace Brown. Thank you for your professionalism.
My son in law used to be a camp couselor up at a camp on Big Moose Lake. We go up to Old Forge for the Fourth many years and went to Inlet last year. The Adirondacks are really beautiful.
Yes, I know the area well myself. The trial was in Herkimer at the old historic courthouse, jail was across the street. I lived in that area. Very tragic story.
I was born and raised in the Adirondacks too. Mineville
That "I said NO so many times" hit really hard 😿 this story is so sad especially hearing how sweet she was ❤
Sigh. I think we've all met or dated a variation of Chester, except without the murder and (most of the time) pregnancy. Regular girl catches eye of smooth, handsome guy "out of our league" socially; girl gets swept off her feet by the attention from such a guy; guy makes her feel special and beautiful while doing what he wants elsewhere on the side; guy rejects girl when things get more serious; girl is left devastated and confused while he moves on without a backward glance. Oh, Grace. Poor sweet child. Rest in peace, honey 🥺
I am heartbroken by this story. And you are correct, some men have no moral compass.
Either does some women.
Most break ups are from women but keep comping
@@thiscommentwillbedeletedso5211. Not true.
@@peterm1826 But men are left pregnant are they ?
It's always extra satisfying when the murderer gets so cocky and ends up being caught in the end. Also, he ended two lives that day, not just one. With all that money, he could have just sent her away to live in a home with the child and paid child support in secret.
The never ending story, woman wants love, man wants sex = often the result is a child. The woman scorned, left on her own, man fleeing the results of his doing. 🥺
Nothing changes, even the modern day is obsessed with doing exactly what you describe.
Tale as old as time but thankfully not all men are like this
There are perpetrators and victims on both sides: look at how many men are cheated on then crucified in divorce courts afterwards: or how many men find out the children they have been raising aren't even their's. Misandry isn't going to change facts.
Except that he killed her and his child 😢not all womanizer KILL !
Men need to hold other men accountable
Women...can't
Rebuild honor code
He wouldn't have been the first rich man to have a child out of wedlock. He just didn't want to be bothered with the entire thing, he didn't want to grow up and be responsible.
Excellent video ... I'm glad Chester got what was coming to him, but I'm sorry for poor Grace.
What an awful man! Poor lady. Thank you for telling us her story.
I was aware of this murder because it was the basis for "A Place in the Sun" with Taylor and Clift, as well as a 1931 version with Sylvia Sidney - but this is the most thorough retelling of the murder I've come across! Very, very good video! Thanks for sharing this.
I read the book “An American Tragedy” by Theodore Dreiser, one of my favorite novelists. I’ve also seen the 1951 movie several times. Shelley Winters and Montgomery Clift are great in that picture.
I love Dreiser as well. So much of what he wrote about holds true for today.
Haven’t watched this yet but read a great true book Murder in the Adirondacks , she was the nicest loveliest girl not pushy at all and super beautiful too , her letters in the book begging him to come for her and fulfill his promises and how she loved him and believed in him right up until the last minute are so awful heartbreakingly pitiful , she adored her parents and her terror and shame about her family finding out so sad .
Happy for you to be back Paul. She looked to be a lovely Gibson girl. Chester was never a responsible man. The fact that he finally embraced his parents religion in the end is proof that he always wanted the easy way.
Agree. He was always a grifter and a liar.
Although I don't agree with the death penalty, a better sentence for him would have been to live with the harm he caused to that sweet girl and unborn child.
Being Christian is the 'easy-way'? It takes a lot to stand by your faith in an age where you are ridiculed by normies for doing so. On an aside, you'll be surprised at how many people turn to Christ when faced with their impending death. Just you wait.
@@ljones2087oh, honey...
It is disgusting how many people try to evade punishment in the afterlife and forgo the agony of death by becoming fervent deathbed Christians after having lived like the devil. Jesus will surely carry all their guilt and wash them all white and all will be well. And they choose denominations where there is not even any shadow of purgatory. I call it narcissism to the last. They will be sorely surprised when at the other side as well.
@@ljones2087 poor persecuted Christians. Yeah. Look at the actual stats. In the US, Evangelists are the one's destroying women's falopian tubes, removing the ability to give life as they have stopped Doctors from giving early medical intervention to those doomed pregnancies.
She didn't question why he brought a tennis racket to go rowing on the lake? Not being familiar with much off the farm, maybe she didn't know what it was.
Too many young ladies experienced similar stories in that time. The class system kept her from being considered "marriageable" for someone like Gillette. She was too naive to realize it and should have listened to her friends.
She was also blinded by love
@@lanas1149no, people are not blinded by "love" they just make stupid choices
New episode of Well, I Never! Yes!!
That letter is heartbreaking. Society was disgusting in its views of women 🤬
*is
Society still holds a rigid view on women compared to men. It’s improved but things are still sexist and society definitely still holds women to certain standards and restrictions.
If I’m not wearing my wedding rings and have my kids in toe I get all kinds of judgy stares.
If my husband takes the kids somewhere with or without a ring, people fawn over how he’s such a good dad for “helping out.”
Hey. He was executed. Problem women get pregnant. MEN DO NOT. BIOLOGICAL disadvantage. Don't have sex until u have a wedding ring.
Still is! 😕😠
Does my heart good to know his family name couldn't scrub him clean of the evil he had done.
Well I never - This is the first new episode since I stumbled upon this awesome channel.
Poor Grace Brown. Thanks for sharing her story with us.
Welcome on board 😊
That poor girl.. He was a low life dog who thought he was something big and used her scadalously.
Hope his soul is where it belongs...
Rip dear.
we are all equal under God. his status didn’t save his soul
His scholastic abilities certainly left a lot to be desired😅
I am glad that court was able to get justice for poor grace, she was naive and thought she'd finally found love only for it to end like this, it never is fair
I remember this from an Unsolved Mysteries episode! It's great to learn more about her story.
@KelleyJohnson2284849…that’s where I first heard of this case as well and the supposed haunting of Big Moose Lake by Grace Brown’s restless spirit. It was nice to hear about this case again and hear more information than I remember from UM.
How is it unsolved, if they know he did it?
This particular case was indeed solved, but the episode of Unsolved Mysteries was about ghost stories, haunted places.
I admire the amount of research that goes into these videos....and the calm, no nonsense delivery of this man. Thanks for, as always, an interesting story.
I love this very British channel, he looks so British and classy with very strong British accent , calm gentleman telling the whole story without exaggerating
A great telling of a sensational case!
How I wish stories like Grace's were rare and antiquated... unfortunately, there are still plenty of Gillette's type out there today, preying on the vulnerable 💔
And too often they are glamourized by the MSM, the entertainment press and social media, held up as if they are heroes, something to aspire to.
A skirt factory? I thought were a shaving cream family?
2:54 must have been so sad for Grace's family to lose a son/grandson and then a sister/daughter so soon after one another. :( I know child death was more frequent in those days, but it still must have been a huge blow.
Thank you for the hard work as always, Mr Brodie and team!! Always such a treat to see a new video❤❤
Oh Paul! I’m so happy you have a new story for us! I could sit for hours and binge watch your stories. Blessings always! ❤️✝️
When Chester Gillette was in jail, during his trial, women wanted his autograph, thought he was so handsome & basically swooned over him. The book, "An American Tragedy" is a book of fiction based on Chester & written by Theodore Dreiser who then won the Pulitzer Prize for writing. There have been many adaptations of the book & the best IMHO is the six Academy Award-winning "A Place in the Sun".
This was before Rudy Vallee
Later, Frank Sinatra
This case I know well but always good to hear again Grace's story. That bastard DESERVED a cruel death. What a vile human he was, if he didn't want to be with her or be a dad, he could've at least helped her out on the down low. SO many rich, business men did that & had many affairs. It's just really, utterly sad to know Grace's fate everytime I hear her case. The poor baby inside her NEVER had a chance with that horrendous "man" of a father.
read "An American Tragedy" and understand his perspective
Thank you for yet another true (but so sad) story. Keep them coming, your channel is awesome 😊
This sounded familiar because I've watched A Place in the Sun several times. "Multiple blows to the head" sounds pretty damning. Poor girl. 🥺
In movie, she drowned, because she couldn't swim
The song "Won't you come home, Bill Bailey" was very well known in the States; I believe you could find it with little trouble in Dixieland Jazz style recordings. Neither of these two people seemed very savvy. It became a real disaster showing that simply being pretty, rich, or well connected is not enough to navigate through life. And I think the lawyer's daughter really dodged a bullet there.
What a sad story.. 😢 Poor Grace was clearly blinded by love and didn't heed the warnings.. She imagined they could become a happy family!
I have no time for "born again" Christians! I am glad Chester got what he deserved..
An intriguing case from a bygone era. Thank you, Paul.. 🙋🏻♀️🤗
He didn't commit the murder while a born again Christian He became one in prison
@@billymoretti8437 I know that, of course, having listened to the whole story.. I simply have no time for such nonsense..
@@billymoretti8437you know they just want to hate Christians
@@pimpozza
What nonsense?
@@pimpozza Okay so you have no time for what you call nonsense you also have no regard for any who do believe Why do you find it necessary to denigrate others beliefs?
No one was pushing Being a born again Christian on you but you choose to attack born again Christians using any medium you can apparently.. what did this story have to do with you and Christians?
I am not mad at you just pointing out an unnecessary comment.
I will pray for you that the Lord will show you the truth. I'm glad you responded Now I have someone to pray for..🙂
ALWAYS listen to "your Girls" about a new man. They will see things you are blind too, and (usually) have your best interest at heart.
Great video. This had to be the incident that the fictional movie "A Place In The Sun" was based. An excellent film for those interested starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.
The film "A Place in the Sun", 1951, was based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel An American Tragedy, a searing look at dysfunctional relationships and blind ambition. The film was a popular and critical hit, winning six Academy Awards. Dreiser's novel was indeed inspired by Chester's murder of Grace.
I read Theodore Dreiser’s book in high school during an American author reading period. It does not please now . I moved on to the Russian authors soon afterwards.
Thank you for your dignified and respectful retelling of this sad tale.
(subscribed)
Poor girl! I can't imagine how terrified she must have been out there in a secluded area of the lake with night falling,
him arguing with her; then his whacking her with that heavy wooden tennis racket!
Even if he had not beat her, if she had jumped in or fallen overboard; I doubt if she could have swam to safety (wearing
her long skirt, heavy cotton petticoats, jacket, etc.) Lakes in the Adirondack Mountains are very cold!
(Also,I don't think that most women of that era were taught to swim)
So frustrating. Two lives lost for one selfish person - and untold people hurt due to his actions.
love the old cases. you do great job presenting them its great to listen and learn from you :) thank you.
This is heartbreaking, "the world, and you, too, may think I am the one to blame, but somehow I can't. Just simply can't think that I am. i said *no* so many times"
I grow up down the street from the old Gillette building and a few blocks from the boarding house she stayed at. Both building are still here. We always heard about the Gillette murder but interesting to hear again.
Brilliant and soothing production of a sad piece of history.
Love to see you reach 500 thousand subscribers!
RIP Grace🕊️ & Lil' angel ❤
“I said no so many times.”
This is chilling. Poor girl was probably manipulated into it, if not outright assaulted, by modern standards. She refused to blame herself. Which adds to my suspicions.
Thank you Paul for a wonderful delivery and a well researched, sympathetic story. The sadness is in Grace receiving empathy in death from people who likely would have condemned her in life.
I love you old history videos. There's are very well detailed, I truly enjoy old history ❤
Always enjoy the stories. Look before to new ones and watching and rewatching old one. Thank you for the amazing work. You are very good at your craft. Respect to you.
This just made my friday!!
Thank you!! 🙏🇬🇧
Excellent video! I just happened to grow up in Zion, Illinois which is what the city is called now. The city definitely had a wacky beginning, but the church you mentioned, is now much more moderate and not wackadoodle anymore.
I live about 3 miles from Gracie’s original home in South Otselic and used to take care of a lady who attended school with her. I heard many first hand stories of their school days. Cortland is about 25 miles away but to get there from here required a 10 mile journey by horesedrawn wagon to the closet railway station in the next town, followed by an hour or so on a train. Occasionally local historical societies organize a bus trip visiting points of interest in Gracie’s tragic story.
As always, a very well presented video with clear explanations and all in that ever-recurring, somewhat mysterious tinged, Victorian or Edwardian atmosphere. I like it a lot. It's a pleasure to listen to you even though your stories are almost always about lurid matters. It's a bit like Tom Waits describes: ''I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.''
I love your voice! And they way you tell stories. You remind me of my 10th grade English teacher who shared with me her passion for literature and story telling.
So glad to see another amazing video paul you guys out due yourself keep up the sensational job guys
My husband’s family owned a camp on the island in Big Moose Lake for many decades {see it’s pine trees to the right at 11:53 and to the left at 12:28 } This story was well known to the family, and the elders knew the teen son of the Higby’s who helped with the search and supposedly discovered Grace’s body. The family’s island camp had lots of other creepy stories 😁
I love listening to your sooting voice, even when it is such a horrendous crime, that is told.
When you are awaiting your appointment with the electric chair somehow it doesn't seem so terrible to have married a beautiful girl who was in love with you.
And have a beautiful child too ❤
Thank you for another intriguing look at human nature. I love watching these videos!.
“I said ‘no’ so many times” 😢
Good morning (it's 2:47am!), and i hope this finds you well! Thank You!
I'm sure someone else has probably mentioned this by now on this thread, but this true story was the basis of Theordore Dresier's novel "An American Tragedy,' which was then also made into a classic film (1931) directed by Josef von Sternberg
Great story as always! Always love to watch a new one.
Very interesting!! Thank you for your stories!
Me: **Listening to this as background noise while doing things**
Him: "Then the family moved to Spokane WA where they lived comfortably..."
Me: My ears perk up and I shift my attention to the video because I'm sitting on my bed... in my house... in Spokane WA... wondering,"Who the heck lives comfortably here!? That's possible?!?"
Lol! J/k
I love my home town! 💜😁
I remember hearing of this story on Unsolved Mysteries way back in the day.
As someone who went to grad school in the area (Binghamton), hearing Cortland referred to as "the big city" is hilarious to me.
It will never cease to enrage me about the double standards for men and women. Thank goodness it’s starting to change for the better, but not quickly enough.
It has been changing since the 80's. Still not quick enough.
Gillette was swiftly arrested, convicted, and fried, regardless of his social standing. I don't see the double standard.
Cue all the blokes coming out of the woodwork to say how 'men have it bad too!' Yes, we're perfectly aware that there are injustices against men in society as much as there is against women, but historically women have been treated abominably. If a man and a woman had an affair and the woman became pregnant, she better hope her partner supports her by marrying her, otherwise her life would be essentially in tatters. Men often got a slap on the wrist, if that. Those are the double standards spoken of here. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes...
@@SLD-bz9so oh, please…shut up,
@@locklear7937 these dudes are simply stupid. No other explanation.
Your show is really great - excellent work!
Subscribed love this Gentlemen's old timey ways of telling these horrid stories of tragic lives lost by crime and murder.
Has somebody from Spokane Washington the Gillette home still stands in an area called browne's addition as a historical monument.
Voice is nice to hear as he tells story. That is what kept me listening to this story.
Well presented as always. Thank you.
Always a pleasure see a new video from you. Happy Friday!
Great telling of this tragic story. Thanks!
I live in South Otselic and the story of Grace Brown is local history. I often ride by her former farm home where she grew up. It is indeed a sad story. And the unnecessary end to three lives. Such a waste.
Thank you for this video. This case profiled on Unsolved Mysteries. Her ghost has been seen there.
Thank you very much Paul for this heartbreaking true story. Excellent narration and putting the storyline together.
God bless you abundantly AMEN 🙏🏻✝️♥️
EXCELLENT ! STORYTELLER! MANY THANKS ! PAUL BRODIE. FROM, U.K. (2023).
Always so excited to see a new video up from this channel my friend!
Hard to believe there once was a time when the rich and powerful actually faced consequences for their actions.
Too bad that time is long past...
What a strange comment.
Making Accountability Great Again..... (Or Making Attorneys Get Attorneys?).
@@susivarga7303 How so? We just saw the president's son receive probation for felony tax evasion and felony gun charges.
@@zukazealanee Did he kill someone? I didn't know.
Squeaky clean politicians and business leaders until Hunter B came along, right? The ones who were not, all rooted out and sent to jail. That's what you are saying.
Lol. You just made my day.
Btw this guy was not rich and powerful mate. He was a nobody, with a day job in a factory.
@@susivarga7303 You certainly seem to be very defensive of the current president, I don't recall saying any people in power before the Bidens weren't corrupt. I just gave an example of current events to justify my statement. Your immediate reaction and need to automatically assume my reasoning behind the example given and need to deflect by saying "X crime is worse, so this crime is ok" is very telling about your state of mind. It reveals your tribalism and is rather sad to see.
If a man's position (or woman's) is "I would rather be executed than marry you" then, perhaps, one should not be fornicating with them in the first place. 😢
Read the book many years ago. Really enjoyed it, even sadder when I found out it was based on true story.
There was a movie based on this murder however I can't remember the title of it. It starred Elizabeth Taylor and Shelly Winters. Thanks again for all the work you put into making these videos.
Is it A Place in the Sun?
Yes, A Place in the Sun.. released 1951
A place in the Sun
@@moniqueengleman873 Thats it. Thank you, I was going nuts trying to remember the title.
Very interesting.
Thank you
I think I saw this story once on Unsolved Mysteries I think I might be wrong about it, thanks so much for these great stories I enjoy watching them.
Jinkies! That is so cold, it makes you wonder how many story's like that are out there but never solved. 😢
Great stories every time. Thanks
I grew up in Upstate NY and was rather familiar with the 1951(?) film “A Place in the Sun” (Elizabeth Taylor,Montgomery Cliff, and the outstanding Shelly Winters!). I knew that the film and the Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy” were based on real events but I had never come to know what they actually were! Well, I must say it was serendipitous that I happened upon this channel and came to learn the origins of these works. I cannot emphasise enough just how rural Otselic is. It is nearly 100% white, the next highest minority is comprised of Native Americans. Yeah, that rural! I am struck at how much the movie mirrors the actual events. Thinking that the bit about the romance with the stunning E.Taylor playing the socialite was put into the story for mere aesthetics. Boy, was I wrong! Thanks for a great video, and especially for the care taken at explaining a delicate subject as regards poor “Billy the Kid”. With this sobriquet, she sounds like a bright penny for her day and this day. Perhaps not as forlorn as S. Winter’s masterfully morose and dour made out.
I remember reading the book "An American Tragedy" I was heartbroken for Grace.
Another excellent episode Sir, I keep thinking of Montgomery Clift, Shelley Winters and Elizabeth Taylor, I wonder why!!!🙏😢⚖️🤔❣️
They say her spirit can be seen at the lake where she died. Very tragic story.
Hello Paul thanks again for another great video watching and listening from sweet sunny saint Lucia hope everyone is safe and doing well on another great Friday
Hello Fernand! Glad to hear you're doing well 😀
Its free up Friday having a good time
Wait! Chester Gillette’s parents lived in Zion! How did i never know that! My great-grandparents lived there. I grew up with stories about the alleged faith healer who was also an alleged embezzler.
Small world! I grew up in Zion, in the late 60s, 70s, and early 80s. Yes, John Alexander Dowie, the founder of Zion City (as it was called then) was nuts, as was Wilbur Voliva after him. Dowie had a stroke in 1907 or 1908 and had to step down from the Christian Catholic Church leadership. It was also proven that he was an embezzler and, as wacky as Voliva was, he did get the finances of the church in order after Dowie's "abdication." The church is now known as "Christ Community Church" and they subscribe to very few, if any, of the original teachings of the church. Dowie's house still stands, and it's now a museum and a place where weddings can be held. It's also home to the Zion Historical Society. It was an interesting place to grow up! Blue Laws were still very much in place, although not really enforced.
I've been learning more Voliva lately since I think he was in charge when my great-grandfather died. My great-grandma lived there till almost until the day she died. She and my great-grandpa worked in the hotel. I've been to the Dowie house. The lady who ran it then (this was in the 90s and I was probably 10 or 11) got very annoyed when I asked about the tunnel. I'd love to know more about the connections between the town and Chester Gillette's family, but I think his parents left there sometime after the execution.
No surprises on that account. All these faith healers are embezzlers already. Ever found one in the States who has had a verified healing and that is NOT hauling in the cash? Yet thousands, upon thousands are STILL suckered every year.
I was fascinated by this story when I was growing up in upstate New York! Even bought the book and still have it!