George Payn Quackenbos

George Payn Quackenbos, son of George Clinton Quackenbos; born September 4, I826; married to Louise B. Duncan. The couple had the following children: John Duncan, born April 22, 1848; Mary Louise, married to Theodore Robert Sheer; Helen, died very young.

George Payne Quackenbos was born in the city of New York on September 4, 1826. At an early age he was placed at the grammar school of Columbia College, where his studies were directed by the late Dr. Anthon. He entered Columbia at 13, and graduated with honor in 1843, taking the English Salutatory. After a year passed in North Carolina, he commenced the study of law in his native city, but, finding it uncongenial, he gave it up after eighteen months, and resolved to make teaching and literature the profession of his life. In 1847 he established the Henry Street Grammar school, and, although it was situated in a district that was rapidly deteriorating, he raised this institution to an enviable rank among the private schools of the city. Here he remained for eight years, when he accepted an offer of partnership from the late WilHam Forrest, the oldest principal in New York, whose Collegiate School had for more than forty years enjoyed the highest reputation. After three years Mr. Forrest withdrew, and Prof. Quackenbos became the sole head of this flourishing institution.

Under his management its efficiency and reputation were fully maintained, while its sphere of usefulness was largely extended. Hundreds of young men passed through his hands, and hundreds in every walk of life, commercial and professional, can bear witness to his unremitting care and thorough training. As a teacher he was eminently successful. His discipline was a judicious mixture of the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re; perhaps his pupils thought at the time that the fortiter was rather in excess. Perfect obedience and hard work were the keynotes to which he sought to attune his school; being on hand early and late, not shrinking from the drudgery of teaching himself, ever ready to explain difficulties, and seeking to establish that personal influence on which the higher success of the educator so largely depends. He has the satisfaction of seeing many of his old scholars satisfactorily filling positions of honor and usefulness; among them we may name Governor Woodford, whom he prepared for college.

Mr. Quackenbos was actively engaged in school duties for about twenty years, by which time his book interests had become so large, and the labors connected therewith so engrossing that he retired from teaching, and has for the last six years confined himself to literary work. Of his labors in this department, on which his reputation principally rests, it is time we should speak. A taste for literature led Mr. Quackenbos at an early age to become a contributor to various magazines and newspapers, and in 1848 he projected a weekly paper, the "Literary American," which, after he had conducted it for two years, became merged in a musical paper, the " Message Bird." He subsequently formed for short periods other editorial connections, and in 1853, during the Crystal Palace Exposition, was the regular New York contributor of no less than 24 daily and weekly newspapers in different parts of the country—all this, it will be remembered, while he was at hard work from six to seven hours a day in the school room.

An iron constitution has enabled him, throughout his life, to endure a strain which would have proved fatal to men of ordinary strength. We heard him remark, a short time since, that he had been confined to bed by sickness but one day within the last thirty-five years. But it is his school books that have made Professor Quackenbos known throughout the length and breadth of the land. The earliest of these was his "First Lessons in Composition," published in 1851. It was suggested by the difficulty which he found in teaching his scholars to make a practical use of their lessons in grammar, in enabling them by the systems then in vogue to express themselves fluently and elegantly, and acquire such readiness in composition as is necessary to every one in the business of life. He saw that there was something more needed than the old-fashioned parsing and analysis, and sought to infuse life into the dry bones of etymology and syntax.

Instead of taking apart, he taught the learner in this book to build up; without referring to the technical details of grammar, he led the youthful beginner unconsciously to a familiar acquaintance with its practical applications. This little book was, in fact, the germ of the "Language Lessons" of the present day. It had a remarkable success; it clothed with interest what had before been dry ana repulsive; it taught how to speak and write correctly, as no grammar had done. It was at once largely introduced, and, despite several close imitations of it (even in title) by subsequent authors, it has maintained its place in the schools, and is probably used at the present day more largely than all other text books on composition put together. More than 400,000 copies have been printed. As a further evidence of its popularity, we may add that it was reprinted in the Confederate states during the late war.

The unprecedented success of this first book led to the preparation of the "Advanced Course of Composition and Rhetoric" in 1854. This was a manual of academic or collegiate grade, in which it was aimed to present a variety of subjects, all connected and having a common bearing on the mastery of our language, but which, as usually treated of in a number of different text books, were apt, amid the multiplicity of academic studies, to a greater or less extent to be neglected.

Before the appearance of Quackenbos's Rhetoric there was no single volume from which the learner could get an insight into the origin and peculiar characteristics of our language, taste the pleasures of the imagination, style, criticism and figures; together with practical instruction in punctuation and the niceties of composition. Here was a book that contained the substance of Blair, Kames, Burke, Akenside, Addison and other standards, condensed in a reasonable space and brought down to the level of the dullest comprehension. It met a want, and its success was immediate and permanent. With such a text book, rhetoric could be made an attractive as well as useful study; and many institutions in which it had before been unknown introduced it as a regular branch of their curriculum. A general call from parties who used the "First Lessons" and "Rhetoric" induced the author to compile his comprehensive work on " English Grammar " (1862), and "First Book in Grammar" (1864).

These books have been very generally commended for their terseness of rule and definition, their fullness of illustration, their simple and natural treatment of the subject, their explanations of perplexing constructions, their saving of labor to the teacher, and their remarkable adaptation to the class room. They completed the series on language.

Meanwhile, Professor Quackenbos had been engaged by the Messrs. Appleton to edit the Paris edition of Spiers's French Dictionary. This great work (1,300 pages octavo) cost him sixteen months of the severest labor. There was need of despatch, for an American edition of the same book had also been advertised by another house, and its editorial care intrusted to Dr. Anthon, whose unflagging industry and capacity for brain work were proverbial. It may well be supposed that Mr. Quackenbos felt some trepidation in being thus pitted against the eminent scholar who for seven years in school and college he had reverenced as his teacher ; but he went at the work with an energy that insured success, distancing his competitor so far in point of time that on the appearance of his edition the rival house, finding the market forestalled, abandoned the enterprise and destroyed the plates that had been made. (Dr. Anthon is himself the authority for this statement.) From sixteen to eighteen hours' labor a day was no uncommon thing with Mr. Quackenbos, while this work was going through the press. Spiers's book was thoroughly corrected, the pronunciation was added, a number of new features were introduced, with numerous phrases and idioms, and 4,000 French words gleaned from general literature or belonging to scientific nomenclature. Quackenbos's addition of Spiers has remained to this day the standard French Dictionary.

We have little space left in which to speak of the remaining books of our author. There are few, we imagine, to whom they are not well known. His United States Histories, so different from the dry compilations, whose name is legion, have charmed many a class, and done much to promote a taste for general historical reading among the young. Professor Clifford thus happily hits off their distinctive feature : " Mr. Quackenbos," he says, "selects the prominent points, and weaves them into an easy narrative that attracts the young mind with much of the charm of a fairy tale or of Robinson Crusoe; yet in no instance does he violate historical truths to add zest to the story."

A Natural Philosophy appeared from Mr. Quackenbos's pen in 1859. His latest works are the Arithmetics of Appletons' Mathematical Course. These books are marked by the same merits and have met with the same success as their predecessors. They take nothing for granted, proceed inductively by gradual advances from what is known to what is unknown, and show even to the casual examiner that they are the work of one who has studied the youthful mind, and knows how to remove difficulties that are likely to be its stumbling block.

In connection with Quackenbos's school books two things are noticeable: 1. That they have all been successful— he has never made a miss; 2. That they cover a wide range of subjects. This by no means implies a wonderful versatility or variety of accomplishment in their author, but simply that he understands how to make a good school book. The same characteristics of mind, the same qualities of style, the same knowledge of what is needed in the school room, that enabled him to prepare a good rhetoric, have also enabled him to produce good histories and good arithmetics. The making of school books, as the " Methodist Quarterly Review " once remarked, is his proper vocation.

An interesting incident which occurred two winters since is worthy of narration. At a reception given to Professor Tyndall, a mutual friend introduced Mr. Quackenbos to Mori, the Japanese Minister. "What name? What name did you say? " asked Mori, as he heard the Dutch patronymic of our friend. It was repeated. " Ah! " exclaimed Mori, "that is a name well known in Japan." Mr. Quackenbos was naturally curious to to learn the meaning of this remark; and on inquiry it appeared that several of his different text books had found their way to "the sunrise kingdom" with the first Japanese ambassadors that had visited this country, had there been translated by an eminent native educator, and were used as manuals in the government schools.

We omitted to say that Mr. Quackenbos received the degree of L.L.D. from Wesleyan University—a fitting honor to one who in the amount of literary labor performed has been surpassed by few men of his years. We have not been able to gather many incidents worth recording in his career, for he has led the quiet, uneventful life of a student; but he certainly has cause to look back with satisfaction on his labors in the cause of education. The results he has achieved show how much can be accomplished by a rigid economy of time and a determined purpose to make the most of every moment. (From Appleton's " Educational Notes," August, 1881).

George Payn Quackenbos died July 24, 1881. The immediate cause of his death was disease of the heart, from which he had been suffering for some time, but doubtless his death was hastened by the shock resulting from a painful accident with which he met at New London earlier in the month, when he was thrown from his carriage, causing a fracture of the leg and other severe injuries.

After his passing, his son, John Duncan Quackenbos picked up the torch of updating and writing more school books.

Quackenbush Store Grand Opening!

The Quackenbush Store is now open! Initially, I am providing digital downloads of epub and PDF electronic books written by members of the Quackenbush family. All items in this category are absolutely free, provided in "as is" condition and can be downloaded as many times as you desire.

These works have been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and are part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. These works were reproduced from the original artifacts, and remain as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

These works are in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As reproductions of historical artifacts, these works may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and I concur, that these works are important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. I appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The number of works currently available is limited, however, over a short period of time will grow to quite a sizable library. Enjoy!

Digital Downloads for your eBook reader - Android or Apple eBook applications.

The Quackenbush Store is now officially open! We will be starting out by offering absolutely free epub and PDF files of books written by members of the Quackenbush family for your eBook Readers. Not exactly exciting, but, provide views into the family history and the minds of the writers.

These books are provided free and were originally published prior to 1923, and represent reproductions of important historical works, maintaining the same format as the original work. Some publishers opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, which in some some cases leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting). It is believed this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While striving to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, they were brought it back into print as part of an ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher. All books offered are "as is" condition.

All eBooks are contained within a .zip file which must be extracted before your eBook reader can install/import the book. Most .zip files contain both an epub and pdf version of the book. Both are compatible with most eBook readers and all PDF readers.

John Quackenbush - American Computational Biologist And Genome Scientist

John Quackenbush (born January 4, 1962) is an American computational biologist and genome scientist. He is the Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Professor of Cancer Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), as well as the director of its Center for Cancer Computational Biology (CCCB). Quackenbush also holds an appointment as Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).


A native of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, Quackenbush attended Bishop Hoban High School in Wilkes Barre, graduating in 1979, after which he attended the California Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics. He went on to earn a doctorate in theoretical particle physics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1990.

After working two years as a postdoctoral fellow in physics, Quackenbush was awarded a Special Emphasis Research Career Award from the National Center for Human Genome Research (the predecessor of the National Human Genome Research Institute), and subsequently spent the next two years at the Salk Institute working on physical maps of human chromosome 11, followed by another two years at Stanford University developing new laboratory and computational strategies for sequencing the human genome.

In 1997, Quackenbush joined the faculty of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, Maryland, where his focus began to shift to post-genomic applications, with an emphasis on microarray analysis. Using a combination of laboratory and computational approaches, Quackenbush and his group developed analytical methods based on the integration of data across domains to derive biological meaning from high-dimensional data.

In 2005, Quackenbush was appointed to his current positions at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and the Harvard School of Public Health. Four years later, he launched the DFCI’s Center for Cancer Computational Biology (CCCB), which he directs and which provides broad-based bioinformatics and computational biology support to the research community through a collaborative consulting model, and which also performs and analyzes large-scale second-generation DNA sequencing.

A leader in the fields of genomics and computational biology, Quackenbush’s current research focuses on the analysis of human cancer using systems biology-based approaches to understanding and modeling the biological networks that underlie disease. This has led him and his colleagues to make fundamental discoveries about the role that variation in gene expression plays in defining biological phenotypes.

In 2010, Quackenbush and his colleagues at DFCI's CCCB, together with investigators at National Jewish Health's Center for Genes, Environment and Health, University of Pittsburgh's, Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Boston University's, Section for Computational Biomedicine and the Pulmonary Center, and the University of Colorado Denver, Genomics Core Facility received an $11 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to launch the Lung Genomics Research Consortium. This project, funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), will add genetic, genomic, and epigenetic data to a collection of clinical biological samples developed by the NHLBI's Lung Tissue Research Consortium. The consortium aims to use genomic technologies and advanced data-analysis tools on available patient lung-tissue samples to gain new insights into pulmonary disease and thus develop more effective, personalized treatments.

John Quackenbush discusses creating an information ecosystem for personalized genomic medicine. 2014 Bio-IT World Keynote, John Quackenbush, Ph.D., CEO, GenoSpace; Professor, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health.

Old Dutch New York Bible 1741 Owned by Harmon Quackenbush

Pieter Quackenbush and wife Maria were New Netherland settlers - Pieter owned and operated the Albany brickyards. The old Dutch Bible belonging to my ancestor Harmon Quackenbush is displayed at this site (Pieter's great grandson) Bible as of this date housed at Schaghticoke, New York - Diver Library.

Harmon Quackenbush's Bible which was purchased of Harmon Grosbeck and Genet Winney in l775 can be viewed at this site. Original date of Bible 1741 written in Dutch. Harmon's son Jacob Quackenbush born 1771 inherited this Bible which today is at the  Schaghticoke, New York Library.

* Info from the web- The marriage record of Magdalena Quackenbosch and Jonas Volkertz Douw is the first entry in the registers of the Albany Dutch Church which have been preserved.

Pieter W. Quackenbush (a grandson of Pieter ref. above) and Volckert A. Douw-descendant of Volckert Janse, were partners in the business of making rum during the French and Indian War Period and beyond. Thanks to an Albany excavation project we learned that the Distillery was located outside of the City of Albany next to the Hudson River. In those times rum was not to be sold to soldiers inside of the city limits and this was a perfect location. Rum, which was made in large wooden vats with portions of "river water" and molasses (a by product of sugar) fermented 12 -14 days. Rum was one of the main beverages drunk in the mid l700s. British soldiers were issued a quart of rum per day for every four soldiers. It has been recorded that soldiers were drunk a good portion of each day. Rum was also used in punch which men, women and children drank. Drinking rum was considered "good for health". The Quackenbush-Douw facility could produce about 250 gallons of rum per day!

Rum depended upon the African Slave trade....the slaves worked the Sugar Plantations. Resolved Waldron (MANHATTAN SEEDS OF THE BIG APPLE) was once an overseer of workmen in Brazil prior to relocation in New Amsterdam where he lived with his family on the corner of Broadway and current day Wall Street. His first position was as night sheriff under Director General, Pieter Stuyvesant. Later he moved to Harlem. Resolveert Waldron spoke Dutch, English, Portuguese-once acting as interpreter for the Negroes of Cornelius Steenwyck, Govert Loockermans and Thomas Hall in court.

Thanks to the wonderful vision of Charles L. Fisher (1949-2007) the New York State Museum's first Curator of Historical Archealogy and his many colleagues. Along with the Museum I offer my sincere thanks to The Bender Family Foundation, Alan Goldberg, The Alan Goldberg Charitable Trust, George McNamee, and Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. as well as all who contributed to the Charles L. Fisher Fund.

This Bible printed in Holland originally owned by Peter Ackart was purchased by Harmon Quackenbush of Schaghticoke, New York 28 May 1775 and is housed at the Arvilla Diver Memorial Library of Schaghticoke, New York. Harmon was married to Judith Morrel about l764. The Bible (image below) was purchased of Harman Groesbeck and Genet Winney, the two Elders of the Church at that time for the sum of four pounds, two shillings, zero penny which is paid by the said Harmon Quackenbush. On the inside cover: handwritten 1738 December 5 Harmon Quackenbush was born, Departed this life the 15th of May 1824. Page directly after face plate lists the birth of his wife 1739 April 26 and followed by all the children, 1759 December 22 then is born my eldest daughter, Alida. Alida married Daniel Bradt (AnthonyBradt & Rebecca Van Der Heyden ) and their daughter Judah Bradt born17 Nov. 1786 married William G. Waldron at Schaghticoke 9 May 1804. They had 14 children - the family resided in North Creek, New York.

Harmon Quackenbush was Author Gloria Waldron Hukle's grandfather 7 generations back.

Children of Harmon beginning with eldest daughter Alida born Dec. 22, 1759.

Harmon Quackenbush and wife Judah Morrall Quackenbush are Alida, above and Elizabeth born 1761 Aug. 28, son Sybrant was born Sept. 11 , 1763, son Daniel born 1765, Aug 27th, son John born 1767 June 18, daughter Nellie who eventually married Peter Benway was born 1769, August 19th, Harmon and Judith's son Jacob was born 1771 November 15th. Jacob married Ann Grosbeck and it was Jacob who inherited the Bible. Jacob Quackenbush died December 16th 1847 as recorded in this Bible. Harmon and Judith Quackenbush last born daughter was Catherine born 1774 January 15. Also recorded is Maria Benway born 1789 Sept. 20th.

Born l775, January 28th Ann Groesbeck (believed to be daughter of Harmon Groesbeck) Ann and Jacob Quackenbush married as written in the Bible 1793 June 30th.

1794 June 9th daughter Agnes Quackenbush was born, 1796 daughter Judy was born November 26th. It is interesting that her name is written as Judy an not Judith. In 1799 a son Thomas was born July 15th. 1802 Feb 8th Maria born, 1804 a daughter Catherine on Sept. 18th, 1808 Nellie (daughter of Jacob & Ann Quackenbush) 1814 Nicholas on June 9th, This child must have died young because a second Nicholas is listed as born 1817 January 19th. Images & transcriptions thanks to Ruth Urdwary Ft.Crailo DAR.

Ann Groesbeck wife of Jacob died 27 Sept. 1851. 

Source: Author Gloria Waldron Hukle, New York Historical Book Series by Gloria Waldron Hukle. 

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes (Grace Humiston Quackenbush) Takes On The NYPD

When an 18-year-old girl went missing, the police seemed content to let the case grow cold. But Grace Humiston, a soft-spoken private investigator, wouldn’t let it lie.

Unlike in Mike Dash’s recent tale of a mysterious cold case, detectives knew right away the identity of a body found in Harlem on a cloudy spring day in June 1917. She was 18-year-old Ruth Cruger, who had been missing since February 13. She’d left her home on Claremont Avenue that morning wearing a blue velvet coat, a black hat adorned with a flowered ribbon, white kid gloves and her new graduation ring from Wadleigh High School. She walked toward 127th Street with a pair of ice skates dangling from her wrist and was never seen again.

The morning after Ruth disappeared, her older sister, Helen, searched for clues in their neighborhood. She recalled Ruth mentioning a motorcycle shop a few blocks away where she could get her skates sharpened. Helen arrived at the store around 9:30 and found it closed. She returned an hour later and this time the front door was padlocked. Finally, at 2:30 p.m., the shop was open. Inside she found several women waiting to have baby carriages repaired and a man hunched over a bicycle.

“Did my sister leave her skates to be sharpened yesterday?” Helen asked.

The man replied that a young woman had left a pair of skates to be sharpened in the morning and returned for them later.

“What kind of skates were they?”

“They were fastened on shoes like you have on,” the man answered.

“Was she a dark and attractive girl?” Helen asked.

“Yes.”

Helen rushed home to recount the encounter to her father, Henry. He called the police and spoke with a detective, who reasoned that the shop’s owner, Alfredo Cocchi, had initially been absent from his counter because he had repair jobs in the neighborhood. The detective insisted that the Cocchi was a “respectable businessman” but agreed to pay him a visit, and afterward wrote a report that consisted solely of the line, “I searched the cellar.”

The New York Police Department seemed content to let the case grow cold, but Ruth Cruger quickly became a national fixation. The victim’s profile—young, white, attractive, from a respectable family—revived interest in “white slavery,” the idea that the thousands of girls who vanished every year in New York and other large cities had, one way or another, entered the “sporting life,” or prostitution. After a sensational 1907 case in Chicago, a frenzy over white slavery erupted; Americans lived in a state of fear equivalent to the atomic bomb scares of the 1950s or the early post-9/11 terror alerts. Newspapers printed daily “agony columns” listing the names of missing girls, and Progressive Era reformers crafted lurid narratives to rouse the public’s interest, books with titles like The Black Traffic in White Girls that read like porn for puritans.

Most reformers harbored nativist sentiment and warned that the large influx of immigrants,

particularly those from Southern and Eastern Europe, were changing the character of the country. They argued that such men—mainly Greeks, Italians and Jews—acted as “panders” in the red-light districts, organizing the kidnapping, rape and sale of young girls to enterprising madams. The white slavery phenomenon peaked in June 1910, when Congress passed, and President William Howard Taft signed, the White Slave Traffic Act—better known as the Mann Act after its author, Congressman James Robert Mann. The Mann Act forbade the interstate transport of women for “immoral purposes” without specifying the exact meaning of the phrase (which ultimately allowed the government to investigate anyone it found objectionable for any reason, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Charlie Chaplin and Jack Johnson).

The advance of the automobile changed the business of prostitution. More “sporting girls” made house calls, and red-light districts across the country began to shut down. Public opinion shifted as well; prostitutes were no longer considered victims, but simple-minded girls of questionable character and dubious acquaintance. The New York Police Department suggested that Ruth Cruger fit this profile, saying she “wants to be lost” and presenting scenarios that might explain her motive for running away. One witness spotted a girl matching Ruth’s description climbing into a taxicab with an unidentified man; another suspect, whose name was never released, was believed to have “met Miss Cruger several times without the knowledge of her parents.”

Meanwhile, Alfredo Cocchi fled back to his native Italy—an escape the Cruger family suspected was aided by police. Exasperated, Henry Cruger posted a $1,000 reward for information about the case and hired an lawyer-turned-investigator named Grace Humiston, who had gained notoriety the previous year by battling to save the life of a man on Sing Sing’s death row. (She would eventually prove he had been convicted on falsified evidence and secure his release). Before that, she had gone under cover and infiltrated turpentine camps in the South, where she discovered entire families working under slave labor conditions.

At age 46, with black hair coiled in a bun and a tendency to speak sotto voce, Humiston seemed more like a librarian than a crusader for justice. When a reporter for the New York Times visited her office at Madison Avenue and 42nd Street, she was on the phone with her mother, asking her to water her plants. “It was like dropping in at Baker Street and having Holmes throw the pipe, the violin and the hypodermic out of the window and begin to discuss how many strawberries make a shortcake,” the reporter noted. “Frankly, so far as appearances go, Ms. Humiston is badly miscast in the role of sleuth extraordinary, or as the program might say—‘Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.”

Humiston spent 15 hours a day on the case, working pro bono, interviewing Harlem residents who might have noticed suspicious activity around Cocchi’s shop. One man recalled seeing Cocchi emerge from his basement around midnight on February 13, covered with dirt and appearing “nervous.” Another spotted Cocchi the following night, again “dirty and nervous.” On this evidence, Humiston went to Cocchi’s shop, determined to get into the cellar.

Cocchi’s wife appeared at the door wielding a brick. “I’ll split your skull with this brick if you try to come in here,” she said.

Humiston reported the threat to Police Commissioner Arthur Woods, who granted her a search permit. On June 16, she enlisted the help of Patrick Solam, a close friend of the Cruger family and the general foreman for Grand Central Terminal. Solam started in the main basement room, directly beneath the shop. A cluster of benches, toolboxes and chests of drawers created a triangular work area. Solam noticed that one chest along the southeast corner of the room slanted slightly, protruding an inch beyond the others. He asked two assistants to help move it.

They discovered that the concrete floor beneath had been smashed with a hatchet or axe and then sliced with a saw. They took turns digging, removing layers of ashes, cinders, dirt and chips of broken concrete. Farther down, embedded in the dirt, they found a pair of dark trousers with pinstripes and stains, and beneath that a large sheet of rubber, carefully arranged to prevent any odor from rising to the surface.

Three feet down, the pit sloped to the west. A shovel struck something hard. Solam lowered himself into the hole and felt a sharp knob—the exposed hip of a body. They pulled the body up, inch by inch, and swept away the dirt. A piece of hemp rope nine feet long was knotted tightly around the ankles, cutting into the flesh. A towel looped around the neck. The feet bore shoes and stockings, both brown, and the blue of a velvet coat had faded to slate. Kid gloves still concealed the hands, and a black hat lay smashed deep inside the pit. The final discovery was a pair of ice skates, covered with mottled blood.

The victim’s skull had been crushed from behind, just above the left ear. Humiston confirmed that the clothes were those worn by Ruth Cruger the day she disappeared. She convinced Henry Cruger not to go into the basement, and he later identified his daughter by her graduation ring. An autopsy revealed a deep gash in Ruth’s abdomen extending to her spine, carved with the blade of her own skate—an injury that classified the case, in the parlance of the times, as a “ripper.” Otto H. Schultze, medical assistant to the district attorney, determined that the killer inflicted the wound after the blow that crushed Ruth’s skull but before her death.

Italian officials refused to extradite Alfredo Cocchi, but he was arrested in Bologna and confessed to the assault and murder of Ruth Cruger. “I had never seen Ruth Cruger before she came to my shop to have her skates sharpened,” he said. “From the very beginning Ruth did all in her power to attract my attention. I felt something strange when her dark, penetrating eyes fixed on mine. I was still more disconcerted when she came again to get her skates. An overpowering attraction for the young woman seized me. What happened afterward seems like a dream.” He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Humiston wasn’t finished. She publicly accused the NYPD of negligence, and a subsequent investigation by Police Commissioner Woods revealed a longstanding, mutually beneficial relationship between Cocchi and the department. If an officer arrested someone for speeding he would send the offender to Cocchi, suggesting that the repairman was able to compromise cases for a small fee. Cocchi would collect the fee, keep a portion for himself and kick back the rest to the officer.

Next she gave a series of interviews intended both to rehabilitate Ruth’s character and lay the groundwork for the next phase of her own career. “I started out with the conviction that Ruth Cruger was a good girl,” she said. “I knew that one of her training and character never would figure in an elopement or anything of that kind. Working on this conviction of mine, I knew that the police theory of ‘waywardness’ was all bosh.” She suggested that Cocchi had intended to force Cruger into prostitution and urged the city to renew its efforts against white slavery: “What I think is needed is a bureau that would prevent girls from getting into the hands of these beasts, rescue them if they were already snared, and then cure them of their moral ailment. Do you know that no girl of the streets, if rescued before she reaches the age of 25, ever continues her shameful trade?”

In July 1917, Humiston was named a special investigator to the New York City Police Department, charged with tracing missing girls and uncovering evidence of white slave traffic. At the same time she formed the Morality League of America—a throwback to the anti-vice organizations prevalent in the years leading to the passage of the Mann Act. Hundreds of families sought her help in locating their missing daughters and sisters. The Cruger murder brought Grace Humiston national renown, but she, along with scores of other prominent Progressive Era reformers, was eventually lost to history. Later newspaper recollections of the Cruger case fail to mention “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” at all.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine Original Story by By Karen Abbott smithsonian.com August 23, 2011