Mary Rogers, "Cigar Girl"

Mary’s body was found on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River on July 28, 1841. Her corpse was found by a group of men strolling along the river side. They originally thought nothing of Mary’s body, deeming it a loose floating bundle of cloth. However, the gentlemen clambered into a boat and ventured out to retrieve the cloth. It was then they realized this floating blob of fabric was in fact the cold, dead body of Mary Rogers. After lugging her frozen form to shore, the authorities were sent for, along with a coroner.

Upon his arrival, the coroner examined Mary’s body to find a series of finger shaped marks upon her neck. He deduced that it was most likely a group of men who’d done such a beating and not the act of an individual. Shortly after the gruesome analysis, the unfortunate victim was identified officially as Mary Cecilia Rogers. A young woman who worked at a local cigar store. Her boss, John Anderson had gained a flurry of business upon hiring her, and Mary’s disappearance hadn’t gone unnoticed by him.

As for Mary’s family, she lived with a widowed mother, a brother who spent most of his time off at sea or drunk at home, and her fiancé mister Payne. Both Mary’s mother and her betrothed had worried themselves sick the morning after Mary’s disappearance. Like John, they had been expecting her arrival. But what had sent Mary off on her own to begin with? What had left her vulnerable enough to be killed?

According to numerous accounts, she was supposed to be visiting a relative the evening of her death. However, that very night a series of storms hammered across New York. As a result, neither Mary’s Mother nor her fiancé expected her to return home that night. At least, not in such bad weather. Yet, when Mary didn’t return home the next morning, it was discovered that she’d never arrived at her relative’s. Whether she’d gotten lost on the way or had other secret plans of travel is unknown. The only result of her expedition was a brutally beaten body floating in the Hudson.

And like all things in New York, the news of Mary’s death didn’t remain quiet. Her face was plastered across countless newspapers as the town whipped into a frenzy. Many of them knew and adored Mary, and they wanted justice. Consequently, this led many locals to point fingers at Mr. Payne. Though there were no facts indicating his involvement with the murder. And as if to worsen the confusion of the case, a bundle of Mary’s clothing was found hidden in a thicket. Many suspected it’d been placed there after Mary’s death. Afterall, the Hudson and surrounding area were flooded with tourism, locals, and officers scanning the scene for any additional evidence. Had the clothes been there the night Mary was found they would have been noticed.

With an aura of skepticism surrounding this last bit of evidence, and with few leads to follow, the suspect list remained long without any arrests or convictions leaving the justice thirsty town unsatisfied.

However, one of the most likely causes of Mary’s death was the result of gang violence. New York streets had seen an upsurge in local gangs. As a result, rape, theft, and battery increased more than ever before despite an increase in night patrols and it wasn’t unlikely for a gang to prey on a young woman caught amidst a storm. While this would seem logical, and limit the pool of suspects, Mr. Payne’s suicide threw a kink into this theory. Having swallowed down rat poison, Mr. Payne, Mary’s fiancé, died on a bench next to the thicket in which her clothes were discovered. He was found with a note reading “To the World here I am on the very spot. May God forgive me for my misspent life.” (Historic Mysteries). While some took this as an admission of guilt, others claimed it was the result of a broken heart.

However, one account regarding Mary’s last few moments of life varied greatly from the others. A shop keeper from just across the Hudson claimed that Mary’s death was the result of an attempted abortion though there was no evidence pointing in such a direction, and while this theory is accepted by some it does little to explain the bruising found on Mary’s neck. She wouldn’t have inflicted such wounds on herself, and the coroner insisted that multiple individuals were involved with Mary’s death.

With theories, rumors, and speculation running rampant, Mary’s case became such a sensation that Edgar Allen Poe wrote “The mystery of Marie Roget,” a poem regarding her death. But perhaps even more interesting is the idea that Mary’s brother killed her. Although there were no accounts of his returning home from sea, when he did venture home his drinking and violence often flung the household into chaos. On top of this, Edgar Allen Poe goes so far as accusing a sailor/ mariner of killing young Mary in the aforementioned poem.

However, perhaps the most compelling suspect is that of John Anderson. Owner of the local cigar shop, and Mary’s boss, “many people believed his success was connected to Mary’s magnetism,” (Illinois Case Study). In other words, without her it was likely his business would fail. Backing up this sentiment is the surprising fact that Mary had gone missing before. Locals found a suicide note supposedly written by Mary herself, but when Mary heard the news of her supposed death, she addressed the rumors in a fury. She was and had been alive. However, the single night she’d been missing had already depleted Anderson’s business by a shocking amount. As a result, many believe that Anderson resorted to foul play and is responsible for Mary’s death. The exact motive is speculated, but it isn’t unreasonable to conclude the following. Anderson grew tired of his supposed reliance on Mary, attempted to prove he could maintain business without her, failed, killed her, and ultimately garnered business out of sympathy without taking much of a financial hit. Yet, it’s important to recognize that these are theories with little evidence to support them.

Because, the more the suspect list grows, the more muddled the case details become. A concise timeline of Mary’s life is hard to reconstruct. Witnesses were vague in their descriptions of the night Mary died, and many admitted to being unsure if they’d actually seen her. Ultimately, no one found the killer, and to this day Mary’s case has never been solved. Whether it was the result of gang violence, a failed abortion, Mr. Payne’s secret demons, a drunken brother, or a jealous John Anderson will remain a mystery.