Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Individual Notes
• She left Willis for the German she said, and I believe it, so she could once more have a home for her sisters to come to.36, p 7; line 279
• Fladung is one of the largest contractors. He is a German and about forty years of age. Police Sergeant Williams [said he] has little hopes of his recovery.
Fladung was booked at the Central Station on a charge [of] murder. In conversation with Police Surgeon Wittman he said that his wife had shot him and then shot herself. He further charged her with having struck him with a bottle last Saturday.1979
• Murder and Suicide.
San Francisco, May 19.––Edward Fladung, a German laborer, 35 years of age, shot and instantly killed his wife, May, aged 34 years, this evening. He then shot himself, inflicting a wound that will probably prove fatal. From a letter found on Fladung it appears that he and his wife had a quarrel Saturday, and that this morning she sent him a letter, saying that she meant to leave him and move with her furniture to 326 Ellis street. Fladung went to that address in a rage, and the tragedy ensued.1999
• WHO FIRED THE SHOTS?
—————————
Did Mrs. Fladung Shoot Her Husband and Kill Herself?
—————————
ONE PHYSICIAN SWEARS SHE DID.
————————
Clearing Away the Mystery Surrounding a Tragedy Enacted in an Ellis-Street Residence – Footprints in Blood
———————
[excerpts]
Witnesses with theories, a blood-stained pair of shoes, the translation of a letter which had been found torn in a hundred pieces, and Dr. Frederick W. Von Buelow were the central figures in the examination of Edward Fladung, charged with the murder of his wife, before Judge Rix in Police Court No. 1 yesterday afternoon.
From the time Edward Fladung, while stretched on the operating table at the City Receiving Hospital, gasped, “My wife shot me; I forgive her,” up to the present, theories of the tragedy which occurred on the 19th of May last, resulting in the death of Mrs. May Fladung and the almost fatal wounding of Edward Fladung, her husband, have been formed…2002
• FLADUNG ON TRIAL
Edward Fladung is on trial before a jury and Judge Shafter charged with the murder of his wife on May 19th last at their lodging on Eddy street. They had been married less than one year and quarreled continually. Much of the testimony in the hearing of the case before the Coroner and the Police Magistrate went to show Fladung was very intemperate and abused his wife cruelly. It also appeared that she had lived many years before meeting Fladung as the wife of a gambler.1965
• HE DID NOT KILL HER
Edward Fladung Declared Guiltless of His Wife’s Death
The Jury Out But A Moment
The jury before whom Edward Fladung has been on trial for the murder of his wife, Mary Fladung, yesterday afternoon acquitted him on the first ballot, not being absent from the courtroom more than five minutes.
The chief interest of the day centered in the testimony of the defendant himself, who related in an apparently frank way the circumstances leading up to the moment of the tragedy. He described at length the first accidental meeting in Los Angeles, their hasty marriage, and the quarrels which almost immediately ensued between them owing to her tendency to drink and to keep improper hours.
On one occasion, when he refused to get her some cigarettes at night, she scratched his face and he kicked her out of doors.
The witness then, with some appearance of emotion, described the events of the fatal 19th of May.
“I had intended going to San Rafael that day,” he said, “but missed the boat, and returned to our room at 508 Eddy street. My wife was not there, so I went out to lunch, and returned at 4 o’clock. I found she had been back in my absence and left behind her a handkerchief, four cartridges and a note. I went after her to 326 Ellis street, where I knew she had wanted to take rooms. In fact, we had quarreled about it before.
“Why,” I asked her, when we met, ‘have you come here?’
“She answered, “I don’t care for you.”
“Then I remembered she had taken my pistol away with her and I asked:
“Why did you take my pistol out of my pocket?”
“As I spoke I placed my hat on a chair, and it fell to the floor. I stooped down to pick it up and as I did so I heard her say: “Here is your pistol.”
“The next instant there was a shot, and after that I remember nothing more until I regained consciousness and found myself in the hospital.”
Mrs. Carrie Taylor, Mrs. Louise Taylor and Mrs. Phoebe Coffin testified to the drunkenness and violent temper of the deceased.
The defendant showed no emotion when acquitted, but quietly thanked the jury, as did the counsel, George Knight. Judge Shafter also seemed very well satisfied with the verdict.2003
• Fladung is one of the largest contractors. He is a German and about forty years of age. Police Sergeant Williams [said he] has little hopes of his recovery.
Fladung was booked at the Central Station on a charge [of] murder. In conversation with Police Surgeon Wittman he said that his wife had shot him and then shot herself. He further charged her with having struck him with a bottle last Saturday.1979
• Murder and Suicide.
San Francisco, May 19.––Edward Fladung, a German laborer, 35 years of age, shot and instantly killed his wife, May, aged 34 years, this evening. He then shot himself, inflicting a wound that will probably prove fatal. From a letter found on Fladung it appears that he and his wife had a quarrel Saturday, and that this morning she sent him a letter, saying that she meant to leave him and move with her furniture to 326 Ellis street. Fladung went to that address in a rage, and the tragedy ensued.1999
• WHO FIRED THE SHOTS?
—————————
Did Mrs. Fladung Shoot Her Husband and Kill Herself?
—————————
ONE PHYSICIAN SWEARS SHE DID.
————————
Clearing Away the Mystery Surrounding a Tragedy Enacted in an Ellis-Street Residence – Footprints in Blood
———————
[excerpts]
Witnesses with theories, a blood-stained pair of shoes, the translation of a letter which had been found torn in a hundred pieces, and Dr. Frederick W. Von Buelow were the central figures in the examination of Edward Fladung, charged with the murder of his wife, before Judge Rix in Police Court No. 1 yesterday afternoon.
From the time Edward Fladung, while stretched on the operating table at the City Receiving Hospital, gasped, “My wife shot me; I forgive her,” up to the present, theories of the tragedy which occurred on the 19th of May last, resulting in the death of Mrs. May Fladung and the almost fatal wounding of Edward Fladung, her husband, have been formed…2002
• FLADUNG ON TRIAL
Edward Fladung is on trial before a jury and Judge Shafter charged with the murder of his wife on May 19th last at their lodging on Eddy street. They had been married less than one year and quarreled continually. Much of the testimony in the hearing of the case before the Coroner and the Police Magistrate went to show Fladung was very intemperate and abused his wife cruelly. It also appeared that she had lived many years before meeting Fladung as the wife of a gambler.1965
• HE DID NOT KILL HER
Edward Fladung Declared Guiltless of His Wife’s Death
The Jury Out But A Moment
The jury before whom Edward Fladung has been on trial for the murder of his wife, Mary Fladung, yesterday afternoon acquitted him on the first ballot, not being absent from the courtroom more than five minutes.
The chief interest of the day centered in the testimony of the defendant himself, who related in an apparently frank way the circumstances leading up to the moment of the tragedy. He described at length the first accidental meeting in Los Angeles, their hasty marriage, and the quarrels which almost immediately ensued between them owing to her tendency to drink and to keep improper hours.
On one occasion, when he refused to get her some cigarettes at night, she scratched his face and he kicked her out of doors.
The witness then, with some appearance of emotion, described the events of the fatal 19th of May.
“I had intended going to San Rafael that day,” he said, “but missed the boat, and returned to our room at 508 Eddy street. My wife was not there, so I went out to lunch, and returned at 4 o’clock. I found she had been back in my absence and left behind her a handkerchief, four cartridges and a note. I went after her to 326 Ellis street, where I knew she had wanted to take rooms. In fact, we had quarreled about it before.
“Why,” I asked her, when we met, ‘have you come here?’
“She answered, “I don’t care for you.”
“Then I remembered she had taken my pistol away with her and I asked:
“Why did you take my pistol out of my pocket?”
“As I spoke I placed my hat on a chair, and it fell to the floor. I stooped down to pick it up and as I did so I heard her say: “Here is your pistol.”
“The next instant there was a shot, and after that I remember nothing more until I regained consciousness and found myself in the hospital.”
Mrs. Carrie Taylor, Mrs. Louise Taylor and Mrs. Phoebe Coffin testified to the drunkenness and violent temper of the deceased.
The defendant showed no emotion when acquitted, but quietly thanked the jury, as did the counsel, George Knight. Judge Shafter also seemed very well satisfied with the verdict.2003
Research
• Could not find in 1870, 1900, 1910; Ancestry.com, 9 Mar 2005.
Spouses
Birth19 Nov 1852, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, California36, p 1; line 37; place only,190, p 2; date only
Death19 May 1890, San Francisco, San Francisco, California190, p 4; gives death date as 20 May 1890,1976 Age: 37
Death causeby self-inflicted gun shot1976
NicknameMay36, p 6
FatherPhineas F. CLARK (~1812-1855)
MotherMary O’BRIEN (1829-1901)
Individual Notes
• Born while crossing plains to California in 1851. No children from marriage with Augustus Amy.23, p G27
They stopped off at Diamond Springs for this birth.36, p 1; line 37
• Changed her name herself while in convent to “May Josephine.”36, p 4; line 142,518
• May was sent to the convent by her cousin Charlie Terrell whom Mama and Mr. Clark had brought across the plains. She ran away from the convent and married Mr. Amy who kept her in style always. Alice (Walter) got her start in music while living with May in S.F. - (May) was christened in the Catholic Church - as Mr. A. was a Catholic.36, p 1; lines 26-30
• May it was who gave Mama the many luxuries she loved. Mr. Amy never failed to visit us, long after their divorce. He was fond of us all – and to Mama he was a little above human. When May left him she went to Emily's in Carson and Mama always blamed Emily's envy for most of this trouble. She called him “the frog-eater, etc.” Envious because May had more than she. Yet May shared with her most generously. Maude's baby clothes were all convent-made. Emily's babies were all so dear to May.36, p 5, lines 217-222
• I remember when Alice and I were having lunch together in S.F., she said to me ‘If May did wrong when she left Mr. A[my], certainly her love for children and all she did to brighten their lives should compensate.’ She left Mr. A. who many years older than she for her real love Willis Lawrence. He was a civil engineer - the most gentle, kindly man I ever knew. If you have a pin - a fan on a bar, with colored quartz - that Willis gave Alice when she was in high school. It was May who asked me to pray for her when she was ill at our home. She said "God listens to innocent children, and if you ask Him, He will make me well." I don't believe she ever had a wicked thought and as Mama said as she looked at May's picture always where she could see it "She will be the first to meet me when I pass beyond." Everyone who knew May loved her. She left Willis for the German she said, and I believe it, so she could once more have a home for her sisters to come to. Willis had been caught in the gambling fever of that time and they lived from day to day. She knew her mistake almost at once and I think her unhappiness led to the break in her health. She died before she was forty.36, pp. 6 & 7, from line 267
• Mrs. Willis Lawrence and Miss Maud Martin of Oakland are visiting in Vallejo, the guests of the Misses Walter.193
• Name at death given as “May J. Fladung.”190, p 4
• Fladung, Edward ... married in 1889 to Clarke, Mary J. ... 1889M-1292
Fladung, May J. ... died in 1890 ... age 37 ... 1890D-21261977
• WHO FIRED THE SHOTS?
Did Mrs. Fladung Shoot Her Husband and Kill Herself?
From the time Edward Fladung, while stretched on the operating table at the City Receiving Hospital, gasped “My wife shot me; I forgive her,” up to the present, theories of the tragedy which occurred on the 19th of May last, resulting in the death of Mrs. May Fladung and the almost fatal wounding of Edward Fladung, her husband, have been formed, dissipated and reformed by almost everybody having any connection with the case.1976
• Mrs. Martin, when asked about her sister’s life previous to her marriage with Fladung, said she fully supposed she was married to the man she was living with. May had shown her their marriage certificate, and she fully supposed it was genuine. She had heard that her sister had been mixed up in a shooting scrape while living with this man down in Arizona but knew nothing about the facts otherwise.1965
• Willis Lawrence, a former husband of Mrs. Fladung, testified that he taught her to shoot in Arizona, and that she became very expert with a pistol.1978
• Mrs. Fladung was a native of this State and about thirty five years of age. She had been a handsome woman and attracted general attention on the street on account of her magnificent figure. She was a frequent promenader on Kearney and Market streets. She was married before, her first husband being G. L. Amy, with whom she lived four years, being granted a divorce in 1877. Her second companion was Willis Lawrence, a gambler. It is not certain that she was ever legally married to Lawrence, but she lived with him seven years, separating about two years ago. In the spring of 1889 she married Ed Fladung, a brickmason, and a member of the firm of Brennan & Fladung.
The relations of the pair were not of the happiest, as the woman persisted in encouraging the attentions of young men to whom her husband objected. Defying his wishes in the matter led to the shooting.1979
They stopped off at Diamond Springs for this birth.36, p 1; line 37
• Changed her name herself while in convent to “May Josephine.”36, p 4; line 142,518
• May was sent to the convent by her cousin Charlie Terrell whom Mama and Mr. Clark had brought across the plains. She ran away from the convent and married Mr. Amy who kept her in style always. Alice (Walter) got her start in music while living with May in S.F. - (May) was christened in the Catholic Church - as Mr. A. was a Catholic.36, p 1; lines 26-30
• May it was who gave Mama the many luxuries she loved. Mr. Amy never failed to visit us, long after their divorce. He was fond of us all – and to Mama he was a little above human. When May left him she went to Emily's in Carson and Mama always blamed Emily's envy for most of this trouble. She called him “the frog-eater, etc.” Envious because May had more than she. Yet May shared with her most generously. Maude's baby clothes were all convent-made. Emily's babies were all so dear to May.36, p 5, lines 217-222
• I remember when Alice and I were having lunch together in S.F., she said to me ‘If May did wrong when she left Mr. A[my], certainly her love for children and all she did to brighten their lives should compensate.’ She left Mr. A. who many years older than she for her real love Willis Lawrence. He was a civil engineer - the most gentle, kindly man I ever knew. If you have a pin - a fan on a bar, with colored quartz - that Willis gave Alice when she was in high school. It was May who asked me to pray for her when she was ill at our home. She said "God listens to innocent children, and if you ask Him, He will make me well." I don't believe she ever had a wicked thought and as Mama said as she looked at May's picture always where she could see it "She will be the first to meet me when I pass beyond." Everyone who knew May loved her. She left Willis for the German she said, and I believe it, so she could once more have a home for her sisters to come to. Willis had been caught in the gambling fever of that time and they lived from day to day. She knew her mistake almost at once and I think her unhappiness led to the break in her health. She died before she was forty.36, pp. 6 & 7, from line 267
• Mrs. Willis Lawrence and Miss Maud Martin of Oakland are visiting in Vallejo, the guests of the Misses Walter.193
• Name at death given as “May J. Fladung.”190, p 4
• Fladung, Edward ... married in 1889 to Clarke, Mary J. ... 1889M-1292
Fladung, May J. ... died in 1890 ... age 37 ... 1890D-21261977
• WHO FIRED THE SHOTS?
Did Mrs. Fladung Shoot Her Husband and Kill Herself?
From the time Edward Fladung, while stretched on the operating table at the City Receiving Hospital, gasped “My wife shot me; I forgive her,” up to the present, theories of the tragedy which occurred on the 19th of May last, resulting in the death of Mrs. May Fladung and the almost fatal wounding of Edward Fladung, her husband, have been formed, dissipated and reformed by almost everybody having any connection with the case.1976
• Mrs. Martin, when asked about her sister’s life previous to her marriage with Fladung, said she fully supposed she was married to the man she was living with. May had shown her their marriage certificate, and she fully supposed it was genuine. She had heard that her sister had been mixed up in a shooting scrape while living with this man down in Arizona but knew nothing about the facts otherwise.1965
• Willis Lawrence, a former husband of Mrs. Fladung, testified that he taught her to shoot in Arizona, and that she became very expert with a pistol.1978
• Mrs. Fladung was a native of this State and about thirty five years of age. She had been a handsome woman and attracted general attention on the street on account of her magnificent figure. She was a frequent promenader on Kearney and Market streets. She was married before, her first husband being G. L. Amy, with whom she lived four years, being granted a divorce in 1877. Her second companion was Willis Lawrence, a gambler. It is not certain that she was ever legally married to Lawrence, but she lived with him seven years, separating about two years ago. In the spring of 1889 she married Ed Fladung, a brickmason, and a member of the firm of Brennan & Fladung.
The relations of the pair were not of the happiest, as the woman persisted in encouraging the attentions of young men to whom her husband objected. Defying his wishes in the matter led to the shooting.1979
Census
• 1860 Census: Sacramento, Sacramento, California. Age 7, b CA.543
General
• Diamond Springs lies at the west end of Pleasant Valley. Along with Mud Springs (El Dorado) it was a favorite stopping place on the Carson Emigrant Trail for emigrants going to the northern or southern mines. From Diamond Springs the overland trekkers could turn right and climb the ridge to Placerville, three miles to the north, which was the gateway to the northern mines. Others could go on to Mud Springs and turn left and travel to Plymouth, Jackson, Sonora and the southern mines. Still others could continue west to Shingle Springs, Folsom, Sacramento and San Francisco.1980
MarriageMay 1889, San Francisco, San Francisco, California190, p 1,1979, year only
Marriage Notes
• Her third husband based on her married name at death.190, p 4
No Children
Birthabt 1873, San Rafael, Marin, California2021, pp 1&2
Census
• 1950 Census: Redwood City, San Mateo, California. Age 55, b CA.2022
Marriage13 May 1892, Marin County, California2021, p 1
ChildrenHelen Gertrude (1893-)
Leoma M. (1895-1986)