HomeMy WebLinkAboutCassie Chadwick1
THE SCHEMES OF CASSIE CHADWICK
A l i a s e s :E l i z a b e t h C u n a r d , E m i l y H e a t h c l i f f , L y d i a D e V e r e ,
L y d i a S p r i n g s t e e n , M a r i e L a R o s e , C a s s i e H o o v e r , C a s s i e
C h a d w i c k , C a s s i e L . C h a d w i c k
N a m e :
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E l i z a b e t h B i g l e y
B i r t h d a t e :M a r c h 2 8 , 1 8 5 7
B i r t h p l a c e :A p p i n , O n t a r i o
A b o u t :
E l i z a b e t h B i g l e y , l a t e r k n o w n a s C a s s i e C h a d w i c k , w a s b o r n o n t h e 2 8 o f
M a r c h , 1 8 5 7 i n A p p i n , O n t a r i o a s t h e t h i r d d a u g h t e r o f D a n i e l B i g l e y a n d
M a r y An n . F r o m c h i l d h oo d t o a d u l t h o o d , E l i z a b e t h w a s a l w a y s u t i l i z i n g
h e r m a n i p u l a t i ve c h a r m s a n d c u n n i n g w i t s t o s w i n d l e m o n e y o u t o f r i c h
p e o p l e .
th
T h r o u g h o u t h e r l i f e t i m e s h e h a d m a n y i m p r e s s i v e s c h e m e s th a t s h e w a s
a bl e t o p u l l o f f , s u c h a s h e r s p e n d i n g s p r e e t h a t a c c u m u l a t e d $1 0 ,0 0 0 t h a t
w a s f i n a n ce d b y a l et t e r o f i n t r o d u c t i o n a n d w o r t h l e s s b a n k d r a f t ,
i n t r o d u c i ng h e r s e l f a s E l i z a b et h C u n a r d , n i e c e o f t h e r i c h C u n a r d f a m i l y
o f o c e a n l i n e r f a m e .
B u t pe r h a p s t h e m o s t n o t a b l e s c h e m e s h e h a d e v e r m a d e w a s w h e n s h e
w a s t a k i n g t h e n a m e “C a s s i e C h a d w i c k ”. W i f e o f L e r o y C ha d w i c k a n d
c l a i m e d t o b e t h e d a ug h t e r o f A n d r e w C a r n e g i e , a r i c h S c o t t i s h -A m e r i c a n
i n d u s t r i a l i s t . s h e s u c c e s s f u l l y s w i n d l e d a n e s t i m a t e d v a l u e o v e r o f $1 t o
$2 m i l l i o n d i r e c t l y f r o m b a n k s a n d i n v e s t o r s ( a r o u n d $6 0 t o $7 0 m i l l i o n
t o d a y ).
D u e t o t h a t , s h e g o t a r r e s t ed i n s t a t e p r i s o n a n d w a s c o n v i c t e d f o r 1 4
y e a r s , w h e r e s h e d i e d i n 1 9 0 7 o n O c t o b e r 1 0 . H e r b o d y w a s l a i d t o r e s t a t
W o o d s t o c k , O n t a r i o .
th
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In 1904, Cassie Chadwick met up with an attorney from Cleveland who wasunaware that he was gonna be a major piece in Cassie’s plan. Thisattorney was told by Cassie that she was an illegitimate daughter ofAndrew Carnegie, a wealthy Scottish-American industrialist. She showedhim two six-figure promissory notes to her benefit that had thesignature of Andrew Carnegie. This attorney later helped her on in herschemes.
With the famous and wealthy status of Andrew Carnegie, being his“illegitimate daughter” that he “supports”, Cassie Chadwick had succeededborrowing at least $10 million ( $250 million ) from rich businessmen inAmerica. Due to this, she had many titles, such as the Queen of Finance,the Queen of Swindlers, the Heroine of High Finance, and the CarnegieImpostor. People who have been her victims were said to have been“chadwicked”.
In March 1905, Cassie Chadwick’s sensational trial took place in Cleveland,where she was convicted of conspiracy and attempting to defraud theUnited States and the Citizen’s National Bank of Oberlin. She wassentenced to 14 years in prison and fined $70,000. The case unraveledafter bankers discovered that her purported wealth and the millions inpromissory notes she used for collateral were backed by forgedsignatures of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.
THE CARNEGIE SCHEME
Cassie Chadwick, 1906 ( Cleveland Police Museum )One of the promissory notes that had Andrew Carnegie’s forged signature.
$50,000 note used as the basis for Iri Reynold’s receipt ( The Western
Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio )
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REFERENCES
https://www.ohiohistory.org/cassie-chadwick/
Queen of the Con by Thomas Crowl
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-high-priestess-of-fraudulent-finance-45/
https://blurredbylines.com/articles/cassie-chadwick-con-artist-elizabeth-bigley-heist/