In the early hours of Wednesday, 14 Mar 1888, at about 5:30 a.m., a policeman was passing down Kensington Avenue when he noticed smoke coming out of the second story window of #2840, the home of Mrs. Maggie Hopkins. The policeman ran to a box to strike an alarm but the city had been in the middle of a heavy snow storm, now known to history as “The Great Blizzard of 1888”, and he found that the wires had been damaged. It was some time before he could summon the engines. When the finally arrived, several of the “fire-plugs” (old term for fire hydrants) were found to be frozen and buried behind big banks of snow heaped in front of them.  A high wind spread the fire to the two adjoining homes.  #2838 was occupied by the Fitzpatrick family, and #2842 by the Manser family in addition to various boarders.  The three homes were three stories, brick, with shops on the ground floor and residences above.  They were all completely destroyed.

All of the families were taken in by sympathetic neighbors and, thankfully, all survived. Maggie and her young son Charles were originally taken in by Mrs. Alexander Miller, who lived nearby on Rohrer Street.

In the early hours of the next morning, Maggie was found scantily clad with her son on Federal Street in Camden, New Jersey – just across the river – by Officer Myers.  They were provided with clothing by local men Stephen Titus and William G. Haney before being taken to the Homeopathic Hospital.  She told doctors and nurses that her name was Maggie Hopkins of Manyunk and that she and her son had been driven from her boarding house the night before.  Chief of Police Samuel Dodd was called to investigate – putting out a woman and child during a blizzard could be tantamount to attempted murder.

Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, the fire was under investigation by Detective Frank Geyer.  He had discovered that Mrs. Hopkins had opened an insurance policy worth $600 with the Queen Insurance Company under the name of Mrs. Smart to cover the value of the belongings inside 2840 Kensington Avenue.  However, the total value of the property was only $27, furniture she had obtained on credit for only $1.  The cities Fire Marshall Thompson started an official investigation for arson but was unable to get the sufficient evidence needed to issue a warrant before Maggie and her son disappeared.  Upon reading in the Camden newspapers of the woman and child picked up on the street, Detective Geyer went to the hospital where she was being held and recognized her as the same Mrs. Hopkins of Kensington Avenue.

Detective Geyer wanted to take her into custody immediately but the young Dr. William S. Mosslander, recently out of medical school and the resident physician at the Homeopathic Hospital, refused, stating that Mrs. Hopkins was ill and possibly suffering from peritonitis – an inflammation of the tissue inside the abdomen.

Maggie was picked up on Federal street by Policeman Meyers and taken to the Homeopathic Hospital where she was later recognized by Detective Geyer as being the same woman who was identified as “Mrs. Smart” in Philadelphia.  “Mrs. Smart” had $600 insurance with the Queen Company on her personal property but only $27 worth of property in the building.  Maggie disappeared early on Fri March 16 before police could get enough evidence for an arrest.

Stories: 

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Documentation

City Directories:

• Camden, Camden, New Jersey
• Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Newspaper Articles:

• Camden Daily Courier
  • 1888 (17 Mar): “Charged with Incendiarism”
  • 1888 (21 Mar): “An Alleged Incendiary Removed”
  • 1888 (22 Mar): “A Woman Charged With Arson”
  • 1888 (29 Mar): “Mrs. Hopkins Committed for Trial”
  • 1888 (13 Apr): “A Widow on Trial for Arson”
• Camden Daily Telegram
  • 1888 (17 Mar): “Brief City Notes”
• Camden Post-Telegram
  • 1901 (13 Feb): “Gone to Their Last Rest”
• Philadelphia Inquirer
  • 1888 (15 Mar): “Fires”
  • 1888 (19 Mar): “Charged With Arson”
  • 1888 (29 Mar): “Shooting and Stealing”
  • 1888 (24 Sep): “Building Permits”
• Philadelphia Times
  • 1888 (15 Mar): “Three Houses Destroyed”
  • 1888 (17 Mar): “Demented and Wandering the Streets”
  • 1888 (18 Mar): “Did She Fire Her House?”
  • 1888 (19 Mar): “Cannot be Removed”
  • 1888 (22 Mar): “Camden County Notes”
  • 1888 (29 Mar): “Mrs. Hopkins Committed”
  • 1893 (6 Nov): “Mrs. Halliday’s Crimes”
  • 1893 (7 Nov): “Mrs. Halliday Insane”
• Post
  • 1888 (16 Mar): “Clothing the Naked”