George H. Smith
Biographical Information
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| Name | George H. Smith | |
George H. Smith was the fourth husband of the infamous Lizzie Halliday. Prior to his marriage Lizzie, had a wife and lived in Iowa.
George had previously been a friend of Artemus Brewer, the second husband of Lizzie Halliday. Smith and Brewer were both pensioners of the Civil War. Art Brewer died in the arms of George Smith, according to an interview with Nelly Bly. About a year after Art Brewer's death, George Smith was living in the "flatiron house" on Church St in Greenwich, New York. He was described as being the butt of jokes in the town.
"He drives a lame horse hitched to a wagon through the streets and the little boys hoot at him as he passes. He was always a harmless old fellow with a weakness for hard cider and beer. He begins every other sentence of his conversation with the words 'I'm an old soldier'"
As caretaker of the flatiron house, he was able to live rent free. Lizzie, who was going by Maggie Hopkins at this time, came to him and suggested that she be his housekeeper and cook in exchange for furnishing Maggie and her son with provisions and to live in the front part of the house. After just a few days Maggie began to urge Smith to marry her. He said he would have to think it over, that it was a very serious matter, and besides - she was married to Hi Parkerson. Maggie assured him that she was not married to Hiram, and went as far as to take an oath before attorney James White. Having done so, George agreed to marry her the same day.
A record of their marriage was found in the Washington County Advertiser dated 23 Jun 1886. It read "At Middle Falls, George H. Smith and Mrs. Maggie Hopkins, by Justice Otis Tefft, June 6". A few days after they were married Maggie opened her trunk to put away her marriage certificate. George would later tell World News reporters that the trunk had belonged to Art Brewer. From it, Maggie pulled out a bundle of papers with three just alike. She handed George one of them, it was her marriage certificate to Charles Hopkins, then the second one was her certificate to Art Brewer. She didn't want to show him the third, but then handed it to him - it was her marriage certificate to Hiram Parkerson.
George would further describe how she stole $14.50 from his satchel and would have spells of ungovernable temper in which she tore around the house smashing furniture. He wa especially proud of a fine feather bed that his first wife had made in Iowa. George had asked his neighbor Mrs. Barringer, who lived in another apartment of the flatiron house, to look after this bed. On 24 Jun 1886 Mrs. Barringer testified that Maggie tore into her apartmes in a high state of excitment. She asked Maggie what she wanted, and she replied "By God, I'm going to have those feather beds". Maggie struck Mrs. Barringer, knocking her down, and dragging her to the door. Then Maggie got hold of the bed and ripped it to pieces with a large knife - scattering duck and geese feathers around the street. When Maggie was arrested she feigned insanity and came into court with a petticoat tied around her waist and her hair down around her shoulders - she danced and sang around the court room. Squire Mandell did believe her and fined her $12.50. She immediately recovered and begged her husband to pay the fine. George no longer had any money, so Maggie agreed to tell him where the $14.50 was that she had stolen from him. He found it and paid her.
Maggie would continue to abuse George regularly, throwing a flatiron at him on one occassion and threatening to kill him with shears. She eventually tried to poison his tea, hiding it with milk and sugar, but failed. He realized what she was doing and asked her "Are you trying to poison me, Maggie?!" She gave a yell of laughter and ran from the room. A neighbor called for the Doctor who saved him. Lizzie returned two days later, and he forgave her again. Sometime later George returned home from some work and found the house locked up. He climbed in a window to find the house empty, stripped of everything movable. Maggie had taken off and was seen driving toward Shusan with Hiram Parkerson, who had since returned from Arlington, Vermont.
George would tell reporters "I thought I was lucky to escape with my life."
George is likely the George Smith, aged 61, who was living in Easton, New York, just a few miles south of Greenwich, in the 1892 state census. He was also listed as "George H. Smith" in a death index for Easton on 19 Nov 1900. Lizzie also mentiond to reporters that George had a sister who called him Peter, otherwise nothing more is known of him currently.
Documentation[edit]
Newspaper Articles[edit]
- 23 Jun 1886 - Washington County Advertiser (Greenwich, New York): Marriage of George Smith and Lizzie Halliday
- 5 Nov 1893 - The World (New York, New York): A Woman Without a Heart; Interview with Nellie Bly