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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Grace Fortescue
| name = Grace Fortescue
| image = Grace Fortescue cph.3c34368.jpg
| image = Grace Fortescue cph.3c34368.jpg
| caption = Grace Fortescue
| caption = Grace Fortescue
| birth_name = Grace Hubbard Bell
| birth_date = November 3, 1883
| birth_date = {{birth date|1883|11|03}}
| birth_place = Washington D.C.
| birth_place = [[Washington D.C.]]
| death_date = June 24, 1979
| death_date = {{dda|1979|06|24|1883|11|03}}
| death_place = Palm Beach, Florida
| death_place = [[Palm Beach, Florida]]
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
| citizenship = U.S. Citizen
| citizenship = American
| parents = [[Charles J. Bell (businessman)|Charles J. Bell]]<br>Roberta Wolcott Hubbard Bell
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Granville Roland Fortescue]]<br>|1910}}
| children = [[Thalia Fortescue Massie]]<br>Marion Fortescue Viskniskki<br>[[Helene Whitney]]
| relations = [[Gardiner Greene Hubbard]] (grandfather)
}}
}}


'''Grace Hubbard Fortescue''', ''née'' '''Grace Hubbard Bell''' (1883–1979), was a [[New York City]] [[socialite]]. who took the law into her own hands and [[death|murder]]ed a man charged with the rape of her daughter. Her actions earned her a one-hour sentence for [[manslaughter]].<ref name="AmExp-Fortescue"/><ref name="AmExper">{{cite web|title=The Island Murder - Transcript|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/island-murder/|website=American Experience|publisher=PBS|accessdate=April 11, 2018|date=April 2018}}</ref>
'''Grace Hubbard Fortescue''', (''née'' '''Bell''') (November 3, 1883 – June 24, 1979), was a [[New York City]] [[socialite]] who orchestrated the kidnapping, beating, and murder of a man who was wrongly accused of raping her daughter. After being convicted of [[manslaughter]] at a sensational trial, her ten-year sentence was commuted to a single hour by Hawaii's Territorial Governor [[Lawrence M. Judd|Lawrence Judd]].<ref name="AmExp-Fortescue"/><ref name="AmExper">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/island-murder/#transcript|title=The Island Murder - Transcript|date=April 2018|website=American Experience|publisher=PBS|access-date=April 11, 2018}}</ref>


==Life==
==Early life==
⚫
Grace Hubbard Bell was born November 3, 1883, in [[Washington, D.C.]] Her father [[Charles J. Bell (businessman)|Charles John Bell]] was first cousin of inventor [[Alexander Graham Bell]]. Her mother was Roberta Wolcott Hubbard Bell (1859–1885). Her maternal grandfather [[Gardiner Greene Hubbard|Gardiner Hubbard]] was the first president of [[Bell Telephone Company]].<ref name="AmExp-Fortescue">{{cite web|title=Grace Hubbard Fortescue (1883-1979)|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/island-murder-grace-hubbard-fortescue-1883-1979/|website=The Island Murder|publisher=PBS|access-date=April 11, 2018}}</ref> When her mother died in childbirth in 1885, her father married her mother's sister, Grace Hubbard.<ref name="AmExp-Fortescue" /><ref name="loc">{{cite web |title= Hubbard Family Tree |work= Bell Family Papers |publisher= US Library of Congress |url= http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/gghtree.html |access-date= October 14, 2010 }}</ref>
Grace Hubbard Bell was born November 3, 1883, in [[Washington, D.C.]]
⚫
Her father [[Charles J. Bell (businessman)|Charles John Bell]] was first cousin of inventor [[Alexander Graham Bell]]. Her mother was Roberta Wolcott Hubbard Bell (1859–1885). Her maternal grandfather [[Gardiner Greene Hubbard|Gardiner Hubbard]] was the first president of [[Bell Telephone Company]]. <ref name="AmExp-Fortescue">{{cite web|title=Grace Hubbard Fortescue (1883-1979)|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/island-murder-grace-hubbard-fortescue-1883-1979/|website=The Island Murder|publisher=PBS|accessdate=April 11, 2018}}</ref> When her mother died in childbirth in 1885, her father married her mother's sister, Grace Hubbard.<ref name="loc">{{cite web |title= Hubbard Family Tree |work= Bell Family Papers |publisher= US Library of Congress |url= http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/gghtree.html |accessdate= October 14, 2010 }}</ref> <ref name="AmExp-Fortescue">{{cite web|title=Grace Hubbard Fortescue (1883-1979)|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/island-murder-grace-hubbard-fortescue-1883-1979/|website=The Island Murder|publisher=PBS|accessdate=April 11, 2018}}</ref>


The family lived at their [[Twin Oaks (Washington, D.C.)]] estate in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington DC.<ref name="spin">{{cite book |url= http://spinzialongislandestates.com/longIslandsample2.pdf |chapter= Fortescue, Granville Roland (1875-1952) |title= Long Island's Prominent Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes |volume= I |author1= Judith A. Spinzia |author2= Raymond E. Spinzia |date=May 8, 2006 |isbn= 1-58939-785-1 }}</ref> Newspaper reports indicate that Grace could be classified a prankster: as a youth, she and her friends stole a trolley car for a joy ride through the streets of Washington and, on another occasion, she blocked traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue by joining hands with friends and roller-skating down the avenue.<ref name="Spinzia">{{cite journal|last=Spinzia|first=Raymond E.|date=Summer 2006|title=Those Other Roosevelts: The Fortescues|journal=The Freeholder|volume=11|pages=8–9, 16–22|publisher=Oyster Bay Historical Society|location=Oyster Bay, NY, USA|oclc=52571766|url=http://spinzialongislandestates.com/THOSE%20OTHER%20ROOSEVELTS.pdf|accessdate=2013-03-01}}</ref>
The family lived at [[Twin Oaks (Washington, D.C.)|Twin Oaks]], their estate in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.<ref name="spin">{{cite book |url= http://spinzialongislandestates.com/longIslandsample2.pdf |chapter= Fortescue, Granville Roland (1875-1952) |title= Long Island's Prominent Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes |volume= I |author1= Judith A. Spinzia |author2= Raymond E. Spinzia |date=May 8, 2006 |publisher= VirtualBookworm.com Pub. |isbn= 1-58939-785-1 }}</ref> Newspaper reports indicate that Grace could be classified a prankster: as a youth, she and her friends stole a trolley car for a joy ride through the streets of Washington and, on another occasion, she blocked traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue by joining hands with friends and roller-skating down the avenue.<ref name="Spinzia">{{cite journal|last=Spinzia|first=Raymond E.|date=Summer 2006|title=Those Other Roosevelts: The Fortescues|journal=The Freeholder|volume=11|pages=8–9, 16–22|publisher=Oyster Bay Historical Society|location=Oyster Bay, NY, USA|oclc=52571766|url=http://spinzialongislandestates.com/THOSE%20OTHER%20ROOSEVELTS.pdf|access-date=2013-03-01}}</ref>


==Personal life==
She married U.S. Army Major [[Granville Roland Fortescue|Granville "Rolly" Fortescue]] (1875–1952), one of the sons of [[Robert Roosevelt|Robert Barnwell Roosevelt]]. Her husband was first cousin of U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. The marriage was not as financially successful as she would have wished.<ref name="AmExper"/> She was the mother of three daughters: Marion Fortescue, who married Daulton Gillespie Viskniskki in 1934, [[Thalia Fortescue Massie]] (1911–1963), and Kenyon Fortescue Reynolds (1914–1990), better known as actress [[Helene Whitney]].<ref name="spin"/>
In 1910, she married U.S. Army Major [[Granville Roland Fortescue|Granville "Rolly" Fortescue]] (1875–1952), one of the sons of [[Robert Roosevelt|Robert Barnwell Roosevelt]]. Her husband was first cousin of U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. The marriage was not as financially successful as she would have wished.<ref name="AmExper"/> She was the mother of three daughters:

* [[Thalia Fortescue Massie]] (1911–1963), who married Thomas Hedges Massie (1905–1987), a Navy lieutenant.<ref name="spin"/>
* Marion Fortescue (1912–{{Circa|1983}}), who married Daulton Gillespie Viskniskki in 1934.<ref name="spin">{{cite book |url= http://spinzialongislandestates.com/longIslandsample2.pdf |chapter= Fortescue, Granville Roland (1875-1952) |title= Long Island's Prominent Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes |volume= I |author1= Judith A. Spinzia |author2= Raymond E. Spinzia |date=May 8, 2006 |publisher= VirtualBookworm.com Pub. |isbn= 1-58939-785-1 }}</ref>
* Kenyon Fortescue (1914–1990), better known as actress [[Helene Whitney]]; she married J. Louis Reynolds in 1936.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Milestones|date=July 27, 1936|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847779,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215075056/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847779,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2008|access-date=October 15, 2010}}</ref>


Outwardly, the Fortescues appeared to be wealthy country gentry. In reality, financial affairs became a primary concern for them after Granville's final retirement from the army. With the exception of a short stint as a fiction editor for ''[[Liberty (1924–1950)|Liberty]]'' magazine in 1930, he did not have steady employment, preferring to wait for the fortune his wife would inherit at the death of her parents.<ref name="Spinzia"/>
Outwardly, the Fortescues appeared to be wealthy country gentry. In reality, financial affairs became a primary concern for them after Granville's final retirement from the army. With the exception of a short stint as a fiction editor for ''[[Liberty (1924–1950)|Liberty]]'' magazine in 1930, he did not have steady employment, preferring to wait for the fortune his wife would inherit at the death of her parents.<ref name="Spinzia"/>


==Murder trial==
===Murder trial===
{{main |Massie Trial}}
{{main |Massie Trial}}
In 1932, Grace Fortescue—a graying woman of fair complexion, standing at 5 feet 6 inches (168&nbsp;cm) tall and weighing 134 pounds (61&nbsp;kg)—was charged with murder and convicted by a jury of [[manslaughter]] for the death of [[Joseph Kahahawai]], one of the defendants in the alleged rape of her daughter Thalia in Hawaii in 1931.
In 1932, Grace Fortescue was charged with murder and convicted by a jury of [[manslaughter]] for the death of [[Joseph Kahahawai]], one of the defendants in the alleged rape of her daughter Thalia in Hawaii in 1931.<ref name="Stannard2005">David E. Stannard, ''"Honor Killing"'', Viking Penguin, 2005 (illustration number 28, entitled ''Mug Shots and arrest file of Grace Fortescue'') {{ISBN|0-670-03399-5}}</ref> Also charged and convicted with Fortescue were two sailors, Edward J. Lord and Deacon Jones, and Fortescue's son-in-law, Thomas Massie, who participated in the abduction and murder of Kahahawai.<ref name="AmExper" />

Also charged and convicted with Fortescue were two sailors, Edward J. Lord and Deacon Jones, and Fortescue's son-in-law, Thomas Massie, who participated in the abduction and murder of Kahahawai.<ref name="AmExper"/>


⚫
Attorney [[Clarence Darrow]] defended Fortescue, Jones, Massie, and Lord. He subsequently obtained a commutation of their sentence (ten years' imprisonment for manslaughter) to a one-hour confinement in the executive chambers of Territorial Governor [[Lawrence M. Judd]].<ref name="AmExper" />
As of January 8, 1932, a criminal record indicates that while in [[Honolulu]], Grace Fortescue lived on Kolowalu Street in [[Manoa]] Valley, a short distance from her daughter's home on Kahawai Street.


In 1966, while being interviewed by author Peter Van Slingerland, Albert O. Jones admitted that he was the one who shot Joseph Kahahawai.<ref name="Slingerland2">{{cite book|last1=Van Slingerland|first1=Peter|title=Something Terrible Has Happened|publisher=[[Harper and Row]]|year=1966|location=New York, NY|pages=318|asin=B0007E1F3K|oclc=1409013}}</ref><ref name="A Sailor Confesses">{{cite magazine|date=1966-10-07|editor1-last=Hunt|editor1-first=George P.|title=... A Sailor Confesses to Old Hawaii Killing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jFYEAAAAMBAJ&q=Terrible+Albert+Jones+Massie&pg=PA39|department=Newsfronts|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|location=New York, NY|publisher=[[Time Inc.]]|volume=61|issue=15|page=39|issn=0024-3019|oclc=320514071|access-date=2013-10-21}}</ref><!-- As of January 8, 1932, a criminal record indicates that while in Honolulu, Grace Fortescue lived on Kolowalu Street in Manoa Valley, a short distance from her daughter's home on Kahawai Street. -- not really sure the relevance of this -->
⚫
Attorney [[Clarence Darrow]] defended Fortescue, Jones, Massie, and Lord. He subsequently obtained a commutation of their sentence (ten years' imprisonment for manslaughter) to a one-hour confinement in the executive chambers of Territorial Governor [[Lawrence M. Judd]].<ref name="AmExper"/>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|30em}}
* David E. Stannard, ''"Honor Killing"'', Viking Penguin, 2005 (illustration number 28, entitled ''Mug Shots and arrest file of Grace Fortescue'') {{ISBN|0-670-03399-5}}


==External links==
==External links==
Line 47: Line 53:
[[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Politics of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Politics of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Gardiner family]]
[[Category:Roosevelt family]]
[[Category:Roosevelt family]]
[[Category:American people convicted of manslaughter]]
[[Category:American people convicted of manslaughter]]
[[Category:American prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Recipients of American gubernatorial clemency]]

Latest revision as of 16:58, 12 August 2024

Grace Fortescue
Grace Fortescue
Born
Grace Hubbard Bell

(1883-11-03)November 3, 1883
Washington D.C.
DiedJune 24, 1979(1979-06-24) (aged 95)
Palm Beach, Florida
CitizenshipAmerican
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1910)​
ChildrenThalia Fortescue Massie
Marion Fortescue Viskniskki
Helene Whitney
Parent(s)Charles J. Bell
Roberta Wolcott Hubbard Bell
RelativesGardiner Greene Hubbard (grandfather)

Grace Hubbard Fortescue, (née Bell) (November 3, 1883 – June 24, 1979), was a New York City socialite who orchestrated the kidnapping, beating, and murder of a man who was wrongly accused of raping her daughter. After being convicted of manslaughter at a sensational trial, her ten-year sentence was commuted to a single hour by Hawaii's Territorial Governor Lawrence Judd.[1][2]

Early life

[edit]

Grace Hubbard Bell was born November 3, 1883, in Washington, D.C. Her father Charles John Bell was first cousin of inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Her mother was Roberta Wolcott Hubbard Bell (1859–1885). Her maternal grandfather Gardiner Hubbard was the first president of Bell Telephone Company.[1] When her mother died in childbirth in 1885, her father married her mother's sister, Grace Hubbard.[1][3]

The family lived at Twin Oaks, their estate in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[4] Newspaper reports indicate that Grace could be classified a prankster: as a youth, she and her friends stole a trolley car for a joy ride through the streets of Washington and, on another occasion, she blocked traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue by joining hands with friends and roller-skating down the avenue.[5]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1910, she married U.S. Army Major Granville "Rolly" Fortescue (1875–1952), one of the sons of Robert Barnwell Roosevelt. Her husband was first cousin of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. The marriage was not as financially successful as she would have wished.[2] She was the mother of three daughters:

  • Thalia Fortescue Massie (1911–1963), who married Thomas Hedges Massie (1905–1987), a Navy lieutenant.[4]
  • Marion Fortescue (1912–c. 1983), who married Daulton Gillespie Viskniskki in 1934.[4]
  • Kenyon Fortescue (1914–1990), better known as actress Helene Whitney; she married J. Louis Reynolds in 1936.[6]

Outwardly, the Fortescues appeared to be wealthy country gentry. In reality, financial affairs became a primary concern for them after Granville's final retirement from the army. With the exception of a short stint as a fiction editor for Liberty magazine in 1930, he did not have steady employment, preferring to wait for the fortune his wife would inherit at the death of her parents.[5]

Murder trial

[edit]
Main article: Massie Trial

In 1932, Grace Fortescue was charged with murder and convicted by a jury of manslaughter for the death of Joseph Kahahawai, one of the defendants in the alleged rape of her daughter Thalia in Hawaii in 1931.[7] Also charged and convicted with Fortescue were two sailors, Edward J. Lord and Deacon Jones, and Fortescue's son-in-law, Thomas Massie, who participated in the abduction and murder of Kahahawai.[2]

Attorney Clarence Darrow defended Fortescue, Jones, Massie, and Lord. He subsequently obtained a commutation of their sentence (ten years' imprisonment for manslaughter) to a one-hour confinement in the executive chambers of Territorial Governor Lawrence M. Judd.[2]

In 1966, while being interviewed by author Peter Van Slingerland, Albert O. Jones admitted that he was the one who shot Joseph Kahahawai.[8][9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Grace Hubbard Fortescue (1883-1979)". The Island Murder. PBS. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Island Murder - Transcript". American Experience. PBS. April 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Hubbard Family Tree". Bell Family Papers. US Library of Congress. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Judith A. Spinzia; Raymond E. Spinzia (May 8, 2006). "Fortescue, Granville Roland (1875-1952)". Long Island's Prominent Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes (PDF). Vol. I. VirtualBookworm.com Pub. ISBN 1-58939-785-1.
  5. ^ a b Spinzia, Raymond E. (Summer 2006). "Those Other Roosevelts: The Fortescues" (PDF). The Freeholder. 11. Oyster Bay, NY, USA: Oyster Bay Historical Society: 8–9, 16–22. OCLC 52571766. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  6. ^ "Milestones". Time. July 27, 1936. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  7. ^ David E. Stannard, "Honor Killing", Viking Penguin, 2005 (illustration number 28, entitled Mug Shots and arrest file of Grace Fortescue) ISBN 0-670-03399-5
  8. ^ Van Slingerland, Peter (1966). Something Terrible Has Happened. New York, NY: Harper and Row. p. 318. ASIN B0007E1F3K. OCLC 1409013.
  9. ^ Hunt, George P., ed. (1966-10-07). "... A Sailor Confesses to Old Hawaii Killing". Newsfronts. Life. Vol. 61, no. 15. New York, NY: Time Inc. p. 39. ISSN 0024-3019. OCLC 320514071. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
[edit]
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