Murder Mystery
In 1912, the publication of the Master of Mysteries was a hit. It was a compellation of the crime stories of Gellett Burgeess which centered on the exploits of a murder mystery solver called Astro. The Sherlock Holmes mysteries of Arthur Conan Doyle were popular from the 1890s-1920s. Doyle published 56 Holmes mysteries and published 10-15 in multiple collections of best-selling anthologies.
At Sea Girt in 1913, there was a real murder mystery.
Illustration from the popular Astro anthology (Library of Congress)
On a July evening 1913, between the Camp entrance and the rooming house called the Sea Girt View House in Manasquan, (where Reef and Barrell is located), a dead man between 35-45 years old was found with bullet holes in his hand, knee and head. In his pocket was a slip of paper with “George F. Harris - Robinson House Spring Lake”. The Robinson House was a boarding house on Mercer Ave. Alongside the body was an empty wallet.
It was the first murder in Sea Girt’s history. There wouldn’t be another for 68 years. It remains the town’s only unsolved murder. Charles Roberts was the Sea Girt Co’s marshal. Land companies could not have a police department, as NJ law required a township or borough to establish a force. By 1913 bonding requirements and reporting protocol helped sort out authority and liability for police. The press called Roberts the “chief of police”, which was inaccurate, but he was the only official on the scene.
Joe Crine owned the Sea Girt View inn when this postcard photo was taken in the 1930s
Roberts surmised that George Harris was killed after gambling at the guard camp. He was robbed, so it was presumed he won and then was killed for his winnings.
County Detective Elwood Mingue thought it was a suicide, and the County Prosecutor agreed.
Dr. Harry Neafie was the first Monmouth County Physician. He was appointed in 1913 for a three-year term. The county had been billed too much for contracted coroners and the County Physician would supervise the process. Neafie directed Coroner Bennett at the inquest. After a week of following leads, and interviewing Marshal Roberts, they determined that ‘persons unknown’ had killed Harris. His wounds could not be self-inflicted, and there was no weapon at the scene. There was a New Jersey Stenographer with that name, but he had no next of kin. The man was buried in a potter’s field.
The County Prosecutor then assigned Detective Sergeant Thomas Broderick of Asbury Park to the case since Sea Girt had no local police detectives.
In August, A. E. Logan of NYC came forward and suggested that Harris was actually William F. Thompson, a formerly wealthy glass manufacturer from New York. Logan had sent his friend Thompson to Spring Lake with $50 to recover from an attack of vertigo. While his description matched the victim perfectly, the body was still ordered exhumed and Logan came to Freehold to positively identify Thompson.
Thompson had been a respected member of society, with two grown children but his gambling had led to his divorce and loss of his assets. Shortly after his murder, his ex-wife, living out West received a letter from him indicating it would be the last letter he would ever send.
Strangely, an unsigned letter arrived at the Sea Girt post office from Brooklyn addressed to “Police Chief Charles Roberts” and another to Dr. Neafie which suggested a soldier at the camp whom Dr. Neafie had treated for a hand injury was responsible for the murder.
The soldier from Fort Handcock Brooklyn was questioned, and while he knew a lot about the case, there was no evidence to hold him. He was released, but the letter also implicated a woman, Mrs. Grace McGlew, who was hiding at a house her father rented in Belmar.
After some reluctance, first from her father who denied she was in the house, and then by Grace, who was afraid; she identified the man who likely sent the unsigned letter.
Mr. William Eagin was also known in Brooklyn as “The Evangelist” for his persuasive abilities. Eagin insisted that Grace McGlew marry him, and when she rejected him, Grace contended he sent the letter as revenge to implicate her in the murder plot.
A man loosely fitting Eagin’s description had been questioned at the Sea Girt View Inn around the time of the murder. He was in possession of an opium kit which brought him under suspicion by Roberts. Mrs. McGlew’s father wanted no news about his daughter’s relationship in the newspapers as it would damage her reputation.
Her lawyer offered information to clear her from any involvement. Eagin disappeared and prosecutors dropped the case. The soldier from Fort Hancock was never charged and the cold case remains open to this day.