So, as I was looking for more information on Mary Koetting, wife of John B. Koetting (previously discussed scoundrel) I found another article about him in the Chicago Tribune Nov 22, 1893. It seems that while he was being escorted from the courtroom back to jail he was attacked by Mrs. Thuermerier, a widow who lost her life savings in the bank collapse. She ‘used an umbrella to good effect until two Deputy Sheriffs detained her. She then vented her anger by calling the banker all the names she could think of.’ She also claimed she had a revolver and would kill him. John hid in an elevator until the poor woman fainted and was finally escorted to a judge’s chambers.
The whole trail was a flash point for the anger people felt at the loss of their money in the silver crash. Mrs. Thuermerier was unlikely to get any of her funds back after the higher priority investors were paid. The news also says that the day of the crash she had invested $1,000 that she had from her husband’s life insurance. She puts a real face to the economic crash and makes John B. Koettings crimes seem much more real. His actions had real effects on people’s lives.
[court house pictured here https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACourt_house%2C_Milwaukee-LCCN2008679514.tif]
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