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| Portrait of Camille Mason by Rebecca J. Becker |
Always
More Mystery
.
.
Rebecca
J. Becker
.
“The
possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is
always more mystery.”
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
.
After two years of tireless investigation, Crescent
College History Project has found a remarkable number of stories to share with
you. You’ve met young women (and one
young man) who went on to become composers, inventors, pioneers in many fields,
scientists, politicians, ground-breaking theatrical entrepreneurs and
educators. We’ve loved bringing these
alumnae into the light, and celebrating their many achievements with you.
.
.
This month, we’re breaking the pattern.
.
This month we’ll share some of the darker, more
troubling, fragmentary and tantalizing glimpses into lives that vanished, their
secrets still unsolved. This month we’ll
present three mysteries, hoping that someone reading these words will get in
touch and help us answer the many questions that still linger, even though a
century has passed.
.
We learned of today’s first mystery when listening to a series of four oral histories recorded forty years ago for the Frontier Nursing Service. The four women being interviewed had all known FNS founder Mary Breckinridge between 1912 and 1918, while she was married to the president of Crescent College in Eureka Springs. And in every interview, the women were asked, “Do you remember a person named Camille that was associated with Crescent College?” [1]
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The interviewer was trying to elicit information about Camille Mason, private secretary between 1910 and 1920 to Richard Ryan Thompson.
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Why was the interviewer so determined to uncover Camille’s story? These oral histories were supposed to help illuminate Mary Breckinridge’s life while she was at Crescent - - what was Camille’s connection to Breckinridge, and why, sixty years after she’d left the college, was that story so intriguing?
.
We learned of today’s first mystery when listening to a series of four oral histories recorded forty years ago for the Frontier Nursing Service. The four women being interviewed had all known FNS founder Mary Breckinridge between 1912 and 1918, while she was married to the president of Crescent College in Eureka Springs. And in every interview, the women were asked, “Do you remember a person named Camille that was associated with Crescent College?” [1]
.
The interviewer was trying to elicit information about Camille Mason, private secretary between 1910 and 1920 to Richard Ryan Thompson.
.
Why was the interviewer so determined to uncover Camille’s story? These oral histories were supposed to help illuminate Mary Breckinridge’s life while she was at Crescent - - what was Camille’s connection to Breckinridge, and why, sixty years after she’d left the college, was that story so intriguing?
.
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| Crescent College |
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Although some of the women remembered that Camille Mason had been Mr. Thompson’s secretary, none knew more than that.
.
Intrigued, we decided to see
what we could discover for ourselves.
One mystery led to another - - and another - - until we decided to share
the stories we’ve discovered so far with you.
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WHAT WE KNOW:
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| Six Sisters |
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Camille Eunice Mason was born in
September, 1883 in Delhi, Louisiana. She
was one of seven sisters and two brothers, all of whom seem to have been devoted
and loving. The family owned a hotel in
Delhi, and the family seems to have been comfortably off.
.
Camille appears to have been closest with her older sister, Irene. Irene married Dr. J. L. Woodall in 1901, and two years later, when she gave birth to a little girl, Irene named the baby Camille. The Woodalls moved away from Delhi, but visits were frequent and the families stayed close.
Camille appears to have been closest with her older sister, Irene. Irene married Dr. J. L. Woodall in 1901, and two years later, when she gave birth to a little girl, Irene named the baby Camille. The Woodalls moved away from Delhi, but visits were frequent and the families stayed close.
.
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| Irene, Camille's older sister, named her baby Camille, as well |
This peaceful life was
irreparably shattered in 1909, a year before Camille appears in the pages of
Crescent College documents.
.
Mert Abbington,[2]
a wealthy 36-year-old businessman who owned a hardware store in Delhi, had been
paying marked attentions to 25-year-old Camille - - even though Abbington was
married, with two children. His
infatuation was no secret - - everyone in town appeared to have been aware of
the uncomfortable situation.
.
Camille’s younger brother,
Jim, had warned Abbington to stop his unwanted advances, but apparently Abbington
had refused.
.
Newspapers throughout the
nation took up the shocking story on February 17, 1909:
.
The
Vicksburg American [Vicksburg, Mississippi]:
.
“DELHI
MERCHANT SHOT AT DEPOT THERE LAST NIGHT
.
“M.
J. Abbington, a Prominent Hardware Dealer, Is Shot Through Forehead and Throat
by James E. Mason, a 19-Year-Old Youth - - Is Probably Fatally Wounded - -
Vicksburg Physicians Attend Him.
.
“M. J. Abbington, aged
about 37 years and a well known hardware merchant at Delhi, La., was shot while
reading a letter in the postoffice [sic] and depot at Delhi last night, by
James E. Mason, a 19-year-old youth and son of the keeper of a hotel in
Delhi. After the shooting young Mason
surrendered to the police. Mr. Abbington
was shot through the forehead the bullet shattering the bone on the whole top
of the head, lacerating the brain tissue extensively and also received a slight
wound in the throat. It is thought
Abbington is mortally wounded and may die at any moment. It is the general talk in Delhi that the
shooting was the result of compromising letters being addressed to a sister of
Mason and written by Abbington. Both
sides have friends in Delhi and it is claimed there are two sides to the
question which caused the difficulty. Abbington
is married and has two children…
.
“The shooting created a
great sensation in Delhi where the parties are well known.”
.
Later stories added more
details: Abbington had been in the post office, reading a letter, when Jim shot
him. Jim then “left the room, but
returned and fired three more shots into his body. The first shot took effect in the head.” [3]
.
Abbington died the next day.
.
What was going to happen to Camille’s young brother?
What was going to happen to Camille’s young brother?
.
He was confined in prison,
awaiting a Grand Jury trial, but newspaper reports hinted that a Grand Jury
might not find against him because of “the unwritten law” - - the custom that
society tacitly condoned murder when that murder was committed to protect a
woman’s virtue.
.
Fifty friends accompanied Jim
to Rayville, where he was incarcerated.
All protested to local authorities that “he should be excused for acting
as he did, for Abbington had been warned to cease his marked attentions to Miss
Camille Mason, the sister of James E. Mason, and instead of complying he armed
himself and continued his attentions to Miss Mason, who was present when he was
shot and one of the chief mourners at his death.” [4]
.
Of course, rumors and gossip were flying - -
especially if, indeed, Camille had been one of Abbington’s “chief mourners.”
.
But newspapers were quick to publish assurances:
But newspapers were quick to publish assurances:
.
The
Town Talk [Alexandria, Louisiana] 20 February 1909, Page 1:
.
NOTHING DISCLOSED WARRANTING IMPLICATION OF IMPROPER CONDUCT ON HER PART.
NOTHING DISCLOSED WARRANTING IMPLICATION OF IMPROPER CONDUCT ON HER PART.
.
By
Louisiana Press:
.
Monroe, La., Feb. 20. -
- Nothing has been disclosed warranting an implication of improper relations
between M. J. Abbington, who was killed by J. E. Mason at Delhi, and Miss
Camille Mason. Later reports seem to
indicate that Mason resented Abbington’s attention to his sister as Abbington
was a married man. Absolutely nothing is
known warranting any reflection upon the honor of Miss Camille Mason.”
.
What happened to Jim?
.
We haven’t found any record of a trial - - not even
of a Grand Jury hearing. We know that he
served in World War I, that he survived the war, and that he lived to be 80
years old. He’s buried in Biloxi,
Mississippi.
.
And Camille?
And Camille?
.
Her sister Irene rallied around her - - two months after Abbington’s death, Camille is a house guest at the Woodalls’ home in Colfax, Louisiana. In May, Camille and Irene are on a shopping trip to Alexandria.
Her sister Irene rallied around her - - two months after Abbington’s death, Camille is a house guest at the Woodalls’ home in Colfax, Louisiana. In May, Camille and Irene are on a shopping trip to Alexandria.
.
But our next mystery is about to unfold…
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| Crescent College (center top) |
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When Crescent College opened, in 1908, its president
was A. S. Maddox, founder of the Maddox Seminary for Young Women in Little
Rock, Arkansas. Most of the faculty and
many students simply moved from Little Rock to Eureka Springs, and the Maddox
family seemed quickly rooted in both local business and society circles.
.
But by December 1910, Maddox was gone. The Berryville newspaper hinted darkly of
secrets:
.
“A.
S. Maddox, president of the Crescent College at Eureka Springs, has been
superceded by another man, his first assistant, and the former president of the
big college has shaken the dust of the resort from his feet. The cause of the change has not been made
public further than it was for the good of the school.” [5]
.
Maddox’s first assistant - - Richard Ryan Thompson -
- became president. But nowhere in his
unpublished autobiography does Thompson mention Camille Mason, who by the time he
took over the presidency was already his private secretary, and would remain so
for the next ten years.
.
What brought Camille Mason to Crescent College? How did she hear about Eureka Springs? We have no idea.
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| Camille Mason (highlighted) in Crescent College Chorus (from 1914 Crescent College yearbook) |
.
But we know she was here, and that she was a vibrant
part of college life. Besides her duties
as Thompson’s secretary, Camille was a member of the Crescent Conservatory of
Music, and (as you see here) a member of the Crescent Chorus. In later years, she also served as the
college’s Registrar, and apparently taught classes in its Business School.
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| Faculty page from 1914 Crescent College Yearbook Second row, center, college president Richard Ryan Thompson Third row, center, Mary Breckinridge Thompson Bottom row, left, Camille Mason |
.
Camille made friends on campus: when summer holidays
began in 1913, Camille traveled to Louisiana with Crescent College student, Constance
Cheney. Constance had grown up in Michigan, but her family was living in
Shreveport for a few years. The Cheneys
welcomed Camille into their home, entertained her and showed her about the
city, after which Camille continued on to her family in Delhi. [6]
.
Young Constance Cheney is at the center of another
swirling mystery - - but first, let’s return to Camille Mason’s story.
.
We get glimpses of Camille in Mary Breckinridge’s
memoir of her son’s short life, Breckie:
His Four Years 1914 – 1918. After
Breckie was born, “Camille,’ which was Breck’s name for my husband’s private
secretary, [was] among his earliest and most devoted friends.” [7] Or, “On the few rare occasions when I went
out in the evening after he had gone to bed my mother or Juliette, or Florence
or ‘Camille’ would sit in the study next my bedroom with closed doors between
until I returned, in case Breck should awaken and need something.”
.
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| Crescent College president Richard Ryan Thompson and his son, Breckinridge (Breckie) Thompson from Mary Breckinridge Thompson's memoir of her son's short life, Breckie: His Four Years 1914 - 1918 |
.
.
The same year Breckie was born, tragedy befell
Camille once again - - and touched the life of another little boy close to her
heart.
.
Irene, Camille’s sister, now living in Colfax, Louisiana,
had an eleven-year-old son, Mason Woodall.
The local newspaper described the horror:
.
“A Sad and Distressing Tragedy.
.
“The town of Colfax was
shocked on Wednesday, Dec. 2, by one of the saddest and most distressing
tragedies that has ever occurred in this community. Little Mason Woodall, aged eleven years, son of Dr. and Mrs. J. L. Woodall, in company
with John Tumminello, another boy of about the same age… had secured a single
barrel shot gun and started on a hunting expedition immediately after being
dismissed from school. As the two boys
were passing down the street… Mason Woodall, who was walking a little behind John, requested possession of the
gun, and attempted to lift it from John’s shoulder by catching hold of the
muzzle with both hands. In some way the
gun slipped from John’s shoulder and the breach striking the ground it was
discharged, the entire load of bird shot passing through his hands shattering
them badly and entering the body on the right side about the lower rib, killing
him almost instantly.
.
“And so we add another
tragedy to the long list of accidents that have saddened the lives of many
fathers and mothers, caused by inexperienced boys carelessly handling
firearms.” [8]
.
In Eureka Springs, Camille’s devotion to Breckie
grew deeper every day. Breckie’s mother
relates: “Usually it was his dear friend
Camille who finished supper first and got in the grounds to relieve Juliette
[Breckie’s nurse] for the evening. When
I followed I found her with him in happiest companionship. Breckie was sliding or swinging or climbing
as a rule.” [9]
.
Camille became ill, and “when she got convalescent I
moved her to my apartments, where Breckie climbed up on her bed with his toys
whenever he was in the house.“ When she
was well enough, Camille went back to Louisiana for a few weeks of further
recuperation. She was gone over Easter,
but sent Breckie a box of toys: “rabbits
and chickens with one long-tailed rooster.
He played with these happily for a few days and then I gathered them and
put them away. Several weeks later he
suddenly asked for them. ‘Dose fings I
had, you know, what Camille sent me - - fings wid a Wooster…’ he said.”
.
Camille gave Breckie a piece of chalk, and the boy
used to use the bit of sidewalk in front of Dr. Ellis’s house to draw pictures
that Mary would proudly copy into her own diary.
.
But shortly after Breckie’s fourth birthday, he
became alarmingly ill. Surgery did
little to alleviate his condition, and within days the boy was dying. Mary Breckinridge recalled, “By his bed at
the last besides the doctor and trained nurses and his father and me were his
grandfather and grandmother, Aunt Jane, his nurse Juliette, his cousin
Florence, and those loyal friends of his - - Camille and B. These were the people on our side, the human
group, all that we, restrained by the limitations of our senses, could
perceive; but who shall say that a valiant host of the heroes he worshipped
were not present also to welcome my Greatheart when he passed over to the other
side?” [10]
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| Poster for C. A. R. D. by Georges Capon |
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Within a year, Breckie’s mother Mary was in France,
spearheading war-relief efforts for C. A. R. D. (see last month’s story). When she returned to the United States, she
divorced Thompson and began her work creating the Frontier Nursing Service in
Kentucky.
.
Camille stayed in Eureka Springs until 1923, when
she made what a protracted visit with a sister in Texas. And then - - for thirty years - - she seems
to vanish.
.
She makes a surprising reappearance in 1953, but now
let’s pick up the threads of another mystery we’ve alluded to - - that of
Constance Cheney, who spent part of her 1913 summer holidays with Camille
Mason.
.
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| Constance Cheney from 1914 Crescent College yearbook | . |
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Constance was a preparatory student at Crescent
College from 1912 until 1914. She was
one of the most active students on campus: photographs of her in china painting
classes, life study art classes, on tennis, basketball, and bowling teams, in
Physical Training class, as a member of the Expression (theatre arts) Club, the
horseback riding club, the North Star club and more are found in dozens of
pages in Crescent yearbooks.
.
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| Constance Cheney in Roosters Basket Ball Team from 1913 Crescent College yearbook |
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Her most notable trait seems to have been her
talkative nature: her nickname in 1913
was ‘The Talker,’ and in 1914, ‘Still Talking’!
The quote by her name, in 1913, reads “If I chance to talk a little,
forgive me.” On a Jokes pages, the
editors ask, “Say! Just Imagine
Constance Cheney - - Silent!”
.
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| Constance Cheney: "Talkative" Second row, center Crescent Belles Crescent College 1913 yearbook |
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But her fellow students clearly love the red-haired
girl. In 1914, they quote Browning’s
poem:
.
“She was
active, stirring, all fire - -
Could not rest, could not tire - -
To a stone she might have given life.”
.
In 1916, two years after she graduated from
preparatory school, Constance married William Dale Mumby. She was 21 years old.
.
Four years later, the marriage seems to have
failed. Constance and her two children,
her three-year-old daughter Mary Harriet (called Marriet) and one-year-old son,
Charles Clayton Mumby, are living with Constance’s parents.
.
That same year - - 1920 - - Constance suffered an
unimaginable disaster: her little boy,
Charles Clayton, died.
.
The next - - and, sadly, final - - appearance of
Constance that we’ve found, in months of searching, may be the most bizarre
twist of all.
.
The Bourbon News [Paris,
Kentucky] 16 June 1922, page 1:
.
"SHOPLIFTER'S ESCORT SAID HE WAS FROM PARIS
.
“Wednesday's Cincinnati Enquirer published the following:
.
"'I don't know,' answered a young woman registered as Mrs. Constance
Mumby, 27 years old, 634 Cornelius avenue, Chicago, Ill., when asked by Paul V.
Ryan, of the Cal Crim Detective Agency, why she had stolen expensive wearing
apparel from three downtown department stores.
Ryan and his assistants… apprehended Mrs. Mumby and a young man after
they had left a novelty store on Fifth street…
.
"The man asserted that a stolen silk shirt which he was carrying had
not been taken by him. The woman
exonerated him and said she was responsible for the theft of the shirt and
considerable womens' wearing apparel, according to the arresting officers. Five charges of petit larceny were lodged
against her.
.
"Mrs. Mumby said that her father, a wealthy Detroit man, would come
to her rescue, but she declined to discuss his identity. Her escort said his mother owned several
thousand acres of land near Paris, Ky…
.
Constance disappears completely, after this. Once so full of energy and promise, the
talkative young Miss Cheney is silenced.
.
Eight years later, her now thirteen-year-old
daughter, Marriet, is living with Constance’s parents - - but there’s no
mention of Constance herself. Another
five years later, and Marriet, now eighteen, is still a member of her
grandparents’ household, with no hint of her mother anywhere to be found.
.
We know that Marriet’s father died in San Francisco,
aged 66. He’d been living with his
sister, and his death certificate states that he was divorced. No mention is made of his daughter.
.
We hope perhaps one of them will see this, and will be able to tell us: What happened to Constance??
We hope perhaps one of them will see this, and will be able to tell us: What happened to Constance??
.
And Camille Mason?
We promised a surprising return - - and here it is, with cookies. But be warned: her life has another mystery
still in store…
.
In 1953, The Monroe News-Star published the following recipe, under the
heading, “AFTER SCHOOL COOKIES.”
.
1 cup shortening
1 ½ cups brown
sugar (packed)
½ cup granulated
sugar
2 eggs, well
beaten
1 teaspoon
vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
(cake flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
3 cups quick
cooking oatmeal
½ cup chopped
pecans
.
Cream shortening
and sugar until light and fluffy, add beaten eggs and extract, beat well. Sift flour once, measure and add salt and
soda and sift again, add slowly to first part beating well after each addition,
add nuts and oatmeal and mix well. Shape
in three rolls and wrap in wax paper and chill thoroughly or over night. Slice ¼ inch thick. Bake on ungreased cooky [sic] sheet in
moderate oven 350 degrees for ten minutes.
Makes about 5 dozen if the rolls are not too large.
.
The recipe had been submitted by “Miss
Camille Mason, Hunt Hotel, Delhi, Louisiana.”
.
Camille had come full circle.
.
Three years later, in March, 1956, Camille Mason died. In fact, three of the Mason sisters died within weeks of each other. But in Camille’s obituary, we find the final mystery:
Three years later, in March, 1956, Camille Mason died. In fact, three of the Mason sisters died within weeks of each other. But in Camille’s obituary, we find the final mystery:
.
"She was
born and raised in Delhi. She spent most
of her life there except for several years in Henderson, Texas.” [12]
.
The mystery? What happened to the ten years she spent in
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, as a vibrant part of Crescent College?
.
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| After Lunch Cookies baked and photographed by Marian Colleen Harris Eugene, Oregon . |
We didn’t want to leave you, or our
story of Camille Mason and Constance Cheney, on such a sorrowful note, so
here’s a rather charming coda. In
preparation for this article, we asked friends and relations if any of them
were interested in trying out Camille’s cookie recipe. Two of them very kindly did so: one in
Oregon, and one in Colorado! We are
delighted to report that the recipe not only works, but the After School Cookies
are actually very tasty. You’ll see two
pictures, here: the first is the Oregon
cookies, beautifully presented on a 1953 plate.
.
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| Our young friend Clark, in Colorado, enjoys Camille's cookies baked (and photographed) by his mother, Alice Ayres |
The second - - and we know that Camille would be so pleased, if she
could see this! - - is of our young friend Clark, in Colorado, who pronounces
the cookies “Delish!”
.
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.
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If you, or anyone you know, is related to one of the Crescent College students or faculty, do please get in touch! https://www.facebook.com/crescentcollegehistory
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And if you're in Eureka Springs, come to the Crescent Hotel and explore the Crescent College History Project in the 4th Floor Faculty Lounge. The exhibit is free and open to the public daily, 10 - 5.
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----------------------------
Notes
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Notes
[1] From
an unrehearsed
interview with Florence McLaughlin for the Frontier Nursing Service Oral History
Project. The interview was conducted by
Dale Deaton on July 16,1979 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
.
[2] His name is sometimes spelled “Abington.”
[2] His name is sometimes spelled “Abington.”
.
[3] The Times [Shreveport,
Louisiana] 20 February 1909.
.
[4] Tensas Gazette [Saint Joseph,
Louisiana] 26 February 1909.
.
[5] The Star
Progress
[Berryville, Arkansas] 02 December 1910
.
[6] The Times [Shreveport,
Louisiana] 1 June 1913
.
[7] Mary
Breckinridge Thompson, Breckie: His Four
Years 1914 – 1918, page 50.
.
[8] The Colfax Chronicle [Colfax, Louisiana]
05 December 1914.
.
[9] Mary
Breckinridge Thompson, Breckie: His Four
Years 1914 – 1918, page 109
.
[10] Mary
Breckinridge Thompson, Breckie: His Four
Years 1914 – 1918, page 188.
.
[11] Tampa Bay Times [Tampa Bay,
Florida], July 26, 2007.
.
[12] The Monroe News-Star
(Monroe, Louisiana), Friday, March 23, 1956
.
