There's Something About Mary - Marriage, Murder, & Mystery

0:00 [MUSIC] Acrimonius, as of this point in the recording, now my new favorite word. [LAUGH] >> I'm gonna change them regularly, but right now it's acrimonius. >> You know what, that's really in keeping with the vibe of Mary though. Because hers is sort of a, choose your own adventure type of story when you start looking nice at her history. [MUSIC] >> Hi Caitlyn.

0:42 [MUSIC] >> Hi Creepy people. >> Hello. >> If you're new to our creepy corner of the world, this is PNW Haunts and Homicides where we chat about true crime, paranormal, and all things creepy in the Pacific Northwest. And we do a tarot reading at the end of every episode for deeper insight into the topic that we're talking about. So make sure to stick around if you're into that and if you don't know what tarot is, maybe stick around and check it out, it's pretty cool. And if you're wondering what the heck is going on, why this sounds so weird. I am missing my co-host Caitlyn.

1:23 For the moment anyway, she actually has a guest co-host instead of me on for this episode. A big thank you to Lindsay from Ye Olde Crime for joining Caitlin on this episode. It's really good. I just edited it and I loved it. It was amazing and I'll be back for the outro y'all. Enjoy this one. [MUSIC] So I am Lindsay and I am the host of Ye Olde Crime Podcast. It's a show I do with my younger sister Madison where we discuss funny, strange, and obscure crimes. Pre-1900, when I say yes to your people are like, what does that mean?

2:05 It sounds old and weird and it is old and weird. Correct. But in our context, it means pre-1900. So we cover a lot of cases that I guarantee you you've never heard of before. You will not hear us cover anything like Jack the Ripper or Lizzie Borden because those are very well known cases from pre-1900. But you will hear us talk about old-timey Western cannibals and a bunch of ladies that like to use arsenic to kill their husbands and their children from money and things of that nature. And we also try to cover cases about marginalized people to bring those to light as well and with a dash of humor.

2:53 I love it. It's a great description of your guys' show. I can vouch for you guys personally because that's one of the things that I love about your shows that it's not very often that you guys cover something that I'm like, oh, I've heard this for even the second time, let alone the 11th or 12th would be the case with Jack the Ripper or Lizzie Borden. Those are the world's best known true crime cases, I think at this point. Yeah. And it's both a blessing anacres for our show just because there are sometimes when the cases are so old and they're so undocumented that it is hard to write episodes about them, but it is also very fun when you find a topic that you can kind of dig enough to find enough information on it and then discover something really, really cool.

3:57 So I have been pleasantly surprised by some of our topics. I'll see something and be like, oh, I kind of want to learn more about that. And then as I'm researching it, I'm like, wow, this is really freaking cool and I'm really glad that we're discussing this. So yeah. I love it. Yeah, I can just see the wheels turning with the topics as you're kind of introducing them sometimes. And just like, you know, and you'll probably laugh at this, but in that way, I feel like sometimes as you start your episode, not that you guys have even like similar mannerisms or anything, but it's just this feeling that I get where I'm like, this reminds me of, you know, the handful of times where I've listened to Bailey Sarian and she starts explaining like how she falls down the rabbit hole on a topic.

4:52 And that's, I imagine kind of how your research, in my head, that is how your research process works, except you have green hair. This is true. This is true. Yes. Half of my hair is green, not in some weird like, probably not in the way you're thinking, but I think it's true. Part of it is green. We'll have to try to sneak a screenshot from our little zoom session at some point. We'll make sure we pull out the ring lights and everything in honor of Miss Sarian, of course. Exactly. I got to look fab.

5:34 Bob. Okay. So I know we talked about a few different cases. And before we jumped on to officially record like professionals, you said you didn't know what I had picked and hadn't looked into it. So I'm super excited to tell you about this one because I feel like you may have some thoughts, some opinions on, this is an old time you won. This one would be like right in your wheelhouse. Nice. I mean, as a listener, I'm like, it's right up my alley. So as part of your listener base, I'm like, this is up our alley. Yeah.

6:15 Oh my God. Love it. Little Kate Bush for all you fans out there. Oh my God. I know, right? Everybody's like, oh, did you hear that new song like about that? Yeah. That's cute. It's like when Post Malone made that song with Ozzy Osborne and there were literal fetuses walking around on the streets that thought that Post Malone made Ozzy Osborne famous. Yeah. My favorite is back when Kanye did that collab with Draft Punk and some kids thought that they were Kanye's DJs.

6:57 And I was like, wow, wow. You were so wrong. I am offended for Daft Punk. I am today, years old. And I had no idea that people thought that I've never heard that. That is just, yeah, wow. So I mean, every generation, every group of kids really does kind of think that like, oh, we discovered this or like, they're, wow, wow, wow, wow. Yeah. So much to have had there. But who has the time? You know, no one, no one.

7:39 It was said that when Mary Leonard first came to the United States as a 16 year old Italian girl in the late 1860s, she could not speak a word of English. In addition to the great misfortune of being Shanghaied away from her home by a sea captain scoundrel, which is my favorite word as a scoundrel, as of this recording to be held as a captive, an ocean away in Portland, Oregon. She had been bound to him in an acrimonious marriage. Oh, scandal.

8:20 I know. Acrimonious as of this point in the recording. Now my new favorite word. I'm going to change them regularly. But right now it's acrimonious. You know what? That's really in keeping with the vibe of Mary though, because hers is sort of a, choose your own adventure type of story when you start looking nice at her history. Nice. Yeah, you're like, hmm, does anyone know the truth about this gal? No. The short answer is no.

9:00 Some retellings of her early life say she came to the United States from Switzerland closer to 1875. In this version of the story, she settled in the Dalles where she married Daniel G Leonard, because everyone had to use their middle initial, even though there were maybe a hundred people in the whole goddamn county. That's the only way you'll know that it's really that Leonard. Even if he was the only Leonard that existed in that county, he really needs you to like wonder what the G stands for.

9:41 And I do wonder what it stands for. Mission accomplished. It's Gaston. Solved it. Daniel Gaston Leonard. I feel that nothing else it could be. We're done. Yeah. I think my work is done here. Just throw off my headphones and start out. I'm good. I'm out. At the time of their entry into holy matrimony, she was closing in on Spinster Hood for the era, probably still for the modern era from being honest at nearly 30 years old though Oh God.

10:23 I know. Practically a thornback at that point. Is that a cramp word? It is a thing. I should look up what the age is because a thornback is the old mystical term for unmarried women in their 20s. If it's after 26, it's a thornback. So if she was in her 30s, if it's after 36 is a doom witch. I'm almost a doom witch. I'm not going to make it. But yes, she's in between a thornback and a doom witch. Wow. God damn. The fucking patriarchy. There's literally different tiers of quote unquote Spinster Hood.

11:07 Yes. Cool. I picture her looking like Bowser. Like if she's getting ready to like go down the aisle, she like has the shell with all the like spikes coming out of the back of her dress. That is potentially fire. That is fashion week. I mean, she looks great, but woof. Oh my God. That's so funny. The more you know. Yeah. I always picture it.

11:48 It's like childhood. Every time. Eradam. Oh my gosh. Though she was still 30 years, her husband's junior, roughly give her take. Oh, geez. Okay. I'm picturing it. I got it. Yeah. So I guess based on all of this, that'll make me a geriatric bride. That's what I have in my notes. But now we've discovered there's a whole different word for it. I just assumed that, you know, we'd be following the same rules that apply to pregnancy, you know, like after 35, that's what we call it, but no one.

12:33 Like you said, the more you know, you couldn't have known how appropriate that was going to be. You're entering your doom, which era? I'm not going to make it. But you have to be 36 or older, right? That's true. That's true. You're approaching your doom, which era? It's right on the horizon. Wait. Just wait. Wait. You need to push back the wedding. I, I'm Lindsey. I'm a fucking idiot, but I. She said excitedly. I'm going to be 35 this year next year when we get married in August on the first, that is like the same week as my birthday.

13:30 I will have broken the curse. Be a doom witch. You will have broken the curse though. So you will break the doom witch curse by being married before you turn 36. Not, dude. My birthday is July 29. Oh, my God. You're going to be a doom witch bride. For like three days, I will be a doom witch. You got to like own it. I'm already planning that like the bachelor at party is going to be coven themed. It has to be now. It has to. I didn't know why other than I just like it.

14:12 But now clearly now you know the reason and it's happening. It's happening. I'm obsessed with that. I'm having a t-shirt made. I want you to know, you know what's funny in my notes, it actually says, but I digress. How did you know? Because I'm about to be a doom witch. I'm clearly coming in to my powers. Yeah. Whatever they are. Oh, my God. Okay. As all good stories do, this one comes in a three.

14:53 Then in a third version as the story goes, Mary Geisen or Gyson, it's unclear to me. I've seen it spelled multiple ways. According to this third version, she was born in 1845 in France and she immigrated to the US by 1870. She was living in Portland and working as a seamstress until she met and married. Still same guy. He's kind of the only constant in all of this. Daniel Leonard dropped the G here at this point in my notes. So he was too good for it now. Oh, yeah. Definitely.

15:34 He was like people know who I am. Well, it's funny. You should say that because he was quote a prosperous owner of a hotel. So kind of so they did know who he was. Yeah. Oh, it's, oh, it's all Leonard hotel over there. All right. Exactly. That Daniel. Okay. That one. Okay. Yeah. He can totally drop the G. We'll remember which one. We know who he is. This hotel was in East Wasco County at a point where the Oregon Trail crossed the John Day River. Just a little nugget for anyone old enough to be missing the Oregon Trail game.

16:14 I miss it every day. Every day. Sarah never gets a snake bite. I never die a dysentery. I never get to ford a river. That's the dream. It's so funny because I'm like everybody has played the Oregon Trail game, right? Like there's a lot of stuff that like growing up in Oregon and in the Pacific Northwest in general. We assume the rest of the country like your hip to it. Like you get it. You know it. Not dude, but Oregon Trail transcends.

16:56 Um hmm. Generations, geography, all of it. It seems that some details are somewhat readily verified upon closer examination of her story. And thankfully some of the sources I found did just that because I don't want to. I'm not an investigative journalist. Or a historian just in case there was anybody that wasn't aware of that fact. As always, you can refer to our paste bin at the bottom of the show notes to see the complete list if you are some sort of a hobbyist of checking people's references and such a source scoundrel, if you will.

17:46 Source scoundrel. I'm bringing scoundrel back. Back to our girl, Mary. She was born Mary Geisen, Gissen, some variation thereof in Alseus, which I'm sure is how the French people say it. It sounds legit. She was born in the mid 1840s for context and I'm just shamelessly lifting this directly from British Council dot org. Very fancy. Alseus is a region in northeastern France that borders Switzerland and Germany. In fact, it is so close to Germany that you can travel by tram from the regional capital Strasbourg to Kiel, the nearest German city in just 15 minutes.

18:36 Damn. All those close. It is really close. Although Alseus is part of France, its borders have not always been clear. Maybe that's the story with her girl, Mary. It sounds like. Right. It makes sense to me that maybe people just thought she was from France or thought she was from Switzerland because they're like, I don't know. She's from that one city that nobody really knows who belongs to. Yeah. You mentioned that she might have been German too. It's like she's right in that little pocket there. Try country area, if you will. Yeah. I'm not really sure where Italy comes from.

19:17 That's like Italy. It was Italy, not Germany. Sorry. Well, you know, it's a lot of places that she's allegedly maybe from. Prior to her immigration to the United States, there was really next to no information available about her life. And it would remain so until her 1875 marriage to Daniel Leonard because, of course, as we know, a woman's life doesn't really begin until she's wed. Facts. I can't wait for mine to start. Then you lose your entire identity. Yeah. Just become Mrs. Husband. Yeah.

19:57 And a Morpheus blob. All we have prior to that is the 1870 census where she was reported as a 23 year old Swedish immigrant at the time working as a domestic servant to a man and his family, including his three young children in the city of Portland. So Portland's kind of the other thing that still keeps popping up. We know she was hanging out there. So the truth is that she was a Swiss woman who came to America quite willingly as far as we know, though the details regarding her husband remained truthful from what can be gathered.

20:39 Daniel, in contrast to her 30 years, was in his 50s, though I'm afraid that's probably as specific as it's safe to be about his age. Could be late 50s, could be early 60s. What's a few years between friends? Am I right? Am I wrong? He was a very successful entrepreneur, restaurant tour, hotelier and ferryman. Nice. So he kind of had his hand in a bunch of different pots. Yes. He was pretty fancy. Unfortunately, the marriage was tumultuous from the start.

21:21 In fact, the Leonard Stavores was in process when as the story goes, Mary murdered her husband Daniel to inherit his estate. Oh, scandals. scandals. scandals. scandals. They were married for two years before he apparently filed for divorce, citing her laziness in fidelity. Oh, and refusing his marital rights. Oh, gross. Gross. I know. That's actually in my notes.

22:01 I had to say it because I did write gross. It just makes me think of that big daddy quote where he's like, "What's his five year plan did not die? Does this old balls?" His old wrinkly balls. It was so wrinkly balls. Seriously. Well, I'm back then, like in your 50s or 60s, like, yeah, your five year plan, "Hello, was" to just not die. Yep. So, it was the fall of roughly 1877 when Daniel filed for divorce claiming all of the things.

22:42 Interestingly, there's actually a lot of speculation about the character of this dude. I know you're shocked. I am shook if to my core. The least of which stems from the fact that from one census to another, he would change his answers about not only his birthplace, but also his date of birth. Oh, convenient. It's unclear whether he told Mary the truth about either because it's also unclear whether he mentioned his previous marriage and the lawsuit brought by his previous common law wife thereafter. Oh, snap.

23:23 Yeah. Those seem like, I don't know, facts of your life before her that a discerning lady might be interested in making her acquaintance with. Yeah. He was like, "Oh, these two red flags pay no attention to these two red flags." I know. I was thinking to myself like that scene in the Wizard of Oz, like, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." Exactly. Wow. Are you sure? Sure, because he appears to be doing fireworks with glow sticks. He's got all the things. At any rate, when it came to their divorce, Mary countered that Daniel had treated her like a servant, requiring her to put in back breaking hours working in his hotel kitchen, which honestly, like, why would you even take wife unless you can treat her like a servant?

24:21 A man, I'm kidding. Mary crossfiled, claiming mental and physical abuse. When her health had suffered, he had apparently refused her the resources she required, granting her neither the health care she needed, nor the money to obtain it, or any other essentials. She further asserted that he had treated her with physical cruelty. Of course, she would vehemently deny his claims of infidelity, you know, as one does. The judge presiding over their divorce proceedings ruled requiring Daniel to provide her with support while they were separated and sorting out these legal matters.

25:08 Nice. I know. That's one of the few times you hear it, but like the woman being the victor. So loud. God. Daniel refused to make court ordered spousal maintenance payments. So rude. Now I wasn't there because this is well over a hundred years before I was born just from reference. So I can't be sure what happened a few nights later, but let it be said that in late December Mary did write a brother, I'm going to say nasty letter to Daniel saying she would have her revenge for his neglect, vowing to, and this is a quote, it's a short one, but get even with him.

26:02 Nice. Yeah. So this marriage is giving some majorly toxic vibes just a little, just a little, just a tad. Well, as I alluded to previously, something awfully violent did happen to Daniel. Days later on January 4th of 1878, Daniel was found and not because he was lost with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, though he would not succumb to his wound until 12 days later on January 16th. Oh, damn.

26:45 I mean, I don't know how much he made her suffer like how many days it equates to, but like, I don't know. What do you say we call it even? I would say, yeah. He had been shot with a small caliber pistol while he slept in his home. A small caliber pistol, you say? Well that sounds like the weapon of a "hormon" for a delicate science. That's right. And while there was no evidence that Mary had been the one to pull the trigger, it didn't seem like much of a stretch. Yeah. Didn't exactly need Sherlock to figure that one out.

27:27 That's why he never put stuff in writing. Yeah. It's for the best. So the locals of the small town all seemed to agree that Daniel was not a kind man. So I think you can see where this is going. By and large, they seemed to feel that he had simply reaped what he had been sewing up to that point in both the marriage and possibly in life in general. So let's just say there was more than one person interested in him unaliving. Yeah. Ticking the proverbial bucket. As it were.

28:07 Pting. Oil. While there were no witnesses, suffice to say Daniel's lawyer suspected Mary and her alleged lover, Nathan Lindsay, in the killing. Don't be smirch-lindsy. No relation to this Lindsay. I don't claim him. You're like, that's not how names work. You idiot. That's his maiden name. Or wait. No. That's not how maiden names work either, Lindsay. No, that's not how maiden names work.

28:48 That's how man, man names work. Is there alcohol in this coffee? What is happening right now? Oh my God. That makes me think of old Greg Bailey's law enforcement. He didn't take long to act arresting Mary on January 5th. Actually Mary and Nathaniel Lindsay, a grand jury indicted both Mary and her alleged lover on June 26th that same year. That's a long time. Yeah, I took them about like two-bind Jails to even indict them. Yeah. And then it's not that fun.

29:29 I suppose they were like, it can wait. Yeah, it's this guy's killer. It's fine. Yeah, they're like, I mean, like, it's not like he was cool or anything. I mean, if he was cool, we would speed this up a bit. But exactly. He was kind of a dick. You got to understand. It's not like anyone's actually clamoring for justice. No one's actually upset. We just got to legally do this thing. No, like legally. Technically, I guess. As indie podcasters, we love to show our support of other awesome shows.

30:13 So stay tuned for the promo we've got to share with you this week. Let's show them some love. You can find their info in our show notes. The Florida men on Florida man podcast features crazy, very crazy, but true stories from the sunshine state. Ranging from bizarre true crime stories to the sometimes spooky and nearly always absolutely hilarious. Host Josh and Wayne of Femophom, as they're known to their friends, go well past the insane headlines the state is known for. To share stories focused on Florida's history and what makes the state unique.

30:58 Aside from all the basalts, of course. I'm learning a lot. Should we say something funny like hit it. Do it. If you like small town mystery, crazy news and wild history, then the Florida men on Florida man podcast is for you. Each week Josh Mills and Wayne McCarty bring you the absolute best Florida has to offer. So if you're looking for a show that's safe for the family, but funny enough to help you escape everyday life, then listen to the Florida men on Florida man podcast. That's Florida men plural on Florida man podcast. You guys were back.

31:38 And don't worry, we did get more wine. Well of course. So I think that's the first thing I've ever heard of. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. I've heard of the two different things. And you're tried together.

32:19 I agree with what you said. #NotAlouier #WildSpeculation #RailAmmetra Hour #Ammetra Hour And though Mary's sister lived in Wilsonville, Oregon, with her husband at the time, it's unlikely she attended the trial at any point. She had kind of grown apart, but the biggest thing is that her sister would actually end up giving birth to her first child on January 20th of 1879.

33:08 So we assume she couldn't travel in that delicate disposition. Facts. Yeah. Which is like, I mean, June to January. So she was only like three or four months pregnant. What is the big deal? This was also the time when they thought they were writing on the railroad would give you like insanity. So I'm sure they probably were like, Oh, God, is she's pregnant and writing on a train? That thing's going to projectile out of her and it's going to just attack everybody in the car. It's going to be chaos. Keep that woman home. It's chaos down here, Tom.

33:49 Absolute chaos. Over here at the B&O railroad. It's so crazy because like, I mean, even the far end of it, I mean, this is obviously by modern standards, but Wilsonville is like 60 minutes from Portland if you hit traffic. So old timey stuff, you know? Yeah. Leonard would spend 11 months in jail without bail, though the case against him would eventually be dropped. Meanwhile, women's rights activist Abigail Scott done a way use her newspaper, The New Northwest to support Mary's defense.

34:31 She had a, you know, some relatively powerful allies it sounds like. Nice. Also, people just like seriously, they just couldn't muster up a give a fuck for, you know, they're like, yes, you probably killed him. You know, like, do we care? Yeah, we're like, but I mean, you know, he was kind of a good doosh. Yeah. Honestly, like everything that I read it made it sound like, what is this, the walking dead? Like I get it. He was kind of a dick, but like, wow, you guys, that's cold.

35:17 I'm like, damn, on November 20th, 1978. Yep. It was groovy. Yep. And he was zodiac killer. Salted. Salted. Dooses. Dooses. We're out. True crime is over. We solved it. And reincarnate Robert Stack, we solved this mystery. RIP. On November 20th, 1878, Mary was acquitted of murder. Because, you know, it's like the least murdery murder they've seen in a while.

36:02 Yeah. This was more of an indication that the popular sentiment of the day was that her crime had been justified, but hardly a reflection of her being proved innocent. In case that wasn't abundantly clear at this point. It is said that many people believed Mary killed her husband. But as he was so incredibly disliked, people actually felt sympathy for her. And I mean, I could feel sympathy for her too. He does sound like a real douche canoe. I can't really say in this case whether she committed the air quotes crime or not.

36:48 What I can tell you is that if his murder had occurred just a few days later, she would have been shit out of luck because the divorce would have been finalized and she would have gotten nothing. Oh snap. Right? As it was, she became the sole heir to a relatively wealthy man's fortune. Quite a nice hall there. Murderous? Maybe. A stu-a-state planner? Possibly? Investors? Possibly! Later that year, Mary collected from Daniels estate as the sole heir and moved to Portland.

37:35 Allegedly. Depending on which story you believe, who knows? There's no way to know. Following that sorted affair, as I said, she moved to Portland where she would quickly become known as a defender of the down and out. Nice. Yeah, sounds good, right? Mm-hmm. Why do I feel like it's not good with how you said that? Because, you know, we've hung out before. This is a true crime podcast. Exactly. But soon, some of her other habits would leave some in the local community quite scandalized. She liked the ponies, didn't she? That's a good one.

38:17 No. But she was a middle-aged woman who frequently courted men that were roughly half her age. Oh, scandal. I know. My goodness. Apparently, she was the OG cougar of the Pacific Northwest. Nice. Snaps for this bitch. I mean, if they come a colon. What are you going to do? Yeah. Honestly, I don't ever want to date a man half my age for a myriad of reasons that we say I simply don't have time for in today's format. But if that's your yum, I'm not here to yuck it up, girl.

38:59 Do you have your fun? Get it? Any other pitty one, girl? Yeah. Get your groove back. Boss thing. She also operated boarding houses. Now, I realize that only Lindsay can see that I am once again using the air quotes. Air quotes. They were said to be utilized by sex workers of the era, but like, really, point to a boarding house in the 1800s of which this couldn't be said. Yeah. I'm no historian. That's already been established, but I have the distinct impression that you simply can't find one.

39:45 Even if they weren't to quote unquote, "brothals," you know, sex workers don't just stay at bruffles, right? Like they stay in other places. They go all kinds of places. Shocker. I know. Knowledge, bomb. Knowledge, bomb. Mind blown. Anyway, to me, I'm just seeing mainly a badass female entrepreneur who takes no shit so far. But please feel free to wake me up if she starts really while and out. You know, I mean, like, I guess the murder thing was, yeah, there's that.

40:26 She could have totally slipped. He slipped with the tiny, tiny gun in his hand and no one knows what happened after that, but then he was dead. Just picture like a puppet hand coming in through like a crack in the doorway with like the little gun in his hand. Thank you. Parkmark. Thank you. Good heavens. I mean, by the societal standards of the time, basically everything she did. She for sure was already while and out, but I have no notes.

41:08 I mean, good for her. Oh, you ever heard that a Dixie chick song? Because her role had to die. Daniel G Leonard has, nope, I don't have to workshop that one. Yeah. So anyway, recapping. So we're all on the same page with the timeline. In 1878, she moved to Portland and began running her boarding house, her boarding house, in what was probably the CDS neighborhood in Portland at the time now referred to as old town. And if you're from Portland, you're probably saying what has changed?

41:52 It is. I felt like we were going there, but I was like, I'm gonna wait and see how this place out. I mean, it's a cool, cool part of Portland, but she's seen some things. This was of course after her acquittal, but keep in mind, she'd served a year while the state put together their case against her for the murder of her late husband. She would never have a chance to test out that age-old theory of first, the worst, second, the best because she would never remarry. Okay.

42:32 Shocker, right? Yeah. The first one seemed just short of a fairy tale, but she wasn't keen to sit on her hands. Five years later is when she enrolled in law school. So obviously, cue the legally blonde jokes now. But like it's hard, she was first registered for courses in Portland, then eventually moved on to study under JC Haynes in Seattle. He was a renowned attorney and apparently this was a good enough opportunity to entice her to abandon her boarding house business in the pursuit. Oh, okay. Well, she was like, I'm feeling really good about this.

43:13 Bye, ladies. Yeah. Bye boarding house. Ostelepizza gotta go do your sexy stuff somewhere else. Or keep doing it here, but I just won't be hiding it for you. Yeah. I won't be a part of it. Honestly, if I'm not here, what's even the point? In October 1884, she passed the Washington bar and was admitted to practice in Washington on March 11th of 1885. So kind of dragging their feet there a little bit, but thus becoming the first woman in the state of Washington to be licensed to practice law. That's pretty cool.

43:54 I know. She's like, listen, I don't like to brag except I totally do. I'm kind of a big fucking deal. And I may or may not have killed my husband, but you know what? Lawyer. She just like flashes her certification. Lawyer. Lawyer. Shortly thereafter, Mary returned to Portland and applied to practice law in Oregon. But here's the thing about old-timey Oregon that we don't like to talk about so much in polite company as it were.

44:35 People from Oregon hate it when you talk about this. Let's go. Let's go there. Yeah. Because I'm not from Oregon and I don't know. And you're like, no. Tell me something awful. Spill that tea. History. Many of the states and happenings were not only racist, which I think is pretty well established about the state of Oregon, white sheets and all, but they were also terrible sexists and misogynists. Because who wants to be just one thing? We're multifaceted. Yes. In our hatred. In our hatred.

45:15 Everyone who's not a cis-white man. I get it. I get it. People that are different are scary. So of course, the men of the town weren't going to let this go down without putting up a fight. Apparently, they found the time in between burping contests at the local tavern and visiting their mistresses in local boarding houses to put up quite a fuss while still making it home in time to complain about the dinner their wives had prepared. Nice. So it's time management. Exactly. So you see ladies, you really can have it all. I was like, it's not too much, but it's just like.

45:57 Seriously, don't y'all have better things to do? Like, Jesus, weren't people still dying of the common cold every year? Fuck's sake. Yeah. On March 18th, 1885, the Oregon Supreme Court refused to admit Mary, claiming the law only allowed for men to be admitted to the bar. So of course, a judge has to get involved. In this case, Judge Matthew ordered her, declared her, whatever. I don't know. He said, I'm a judge and I've in the appropriate official legal fashion, he said that she should be able to practice in federal court. He was like, that is it.

46:39 Put my foot down. Don't make me turn this car around. And everyone was like, nah. Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly what how did you know? She can jump. [LAUGHTER] Federal judge Matthew Didi of the US District Court for the District of Oregon finding no similar prohibition in his interpretation of the law, admitted Mary to the federal bar in Oregon on March 27th of 1885. Finally, that seems like that would be the last of it, but apparently not.

47:20 Cool. Cool. Cool. She turned that car around. Damn it. Though it was common practice to recognize other legal professionals from neighboring jurisdictions without much concern, the state of Oregon denied her application with the bar association because the men folk weren't prepared to let this lady of the law win so easily after all. Basically, they were just whining just so much mediocre, white male whining. It's not fair. She can't do that. You can't do that.

48:00 Turns out she got a uterus. Yeah. [LAUGHTER] Gross. [LAUGHTER] So she lobbied the legislature to ensure that the state would be required to allow women admission to the bar because remember, she was initially licensed in Washington. So it's all this jurisdictional, holo blue. In November 1885, the Oregon legislature passed a law supported by Mary that allowed women to be admitted to the bar. So again, like, are we done yet? No. Mm-hmm. Then the state Supreme Court responded by throwing together a totally bullshit one-year residency program.

48:44 This all fixer. Yeah. They were so upset about a hormone practicing law. This was a law that was basically designed expressly to hopefully derail her application rather than outright denying it because, you know, that didn't work out for them. She argued her case in front of the Supreme Court and in person. This was at a time when women did not do a lot of public speaking, mind you. Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. Because that's not very lady like we're supposed to be seen, not heard. Oh my God, that is exactly what I thought to myself when I was writing this. I was like, wait, that's only children, right? I'm like, nah.

49:25 It's the 1800s. What am I saying? Mm-hmm. It's everybody. That's not a man. Yeah. She argued that exceptions had been made for 12 other male applicants. So, you know, they kind of set the press. And all that. Mm-hmm. She made a very compelling argument against them, essentially leaving them with no choice, even considering the threat of bears being able to smell her menstruation. I love ink and man so much. Then, on April 13th, 1886, Mary was admitted by the Oregon Supreme Court as Oregon's first female lawyer.

50:13 Finally. Yeah, but like, for real this time because apparently that other time was like kind of just a trial for funsies and they're like, nah, nah, nah, nah. Yeah. Now, she may have been victorious in her hard fought battle for the right to practice law, but she wasn't a particularly successful attorney, which is kind of a bummer. Yeah. Like, thanks a lot, Mary. However, she did become notable in her own way. She mostly represented sex workers, gamblers, and average laborers in criminal court.

50:58 Mary's colorful life continued as she developed a practice in Portland, working mainly in the police courts. You know, working with those undesirables. Mm-hmm. To supplement what was a fairly poultry income from her law practice, she reopened a boarding house. She was also a wild drinker known for partying around town amongst her younger male colleagues. What? I know. Old habits die hard. Am I right? You are right. Aha. Now, that is a lady.

51:38 Stay golden, Boneyboy. That's how I picture her is that character. It is said that she developed a reputation for fighting and drinking with male attorneys. So hopefully she had a tolerance for the booze and wasn't my height. In 1897, Mary was arrested for threatening to kill the landlord of her boarding house when he attempted to evict her from his property. Kind of seems like maybe it backs up that whole story about how she like, I don't know, maybe kind of killed her previous husband, but could be totally unrelated.

52:20 After a trial described as a circus, Mary was once again acquitted because she barely has nine lives. For real. Later, she was convicted of embezzlement of $1.40 relating to refusing to pay a witness and went to jail after she refused to pay the fine. So doesn't like to pay the bills. Like, she went to jail for like, I probably have that in my pocket right now. I realize it was a different time. Oh my God. That is so good. Less than $2 worth of embezzlement and I'm just going to go to jail.

53:01 Take me away, officer. Cuff them, Dan O. Mary continued her practice in Portland until June 1912 and she died on October 24 of 1912. This was just two weeks after being admitted to a hospital in Multnomah County, Oregon. At the time of her death, she was said to be practically penniless and without a close friend left. So no wonder she didn't want to pay the dollar 40. She was like, I need this. You don't understand. I can't even afford to stay in my own boarding house.

53:41 I need this money. Exactly. Apparently she has no marked grave. And though it's possible that her remains were sent to the University of Oregon Medical School. And he associated records from that era are long since disappeared following a fire worthy were housed as our good friend Bailey would say, so spish. You know, because she's our bestie now. I mentioned her once casually in passing them. Now we're BFFs. That's how that works. So that's pretty dark depending on how you look at it.

54:22 But let's close out the case on a quote from Mary herself. It's from the victory party slash press conference that she threw for herself following the acquittal in the case brought against her by her landlord dating back to 1897. She said of herself. And yes, I quote, the lady is not young or stylish with all she is calmly and attractive, possessed of sparkling wit and her company pleases young attorneys. And I was like, what?

55:05 So essentially she's like my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. Yeah. Like the milkshake has been sitting now on the counter for a couple minutes, but like, they're still coming for it. Yeah. But like, it's still good to sum it up. It's still good. I love a room temp milkshake. Who doesn't? Oh my god. I'm a raving lunatic. Okay, we're going to move the wine. I will tear it. We'll give them one more good shuffle. My tiny baby hands. You have strong hand.

55:46 Exactly. Have you ever had a tarot reading done? Once. Once. Okay. We're going to have to come on and like do like a tarot reading just like, just for like you, just for funsies, one of these. This is so much fun. I like them. Okay. So you're going to laugh. This is the card that Cassie is like her card. Like, shows up for her all the time. She is going to probably laugh her ass off that it's the card that I picked for this case when she's not here.

56:26 So our card for Mary is the fool. Also Cassie's card. I drew it in the reverse, which doesn't happen to us super often. I feel like we usually get it upright. So we'll see. It's kind of an interesting one. Key words for the card are innocence, beginnings, trust, hope and opportunity. Kind of the overarching premise of the card is really about like a new beginning or just kind of a rebirth. The first card in the major arcana, the fool begins your journey toward wisdom.

57:06 The fool represents innocence and faith, the naive confidence of youth. Shown as a young traveler, he embarks on an adventure without a care in the world. Unconcerned about the potential dangers that lurk ahead on the path. In some decks, he appears as a happy go lucky young male standing at the edge of a cliff. Just about to step off into the great unknown. Often he carries all his worldly possessions tied in a small bag on a stick over his shoulder, like a. A bird that is no longer in common usage. Like an unhoused person, I'm sorry.

57:49 Suggesting he doesn't have a lot of baggage yet and is open to life's experiences. In some decks, he is accompanied by a dog or another animal, which represents natural instincts. The fool symbolizes the blind leap of faith we almost take upon entering the journey of life. If the fool is reversed, you may feel restless and bored, eager to try something new. But now is probably not the right time to act. I think of this as the don't quit your day job card. That's kind of funny. She wasn't a very good lawyer. She gave up her boarding house business and then eventually came back to it.

58:30 That's pretty funny. That is funny. In a reading about money, you may not have all the information you need to make a well-founded decision. An impulsive action could lead to a fall. Someone may take advantage of your innocence. The reversed fool can also mean you're vacillating or overly cautious about money matters. I wouldn't say that was for problem so much. No. If the reading is about your job, your current situation has probably led to a dead end or you've grown bored with the career path you're on. It's time to strike out in a new direction. Don't do this hastily, however.

59:10 Gather information and explore possibilities. Well, I mean, she did kind of nail that. She did. She did. Like 60% of the time it works every time. In a reading about love, this card can warn you to look more closely at a partner or relationship. Things may not be what you think. That feels right. Yeah. The reversed fool may also indicate the end of a relationship and greater freedom as a result. That hits the nail on the head just a little bit. Wow. It's a little on the nose.

59:50 Holy shit. Think before you act, however, for you might regret a breakup undertaken hastily. That's a little too pistol on the head one might say. Oh my god. Oh, I see. I'm going to die. That is just. That's too perfect. See, I told you guys that episode. It was amazing. I'm kind of jealous that I miss it, but it's fine. It's fine. If you loved that terror read and you want to see it with your own eyeballs, you can become a member of our Patreon where a video of every terror read is uploaded with the ad free version of the episode each week.

1:00:40 And this week, Caitlyn did a special little terror read for Lindsay that will not be in the regular episode, but it will be included in our Patreon, terror video. So Patreon members, make sure to check that one out. It's pretty fun. And if you're wondering what Patreon is, it is a way to support us. It's a monthly subscription with a range of price points and benefits. Every member gets a personalized welcome card with a teeny tiny mini terror read in it. Caitlyn will be so impressed that I remembered to say that. We're also starting to do Patreon shout outs. So, you know, if you want us to read your name and maybe talk about you a little bit, get on in there.

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1:03:38 See you next Tuesday. Unless somebody gets sick and can't do anything cause that seems to keep happening. Okay, bye. [Music] [Music] Oh my god, what the fuck is that movie? A fucking name.

1:04:31 Do you know what I'm talking about? Yes. I'm so sorry, Cassie. She said here like, what the actual fuck you guys? Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Bless your heart for having to sift through this. Yeah. I told her she could start training me to, you know, do a little editing on the side. She's might be the thing that breaks her. Yeah. This is going to be it. Secretly, she's probably like, listen, dummy. That sounds good and theory, but you're basically untrainable. You're like an unhoused broken dog.

1:05:13 I didn't want to say it. You damn dune which? [Music] If you're a frequent PNW Haunts and Homicides listener, you probably already know where birdie ambassadors. We wanted to take a quick moment to tell you a little bit more about this awesome product. Birdie is the modern personal safety alarm made for women by women. In a situation where you feel threatened or unsafe, you can simply activate birdie's loud siren and flashing light to create a diversion. Birdie is perfect to carry any time because the device is lightweight and comes in a variety of colors. So important. Use our Ambassador link and coupon code, PNWHAUNTSANDHOMICIDES, to receive 10% off your purchase.

1:06:02 Make our social media handles the coupon code is all spelled out no special characters. You can find the link and promo code in our show notes or PNW Haunts and Homicides link tree. Have a safe, stay fast! - Bye. [MUSIC PLAYING]