PA PA - Beverly Sharpman, 17, Philadelphia, 11 Sept 1947

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I'm not as sure as others on here that she didn't meet with some foul play. I found out about this case recently are for some reason I just can't stop thinking about it. From what I gather, there are three main theories: illicit affair (resulting in pregnancy), some form of abuse at home or Beverly being gay. I'm kind of thinking out loud here, but to me the key questions that need breaking down are this -

1. Was Beverly really intending to get married that day? The alleged marriage links to the illicit affair theory. To me it seems very unlikely that she did actually end up getting married (if she did it was under an assumed name - why?) because there was no male counterparts who dissapeared from the neighbourhood at the same time. But the important thing is her intent. I'm wondering what clothes did she pack. Did she take her best suit or dress with her? That would support her intent on getting married. Another point is her message was in the past tense, "got married". Unless she had literally gotten married (as I said, in my opinion unlikely), she either was planning to get married in the immediate future and said that she already had so her parents would think it was too late to stop her, or she was making up the marriage altogether in the hopes that if her parents thought she was with a man who would support her they wouldn't worry/try so hard to find her.

2. What proof actually is there that Beverly sent the telegram herself? I've not seen any statement from anyone at the station who identifed Beverly being the one who sent the telegram. Of course, in those days telegrams were the more instant way of comminucating, but why send one (using some of her precious savings!) at all when she could have just left a note under her pillow or posted a letter. It's not at all out of the question that she did send it, but if we're talking foul play it's very convenient it takes handwriting out of the equation. Also - (and this is probably me REALLY overthinking things) the fact that it was signed "Babe" (a nickname that could be used for either sex) and not "Beverly" means that it could have been sent by a man and not raised any eyebrows signing it in a female name.

3. Was Beverly's mother being honest that she didn't know the reason for the dissapearace? This ties in with the next question. An interesting part of the story is her mother's account of Beverly approaching her the night before wanting to tell her something but changing her mind. This shows Beverly was still undecided fully on whether to leave or not, despite having planned it for at least a week. IMO this whole scenario indicates that there was one specific, impending issue on her mind. In my opinion, this is where the sexuality theory falls flat. As far as we know, no other girl disappeared on the same day and other than elopement, I don't know what issue would have brought the matter of sexuality to such an immediate forefront that she would need to dissapear. Maybe her parents having found out, but that would mean her Mother saying she didn't know why Beverly would run away and Beverly having something to tell her the night before were fictitious. The same goes for if the situation was bad at home. In both those scenarios, all the newspaper ads her family posted were peace offerings that Beverly either ignored or never saw.

4. What reason would Beverly have to cut off her entire family, forever? This is a sixteen year old we're talking about, basically still a child. Things that seem very scary and the end of the world at that age come into perspective as you grow up. If she did have an unplanned pregnancy, is it really believeable she wouldn't reach out after so many years had passed, even just to let them know she was still alive? If she had legitametly eloped and married a man, sure her parents would have been mad, but why wouldn't she reach out after the dust had settled? Her absolute and final disappearance seems very odd to me for a runaway that neither her friends or family had an inkling anything was wrong.
 
(...continuing my thinking out loud, sorry!)

There are three theories that I can think of that hold up to scruitiny.

1. She was having an affair (had been groomed) by an older man and had gotten pregnant (or at least, thought she was pregnant). Possibly someone with a lot to loose like a married man, or teacher. He promised to marry her (married man promises to leave his wife etc), she goes to the train station to meet him for their elopement and foul play ensues. Either Beverly sends the telegram herself preemptively announcing their marriage or the man sends after he disposed of her.

2. She had been abused by someone close, maybe someone in her family. This is the one scenario that I can think of that would make sense with her disappearing forever. Out of shame she didn't tell anyone including her best friend, and was worried her mother would believe this man over her. It being a relative would be a possible explanation why she would have to cut her entire family off.

3. She ran away for any reason mentioned above or otherwise, and met foul play in totally unrelated circumstances soon after. Stranger things have happened, a sheltered, vunerable runaway out on her own is a prime target for the evil people of this world.

I so hope I'm wrong but something in my gut tells me Babe wasn't alive to see those newspaper ads from her family. Would love to hear other people's opinions on this!
 
Came across this on eBay, there are so few pictures related to this case I thought it might be of intest. Caption reads:
"9-18-48 Looking at a map of the U.S. is Mrs Nettie Sharpman, who has personally contacted all the places indicated by dots in search of her daughter, Beverly (Babe) Sharpman, 18, missing for twelve months. Mrs Sharpman is offering a $1000 reward for information leading to the return of the girl. Beverly's picture appears on the wall."

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the_dahlia said:
(...continuing my thinking out loud, sorry!)

There are three theories that I can think of that hold up to scruitiny.

1. She was having an affair (had been groomed) by an older man and had gotten pregnant (or at least, thought she was pregnant). Possibly someone with a lot to loose like a married man, or teacher. He promised to marry her (married man promises to leave his wife etc), she goes to the train station to meet him for their elopement and foul play ensues. Either Beverly sends the telegram herself preemptively announcing their marriage or the man sends after he disposed of her.

2. She had been abused by someone close, maybe someone in her family. This is the one scenario that I can think of that would make sense with her disappearing forever. Out of shame she didn't tell anyone including her best friend, and was worried her mother would believe this man over her. It being a relative would be a possible explanation why she would have to cut her entire family off.

3. She ran away for any reason mentioned above or otherwise, and met foul play in totally unrelated circumstances soon after. Stranger things have happened, a sheltered, vunerable runaway out on her own is a prime target for the evil people of this world.

I so hope I'm wrong but something in my gut tells me Babe wasn't alive to see those newspaper ads from her family. Would love to hear other people's opinions on this!
Click to expand...

I think your guesses are possible. I always thought that she lived but didn't want to return for some reason. Also, the newspaper ads didn't reach her for two reasons, I think. Firstly, she never read them. Who reads the classified daily? Even before the Internet I didn't do it as a teenager or young adult. Secondly, anyone that read them that knew her wouldn't know her by Sharpman but whatever her married name would have been. Thus, they would not know to alert her to the ads. Beverly (nee Sharpman) is who she was but who around her would know that?
 
I think she did plan to leave due to possibly an out of wedlock pregnancy but I think she was killed shortly after. I suspect that she was NOT married when she sent that telegram---IF she did. I see no proof that it was her that actually sent it. If she was involved with someone already married, or just someone else who did not want a wife or child, she could have been lured away with the promise to marry her and then killed by that person. (Just because the telegram said she had gotten married doesn't mean she actually did at that time.) I feel if she had lived, she would have contacted her family at some point in later years when she was older and more mature.
 
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Beverly Sharpman
beverly_sharpman_1.jpg

Beverly, circa 1947

  • Missing Since 09/11/1947
  • Missing From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Classification Endangered Runaway
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 12/10/1930 (90)
  • Age 16 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'3, 135 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray or brown suit/dress, flesh-colored stockings, brown or black shoes, and earrings.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Beverly's nickname is Babe.
Details of Disappearance

Beverly was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1947. The day before her disappearance, she appeared to be troubled and told her mother she had something to tell her. She then changed her mind and decided not to confide in her mother, and her mother did not press her about it.

Beverly went to Overbrook High School to register for her senior year classes the next day, then vanished. She was last seen carrying a suitcase at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station at 24th and Chestnut Streets.

That same evening, she sent a telegram to her parents reading: "Got married. Leaving town. Will not be back. Don't worry. Babe." Authorities discovered Beverly had withdrawn $173 from her savings account, quit her clerking job, and told her coworkers she was going to Chicago, Illinois.

Investigators checked marriage license bureaus in all states, but did not find evidence that Beverly married as she said in her telegram. In addition, her loved ones stated she was not dating anyone at the time of her disappearance.

There were many reported sightings of Beverly in cities all over the United States after September 1947, but none of the accounts were confirmed. Her parents published advertisements in newspapers appealing for her to contact them, but she never did.

One theory is that she ran away because of an illegitimate pregnancy, which carried a heavy social stigma in the 1940s, but there is no evidence to support this. It is highly unusual for a teen runaway to vanish completely and never contact any of her loved ones again, as Beverly apparently did.

Beverly's parents are both deceased. Her disappearance has never been closed and it remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency
  • Philadelphia Police Department 215-685-3252
Source Information
 
I am not sure if this is related, but I found the following on a Genealogical website:

Beverly Sharpman

It appears to have been posted in 2015. It mentions a Beverly Sharpman, but absolutely no information regarding birth or death. The Beverly mentioned had a mother named as "Nattie" in the file, a father named "Samuel", and a brother named Bernard (1923-1995). I would think that the person managing the post might be a son or daughter of Bernard - or other close relative.
 
I got to thinking maybe the reason the telegram said "got married" (past tense) was because Beverly believed she would be married by the time the telegram was delivered to her parents. Do we know how many hours elapsed between her paying for the telegram and the telegram being received by her parents?

I still think, at this point in time based on what we know, that Beverly either believed she was eloping with an unmarried man or she thought a married man was leaving his wife to start a new life with her someplace else. I think an out-of-wedlock pregnancy or an affair could have been the basis for her belief she would be starting a life with this man. If he was unmarried or widowed, perhaps he was someone her parents would not accept as a suitable son-in-law. If he was a married man who was leaving a wife and maybe even some children behind, she might have lied that she was getting married so her family would never be ashamed or disappointed that she was running away with a married man. Either way, this man never intended to start a life with her but instead I think he took her life.

Anyway, that's always been my thoughts on this case unless something new comes to light. My parents married the same year Beverly disappeared and when they applied for their marriage license it was the law then (at least in their state) that you had to have bloodwork done first that checked for venereal diseases and it took three days to get the results back before you could marry. If Beverly and some man had applied for a marriage license anywhere then there should have been a record of it under her true legal name, I would think. I am not sure if you had to show proof of being of legal age to marry in 1947. My mom was a few months past her 18th birthday and my father was almost 23 when they secretly married in 1947 at the courthouse after secretly applying for their license and getting their bloodwork done several days earlier. (My mom's family didn't want her marrying so young and that's why she eloped with my dad and then told her parents about it after the fact.) They are both deceased so I can't ask them if they had to show a birth certificate or driver's license to prove they didn't need parental consent. You would think that would be necessary to protect underaged persons. So if Beverly would have had to show proof of legal age to apply for a marriage license I would have expected a record of this to have shown up. Even if women could marry without parental consent at 16 back then I'd still think the courthouse clerk might need to see proof that the young lady was at least 16.

But Beverly may not have known how such things worked. If the man claimed he was going to take care of everything, or if he said they would get their license when they reached their destination, she would have trusted him. I doubt he traveled with her but instead had her meet him somewhere out of town. If he intended to do her harm he wouldn't want to be seen traveling with her.

Since her family and friends don't appear to have known she was seeing anyone, there was some reason why it was kept a secret. Either her parents didn't allow dating at all, or the man was someone they would not have allowed her to see, or he was married.
 
dogperson said:
I got to thinking maybe the reason the telegram said "got married" (past tense) was because Beverly believed she would be married by the time the telegram was delivered to her parents. Do we know how many hours elapsed between her paying for the telegram and the telegram being received by her parents?

I still think, at this point in time based on what we know, that Beverly either believed she was eloping with an unmarried man or she thought a married man was leaving his wife to start a new life with her someplace else. I think an out-of-wedlock pregnancy or an affair could have been the basis for her belief she would be starting a life with this man. If he was unmarried or widowed, perhaps he was someone her parents would not accept as a suitable son-in-law. If he was a married man who was leaving a wife and maybe even some children behind, she might have lied that she was getting married so her family would never be ashamed or disappointed that she was running away with a married man. Either way, this man never intended to start a life with her but instead I think he took her life.

Anyway, that's always been my thoughts on this case unless something new comes to light. My parents married the same year Beverly disappeared and when they applied for their marriage license it was the law then (at least in their state) that you had to have bloodwork done first that checked for venereal diseases and it took three days to get the results back before you could marry. If Beverly and some man had applied for a marriage license anywhere then there should have been a record of it under her true legal name, I would think. I am not sure if you had to show proof of being of legal age to marry in 1947. My mom was a few months past her 18th birthday and my father was almost 23 when they secretly married in 1947 at the courthouse after secretly applying for their license and getting their bloodwork done several days earlier. (My mom's family didn't want her marrying so young and that's why she eloped with my dad and then told her parents about it after the fact.) They are both deceased so I can't ask them if they had to show a birth certificate or driver's license to prove they didn't need parental consent. You would think that would be necessary to protect underaged persons. So if Beverly would have had to show proof of legal age to apply for a marriage license I would have expected a record of this to have shown up. Even if women could marry without parental consent at 16 back then I'd still think the courthouse clerk might need to see proof that the young lady was at least 16.

But Beverly may not have known how such things worked. If the man claimed he was going to take care of everything, or if he said they would get their license when they reached their destination, she would have trusted him. I doubt he traveled with her but instead had her meet him somewhere out of town. If he intended to do her harm he wouldn't want to be seen traveling with her.

Since her family and friends don't appear to have known she was seeing anyone, there was some reason why it was kept a secret. Either her parents didn't allow dating at all, or the man was someone they would not have allowed her to see, or he was married.
Click to expand...

There are some sources that report the note in different tenses. "Getting married" is used sometimes "Got married" used more commonly. See the link below for reference.

Clipping from The Tennessean - Newspapers.com

But the elusive marriage certificate and license is really crazy. When I looked at the marriage certificates for Pennsylvania from about that time, the only minors that were getting married had parental consent signatures. The only thing that makes sense is if she never got married at all or if she married under a fake name somehow. If it is under a fake name then I see an impossible task of trying to find the certificate. A fake name and then her husband's last name would explain why no one alerted Beverly as to all the classified ads that were directed to her though.

I spent tons of time on this case and once felt I was looking at a picture of her that was taken in the 1980s but then realized I wasn't. Kind of post-climax with this case after that.
 
Is it my imagination or there was a tip about her living with a woman? I remember something like that... I think that when the investigators went there, the woman had already moved out. I wonder if she was a lesbian and ran away to live as she wanted... maybe she didn't really marry, but her relationship with this woman was as serious as a marriage for her. If that's true, I hope they were happy.
Not my imagination:
"J. Edwards of Blue Ridge Summit, Philadelphia sent word to the family in May 1948 that he met Beverly while on a job in Charleston, South Carolina the month prior. Edwards remarked that she didn’t seem like a typical southerner and alleged that she was living with a woman named Bobby Wilson on West Street. Philadelphia and Charleston investigated this lead but if Edwards had spoken to Beverly, she once again managed to slip away."
Source: Beverly Sharpman: The Telegram Farewell
 
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