NY NY - Dorothy Arnold, 25, New York, 1910

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Susan Shock said:
Please do pm link to that story Shadowangel, I would like to read it and include it in my research. It definitely sounds interesting. Thanks.

Susan
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You shall have it this evening, ma'am. :)
 
Could it be possible she found out she was pregnant and ran. When she found out her parents had reported her as missing, she could have contacted her parents and when they found out she was pregnant- her father disowned her? That could have been what led up to an abortion and could also explain why the father didn't want any discussion on it anymore. Then when she died in the hospital from the abortion- the father would then be especially firm in not talking about the case. The pregnancy alone would have caused a scandal, the father disowning her would have caused even more talk, and then with her death- he probably felt guilt as well as the shame of an "ruined" daughter.
Did she have any siblings? Any other close family members?
 
mysteriew said:
Could it be possible she found out she was pregnant and ran. When she found out her parents had reported her as missing, she could have contacted her parents and when they found out she was pregnant- her father disowned her? That could have been what led up to an abortion and could also explain why the father didn't want any discussion on it anymore. Then when she died in the hospital from the abortion- the father would then be especially firm in not talking about the case. The pregnancy alone would have caused a scandal, the father disowning her would have caused even more talk, and then with her death- he probably felt guilt as well as the shame of an "ruined" daughter.
Did she have any siblings? Any other close family members?
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Your theory ties in pretty closely to what I think. Dorothy had spent a few days in Boston with her boyfriend Griscom, which was a very rebellious thing for a young lady to do in those days. Also, it appears that her father was a rather controlling individual who wanted Dorothy to settle down with a "suitable" young man. Dorothy wanted to be a writer, something her father did not approve of. So given those factors, it doesn't seem that implausible to think of Dorothy deciding to run away, whether due to pregnancy or just a desire to be independent.

I have always thought that at some point, Dorothy's family found out what happened to her. As you said, a pregnancy would create quite a scandal, and her father did not like attention from the media.

Griscom is a puzzling character. From what I've read it is hard to figure out if he actually cared about Dorothy, or just cared about Dorothy's family's money. I can't help feeling he was involved somehow, even though he was out of the country when Dorothy disappeared. At times he seemed to distance himself from Dorothy, and then at other times he's spending money in an effort to find her. Very curious.
 
Maybe he didn't want the pregnancy, yet felt responsible? And maybe after the daughter went missing and then Daddy finds out she was pregnant, maybe he was the one who suggested the abortion? And maybe he threatened the man who "ruined" his daughter? Because the purpose of an abortion would be to make the child go away without anyone being suspicious. And an abortion wouldn't do much good if the guy was hanging around, tempting her to do wrong again?
 
I don't think the family disowned her. From the articles I've read in the New York Times, they acted genuinely bereaved by her disappearance, and they spent more than 100,000 dollars trying to find her. In the obituary for Dorothy's mother, it is said that since her daughter had disappeared she'd suffered from a nervous condition. I don't think they disowned her or banished her, but I don't know either why they decided so soon after her disappearance that she was dead. It is a mystery that intrigues me, and the more I read, the greater the mystery.

You're right that Griscom is a puzzling character. I've since learned that he hired detectives to try and find Dorothy but then dismissed them after a month, having decided that it was hopeless. He claims to have loved her, but he certainly gave up pretty quickly on finding her.
 
Susan Shock said:
I don't think the family disowned her. From the articles I've read in the New York Times, they acted genuinely bereaved by her disappearance, and they spent more than 100,000 dollars trying to find her. In the obituary for Dorothy's mother, it is said that since her daughter had disappeared she'd suffered from a nervous condition. I don't think they disowned her or banished her, but I don't know either why they decided so soon after her disappearance that she was dead. It is a mystery that intrigues me, and the more I read, the greater the mystery.

You're right that Griscom is a puzzling character. I've since learned that he hired detectives to try and find Dorothy but then dismissed them after a month, having decided that it was hopeless. He claims to have loved her, but he certainly gave up pretty quickly on finding her.
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I think Griscom put up an appearance of wanting to locate Dorothy, but I doubt his heart was in it. I also think that if Dorothy staged her disappearance, she would have told Griscom about it. I don't buy his story that he knew nothing about what happened to Dorothy.

I've read the articles about Dorothy's family, and agree that her mother took Dorothy's disappearance very hard. However, we don't know what her mother's mental state normally was - perhaps she was always a nervous woman, and Dorothy's disappearance was just too much to handle. I still think Dorothy's father knew what happened to her, probably not long after her disappearance. From the beginning, he told the press that he was fairly certain Dorothy had been abducted and killed, and that her body was probably dumped somewhere in Central Park. I don't think he believed that, but wanted the media to believe it. I also think that if Dorothy was pregnant and later called her father to let him know where she was, her father may never have told any other family members. I think he either disowned her, or paid for an abortion that led to her death.

Dorothy's father, from what I've read, was a controlling person. He did not take seriously Dorothy's desire to be a writer, and wanted her to marry a "suitable" man. Dorothy was a little old to still be single, and I imagine some pressure was being put on her to settle down.

I think if I'd met Dorothy, I would have liked her. She seemed to do what she wanted - having Griscom as a boyfriend in spite of her family's disapproval, spending time alone with him in Boston, aspiring to be a writer - all of these things weren't what "proper" young women did, especially ones who were heir to a fortune! She seemed to be an independent woman in an era when society was very much male-dominated.

There are some who believe Dorothy committed suicide, either because her writing career was not working out, or because Griscom did not want to marry her. That could be possible, especially if she were pregnant. But if she had killed herself, I think her body would have eventually be found.

My theory, which is only partially supported by the evidence, is this: Dorothy did not want her mother coming with her to shop on the day of her disappearance. I believe that's because Dorothy had an appointment with a doctor, and learned that she was pregnant. She probably wrote a letter to Griscom letting him know this. She went away for a while to decide what to do, how to tell her family, etc. At some point, she contacted her father and explained her situation. He was not an understanding man, and either (1) told her she was no longer a part of the family, (2) sent her money for an abortion, or (3) paid for her to leave the U.S. and live abroad. In any event, he made sure she did not create a scandal by returning home.

My feeling is that Dorothy was sent to live abroad and have her baby without creating a scandal and besmirching the family name.
 
Interesting theory. I think I would have liked Dorothy myself. I think that's why I want to write this book. She was an appealing person. And being a writer myself I can sympathethize with her.
 
Susan Shock said:
Interesting theory. I think I would have liked Dorothy myself. I think that's why I want to write this book. She was an appealing person. And being a writer myself I can sympathethize with her.
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One thing I like about Dorothy is her determination to be a writer. In spite of her submitted work being rejected, she continued to forge ahead. I like that spirit, and I will certainly enjoy reading all about her in your book.
 
I can't help but think of the VC Andrews book Flowers In The Attic.

Interesting theories... I would only add, I think the mother knew what happened to her daughter but was under the thumb of a tyrant husband. I think she kept quiet like most women of that era did. She probably suffered more from guilt than from not knowing what happened to her daughter.
 
IMO, Griscom probably arranged for Dorothy to have an abortion at Dr. Meredith's clinic. It being in Pittsburgh where he lived gives the impression he may have used the doctor's services before, with another young lady, or at least knew the clinic's reputation as an abortion mill. When she died from the botched operation, he beat a hasty retreat to Europe with Mama. She was probably cremated, that's why they never found any evidence. By the way, how's the book coming, I'd love to read it!
 
It's been about a year since I last posted anything on this website. Thank you for posting the link for that article, hopefully it will generate some new interest in this case.

I won't recap my various postings, but will reiterate my theory that Dorothy Arnold was not killed, but rather left of her own accord for some unknown reason (pregnancy, depression over a writing career that failed to take off, desire to be with someone her family would disapprove of????). I don't think much of the suicide theory, but that's because from what I can learn of Dorothy's personality prior to her disappearance, she was as free as spirit as she could be given the social climate at the time. She seemed to have a strong personality, and didn't let things such as rejected manuscripts, bring her down. Unless there was another side to her personality that has not been mentioned, I'd like to think suicide would not have been an option for Dorothy.

As to the burned papers, they could have been another rejected manuscript. However, they just was well could have been old love letters, a "farewell" note she decided against leaving, or a lot of other things. It's too bad the papers were burned so completely, because they might well have held a clue as to what was on Dorothy's mind at the time of her disappearance.

If you are intrigued by this type of cold case, my particular favorite involves the disappearance of college student Ruth Baumgardner. There is a thread for her on this Websleuths site. This is another case of a supposedly happy, healthy young woman vanishing. Although at first there were some possible sightings of her, she was never found. In her parents' obituaries, Ruth is listed as "the late Ruth Baumgardner", but I believe this is not because Ruth was ever found, but because Ruth was never heard from by her family, and eventually presumed dead.
 
Hi all. My name's Scott, I'm from the UK, and I've just registered with Websleuths solely to share with you my thoughts on this case.

I wonder if anybody else's noticed that although Dorothy claimed the purpose of her trip was to buy a dress for her sister's party there are apparently no reports of anybody seeing her in any of the fashion stores that, then as now, must have thronged Fifth Ave.? It seems to me inconceivable that a prominent Manhattan socialite such as Dorothy should have been able to roam these shops completely unrecognised, searching against the clock for that elusive party "number". One might well ask; did she actually go into any of these shops on that fateful day? And if she in fact didn't, why might that have been?

It's here that a couple of things from the American Heritage article strike me particularly. Assuming all its details are true, 11 or 12 weeks would already have elapsed since her dalliance with Mr Griscom in Boston on the 16-24 Sept. This is almost exactly the point at which an unborn baby starts making itself visible in the course of a typical pregnancy. Could this be why Dorothy dissuaded her mother from joining her on her trip? Some quick research on Google suggests a tight-fitting dress (particularly at the waist) was still the fashion for young ladies in 1910, which would obviously have presented some difficulty to a pregnant Dorothy. Also, she would in all probability have required another woman's help in the changing-room and thus be at risk at giving her secret away. Even if this had been a shop assistant rather than her mother or a close friend, she (Dorothy) surely was not unknown enough that tongues would not start wagging around the town.

I imagine it would almost have been out of the question for Dorothy to choose something from her own wardrobe instead that would still fit her comfortably; this was after all her own sister's coming-out party, and her friends would not fail to notice if she was wearing "some old thing" and, accordingly, move her a few rungs down the social ranking for showing her sister up. It's hard not to think that such thoughts must have been playing on her mind endlessly as she attempted to keep a brave face on things, whilst time was steadily slipping away; it must almost have felt like the final straw when that friend of hers handed Dorothy her note of acceptance to the party during their chance encounter at the bookshop.

What do I think happened after that "final" sighting, given the foregoing? If the American Heritage article is correct in all particulars, then I can think of at least two possibilities; a) that Dorothy did return home, perhaps with a real or feigned headache (hence her mother's enigmatic telephone reply), and at some point blurted out her secret, possibly in answer to why she still hadn't found a dress etc. when the party was only five days away, or b) she fled to a friend's and only got in touch with her family some time afterwards as has already been suggested in this thread. What next after that? I think it very unlikely (though of course I can't discount it totally) that Dorothy died on the abortionist's table: such news would have destroyed her mother utterly, yet she lived on for another 18 years. It could well be she refused to undergo the procedure and so her father saw no option but to banish her from the family home permanently (to Europe? Recall that he was a perfume importer and so would have been in a position to quickly spirit Dorothy away to a new life overseas with the help of some trusted business contacts) and maintain the "missing daughter search" pretence to keep scandal at bay.

I've found a weblink http://coloradoclues.com/Vital%20Statistics%20S-U.htm which, if the info in it is to be believed - see the entry under "Seeley, Dorothy" - suggests another, perhaps additional, reason why her family might have sent Dorothy away; i.e. she refused to go through a shotgun marriage. Something which I have to say seems to be very much in keeping with Dorothy, from what little we know of her.

That's all I have for now. A happy Christmas to you all!
 
Interesting find there, Scott. From the context, it's obvious that Dorothy Seeley was not Dorothy Arnold; however, the little remark about Dorothy's reasons for vanishing could be accurate. Of course, we have to remember that American newspapers of that time, often embellished or fabricated information to make a story more juicy. A little Googling on the "Airship" scare of 1896 should prove amusing.

I got interested in the case while writing a screenplay based on Jack Finney's story, "Of Missing Persons." Dorothy gets a passing mention in my script. Like her, I'm a failed writer :)

Happy holidays and cheers from across the pond!
 
I enjoyed reading your post, in particular your comment about the dress fashions of Dorothy's time. This thought had not occurred to me, but does bolster the pregnancy theory a bit.

You say that you registered with Websleuths solely to share your thoughts about this case, but I hope you will reconsider and take a look at some of the other topics.

Happy holidays to all!
srosser said:
Hi all. My name's Scott, I'm from the UK, and I've just registered with Websleuths solely to share with you my thoughts on this case.


I wonder if anybody else's noticed that although Dorothy claimed the purpose of her trip was to buy a dress for her sister's party there are apparently no reports of anybody seeing her in any of the fashion stores that, then as now, must have thronged Fifth Ave.? It seems to me inconceivable that a prominent Manhattan socialite such as Dorothy should have been able to roam these shops completely unrecognised, searching against the clock for that elusive party "number". One might well ask; did she actually go into any of these shops on that fateful day? And if she in fact didn't, why might that have been?

It's here that a couple of things from the American Heritage article strike me particularly. Assuming all its details are true, 11 or 12 weeks would already have elapsed since her dalliance with Mr Griscom in Boston on the 16-24 Sept. This is almost exactly the point at which an unborn baby starts making itself visible in the course of a typical pregnancy. Could this be why Dorothy dissuaded her mother from joining her on her trip? Some quick research on Google suggests a tight-fitting dress (particularly at the waist) was still the fashion for young ladies in 1910, which would obviously have presented some difficulty to a pregnant Dorothy. Also, she would in all probability have required another woman's help in the changing-room and thus be at risk at giving her secret away. Even if this had been a shop assistant rather than her mother or a close friend, she (Dorothy) surely was not unknown enough that tongues would not start wagging around the town.

I imagine it would almost have been out of the question for Dorothy to choose something from her own wardrobe instead that would still fit her comfortably; this was after all her own sister's coming-out party, and her friends would not fail to notice if she was wearing "some old thing" and, accordingly, move her a few rungs down the social ranking for showing her sister up. It's hard not to think that such thoughts must have been playing on her mind endlessly as she attempted to keep a brave face on things, whilst time was steadily slipping away; it must almost have felt like the final straw when that friend of hers handed Dorothy her note of acceptance to the party during their chance encounter at the bookshop.

What do I think happened after that "final" sighting, given the foregoing? If the American Heritage article is correct in all particulars, then I can think of at least two possibilities; a) that Dorothy did return home, perhaps with a real or feigned headache (hence her mother's enigmatic telephone reply), and at some point blurted out her secret, possibly in answer to why she still hadn't found a dress etc. when the party was only five days away, or b) she fled to a friend's and only got in touch with her family some time afterwards as has already been suggested in this thread. What next after that? I think it very unlikely (though of course I can't discount it totally) that Dorothy died on the abortionist's table: such news would have destroyed her mother utterly, yet she lived on for another 18 years. It could well be she refused to undergo the procedure and so her father saw no option but to banish her from the family home permanently (to Europe? Recall that he was a perfume importer and so would have been in a position to quickly spirit Dorothy away to a new life overseas with the help of some trusted business contacts) and maintain the "missing daughter search" pretence to keep scandal at bay.

I've found a weblink http://coloradoclues.com/Vital%20Statistics%20S-U.htm which, if the info in it is to be believed - see the entry under "Seeley, Dorothy" - suggests another, perhaps additional, reason why her family might have sent Dorothy away; i.e. she refused to go through a shotgun marriage. Something which I have to say seems to be very much in keeping with Dorothy, from what little we know of her.

That's all I have for now. A happy Christmas to you all!
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Thanks for bumping this, Richard. I still find this an intriguing matter. I believe the family learned what happened to Dorothy at some point, and that she was not dead. I think perhaps the morality of the day kept the truth of Dorothy's "disappearance" from being revealed.
 
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