WHAT EVIL LURKS AT No. 666 MACON? (1903)
Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes.
The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations.
Do you know the history of YOUR house?
********************************************************************************************************************************
Back in 1903, society saw less evil in the world. Especially in its own neighborhoods. Some people, though, saw it all around them.
It was not certain which vantage point drove Ebba Stolpe, but she clearly saw the gathering forces of darkness over 666 Macon Street.
LITTLE AMANDA STOLPE
Little Amanda Stolpe (Ebba’s younger sister) was just 11 years old when her father died. For reasons that are not clear, Amanda’s step-mother decided that Amanda could be better taken care of by another family.
The Bodines, who took little Amanda in, were John and his purported “wife,” Augusta. They were the caretakers of the Sixteenth Assembly District Republican Clubhouse – commonly referred to as the King’s County Men’s Club.
Located at 666 Macon Street, in a 2-story and basement brownstone, the King’s County Republican Club was one of the “best known political clubs in Brooklyn,” according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and included amongst its members “many men well known in the business and public life of the city.”
Well-known or not, when Ebba found out that her 11-year-old sister was living and working – for Amanda helped with the cleaning and the sweeping at the clubhouse – at the King’s County Republican Club, she was none too pleased. She and some of their relatives and friends complained that Amanda was in “unfit hands and that her morals are being corrupted.”
One friend of the Stolbe’s, Franklin McNamee, would later appear at a hearing to say that he could prove that the clubhouse was an improper place and that caretaker Bodine was not married to the woman he claimed as his wife. Furthermore, McNamee said, there was constant drinking in the house, and little Amanda had been taught to drink. He noted that the club was frequented entirely by men and that the girl had their company forced upon her.
A complaint charging “improper guardianship,” was lodged and the case was set for examination before a Brooklyn court.
On the date of the examination, Amanda, “a bright little Swedish girl,” tearfully denied all of these charges, saying that she had a good home. John Bodine, stated, “with some show of spirit,” that the clubhouse was an eminently proper place and that Amanda was being brought up with a special regard for the good of her morals.
THE OUTCOME OF THE COURT HEARING
The outcome of this case is not recorded, but it is a safe guess that if Ebba was requesting guardianship of Amanda, it is probable – unless there were any prohibitive circumstances – that she succeeded. This outcome, though, may have had to have recognized the possible negative influences that a large house filled with (Republican) men might have had on a little girl. Either way, it must have cast a pall on this staid and serious political establishment.
And perhaps that was the motive all along.
Filed, perhaps, under “possible motives,” Franklin McNamee, who spoke so forcefully against the character of the members of the 666 Macon Republican men’s club, turned out to be a member of the Prohibition Party – a political opponent of the Republicans. Additionally, McNamee had even run a political race against a member of the King’s County Republican Club in 1897 – and lost – for an assembly seat in the Sixteenth District.
Thus, sour grapes, long fermented in this case, may have been the bitter cup to drink – and the motive – especially for an attack on an organization’s club known for its drinking – and possibly its corruption of youth.
———————————————————————————————————————–
Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
