photos of the birthplaces of Theodore Dreiser and his brother Paul, Terre Haute, IN

 

The birthplace of songwriter Paul Dresser (1857-1906); he was Theodore Dreiser’s older brother. The house has been renovated and was moved from its original location in Terre Haute to a site in the same town on the banks of the Wabash River. Photo by Roger W. Smith.

Paul Dresser Birthplace, Fairbanks Park, Terre Haute, IN; photo by Roger W. Smith

sculpture honoring songwriter Paul Dresser, created by Teresa Clark; Fairbanks Park, Terre Haute, IN; photo by Roger W. Smith

sculpture honoring Paul Dresser; photo by Roger W. Smith

“Here is a picture of the house in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the Dreisers lived from 1872 to 1877. Its address was 203 S. 12th Street, and it was located on the southwest corner of that intersection. Some say Theodore was born here. Others say he was born at 523 S. 9th Street. Edward Dreiser was definitely born here. This house was torn down about 2011. The date of this photo is unknown.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy Ms. Dehler.

“This was taken just a few years before the house was torn down in 2011. I lived just a few blocks from this home from 1978 to 1989. It had these cedar shingles on it at that time and was surrounded by a pretty white picket fence. I was aware that it was a Dreiser house during most of that period when I lived nearby and I always wondered why the city did not get a historical marker erected in the yard.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy Ms. Dehler.

“Here is a bird’s eye view of the property, taken from a real estate site for Vigo county. This photo is, I assume, from google earth and it is dated April 2008.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy of Ms. Dehler.

“This is a drawing of the home made by artist Franklin Booth, date unknown. The printed caption across the bottom of this print says ‘Franklin’s impression of my birthplace.’ I believe that caption is attributed to Theodore Dreiser.” Comment by Tamie Dehler. Photo courtesy of Ms. Dehler.

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   March 2017

Dreiser’s Trilogy of Desire: “Reading for the Age of Trump”

 

To the Editor:

Several articles and letters in the Book Review have addressed dystopian literature and the Trump administration. To these titles I would add Theodore Dreiser’s Trilogy of Desire (“The Financier,” “The Titan” and “The Stoic”). These novels are based on the life of the robber baron Charles Yerkes.

The ruthless doings and outrageous behavior of the fictional Frank Cowperwood not only shed light on Trump but on the members of his billionaire cabinet as well. It’s a shame Dreiser’s works are largely unread today, especially in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse.

Mark Kisselbach

Phillipsburg, N.J.

The New York Times Book Review, March 12, 2017

 

— posted by Roger W. Smith

   March 2017

Roger W. Smith, “The Real Julia Hurstwood and the Lutz Murder Case”

 

‘The Real Julia Hurstwood and the Lutz Murder Case

Note – the Word document above containing the article by Roger W. Smith on which this post is based has been updated as of March 16, 2017 with some new content based upon news accounts appearing in Chicago newspapers in February 1886.

 

Theodore Dreiser drew heavily on real life incidents in writing his first novel, Sister Carrie. The main persons behind the story were his sister Emma and her lover, Lorenzo A. Hopkins.

I have done some investigating attempting to dig out more facts about Emma, about Hopkins, and about their relationship and children. There is much confusion despite what scholars have already managed to uncover. Dreiser himself gave sketchy accounts in his autobiographical writings.

I was aware that Hopkins’s wife, before he became involved with Emma Dreiser, was named Margaret and that they had one child, a daughter named Maria, who around 18 years old when Hopkins stole money from his employer in Chicago and absconded with Emma.

There was a Margaret Lutz, a married woman who seemed to be right age as Hopkins’s wife, who was murdered in 1900 — 14 years after her husband absconded — by her brother-in-law and who was, at the time, living just down the street (on the same block) from where she and Hopkins were previously living. Could this be the same woman as Margaret Hopkins, who had remarried a man surnamed Lutz?

It turned out that it indeed was. The key to proving this was that I recently found records of Margaret Hopkins’s divorce from her first husband, Lorenzo Hopkins, and her marriage to Alfred Lutz around eight years before she was murdered.

Attached below as a downloadable Word document is a new article of mine about the case and its relationship to the portrayal of Hurstwood and his wife Julia in Sister Carrie.

 

— Roger W. Smith

   March 2017

 

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Addendum:

Also posted here below as a downloadable PDF document is a brief genealogical report for Margaret (Menkler Hopkins) Lutz.

Descendants of Margaret Menkler

 

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See also:

“Lorenzo A. Hopkins (the real George Hurstwood)”

Lorenzo A. Hopkins (the real George Hurstwood)