Elsie Paroubek

Elsie Paroubek

Eliška "Elsie" Paroubek (* 1906 in Chicago ; † 1911 ) was a Bohemian - American kidnapping and murder victim . Illinois , Wisconsin, and Minnesota police kept her disappearance and search for her busy for six weeks. Her funeral was attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people. Paroubek's story and a photo of her featured in the Chicago Daily News were the main inspirations for Henry Darger in his fantasy novel The Story of the Vivian Girls.

origin

Elsie's mother was Karolina Paroubek (nee Vojáček), who was born on November 26, 1869 in Bohemia, what is now the Czech Republic . Her father František (Frank) Paroubek was born on November 15, 1867, also in Bohemia. He and Karolina married there in 1892. Eliška (Elsie) was their seventh child.

Disappear

On the morning of April 8, 1911, Paroubek left her home at 2320 S. Albany Avenue in Chicago. She said that she wanted to visit her aunt, who lived around the corner at 2325 S. Troy Street. On the way she met her nine-year-old cousin Josie Trampota and several other children that a Drehorgelspieler listening, who was near Trampotas home. When the organ grinder moved to the corner at 23rd St., the children followed him, but eventually left, leaving only Paroubek behind. Several hours later, Karolina went to her sister's house and found that Elsie never got there. Since she had many friends in this area, her mother assumed that someone else was visiting her, probably staying overnight, and coming home the next morning. At 9 p.m. that day, after Frank Paroubek returned from work, he went to the police station on Hinman Street to report his daughter missing. When she did not return the next day either, Captain John Mahoney took over the search for her personally.

Roma were suspected after a neighborhood child named John Jirowski told investigators at Maxwell Street Police Station, run by Inspector Stephen K. Healey, that he saw a clapboard cart on Kedzie Ave., one block from Troy Street where two women held a little girl. Several Roma camps were investigated on the Des Plaines River near Kedzie. Local residents told investigators that a car left a camp on the morning of April 9th. The main reason why the kidnapped by Roma theory was believed at the time was that Paroubek's disappearance was almost identical to that of Lillian Wulff, who was kidnapped by Roma four years earlier. Elsie's father Frank offered all of his savings, $ 50 (= $ 1165 as of today), as a reward. Investigators from Maxwell Street Station searched the Italian neighborhood on West 14th and S. Halsted Streets after a child whose description matched Elsie's description was seen with an organ grinder. Inspector Healey also ordered the investigation of drains on April 15, and Governor Charles S. Deneen asked the public for help with the search.

detection

Investigators Komorous and Sheehan accompanied Frank Paroubek on his search for the wacky car that was initially suspected to be heading for Round Lake, Illinois, a village 50 miles northwest of Chicago where seven cars were parked. Vigilance was advised to farmers in the area. When the locals began questioning the Roma about Elsie and attempted to search the wagons, they broke camp again and moved to Volo, Illinois, 43 miles from Chicago. The residents of Volos reported a child who fits Elsie's description and said that he appeared to be “drugged” and “drugged” and was partially covered with a blanket. They also tried to search the wagons, but the Roma immediately demolished camp and moved to McHenry, Illinois , about 60 miles from Chicago. When the police reached her in McHenry, they discovered that the girl herself was a Roma and did not fit Elsie's description. In the meantime, Capt. Mahoney men on April 12th and 15th searching the canals near Elsie's home.

Several times children were found in camps who looked similar to Elsie, so that Frank was often briefly certain that it was his daughter and he first had to be convinced of the misconception.

The reason for their abduction was listed by the police as "the wandering people's natural love for blue-eyed, yellow-haired children".

On April 17, Capt. Mahoney received an anonymous notification over the phone that a child who fits Elsie's description was seen with a man at a hotel in Western Springs, Illinois. However, the investigators found nothing there. The Sycamore, Illinois , Ogden Police Chief escorted Frank Paroubek to search Roma cars near Cherry Valley, Illinois , but found no child who matched Elsie's description. Meanwhile, Hinman Street police were answering questions from journalists about an alleged $ 500 ransom that Karolina was alleged to have received. Official knowledge of this has been contested, but it has not been ruled out.

On April 20, Frank's six-year-old son of the same name was spotted by neighbors digging with a pickaxe and shovel on South Troy Street. When asked, Frank said there was a lot of construction going on the day Elsie disappeared and he overheard his parents speculating that she might have fallen into a hole. The workers on the street said it was possible, but they noticed it right away. Meanwhile, other fair-skinned children traveling with Roma have been reported in the West End and Kings, Illinois.

Lillian Wulff was a kidnap victim herself and supported the police in their search for Paroubek

In the second week after Paroubek's disappearance, eleven-year-old Lilian Wullf offered her support. Four years earlier, she was kidnapped by Roma and held captive for six days until she was finally found in Momence, Illinois. She provided information on Roma cultural behavior and volunteered to lead a "rescue group". One of the men who kidnapped Wullf at the time suggested interviewing Elijah George, whom he described as the "King of the Gypsies". George was found and interviewed in Argyle, Wisconsin without "providing the information requested" and was released. At this point, Healey again ordered the investigation of canals and also of wells and other places Paroubek might have fallen into.

On April 23, Lt. John Costello of the Hinman Street Police Station told reporters that any "kidnapping" notice had been exhausted. He was certain that Paroubek was "attacked and mistreated", was now dead and that her body was now in the basement of an empty house or an abandoned barn. He directed investigators to search empty buildings, barns, shacks, elevators, gullies and basements on or near South Albany Avenue. Several investigators brought spades to dig up any piece of earth that appeared recently changed. Healey joined in with investigators Perry and Egan in the search. At the same time, Costello sent two police officers to the outskirts of the city to investigate a lead he received through a phone call that he did not want to share with journalists. Investigative Captain Stephen Wood tracked all Roma cars and wrote to all police officers in the Belvidere, Rockford and Janesville, Wisconsin areas asking them to search for Paroubek. He was certain at the time that she was either detained for a ransom, involved in an accident and either dead or unable to speak in a hospital or "by a degenerate" from one of the slums in the alley Was killed near her home.

On the same day, a neighbor told the police that she saw Paroubek at around 11am the day she went missing, who was still with the organ grinder and was talking to an unknown man across the street.

The following day, the Chicago Daily News devoted an entire column to the search, calling it "one of the largest, most far-reaching searches ever made on a missing child." Twenty police officers and 100 volunteers were involved in Costello's search within about a mile of Paroubek's home. It has been dubbed "one of the most remarkable investigations of its kind" due to the immense public interest and the large number of children who volunteered in the search. Many children described themselves as friends of Paroubek. They offered to look for her or clues to her whereabouts in “extraordinary places”.

On April 29, Healey dispatched an investigator to Zion City, Illinois, to investigate a lead from the city's deputy sheriff. Again a Paroubek-looking child is said to have been seen in a Roma camp and again this child was Roma himself.

On 30 April, the superintendent of schools, Ella Flagg Young , instructed all school children in the Chicago area so that, during the holidays to organize search operations. Meanwhile, Frank Paroubek consulted a mentalist who told him Elsie was in Argo, Wisconsin. The Chicago politician Charles J. Vopicka unsuccessfully sent police officers to the place she stated. The search "jumped from Illinois to Wisconsin, and from there to Minnesota and then back to Illinois," with no result.

A few days after Elsie's disappearance, Frank Paroubek received the first anonymous "insulting" letters. It said that Elsie was being hidden by someone who "hated" the Paroubeks and accused them of mistreating them. Frank burned the letters. Nevertheless, investigators Zahour and Zalasky tried to follow this lead.

The Czech community gathered to support the Paroubeks. All Czech-speaking police officers were assigned to the investigation. The Bohemian Club staff created an "endless chain letter" sent to all parts of the city asking recipients to send copies of these letters to everyone they knew. Several Czech-American politicians took part. The Bohemian Charitable Association held a meeting with Mayor Carter Harrison, Jr. on April 22nd and then announced that they would be offering a reward of $ 500 (today = approximately $ 11,500) and more could be raised. Harrison donated $ 25 (today = about $ 600) and sent a special police force from City Hall. A department also worked with the police from Hinman Street Station on Lawndale Ave. Anton Cermak , an elderly man at the time , said if Paroubek is not found by the next city council meeting on May 1, he will ask the council to offer an even bigger reward. At the time, offering a reward for arresting kidnappers as opposed to arresting murderers was prohibited. On April 26, Governor Deneen said he planned to ask the legislature to change the law so that the state of Illinois itself could offer a reward.

Judge Adolph J. Sabath spoke to the Paroubeks several times and donated an additional $ 25 as a reward. By May 2, he increased his contribution to $ 100 and held meetings with Czech companies to discuss ways to further increase the reward.

Every sighting of a girl dressed in red in a Roma camp was reported to the police. By May 1, police had almost given up on the theory that Paroubek was kidnapped by Roma and focused more on searching wells and canals. Judge Sabath said that the police had become "listless" due to the poverty of Elsie's parents. He was "inundated" with letters mainly containing monetary contributions to increase the reward from across the country and added another $ 100 to his own contribution. One of these letters was from Dr. GT Screeton of Carlisle from Arkansas , which among other things contained the following statement: “Dear judge: Regarding the disappearance of Elsie Paroubek, I will say that a group of 40 Roma men and 4 Roma women together with 18 children between the ages of 3 months and 18 years were seen last week at Union Station in Little Rock, Ark. None of these children looked like they were of Roma origin. "

In the meantime, investigators Zahour and Zalasky were looking for a man who is said to have been the alleged author of the anonymous threatening letters addressed to Frank Paroubek. Costello and Healey stated, “Elsie Paroubek fell into a drainage canal by or near the bridge on Kedzie Avenue. She was not murdered. ”They believed the author of these letters witnessed this incident.

As of May 7, 25 Roma groups had been searched and several false leads followed. Mahoney said he believed Paroubek was dead and the police were looking for her body.

Judge Sabath also ordered an investigation into Elsie's parents on May 7th, looking for something in their past that may have led someone to kidnap her.

discovery

Two days later, electrical engineer George T. Scully and others at a power station in Lockport near Joliet , 34 miles outside of Chicago, discovered a corpse floating in a sewer. They sent a boat to take them ashore. Undertaker William Goodale examined the body and said that it appeared to fit Paroubek's description. He suspects the body had been in the water for several weeks and was only slightly decomposed. Another autopsy report stated that the body was badly decomposed, but that there was "no sign of violence" on its body.

Goodale notified the Chicago authorities, who sent Costello to the Paroubeks' home. Frank was taken to Goodale's mourning hall at midnight . Frank recognized Elsie's clothes, but couldn't recognize her face.

Karolina arrived by tram the next day in the mourning hall and identified her daughter there. After that, she sat with Frank in a neighboring room for an hour, crying and praying. Goodale told police that the body appeared to have been in the water for about a month, which would coincide with the date of Paroubek's disappearance. In addition, the clothes she wore that day are identical to those of the corpse. The only difference was their eye color, which was no longer clearly visible.

A judicial investigation into the cause of death was quickly arranged. Frank Paroubek was the first to witness the autopsy. He ignored questions from the coroner and was immediately convinced that his daughter had been murdered by Roma and thrown into the canal.

Karolina suffered a nervous breakdown and attracted a lot of onlookers. Frank calmed her down and sent her home on a tram.

In the meantime, the coroner said, “This case has received so much attention that only a brief examination will be done. We will not be satisfied with such a superficial examination. The jury will not issue a verdict as it cannot render a verdict until after the autopsy. We will examine the little girl's stomach contents and lungs. The father pleads for murder. It is quite likely that he is right. "

The two doctors EA Kingston and WR Paddock confirm that there was no water in her lungs, so she did not drown. Kingston said she was "attacked" and murdered before she was thrown into the water. Paddock said there was enough evidence that she was "wounded" before she was murdered. Costello later told the press that Paroubek had been “ill-treated”, which apparently indicates that she was not killed by Roma. They also found "deep cuts" on the left side of her face. According to various investigations, she was either strangled or suffocated. The official cause of death was recorded as "unknown". Coroner Peter Hoffman agreed with Frank Paroubek on his theory about Elsie's death: “We believe that the kidnapper suffocated the child to death; probably by covering her mouth. "

The coroner's report recommended that authorities investigate further. Healey hired investigators to find out what really happened. He said, “We have a theory or two, but nothing specific enough to even talk about. I intend to assign more men to the case tomorrow. ”Costello re-investigated the anonymous letters. Meanwhile, the New York Times presented Hoffman's and Frank's theory as a fact.

On the evening of May 9th, Karolina gave an interview where she was surrounded by friends and neighbors. She told journalists: “Before the doctors found out that Elsie's lungs had no water and found evidence that she was asphyxiated, I knew she had been murdered. A picture of the crime has been in my head since the second week of its disappearance and I am convinced that as soon as the truth is known, and it will be most certain, it will become clear that in the week after April 8th, She was strangled when she was kidnapped on the way to her aunt. ”She also called on the authorities to find and punish the murderers.

Karolina told Judge Sabath that the search had used up the family's savings and that they had no money to bury them. Sabath handed her a check for $ 25 and promised to raise more donations. Friends and family members continued to raise money for the Paroubeks. Sophie Johanes raised over $ 50 by giving a fundraiser and raising funds from Czechs across the west coast .

Funeral service

Paroubek's funeral took place at 10am on May 12, 1911, in the back yard of the family home. 2000 to 3000 people were present. Hours before the ceremony, Albany Avenue, the Paroubeks' backyard, and the balconies and verandas of the neighboring houses were filled with mourners. There wasn't a hall in the area large enough to accommodate all the guests. Frank was offered the use of a hall, but pointed to the high level of interest and said: “You have come to say goodbye to my Elsie. You shouldn't be disappointed. ”Police from the Hinman Street Police Station were called in to maintain order.

Paroubek's white coffin stood on two brass stands surrounded by flowers sent by Mayor Harrison, Judge Sabath, and other city officials. Karolina, Frank and their other children stood next to the coffin. Since the Paroubeks were free thinkers , there were no prayers and the funeral oration was given by Rudolph Jaromir Psenka, an editor of the Czech newspaper Chicago Daily Svornost . He said it was important to cooperate with the police to find Elsie's killer. When the undertakers were about to lift the coffin into the hearse, Karolina asked her to open it to see her daughter's face again, but her relatives convinced her not to. Most of the guests followed Paroubek's coffin as he was transported to the Bohemian National Cemetery , where Psenka gave another speech.

Further investigation

Police Chief John McWeeny vowed to mobilize all of the Chicago police force to find the killer. Elderly Cermak asked Governor Deneen to add another $ 200 to the reward. Coroner Peter Hoffman started another public reward fund and contributed $ 25 himself.

Based on Paroubek's location, investigators suspected Joseph Konesti to be the killer. The Rockford Republic According Konesti was definitively identified by the investigators under the command of Captain Wood as the killer. He described him as a "bearded Bohemian" and a "peddling hermit". He is said to have "repeatedly lured little girls to his hut by the drainage canal", which was about a mile from Elsie's house, and he is said to have been seen "several times near the Paroubeks' house". The cabin owner, Mrs. Shaunessy, told police that she had complained to Konesti about "bringing children to the house" and evicting him on May 9th. One day later Konesti threw himself in front of a train. Five days later, he was acquitted of all guilt.

On May 15, Frank told police that he had spoken to a man he did not know who told him he had seen Elsie on Kedzie Avenue, south of 28th St., in the late afternoon of April 8, long after she was allegedly Roma supposed to have been kidnapped. Costello directed investigators to find this man. Elsie's previously reported sighting stated she was alleged to have walked to the canal on South Troy St., half a block from her aunt's house. If the unknown man was supposed to have told the truth, Elsie was only three blocks from a bridge. Despite the results of the autopsy, Costello was convinced that Elsie's death was just an accident and that she simply fell into the sewer, even though Healey had the sewers examined several times during the search. Hoffman continued to insist that Elsie be murdered. There was apparently some confusion during the first autopsy. The first medic (presumably Kingston) to examine Paroubek on the night of May 9th told Costello that she had drowned and that there was no sign of violence. Costello later told the family this too. The following day, however, the autopsy found that Elsie had not drowned and that she was apparently suffocated.

Investigators surrounded a house near Madison and Robey Streets and carried out a computer manhunt in the southwestern part of the city to find a former Paroubeks pensioner. They continued to search for the author of the anonymous letters sent to Frank. Apparently neither the guest, nor the letter writer, nor the unknown man Frank spoke to was ever found. To this day, Eliška Paroubek's death has not been fully explained. Frank Paroubek died two years after Elsie's funeral at the age of 45. Karolina died on December 9, 1927. Both are buried together with their daughter in the Bohemian National Cemetery.

legacy

Although Paroubek's mysterious disappearance and death at the time sparked immense police investigations and was the focus of the press, the story was long forgotten until the writer Henry Darger died in 1973. Michael Bonesteel, an art historian, examined Darger's works. In his novel, Story of the Vivian Girls, he found several allusions to Paroubek in the protagonist of the book, Annie Aronburg , the leader of a child slave rebellion. He also found evidence of a photo of Paroubek, which served as an inspiration for his novel, and which he lost. Aronburg is murdered by her kidnappers in the book (the murder is described in detail but is in no way similar to Paroubek's death). According to Darger's diary, he lost a photo of a girl and was trying to get it back or replace it. He did not mention her name, but said it appeared in the Chicago Daily News in May, June, or July 1911. During Bonesteel's search in newspaper archives, he discovered Paroubek and her story. A portrait of Aronburg drawn by Darger shows a slightly older-looking blond-haired girl. Her headband and the distinctive collar of her dress are similar to Paroubek's in her photo. In the novel, Darger describes children who are kidnapped and abused by adults while the heroic little Vivians, Annie Aronburg and others from "rescue teams" rescue them.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Eliška "Elsie" Paroubek (1906–1911) - Find A Grave Memorial . Findagrave.com.
2. ↑ Start Big Search for Girl's Slayer: Bohemian Society Offers $ 500 Reward for Murderer of Elsie Paroubek. In: Chicago Tribune. May 10, 1911.
3. ^ ^{A b} Frantisek "Frank" Paroubek . findagrave.com.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Karolina Vojacek Paroubek . findagrave.com
5. ^ Chicago Daily News. April 12, 1911, p. 2.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Girl Missing: Gypsies Suspected. In: Chicago Daily News. April 12, 1911.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Girl Missing: Gypsies Sought. In: Morning Leader. (Regina, SK) April 15, 1911.
8. ^ Paroubek Girl Dead in Canal. In: Rockford Daily Register-Gazette. May 9, 1911, p. 4.
9. ↑ Redouble Efforts to Find Little Elsie Paroubek. In: Rockford Republic. April 24, 1911, p. 3.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Girl Rescued from Gypsies: Lillian Wulff Was Kidnapped from Her Chicago Home. In: New York Times. December 14, 1907, p. 1.
11. ↑ ^{a b} Posse Seeks Girl with Gypsies. In: Chicago Daily News. April 14, 1911, p. 2.
12. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Canal Yields Up Body of Missing Elsie Paroubek: Descriptions Tally Exactly, But Father Awaits Mother's Full Identification. In: Chicago Tribune. May 9, 1911.
13. ↑ Return: Quest for Girl in Vain. In: Chicago Daily News. April 15, 1911, p. 2.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Parobek [sic] Hunt Is Wide. Chicago Daily News. April 25, 1911.
15. ↑ Think Gypsies Have His Girl: Father & A Policeman on the Trail of Nomads. In: Los Angeles Times. April 15, 1911.
16. ↑ Sent to Look for Missing Girl. In: Chicago Daily News. April 17, 1911, p. 2.
17. ^ Search For Missing Girl Is Vain. In: Chicago Daily News. April 19, 1911, p. 2.
18. ^ Daily Oklahoman, April 21, 1911.
19. ↑ White Child With Gypsies: West Ender Saw Her in Wagon Which Passed Through Yesterday. In: Rockford Daily Register-Gazette. April 21, 1911.
20. ↑ Girl Once Stolen Is Sleuth: Lillian Wulff Gives Advice in Searching for Elsie Paroubek. In: Chicago Tribune. April 24, 1911.
21. ↑ ^{a b} Police with Spades Seek Girl. In: Chicago Daily News. April 24, 1911.
22. ^ Police Now Believe Paroubek Girl Slain. In: Daily Register-Gazette. (Rockford, IL). April 25, 1911.
23. ↑ Redouble Efforts to Find Little Elsie Paroubek. In: Rockford Republic. April 24, 1911.
24. ^ Get New Clew to Elsie Parobek. In: Chicago Daily News. April 29, 1911.
25. ^ School Children Hunt Girl: Mrs. Ella Flagg Young Sends Out Appeal in Paroubek Case. In: Chicago Tribune. April 30, 1911.
26. ^ Children of Chicago Hunt Kidnapped Girl. In: Washington Times. April 30, 1911.
27. ↑ ^{a b c} Seek New Witness to Prove Paroubek Death Accident: Man Sought Says He Saw Child on Street Near Drainage Canal - "Old Bismarck" 's Name Cleared. In: Chicago Tribune. May 15, 1911.
28. ↑ Price Put On Murderer. In: Springfield Daily Illinois State Register. May 11, 1911, p. 2.
29. ^ Try Endless Letter Chain in Search for Child. In: Rockford Republic. April 28, 1911, p. 16.
30. ↑ Mayor Aids Lost Girl Hunt: More Police to Seek Elsie Paroubek, Supposedly Kidnapped. ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Chicago Tribune. April 23, 1911. 
31. ↑ Emergency legislation permitting Governor Deneen to offer a reward for the safe return of Elsie Paroubek ... was started in the general assembly at Springfield yesterday. Ban kidnapping. In: Grand Forks, ND Herald. April 27, 1911, p. 3.
32. ↑ Friends Plan Wide Search for Missing Paroubek Girl: Will Search Gypsy Camps in 2 States and Ask Gov. Deneen To Lend Aid. In: Chicago Tribune. April 27, 1911 secure.pqarchiver.com  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
33. ^ ^{A b} Money Sent for Parobek Hunt. In: Chicago Daily News. May 2, 1911.
34. ^ New Lost Girl Clew Fails: Child Seen at Judson, Ill.Gypsy Camp Proves Not To Be Elsie Paroubek. In: Chicago Tribune. May 1, 1911, p. 3 ( pqasb.pqarchiver.com ).
35. ↑ Calls for a Bigger Reward for Missing Paroubek Girl: Judge Sabath Says Police Interest Wanes and Should Be Stimulated by an Increase in Bounty. In: Chicago Tribune. May 3, 1911.
36. ↑ M'Weeny Declares Child Was Murdered. In: Chicago Inter-Ocean. May 3, 1911.
37. Jump up ↑ Police Seek West Side Man to Solve Paroubek Mystery: Believe Resident of District Near Madison and Robey Street Wrote Threatening Letters. In: Chicago Tribune. May 13, 1911, p. 3.
38. ↑ Elsie Paroubek Lost 4 Weeks: Police to Hunt For Dead Body. In: Chicago Tribune. May 7, 1911.
39. ↑ All Clews to Girl False. In: Chicago Examiner. May 7, 1911.
40. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Paroubek Girl Slain: Tragic Events in Day. In: Chicago Daily News. May 9, 1911.
41. ^ Body of Paroubek Girl, Long Missing, Taken from River. In: Chicago Inter-Ocean. May 9, 1911, p. 1.
42. ↑ ^{a b c d} Sees in Vision Kidnappers Kill Paroubek Girl: Mother's Intuition Adds Pathetic Proof to Already Established Fact that Child Found in the Drainage Canal Was Slain by Abductors. In: Chicago Inter-Ocean. May 10, 1911.
43. ↑ Paroubek Girl Is Dead. In: Chicago Daily News. May 9, 1911.
44. ↑ ^{a b} Start Big Search for Girl's Slayer: Bohemian Society Offers $ 500 Reward for Murderer of Elsie Paroubek. In: Chicago Tribune. May 10, 1911.
45. ↑ Girl Killed: Not Drowned. In: Rockford Daily Register-Gazette. May 10, 1911, p. 12.
46. ↑ ^{a b c d} Reward For Slayer $ 1000: Deneen Adds $ 200 to Aid in Capture of Paroubek Murderer. In: Chicago Tribune. May 11, 1911.
47. ^ Kidnappers Kill Child .; Reward Offered for Abductors of Elsie Paroubek, Found in Canal. In: The New York Times. May 12, 1911.
48. ^ Collection for Benefit of the Paroubek Family. In: Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey.
49. ↑ ^{a b} Bury Paroubek Girl: Funeral Held In Yard. In: Chicago Daily News. May 11, 1911.
50. ↑ Lower family papers .
51. ↑ Little Girl Sought By Schoolmates Found Dead: Officials Think Murder. In: Rockford Daily Register-Gazette. May 12, 1911, p. 1.
52. ↑ ^{a b} 2,000 See Paroubek Burial: Suspect Peddler of Murder. In: Chicago Tribune. May 12, 1911.
53. ^ ^{A b} Found Elsie's Murderer. In: Rockford Republic. May 12, 1911, p. 13.
54. ↑ Hilda S. Polacheck: I Came a Stranger . University of Illinois Press, 1991, ISBN 0-252-06218-3 .
55. ↑ ^{a b} Police and Coroner at Outs Over Paroubek Girl's Death: Former Cling to Belief Little Elsie Fell Into Canal, While Hoffman Asserts the Child Was Murdered. In: Chicago Tribune. May 14, 1911.
56. ↑ Michael Bonesteel, Henry Darger: Art and Selected Writings. In: Rizzoli International Publications. 2001.
57. ^ John MacGregor, Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal. Delano Greenidge Editions, 2002, ISBN 0-929445-15-5 , pp. 494-496.

Web links

Elsie Paroubek, killed in Chicago, 1911 . websleuths.com.