Scandals in Presidential History: The Shooting of Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown was Calvin Coolidge's second cousin. He was also the first Senator elected to represent the state of Utah after it became a state in 1896. He only served in the Senate until the election of 1896 and in 1897 his successor took over for him. I suppose that his distant relationship to Coolidge and his brief tenure in Washington gives this story a tenuous connection to Presidential history. But it's an interesting one so I will include it in this series, given that Brown has the distinction of being the only member of the Senate to be killed by his mistress (so far). He was also given a unique nickname by Linda Thatcher, one of his biographers, who called him "the Gentle Polygamist".
Arthur Brown was born March 8, 1843, on a farm near Schoolcraft, Michigan. When he was 13 years old, his family moved to Yellow Springs, Ohio. There he attended Antioch College, graduating in 1862. Two years later he obtained a law degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He practiced law in Kalamazoo, and was successful as a lawyer, building a large and lucrative practice. He married a woman about whom little is know, referred to in articles only as Mrs. L. C. Brown. The couple had one child, a daughter named Alice.
While he was living in Kalamazoo, Brown became smitten with a young woman named Isabel Cameron. She was the daughter of a Michigan state senator. News of the affair soon became public knowledge, and Brown and his first wife separated. With his reputation injured, he moved to Salt Lake City in 1879 where he hoped to be appointed as U.S. district attorney for Utah. His plans didn't pan out, so he set up a private law practice. He was much more successful when it came to romance, as Isabel Cameron followed him to Utah. As soon as his divorce from the former Mrs. Brown came through, he and Isabel were married. Together they had one son, named Max.
Brown had become a successful attorney, and was also involved in Republican Party politics. In 1896 the predominantly Republican Legislature elected him and Frank J. Cannon as the first U.S. senators for the new state of Utah. The office was sought by several prominent men in the state. Brown would only serve in the Senate until the next election. His term ended on March 4, 1897. He was now 53 years of age, but he had not lost his desire for younger women. Through his work in the Republican party Brown met 19 year old Anne Bradley in 1892. The two of them began to work closely together and by the time of his election in 1896 the senator developed a closer relationship with Bradley that crossed the boundaries of simply politics.
Anne Bradley was born on January 7, 1873, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her family moved to Utah in 1890 and Anne worked as a clerk in the Salt Lake Water Works Department. On September 20, 1893, she married Clarence A. Bradley, who was employed with the Rio Grande Western Railroad. They had two children, Matthew and Martha Clare. Anne was active in the community. She belonged to the Salt Lake City Woman's Club, the Utah Woman's Press Club, and the Poets' Roundtable Society. She was also the editor of the Utah State Federation of Women's Clubs' publication. And she was also a Republican. In 1900 she served as secretary of the fifth ward Republican Committee and as secretary of the State Republican Committee in 1902.
Anne stopped living with her husband in 1898. She claimed that at first she spurned the advances of Senator Brown, but she claimed that she fell in love with him. At her trial, said "He began coming to my house at very unseemly hours, and I told him it must stop, but he answered. 'Darling, we will go through life together. I want you to have a son' and after several months we did." She said that Brown had assured her that he planned to get a divorce from his wife, but that he was having problems negotiating a property settlement. She said that he gave her an engagement ring and that the two of them took a trip to Washington, D.C. together, along with his daughter Alice. On this trip, Bradley said that she traveled posing as Brown's wife.
Brown separated from his second wife and was living in the Independence Block area of Salt Lake City. In 1902, his wife Isabel Brown hired private detective Samuel Dowse to follow Brown and Bradley. On September 28, 1902, both were arrested on charges of adultery. By this time Arthur Brown had begun divorce proceedings, but Isobel Brown was contesting the divorce. Isobel offered to withdraw the charges against Brown and Bradley if he would drop the divorce. He refused to do so and the two were jailed for their offence. (I'm unable to locate a record of how long their sentence was.)
In January 1903 Brown and Bradley were once more arrested on adultery charges. This time Arthur and Isabel Brown had attempted to make a financial settlement with Anne Bradley. It was a generous settlement that included a home and $100 a month for her and her children. Anne rejected the offer, saying that "she wanted nothing but the Senator." The illicit affair continued. At one point, Isobel Brown confronted her husband with his mistress at a hotel in Pocatello, Idaho. Yelling from outside of the hotel room that her husband and his mistress were in, Isobel threatened to kill Bradley and ordered her husband to open the door to his hotel room or she would "mash it in." He complied and the three spent the evening trading all sorts of insults and accusations. After the confrontation, Brown gave Bradley a revolver for protection against his wife. This was the gun that Bradley would eventually use to kill Brown.
Bradley believed that an arrangement was finally reached in which Brown would make a financial settlement with his wife, secure a divorce, and marry Bradley. When Bradley returned to Salt Lake, however, she was told that the Browns had reconciled. To make matters worse, Bradley was three months pregnant with a second child that she claimed Brown had fathered. Brown promised to make financial arrangements for Bradley and her children.
On August 22, 1905, Isabel Brown died of cancer. By this time Ann Bradley had obtained her divorce and expected a quick marriage to Arthur, but he appeared to be stalling. The two discussed wedding dates, but Brown kept postponing the nuptuals and could not be punned down about marriage or about his promise to set Bradley up in business.
In December 1906, Bradley became suspicious that Brown had a new girlfriend. She had found letters to Brown from Annie Adams Kiskadden, mother of the famous actress Maude Adams and an actress in her own right. Bradley was enraged by the letters. She believed that Brown and Kiskadden planned to marry soon.
Brown had gone to Washington D.C. to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bradley followed him there. In Washington, she went directly to the Raleigh Hotel, where she took a separate room. She gained access to Brown's room, which was where she found the letters written by Annie Adams Kiskadden. The letters suggested that Brown was planning to marry Kiskadden. Brown and Kiskadden were in fact in a relationship and after Brown's death, Kiskadden wanted to accompany Brown's body back to Utah, but his family would not allow it.
Bradley became distraught at discovering Kiskadden's love letters. When she heard Brown returning to his hotel, she went to his room to confront him. At her subsequent trial for the murder of Brown, Bradley claimed that she could not remember any of the events following. Although there appears little doubt that Bradley shot Brown, she claimed that Brown had rushed toward her and grabbed her, but she did not remember drawing the revolver, aiming it at Brown or pulling the trigger. The hotel manager went to the room after hearing the shot and found Brown, fully dressed, on the floor in the center of the room. Anne Bradley was standing near the dresser. The manager bent over and asked Brown what was wrong. He replied, "she shot me." A bullet had struck him in the abdomen and lodged in his pelvis. The manager, waited for the arrival of police and an ambulance. He noticed the murder weapon, a .32 caliber revolver, resting on a bureau. Brown died from his wounds four days later, at age 63
At her trial Bradley claimed temporary insanity. She was defended by Orlando W. Powers, a prominent Utah attorney and former judge. Anne Bradley was given a medical examination which disclosed that she had suffered several miscarriages and had undergone three abortions. She claimed that the last of these had been performed a few weeks earlier by Brown himself. She subsequently was hospitalized for a "badly lacerated cervix." She entered a plea of innocent by reason of temporary insanity and her trial in November 1907 ended after a month, when a sympathetic jury acquitted her.
Anne Bradley returned to Utah, working at various jobs before opening an antique store in Salt Lake City that she operated until her death at age 77 on November 11, 1950.
Arthur Brown was born March 8, 1843, on a farm near Schoolcraft, Michigan. When he was 13 years old, his family moved to Yellow Springs, Ohio. There he attended Antioch College, graduating in 1862. Two years later he obtained a law degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He practiced law in Kalamazoo, and was successful as a lawyer, building a large and lucrative practice. He married a woman about whom little is know, referred to in articles only as Mrs. L. C. Brown. The couple had one child, a daughter named Alice.
While he was living in Kalamazoo, Brown became smitten with a young woman named Isabel Cameron. She was the daughter of a Michigan state senator. News of the affair soon became public knowledge, and Brown and his first wife separated. With his reputation injured, he moved to Salt Lake City in 1879 where he hoped to be appointed as U.S. district attorney for Utah. His plans didn't pan out, so he set up a private law practice. He was much more successful when it came to romance, as Isabel Cameron followed him to Utah. As soon as his divorce from the former Mrs. Brown came through, he and Isabel were married. Together they had one son, named Max.
Brown had become a successful attorney, and was also involved in Republican Party politics. In 1896 the predominantly Republican Legislature elected him and Frank J. Cannon as the first U.S. senators for the new state of Utah. The office was sought by several prominent men in the state. Brown would only serve in the Senate until the next election. His term ended on March 4, 1897. He was now 53 years of age, but he had not lost his desire for younger women. Through his work in the Republican party Brown met 19 year old Anne Bradley in 1892. The two of them began to work closely together and by the time of his election in 1896 the senator developed a closer relationship with Bradley that crossed the boundaries of simply politics.
Anne Bradley was born on January 7, 1873, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her family moved to Utah in 1890 and Anne worked as a clerk in the Salt Lake Water Works Department. On September 20, 1893, she married Clarence A. Bradley, who was employed with the Rio Grande Western Railroad. They had two children, Matthew and Martha Clare. Anne was active in the community. She belonged to the Salt Lake City Woman's Club, the Utah Woman's Press Club, and the Poets' Roundtable Society. She was also the editor of the Utah State Federation of Women's Clubs' publication. And she was also a Republican. In 1900 she served as secretary of the fifth ward Republican Committee and as secretary of the State Republican Committee in 1902.
Anne stopped living with her husband in 1898. She claimed that at first she spurned the advances of Senator Brown, but she claimed that she fell in love with him. At her trial, said "He began coming to my house at very unseemly hours, and I told him it must stop, but he answered. 'Darling, we will go through life together. I want you to have a son' and after several months we did." She said that Brown had assured her that he planned to get a divorce from his wife, but that he was having problems negotiating a property settlement. She said that he gave her an engagement ring and that the two of them took a trip to Washington, D.C. together, along with his daughter Alice. On this trip, Bradley said that she traveled posing as Brown's wife.
Brown separated from his second wife and was living in the Independence Block area of Salt Lake City. In 1902, his wife Isabel Brown hired private detective Samuel Dowse to follow Brown and Bradley. On September 28, 1902, both were arrested on charges of adultery. By this time Arthur Brown had begun divorce proceedings, but Isobel Brown was contesting the divorce. Isobel offered to withdraw the charges against Brown and Bradley if he would drop the divorce. He refused to do so and the two were jailed for their offence. (I'm unable to locate a record of how long their sentence was.)
In January 1903 Brown and Bradley were once more arrested on adultery charges. This time Arthur and Isabel Brown had attempted to make a financial settlement with Anne Bradley. It was a generous settlement that included a home and $100 a month for her and her children. Anne rejected the offer, saying that "she wanted nothing but the Senator." The illicit affair continued. At one point, Isobel Brown confronted her husband with his mistress at a hotel in Pocatello, Idaho. Yelling from outside of the hotel room that her husband and his mistress were in, Isobel threatened to kill Bradley and ordered her husband to open the door to his hotel room or she would "mash it in." He complied and the three spent the evening trading all sorts of insults and accusations. After the confrontation, Brown gave Bradley a revolver for protection against his wife. This was the gun that Bradley would eventually use to kill Brown.
Bradley believed that an arrangement was finally reached in which Brown would make a financial settlement with his wife, secure a divorce, and marry Bradley. When Bradley returned to Salt Lake, however, she was told that the Browns had reconciled. To make matters worse, Bradley was three months pregnant with a second child that she claimed Brown had fathered. Brown promised to make financial arrangements for Bradley and her children.
On August 22, 1905, Isabel Brown died of cancer. By this time Ann Bradley had obtained her divorce and expected a quick marriage to Arthur, but he appeared to be stalling. The two discussed wedding dates, but Brown kept postponing the nuptuals and could not be punned down about marriage or about his promise to set Bradley up in business.
In December 1906, Bradley became suspicious that Brown had a new girlfriend. She had found letters to Brown from Annie Adams Kiskadden, mother of the famous actress Maude Adams and an actress in her own right. Bradley was enraged by the letters. She believed that Brown and Kiskadden planned to marry soon.
Brown had gone to Washington D.C. to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bradley followed him there. In Washington, she went directly to the Raleigh Hotel, where she took a separate room. She gained access to Brown's room, which was where she found the letters written by Annie Adams Kiskadden. The letters suggested that Brown was planning to marry Kiskadden. Brown and Kiskadden were in fact in a relationship and after Brown's death, Kiskadden wanted to accompany Brown's body back to Utah, but his family would not allow it.
Bradley became distraught at discovering Kiskadden's love letters. When she heard Brown returning to his hotel, she went to his room to confront him. At her subsequent trial for the murder of Brown, Bradley claimed that she could not remember any of the events following. Although there appears little doubt that Bradley shot Brown, she claimed that Brown had rushed toward her and grabbed her, but she did not remember drawing the revolver, aiming it at Brown or pulling the trigger. The hotel manager went to the room after hearing the shot and found Brown, fully dressed, on the floor in the center of the room. Anne Bradley was standing near the dresser. The manager bent over and asked Brown what was wrong. He replied, "she shot me." A bullet had struck him in the abdomen and lodged in his pelvis. The manager, waited for the arrival of police and an ambulance. He noticed the murder weapon, a .32 caliber revolver, resting on a bureau. Brown died from his wounds four days later, at age 63
At her trial Bradley claimed temporary insanity. She was defended by Orlando W. Powers, a prominent Utah attorney and former judge. Anne Bradley was given a medical examination which disclosed that she had suffered several miscarriages and had undergone three abortions. She claimed that the last of these had been performed a few weeks earlier by Brown himself. She subsequently was hospitalized for a "badly lacerated cervix." She entered a plea of innocent by reason of temporary insanity and her trial in November 1907 ended after a month, when a sympathetic jury acquitted her.
Anne Bradley returned to Utah, working at various jobs before opening an antique store in Salt Lake City that she operated until her death at age 77 on November 11, 1950.