I love stumbling across interesting stories when I’m working
with bindings. Part of my job requires me to do research to find out more about
the binding designer, publisher, binder, etc.
One of my favorite binding designers is Ethel Belle Appel, whose life
was like something out of a movie. She had her share of ups and downs and the
end of her life remains somewhat a mystery.
Ethel Belle Appel was born around 1874[1]
in Pennsylvania to Titus Henry Appel and Martha E. Pentz. They were both born
in Pennsylvania in 1846, married in 1873 and had three children. Only two were
living at the time of the 1900 census—Ethel and her brother Arthur[2]. Titus
fought in the Civil War, initially as a private from June to September 1863,
then as a sailor from August 1864 to July 1865[3].
After the war he had several different occupations: in 1880 he was listed as a
miller[4], in 1900
as a collector[5], and by
1910 as a carpenter for a processing mill[6].
Her younger brother, Arthur Dick Appel, eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio and
became a dentist[7].
Hard times hit the Appel family during Ethel’s sophomore
year of college and she was forced to drop out of school. She left Meadville
and headed to Philadelphia to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts and the School
of Design for Women, pursuing her dream of becoming a famous artist. One day
Ethel got a call from an acquaintance in Cleveland, Ohio asking if she knew
anyone willing to do some illustrations for the newspaper. Ethel jumped at the
chance, packed up and moved to Ohio. Two years later she decided to take her
career a step further and moved to New York[8].
Ethel initially struggled in New York, doing only newspaper illustrations and small
commission jobs, but her luck soon changed. By 1896 she had established herself
as an illustrator and book cover artist. An article appeared in The Morning
Times on Sunday, November 15, 1896 discussing her life and success[9].
In addition to her illustrations and book covers she began writing articles,
one of which, Life on the Canal, appeared in Godey’s Magazine in May
1898, illustrated by James Allen Lowe, Jr.
Lowe was in the process of establishing a name for himself
during the 1890s. His father disapproved of his career choice and tried to
persuade James to pursue a more respectable career. Ethel, on the other hand,
encouraged James to follow his dreams. The two eventually started a
relationship and got engaged, much to the dismay of James’ father, who resented
Ethel encouraging James’ artistic career[10].
News reports of the time say they were engaged for 8 years, postponing wedding
plans until the fall of 1905 in order to further their respective art careers[11]. James’
relatives eventually came around and accepted Ethel.
Tragedy struck on July 30, 1905. On her
way home Ethel came upon an accident where a man had been struck by a hansom
cab. Not just any man, but James. According to a May 29, 1906 article in the
New York Times, Ethel ripped her dress and tried to stop her fiancé’s bleeding,
then jumped in the ambulance to accompany him to the hospital[12]. But James
Lowe, 31, slipped into a coma and died the next day at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Oddly, the official diagnosis didn’t mention the accident, but noted uremia as
the cause[13]. Ethel
became hysterical and fainted at the news, and doctors had a hard time reviving
her and calming her once she did come around.[14]
After her terrible loss, Ethel returned to Pennsylvania to
stay with her parents until Christmas, then returned to New York City to
continue her work. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the same ambitious Ethel Belle
Appel. She would bring beautiful work to the publishers, get it
enthusiastically approved with slight modifications, but never return with the
completed project, saying she couldn’t finish the job. Ethel was in a deep
depression over James’ death.
Ethel continued to support herself through art even though she lacked her former enthusiasm. She was employed by Miss R.E. Gould who ran an advertising illustrating bureau. By 1906 she was staying in Long Island with a cousin, Mrs. E.M. Jenkins, and her life went on as usual until Saturday, May 19th when Ethel left with a co-worker, Miss Gear, around noon. They went shopping and Ethel cashed her paycheck at a store on 6th Street. Then she left her friend and went to telegram her cousin between 4 and 5 that she would return late that evening (some newspaper sources reported that the telegram said she wouldn't be home until the next morning). Ethel never made it home to the boarding house. Her cousin became worried and reported her missing on May 24, 1906. Ethel's father and family from Ohio (presumably her brother, Arthur) came to New York to help with the search, fearing the worst had happened[15].
Ethel continued to support herself through art even though she lacked her former enthusiasm. She was employed by Miss R.E. Gould who ran an advertising illustrating bureau. By 1906 she was staying in Long Island with a cousin, Mrs. E.M. Jenkins, and her life went on as usual until Saturday, May 19th when Ethel left with a co-worker, Miss Gear, around noon. They went shopping and Ethel cashed her paycheck at a store on 6th Street. Then she left her friend and went to telegram her cousin between 4 and 5 that she would return late that evening (some newspaper sources reported that the telegram said she wouldn't be home until the next morning). Ethel never made it home to the boarding house. Her cousin became worried and reported her missing on May 24, 1906. Ethel's father and family from Ohio (presumably her brother, Arthur) came to New York to help with the search, fearing the worst had happened[15].
She was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, a little past 30
years old, with dark hair and eyes, oval face and a “well-rounded figure”[16].
On June 2, 1906 Ethel’s whereabouts were discovered. She had
gone to visit a Mrs. Williamson in Little Falls, New Jersey, fell ill and had
to recuperate there. The telegram to her cousin was misaddressed to Baldwin,
New York instead of Baldwin, Long Island.
A year after her “disappearance,” Ethel finally found
happiness. I came across the marriage certificate of an Emma Bell Appel (the
1880 census also identified her as Emma B. Appel) with parents T. Henry and
Martha (which aligns with Ethel’s parents). She married Frank A. Koch on the 19th
of January 1907 in Manhattan, New York.[18]
By 1915 they were living in Bedford, New York[19].
On March 9, 1921, Ethel Belle Appel Koch, wife of Frank A.
Koch, passed away.[20] She was approximately 47 years old when she
died. The New York Times gave no cause of death.
***A special thank you goes to Cindy S. for proofreading this article! Thanks, Cindy S.***
[1] "United States Census, 1900," index and
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M391-TGH : accessed
18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, Meadville city Ward 3, Crawford,
Pennsylvania, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 283, NARA microfilm
publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington,
D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,399.
[2] "United States Census, 1900," index and
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M391-TGH : accessed
18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, Meadville city Ward 3, Crawford,
Pennsylvania, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 283, NARA microfilm
publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington,
D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,399.
[3] "United States Census of Union Veterans and
Widows of the Civil War, 1890," index and images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8SM-DLS : accessed 18 December 2014), T
Henry Apple, 1890; citing NARA microfilm publication M123, National Archives
and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 338,248.
[4] "United States Census, 1880," index and
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MWXY-MCY : accessed
18 December 2014), Titus H Apple, Greenwood, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United
States, 100; citing sheet 170C, film number 1119, NARA microfilm publication
T9, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.; FHL
microfilm 1,255,119.
[5] "United States Census, 1900," index and
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M391-TGH : accessed
18 December 2014), T Henry Apple, Meadville city Ward 3, Crawford,
Pennsylvania, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 283, NARA microfilm
publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington,
D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,399.
[6] "United States Census, 1910," index and
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MGQK-5JB : accessed
18 December 2014), Henry F Apple, Meadville Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania,
United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 23, sheet 5A, family 103, NARA
microfilm publication T624, National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,375,346.
[7] "United States World War I Draft Registration
Cards, 1917-1918", index and images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K6FZ-CMF : accessed 18 December 2014),
Arthur Dick Appel, 1917-1918.
[8] The morning times. (Washington, D.C.), 15 Nov. 1896.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024442/1896-11-15/ed-1/seq-21/>
[9] The morning times. (Washington, D.C.), 15 Nov. 1896. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024442/1896-11-15/ed-1/seq-21/>
[10] "CANNOT FIND MISS APPEL." New York Times (1857-1922): 11. May 29 1906. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014 .
[3] The evening world. (New York, N.Y.), 01 Aug. 1905. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1905-08-01/ed-1/seq-8/>
[11] "CANNOT FIND MISS APPEL." New York Times (1857-1922): 11. May 29 1906. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014 .
[12] The sun. (New York [N.Y.]), 01 Aug. 1905. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1905-08-01/ed-1/seq-1/>
[13] Special to The New,York Times. "LONGSTREET'S WIDOW HURT." New York Times (1857-1922): 1. Aug 01 1905. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014 .
[15] The Minneapolis journal. (Minneapolis, Minn.), 03 June 1906. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045366/1906-06-03/ed-1/seq-2/>
[16] "CANNOT FIND MISS APPEL." New York Times (1857-1922): 11. May 29 1906. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2014
[17] Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]), 15 Nov. 1896. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1896-11-15/ed-1/seq-11/>
[18] "New York, Marriages, 1686-1980," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F67Z-XJH : accessed 16 December 2014), Frank A. Koch and Emma Bell Appel, 19 Jan 1907; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 1,558,687.
[19] "New York, State Census, 1915," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K95X-BJW : accessed 17 December 2014), Ethel B Koch, Bedford, Westchester, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1915," index and images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing state population census schedules, 1915, p. 16, line 14, New York State Archives, Albany.
[20] "Obituary 3 -- no Title." New York Times (1857-1922): 13. Mar 10 1921. ProQuest. Web. 16 Dec. 2014
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