Name/Title
Papers about the suspicious death of Ella May Clemmons, 1935-1936Entry/Object ID
2012.6.5Description
Accession No. 12.6.5
Subject Category: City of Alameda
Date or Period: 1935-1936
Object: File Folder
Description: Acid-free Legal size file folder, with two tan legal-size manila file folders, labelled ‘Ella May Clemmons - Death, and ‘Ella May Clemmons’, and loose papers. The second folder includes a copy of a 1935 death certificate.
L 14 3/4” x W 9”
History of Object:
Papers about the death of longtime S.F. resident Miss Ella May Clemmons, also known as ‘the Christ Angel of Chinatown’, an heiress (via her sister Viola Katherine, stage name Katherine Dayan, an actress who had married Howard Gould, heir to the fortune of Jay Gould). She was called the Angel of Chinatown because of her association with a Mr. Wong. Less than 2 weeks before her death she had married her Chiropractor, Alfred Groneman, who until then had been living with designer Charlotte Enberg. After the marriage, Clemmons had been moved on a stretcher to a rented apartment at 1117 Park Street, where she died, attended by Enberg and Groneman. The story started when the landlady, Mrs. Tawse, requested help in fumigating the apartment from Miss McMaster at the Health Department. The story was brought to police officer Angelina Floyd, who reported to Chief of Police Vern Smith, who reported to City Manager Ray Fritz, who requested the further investigation. The money for the attorneys, background research, and other fees took out a large part of the Police Department’s Fund, which had to be refunded.
Acquired from: City of Alameda
Cataloged: February 18, 2012