No. 16 Vol. 4
www.mypaperonline.com
April 2018
Hackettstown Author Visits Historic Monument Of Murdered Kitchen Maid, Pens True To Life Story In New Book
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By Cheryl Conway n Sunday, April 8, Hackettstown resident and author Maryann McFadden stood in front of the monument of Tillie Smith at Union Cemetery in a live video about the young woman who was murdered 132 years ago. The timing could not have been more perfect- not only was it a month before McFadden’s book launch of her fourth book “The Cemetery Keepers Wife”- but this was the anniversary of Smith’s death- April 8, 1886- the day this 19 year old was raped and strangled while at work as a potato peeler on the grounds of Centenary Collegiate Institute, a Methodist seminary now known as Centenary University. As the sun set and the evening chill started to roll in, McFadden tells her small audience about Smith and her inspiration in writing her first historical-fiction novel “The Cemetery Keepers Wife.” “I’ve waited a very long time to tell you what I have learned about the life of Tillie Smith,” McFadden says at the foot of Smith’s monument. “She had come to work at Centenary just a few months prior to her death, trying to improve her life, having no idea that her days were about to come to an end.” McFadden, 64, explains what led her to learn more about Smith, her research and five year project of writing her 349 page novel. She had discovered the monument when she was 11 years old after first coming to Hackettstown from New York. “I was intrigued even as a child,” she says. Later on, after some coincidences like walking into the house of Smith’s murder, then meeting a relative of Smith’s, she decided she was destined to learn more and share her knowledge with others. She says “my journey, it became an obsession; it became personal. I would spend long moments looking into those eyes, trying to imagine her thoughts, her dreams,
her hopes. Her hands were a mess, they were nicked and bleeding and scared and yet she had hopes and dreams I could only imagine.” “I want to honor Tillie’s life; I want to share her life; I want to portray a girl whose voice was silenced 130 years ago and give her a voice,” she tells her friends. “Tillie became a footnote in the story of her death. No one except those who knew her when she was alive really knew who she was.” McFadden continues, “Tillie Smith became almost a legend. I believe I have accurately portrayed her life, that I accurately interpreted who she was. Perhaps she’s still waiting to tell the truth,” McFadden justifies as to why some claim to have seen her ghost. “I believe the truth should never go to the grave.” McFadden will be having a free pre-release book discussion and signing on Tuesday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m., as part of Centenary University’s Spring Authors Series. The event will be held in the Front Parlours of the Edward W. Seay Administration Building. “The murder of Smith, a kitchen maid at Centenary, captivated news readers across the nation, fueling a public outcry that led authorities to arrest and convict a maintenance man at the institute for the crime,” as stated in a press release. “Today, the gruesome murder has become woven into Hackettstown lore. A monument in her memory stands in Union Cemetery and “Tillie Walks” sponsored by Centenary Stage Company retrace Smith’s steps on the fateful night of her murder.” The actual building where Smith had worked burnt down in 1899. “It was very gothic looking back then,” says McFadden. “She was murdered there,” with her body found the next morning April 9 behind that main building, near the library. This is McFadden’s fourth book. Working as a journalist for 10 years- after graduat-
ing from Hackettstown High School in 1972 and Rutgers University with her bachelor’s in English in 1975- she became a realtor for the next 10 years, before returning to school at William Paterson University for a master’s in English. “I love both; it’s kind of a perfect combination,” she says about her professions, during an interview with the “Hackettstown News.” Writing has always been her passion. “I started writing my first story when I was a child,” she recalls. “I was always writing stories; it was my dream. I love creating; I love writing and bringing people to other places and getting into the heads of other characters.” Her greatest compliment is when someone tells her “You characters are so real; it’s hard work.” She started writing books 15 years ago, with her first book she self-published in 2006, “The Richest Season,” which did so well that an agent picked it up and sold it at auction to Hyperion Books, she says. Her other books, also contemporary fiction, have included “So Happy Together” and “The Book Lover,”- all translated into mulcontinued on page 12