The Death of a Mystery Man

One day, two summers back, I was walking around Mount Olivet Cemetery, taking scenic images for our website. While out and about, my curiosity was suddenly piqued by a well-aged, marble monument containing a tremendous amount of text carved on its face. The gravestone was about 3-foot tall, and appeared to have been the recipient of numerous repairs over the years. I could made out a few dates, and what I thought was the decedent’s name—William A. Von Steinman.

I continued to struggle for the next several minutes as I found that this gentleman had been born in New Orleans and was connected to the Frederick Female Seminary in some facet. The seminary was begun in 1843 by Hiram Winchester in the building that carries his name to this day—now the seat of our county’s government administrative offices and hearing rooms. The seminary was one of the earliest, and most progressive, educational institutions for “the fairer sex” in the country, and would evolve into the Frederick Womens’ College, being renamed Hood College in 1913 after benefactress Margaret S. Hood.

I soon became frustrated as I could glean nothing more from the stone. I took a few pictures on my Smartphone before departing, in hopes that I could investigate the text later with the aid of magnification on a larger computer screen. I was now fully intrigued with this regal-sounding resident of Area G/Lot 93—William A. Von Steinman. Suddenly, I was reminded of a former research project I conducted involving Baron Christoph von Graffenried, an early explorer of the Monocacy Valley from Switzerland, who climbed Sugar Loaf Mountain in 1712. Then, somehow, my twisted mind filled with history and nostalgia, conjured up an image of Count Chocula, the novelty, “monster breakfast cereal” icon. I immediately stopped myself from thinking too hard at that point.

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Gravesite of William A. Von Steinman in Frederick's Mount Olivet Cemetery (Area G/Lot 93)

Baron Christoph Von Graffenried (1661-1743)

Count Chocula

When I got back to my office, I looked up William Von Steinman in our network interment database. I found basic vital information such as birth and death, but more importantly found an entry in the notes section that read as follows:

Born in New Orleans, LA.  Occupation: Professor of Music at Frederick Female Seminary who studied under of operatic singer Gilbert Raoul di Palma.  The death records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Md. recorded his full name (Prof. W. H. Von Steinman), age (39y2m), death date (Dec. 30, 1882) and burial date (Jan. 4, 1883).
I thought it was ironic that this professor had been born in 1843, the same year the Frederick Female Seminary was originally opened.  I immediately performed a Google word search on Gilbert Raoul di Palma (a name that also appears on the face of Von Steinman’s tombstone) to gauge his importance in the history of opera, thinking this could be a neat tie-in for a future blog story. Sadly, I found nothing.

I then pulled out the heavy “research guns,” and began scouring online/digitized newspapers of the 19th century to see if Gilbert Raoul di Palma had taught and/or performed in the United States, likely in New Orleans. Then “Bingo!"— I had hit the “history geek researcher” jackpot on my first try. The top Google entry included not only di Palma’s name, but also that of Von Steinman! This article appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer edition of January 6, 1883.

I soon learned two fascinating things about my subject: Mr. di Palma and William Von Steinman were one in the same; and this enigmatic man (with fancy monikers) was not only a mystery to me, he (and his true identity) had been at the center of a larger puzzle and subsequent police investigation at the time of his untimely death—he had died at the age of 39 while traveling on a train between New York City and Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Inquirer (Jan 6, 1883)

Leipzig Music Theater

The Inquirer article was a Godsend, and told me everything I needed to know—well almost everything. I found that the story of William Von Steinman was run in newspapers in New York City, Chicago, Buffalo and even Racine, Wisconsin. Although I couldn’t find funeral coverage in any of our available local Frederick papers, I did find an article in a New York offering, reprinting a story that first originated here.  (I’ve inserted at the end of this story). I wanted to go a bit further, yearning to learn three things, in particular:

1.)What was the exact timeline of Von Steinman’s life in reference to residences?;

2.)Why/how did he come to Frederick and the town’s seminary?; and

3.) Why is he buried in Mount Olivet as opposed to other locations?

There was no “Big Easy” in trying to find details of the early life in New Orleans of one William Von Steinman/Gilbert di Palma. I couldn’t find any di Palmas in census records (1840’s-1870’s), as the closest match was a Gilbert Detour of French descent, aged 17 and living in the Fifth Ward of New Orleans in the 1860 US Census. In the dwelling next door, I found a James Dejour from Sicily. In an 1850’s New Orleans’ newspaper, I found the name of a Hermann Steinman attached to a political petition of support for a certain candidate.

I could not put my finger on Gilbert di Palma’s assumed Italian roots, or the Bohemian influence inflicted by his step-father resulting in his name change. As can be seen by the Inquirer article, this individual spent time in Europe, attending what would become the Music Conservatory in Leipsig, oldest in Germany, and receiving piano instruction under the great Carl Tausig (1841-1871), Franz Liszt's most esteemed pupil. Europe was certainly a better option for the Von Steinman family in the decade of the 1860’s, as opposed to spending time stateside in New Orleans during the turbulent time of the American Civil War.

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1875 New York State Census showing W. A. Von Steinman as a boarder living in Albany, NY with the profession as music teacher

The first tangible census record on our mystery man comes in 1875 with the New York State Census taken in that year. Mr. Von Steinman can be found living in Albany, New York as a boarder in Ward 7. His listed profession is that of music teacher, but his birthplace is shown as New Orleans, but rather Germany.  Perhaps his birth in New Orleans was just a technicality as his parents (or simply his mother) was simply traveling through at the time. I started thinking that the professor either came from tremendous wealth, or was a total sham, taking fancy names suitable to propel a fledgling career as a successful music teacher/musician. Apparently, this time period included Von Steinman petitioning the New York legislature to have his name legally changed back to Gilbert di Palma, again, a great self-marketing ploy for an aspiring tenor.

Albany Argus (Oct 3, 1874)

Albany Argus (Dec 5, 1876)

I deduce that the professor’s time in Albany ranged from late 1874-mid 1877, as many local newspapers articles and advertisements mention him often in relation to concert performances. I did find that he had been hired to teach music at another school prior to his tenure in upstate New York. This occurred in 1873, as his employer was the Goldsboro Female Seminary, located in New Bern, North Carolina. I had to smile in finding this tidbit, because the earlier mentioned Baron Christoph Von Graffenried was the founder of New Bern in 1710—the first Swiss settlement in the New World. Anyway, I digress (as usual).

Wilmington (NC) Star (Sept 18, 1872)

J. H. Hackleton (1817-1877)

The Hackleton Connection
Further investigation showed me that William Von Steinman came to Frederick in the summer of 1877, in preparation for the upcoming school year in the employ of the Frederick Female Seminary—a fact that  could have been learned earlier had the gravestone been more legible.  It was a melancholy time for the Frederick institution, preparing for its 35th academic year of existence. The previous April, the school’s principal, James Harvey Hackleton, suddenly expired one week after celebrating his 60th birthday.

Professor Hackleton had come to Frederick in 1873 with an impressive resume. Along with his wife, Maria (Williams) Hackleton, a noted professor in her own right, the Maine natives had previously administered like female seminaries in his home state and schools in the South, most recently in Memphis, Tennessee. Upon Principal Hackleton’s death, Maria assumed her husband’s chief leadership role at the institution.

​The transition was reported to have been quite smooth, and Mrs. Hackleton would remain in this position until 1885, aided by her two daughters, staff members of the Frederick Female Seminary who would marry into local Frederick families (McPherson and Parsons). Maria Hackleton would move to Greenville, South Carolina and continue her profession as principal of the Classical School for Young Ladies.

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In an article appearing September 17th, 1877 in the Frederick Examiner newspaper, Mrs. Hackleton received praise for bringing Professor William Von Steinman onto her staff. It seems that the new music teacher’s reputation had certainly preceded him. Thus began Von Steinman’s four- year stint at the Frederick Female Seminary, where he soon became beloved by students and fellow citizens alike. I presume the young man meant a great deal to Mrs. Hackleton as well, as he likely did much to enhance the prestige of the school, while also bolstering the skills of Hackleton’s daughters, who appear to have had musical talents and aspirations of their own.

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1880 US Census showing W. A. Von Steinman living at the Frederick Female Seminary along with the Hackletons

A photograph of the Music Studio of the Woman's College from 1897. A framed picture of the beloved educator was said to be among the many hanging on the wall for years after his death.

Frederick Examiner (Sept 19, 1877)

The woman in the center (back row) of this 1885 picture could likely be Principal Maria Hackleton, posing with students and faculty of the Frederick Female Seminary (inset from below photograph)

Col. Mapleson

From the newspaper articles, I assume that William Von Steinman left the school, or took a sabbatical in fall 1880 to follow his perceived true dream as a professional musician. He became part of the Royal Opera Troupe led by Col. James Henry Mapleson, an English opera impresario and leading figure in the development of opera production, and the careers of singers in London and New York City in the second half of the 19th century.

​The company gave autumn and spring seasons at the New York Academy (10 weeks in the fall and 5-8 in the spring) and toured, appearing regularly in Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany. Other cities included St Louis, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Indianapolis. Mapleson’s continental repertory was fairly standard and featured operas by Italian composers such as Donzetti, Rossini and Verdi as well as translations of works by the likes of Gounod, Bizet and Wagner. So this explains the years of Von Steinman’s life during 1881 and 1882.

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Who’s Who
The Philadelphia investigators found documents on the musician’s person that led them to believe that Von Steinman was en-route to Frederick on December 29th, 1882. Maybe this was a special visit to exchange pleasantries with old friends and former students for the upcoming New Year’s celebration.

Mrs. Hackleton’s name was also discovered on Von Steinman’s person, and she was the one expert able to give the authorities an explanation of the deceased man’s confusing names, and more so, context for a life, albeit brief, spent training others with his gift, and having the opportunity to travel the country and globe entertaining audiences.

 Maria Hackleton likely represented Von Steinman’s closest “next of kin.” She willingly took the role, and responsibility of making sure her former educator received a proper burial. Von Steinman’s body was brought to Frederick and buried in the town’s principal cemetery, one he surely visited on numerous occasions during his time here. On January 4th, the principal made arrangements to have William Von Steinman buried in a plot adjoining that of her beloved husband.

Grave of James H. Hackleton with William Von Steinman's grave in the background to the right

Von Steinman's death as first reported by the Frederick Examiner on Jan 3, 1883

Entry for burial details for William Von Steinman's gravesite written in Mount Olivet's Interment Journal and Log Book on January 4, 1883. Note Mrs. Hackleton's name at top as requestor of services rendered.

Mount Olivet Superintendent, Ron Pearcey, and I recently ventured out to make a rubbing of the gravestone, with the hope of gleaning more of the text content that couldn’t be read by the human eye—or at least mine. We were able to find that under his arching name of William A. Von Steinman (at the top of the stone), the following information is included:

Born in New Orleans in 1843
Performed under the name of Gilbert Raoul di Palma
Professor of Music at the Frederick Female Seminary from Sept 1877 to Nov 1880
Died while traveling from New York to Frederick January 3, 1883
Erected by his Grateful and Devoted Pupils in June 1899.

Even with the rubbing we couldn’t decipher a biblical passage. We also note here that the death date of January 3, 1883 is incorrect, as it was actually December 29th (the time of the discovery aboard the train). January 3rd is likely the day that proper identification was made, however, the official Pennsylvania death certificate gives December 30th as the death date of Gilbert Raoul di Palma.

I found a few remembrances of Professor Von Steinman in later papers. In 1889, an advertisement announced that a benefit concert was being planned to raise funds to place the fitting grave monument for the former music teacher. This would eventually become a reality nearly a decade later in 1897.

Frederick News (June 19, 1885)

Frederick News (April 29, 1899)

The auditorium of the Frederick Female Seminary, often inhabited by Professor Von Steinman for music recitals

Frederick News (Jan 24, 1889)

Frederick News (June 26, 1897)

Frederick News (June 25, 1897)

Brooklyn (NY) Truth (Jan 5, 1883)