Luella Hoyt born About 1874 in California was known as Nolan, married 18 Dec 1897 Vallejo, CA. to Matey Remington Hubbard born about 1869 in Indiana. Story starts out with our happy couple and one missing for 20 months. Poor Matey couldn't find his wife anywhere. Then in Jan of 1901 she is found in Richmond, CA. which gives them a glimpse of a sensational story to put them on the map.
Seems Luella ran off with another man, C. A. Cox a well-to-do contractor and handsome to boot. The people of Richmond new Luella as Mrs. Cox for nearly 2 years. There were warrants issued for the arrest of the couple from a complaint by the real husband Matey Hubbard. He tells his story of how they married in Vallejo in 1897 and she was then Luella Hoyt and everything was wonderful until the death of their little one year old daughter, she was beside herself with grief. Matey found a new financial advantage in Truckee and was going to send for his wife to join him soon. Before Hubbard left Vallejo he declares that Cox in company with a woman whom he represented as his wife and with a little boy arrived there in a camping wagon and pitched their tent in the vacant lot adjoining the Hoyt home. Hubbard had been in Truckee but a short time when he was informed that his wife had left Vallejo but where she had gone her relatives did not know/ He searched constantly for her and used every means he knew to locate her but could not gain the slightest clue to her whereabouts. About a month ago nearly twenty months after her disappearance and when Hubbard had almost given up hope of seeing his wife again he received a letter from her bearing the postmark Richmond and conveying the information she was at that place and would be pleased to return to him if he so desired. He was anxious to have her again in his home and wrote her accordingly though the letter was not delivered from the boat. He wrote several times with no reply to his letters. Finally he wrote to the Postmaster inquiring if the letters bad been delivered and on being informed that they had not, lost no time in starting for Richmond arriving at that place yesterday, Hubbard was not long in locating his wife but was surprised to find her passing as the wife of another. Learning that she had deceived him he went before Justice Lindsay of San Pablo and swore to complaints charging Cox and Mrs Hubbard with petty larceny and unlawful cohabitation. The larceny charge Hubbard says is based on the fact that when Mrs Hubbard left Vallejo she took with her a watch which was the property of her sister. The warrants were placed in the hands of Deputy Sheriff Boquet for service but owing to the prominence of Cox he sent for Sheriff Veale and held a consultation with him before arresting the couple who were taken to Martinez this evening Cox bonds were fixed at $1000 while those of the woman are $500 Cox had nothing to say when arrested except to deny that he had committed petty larceny. The woman became hysterical and both pleaded with the Sheriff not to take them to Martinez but to give them a few hours in which to get bonds Hubbard says he has no Information as to what became of the woman and boy who were with Cox when he was in Vallejo. Mr. hubbard files a complaints against both for petty larceny and cohabitation.
More on the case at links below:
Now to stir up the pot, I started researching Luella because of this document I found, from the Mendocino State Hospital.
Apparently she was employed by Sam Silver as a nurse (Nanny) and she was caught pouring lysol down the child's throat. I found a newspaper article about it.
Here's a 1909 advertisement for Lysol and photos of what the bottles looked liked.
Luella died 27 dec 1918 in Alameda County, CA.
Matey remarried by the 1930 census to Anna C. maiden name unknown. I did not find where she was buried.
Matey had no other children. But early in his life he was in Folsom prison for Grand Larceny as Inmate # 3280 when he was 22 years old. Received 5 Jan 1896 right before he married Luella.
Did the death of her daughter cause her to lose her mind and run off with another man? Did she lose it again when she poisoned a child? I doubt it. She knew what she was doing.
Amazing. Great job.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much
ReplyDeleteGwen