Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
It’s the afternoon of Saturday, July 24, 1897 and a storm is raging in Boston, Massachusetts. Inside the office of Codman & Codman, a young woman is opening a safe, preparing to place money from a recent client inside.
Her name is Alice Barrett, and she’s been working as a bookkeeper, stenographer and glorified secretary at the real estate office of Codman & Codman for a couple of years. Just barely into her twenties, she longs to one day see the world and spend time in Europe. She would often hear stories from the female clients of her boss, Mr. Codman, of their travels to places like Egypt and Venice, and she ached to be like them.
But she would never see the world.
An hour or so after opening the safe, she would be found dead on the floor of the office, a fire burning all around. A lightning strike, seen by many in the area, would be blamed for her demise, but a truly shocking story would be found in the ashes.
The coming days and weeks would reveal a sordid story of deceit and desperation. A young woman, thought by many to be incapable of wrongdoing, would wind up becoming infamous as her friends and family discovered a web of lies she’d been hiding.
What at first seemed to be a tragic tale of a life cut short would turn into something much bigger, though it has been more or less forgotten to time. Until now.
Bucket Shops: soapysmiths.blogspot.com/2012/02/soapy-smiths-swindles-bucket-shop.html
My website: joshbearheartlegendsandtales.com
Buy my books on Amazon or on the website!
The Journal - amazon.com/dp/B0BXMX81G5
Legends and Tales - amazon.com/dp/B0CHL3RCD3
GPS Signal Lost - amazon.com/dp/B0CY7TGMM2
You can find me over on Patreon, where you’ll get access to exclusive benefits and be the first to hear about upcoming projects: patreon.com/joshbearheart 🖋️
Join the old-school forum over on my website: joshbearheartlegendsandtales.com/forum
🔮 Connect with the community on my socials:
Discord: discord.gg/ZUNYm5DUKe 💬
Facebook: facebook.com/joshbearheart 📰
It’s the afternoon of Saturday, July 24, 1897 and a storm is raging in Boston, Massachusetts. Inside the office of Codman & Codman, a young woman is opening a safe, preparing to place money from a recent client inside.
Her name is Alice Barrett, and she’s been working as a bookkeeper, stenographer and glorified secretary at the real estate office of Codman & Codman for a couple of years. Just barely into her twenties, she longs to one day see the world and spend time in Europe. She would often hear stories from the female clients of her boss, Mr. Codman, of their travels to places like Egypt and Venice, and she ached to be like them.
But she would never see the world.
An hour or so after opening the safe, she would be found dead on the floor of the office, a fire burning all around. A lightning strike, seen by many in the area, would be blamed for her demise, but a truly shocking story would be found in the ashes.
The coming days and weeks would reveal a sordid story of deceit and desperation. A young woman, thought by many to be incapable of wrongdoing, would wind up becoming infamous as her friends and family discovered a web of lies she’d been hiding.
What at first seemed to be a tragic tale of a life cut short would turn into something much bigger, though it has been more or less forgotten to time. Until now.
Bucket Shops: soapysmiths.blogspot.com/2012/02/soapy-smiths-swindles-bucket-shop.html
My website: joshbearheartlegendsandtales.com
Buy my books on Amazon or on the website!
The Journal - amazon.com/dp/B0BXMX81G5
Legends and Tales - amazon.com/dp/B0CHL3RCD3
GPS Signal Lost - amazon.com/dp/B0CY7TGMM2
You can find me over on Patreon, where you’ll get access to exclusive benefits and be the first to hear about upcoming projects: patreon.com/joshbearheart 🖋️
Join the old-school forum over on my website: joshbearheartlegendsandtales.com/forum
🔮 Connect with the community on my socials:
Discord: discord.gg/ZUNYm5DUKe 💬
Facebook: facebook.com/joshbearheart 📰
