Walkabout: Brokers, Lawyers and Larceny at 88 Decatur Street, Part Six

by

Turn of the century Wall Street, LOC 1

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 7 of this story.

There have always been laws regarding stealing from other people, and in the late 1800s and early 1900s, those laws were in full effect in the courts. The jails and prisons were full of thieves. More and more, it seemed like the ranks of those who helped themselves to other people’s money and possessions were not just from the expected lower classes, but were their so-called “betters.” One could no longer believe that the thief in the night always came from poverty and the slums; in these dangerous days, it seemed that the biggest and boldest thieves sat next to you at the opera, in church, or smiled at you from across a desk.

For some reason, an upscale apartment building on Decatur Street in Stuyvesant Heights became home to three men who became the wolves among the sheep of Brooklyn society’s pasture. 88 Decatur Street was home to J. Edgar Anthony, Benjamin F. Chadsey and Charles A. Bliven. They never lived there at the same time, but there must have been larceny in the water, because all three of them, the first two lawyers, the other a stock broker, made the news for all the wrong reasons. Although the circumstances of their cases were different, all three men were guilty of the same offence: they all coveted clients’ money, and siphoned some off for their own use. And then they all got caught.

Please see the links below for the first episodes of the story. Today’s tale is about our last miscreant, broker Charles A. Bliven. The first two men hailed originally from upstate New York, but unlike the other two men, Mr. Bliven’s life story was not told to the papers. Anthony was from the Utica area, Chadsey from near Albany. From a cursory look at family research and the proliferation of stories on this case in upstate papers, Bliven was an upstater too. There seemed to have been a great deal of Bliven family members in the Capital District/Mohawk Valley area. And the mark, in this case, was from Troy. It really was a small world.

By 1906, Charles Bliven and his wife were living at 88 Decatur Street, in a fine apartment in a swanky building in Stuyvesant Heights. He had a job with E. F. Hutton, down on Wall Street. That now venerable firm had only been in existence for a little over two years at that point, having been founded in California by Edward Francis Hutton in 1904. They had already expanded into New York City as bankers and brokers. Charles Bliven was busy in the firm, employed as a clerk.

Bliven wasn’t very old, or even very wealthy, but he came from an old pedigreed family, and was soon “known to Society,” a polite way to say that he had arrived, and was hanging out with the rich people. He wasn’t a big enough player to get on too many lists of attendees to fancy dress balls, and he wasn’t asked to be on boards of charities, but he and his wife were favorably received. Working on Wall Street was as prestigious as it is today, and he seemed to be well on his way to a fine, and well compensated career.

Upstate in Troy, a lawyer named Charles E. Kilmer was one of E.F. Hutton’s New York customers. Charles Kilmer had been a controller for the state, was the holder of at least one patent for a household invention, and was also a successful lawyer. Although Troy was the family home, Kilmer also kept an office on Park Row in Manhattan, and came down to the city at least once a month. Charles Bliven was his agent, although by all accounts, Bliven was not a broker. Kilmer and Bliven had been investing in the stock market. Bliven had an excellent track record for picking winning stocks, and Kilmer liked the brash young man who took risks for great rewards, far above his pay grade.

Any lawyer will tell you the importance of making out a will, and no doubt Charles Kilmer knew that, as well. Unfortunately, he must have thought he had plenty of time to write one. He was wrong. He died suddenly in May of 1906, at the age of 64. He left a large estate and died intestate – no will. Kilmer left behind a wife, Harriet N. Kilmer, and their only child, an adult married woman named Mrs. Catherine E. Swinnerton. They, and by extension, Mrs. Swinnerton’s husband, were the only heirs. Harriet was made executrix of the estate, and began going through her husband’s papers.

She found out that Charles had a safety deposit box in a nearby bank. Inside were about 500 shares of prime stock, divided between three companies. Their net worth in 1906 was several hundred thousand dollars, today it would be many millions. There were 500 shares of New York Central and Hudson River Railroad stock, with one hundred shares in five certificates. They had been signed by Charles Kilmer and then signed over to his wife and daughter, who were named on the certificates and witnessed to by Miss A. Foshay, who had been Kilmer’s secretary.

When Catherine Swinnerton’s husband tried to have the stock transferred to his wife and mother-in-law’s accounts, he was denied. The account was in the name of Charles E. Kilmer, but the stocks had been endorsed by C. E. Kilmer. The transfer agent wanted proof that the two names were the same man. The family needed someone who could guarantee that the signature of “C. E. Kilmer” was written by the man who held the stock. Mrs. Kilmer continued to go through her husband’s papers, and it was then that she discovered the name of Charles A. Bliven.

Mr. Bliven had written several notes on E. F. Hutton stationery to Kilmer in which he verified different sales of stock, asked for payment, and generally acted as a broker. In one note, Bliven tells Kilmer, “Just a line to let you know where I am. I am here from ten to three. Yours very truly, C.A. Bliven.” The family thought that this Charles Bliven would be able to expedite the transfer, as he had obviously been taking care of Kilmer and was familiar with the account. Not only that, he was with a reputable brokerage, and would be above question or reproach. And as icing on the cake, Miss Foshay, the secretary, knew of Mr. Bliven, and had stated that the man had visited her employer on occasion. Their stock problems would be over.

At the widow’s direction, her son-in-law went to see Bliven at his office, which was not at Hutton. Well, no matter. Swinnerton asked Bliven to meet Mrs. Kilmer at her husband’s office, and a few days later, the family, Miss Foshay and Bliven were all together to try and figure out the stock mess. Charles Bliven told them that he was not a member of E.F. Hutton, that is, he did not have a seat on the Exchange, but he did work there, and knew the chairman of the company, Mr. Ellis, well. He also said he didn’t remember the transactions, but was sure E.F. Hutton had records of them. If they could wait a couple of days, he would find out the details and get back to them.

A day or so later, he called and told them that E. F. Hutton was ready to transfer the stock into their own accounts. The family met at Mr. Kilmer’s office again. Mrs. Kilmer gave Bliven instructions on moving some of the stock into an account for herself, and another account for the Swinnerton’s. She gave Bliven the stock certificates that she wanted transferred, and in return, Bliven wrote her two receipts, using Charles Kilmer’s letterhead as stationery, and promised that E. F. Hutton would send official receipts on their own letterhead. He wrote that “this is my personal receipt. My firm will send you receipts for all the stocks.”

A couple of days later, Mrs. Kilmer asked that more stock be moved, this time five hundred shares of Columbus & Hocking Coal & Iron stock. She wanted E. F. Hutton to trade it for $30 a share and the funds kept liquid in their account. She received another receipt from Bliven, and days later, receipts from E. F. Hutton came in the mail. The stock was being traded, and Hutton had the dividends in her account, plus an extra 2% in income for company’s use of the funds. Everything seems to be going well. This was in July of 1906.

Later that year, in December, Mrs. Kilmer decided she wanted to get her stock back. She contacted E. F. Hutton and was told that all of her stock was no longer in her account, but at her request, had been transferred to the account of one H. C. Bliven, Jr., who turned out to be Charles Bliven’s brother. The account was now at a different brokerage; Waterman, Anthony & Co. They also told her that the stock had been transferred that July, right after she had received her receipts from Hutton for the trading and sale of her railroad stock. She should have known that, they told her, as it had been authorized in her name by Charles Bliven. The Kilmer stock was no longer at E.F. Hutton, it was gone.

So who was Charles A. Bliven of E.F. Hutton, anyway, and how could a broker with such a reputable firm do this? Turns out he wasn’t a member of the stock exchange, and was not a broker with E. F. Hutton. Charles Bliven had been known by everyone at Hutton for a number of years. He had an account there, and was a stock gadfly and small investor, the equivalent of today’s day traders. Yes, he had worked there during the time of the Kilmer transactions, but he wasn’t a broker.

From April to July of 1906, he had been the clerk at the front desk who gave directions, schmoozed with customers, read the ticker tape results to the uninitiated and gossiped with clients. He was what was known as the “outside man.” Today, we’d probably call him “the greeter,” and in the eyes of the heirs of Charles Kilmer, E.F. Hutton had allowed the greeter to steal their inheritance. So they sued.

Next time – the conclusion of our series on the larcenous activities of three tenants of 88 Decatur Street. Charles Bliven was at the center of a lawsuit against E. F. Hutton. How could he have taken the money, where was it now, and was E. F. Hutton responsible for the losses, or was this all on Charles Bliven? This would be for the courts to decide, and all of that will be told next time. GMAP

Brooklyn History -- 88 Decatur Street

88 Decatur is on the right. Photo: Christopher D. Brazee for LPC.

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