The Grave of the Unknown Stranger

I found the vignettes in this article interesting – and in one case, a bit Bellairsian. Even the title of this post strikes me as a potential book title.Listverse provided their list of the top 10 fascinating secrets taken to the grave.  While some are more interesting than others, this one stuck out:

During the fall of 1816 in Alexandria Virginia two people, a man and his wife walked into the Gadsby’s Tavern Hotel. The woman was ill and it was thought she was suffering from Typhoid fever. The woman’s condition continued to deteriorate despite being attended by one of Alexandria’s doctors. The husband then summoned the doctor and hotel staff and even the owner’s wife to the room to ask a very unusual request: He asked that everyone present swear an oath never to reveal their identities. All agreed and each took the secret to the grave. Several days after the oath was taken the Female Stranger died and to this day no one knows their identity. Before disappearing, her husband commissioned an extravagant headstone and buried her at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Alexandria Virginia.

You can read more at Find-a-Grave and Wikipedia.