“If Ever Two Women Deserved What They Got”:

The Kate Stocker Murder as Reported in the Jersey City News

Abstract

Abstract: The recent movement towards digitizing historical newspapers has made them easily accessible—allowing research to be conducted from computers and mobile devices anywhere. As historical newspapers are increasingly available online, it becomes easier to come across “forgotten” stories reported in them. This article focuses on the murder of Catherine (“Kate”) Stocker by her husband Arthur in 1892 and Arthur’s subsequent trial as recounted in the Jersey City News, a newspaper digitized as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities National Digital Newspaper Program. Although Arthur shot Kate in front of witnesses, the paper claimed she “deserved” it because she had been unfaithful and driven her husband into a jealous rage. The Jersey City News’s sensational depiction of the Stocker trial and sympathy towards Stocker provide a way to understand why, although convicted and sentenced to ten years hard labor in prison, Stocker was paroled within two years.