I Redeeming Susanna Cox: a Pennsylvania German Infanticide In
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Redeeming Susanna Cox: A Pennsylvania German Infanticide in Community Tradition Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Joanna Beth Spanos Graduate Program in Comparative Studies The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Dorothy P. Noyes, Advisor Richard F. Green Margaret A. Mills Randolph A. Roth i Copyright by Joanna Beth Spanos 2013 ii Abstract In 1809, Susanna Cox, a twenty-four year old servant living in Oley, Pennsylvania, was accused, convicted, and executed following the death of her newborn son. Throughout the next two hundred years, Susanna’s story would be transmitted through oral histories and printed and performed broadside ballads. Perhaps the most widely diffused version of the story began in the early 1960s at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Festival (now called the Kutztown Folk Festival) when the festival organizers revived her story in the public imagination. Over 50 years later, Cox’s story is still retold at the Kutztown Folk Festival, three times a day for nine days, with the visual addition of a hanging reenactment. This dissertation explores the interplay between history, social memory, and oral tradition as it occurs surrounding the ongoing use of Susanna Cox’s story. I explore the exposition of her story between the discovery of her son’s death and her execution, as well as the legal impact – real or perceived –of the case in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The broadside ballad also maintained currency as it was translated and reprinted in various North American locations throughout the nineteenth century. I go on to discuss the ways that the story has been transmitted and reinterpreted into the 21st century, examining the recorded, published, performed and electronically-disseminated versions and audience responses to them. ii This project combines textual interpretation, archival research, oral history interviewing, and ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2009 and 2013I explore why various communities – ethnic, gendered, religious, or geographic – chose to claim Cox and redeem her soul, reputation, or memory. Susanna Cox was a woman whose actions went against the legal and moral standards of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In her own time, she provided a focus for public debate over the death penalty and the role of secular and religious education in equipping individuals for appropriate participation within the new Republic. Her story would continue to be raised both as a warning against inappropriate behavior and as an example of the misuses of the legal system. Later generations would repurpose Cox’s story to meet their own needs, interpreting it through contemporary lenses or simply presenting her as an icon of a previous time. Coupled with her tie to the place, the dearth of evidence detailing her life, actions, and motivations renders Susanna Cox available as a cultural touchstone: a familiar case that inhabitants of the region can call upon as a touchstone in assessing shifting attitudes towards gender, crime, and responsibility. iii Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the input, support, and patience of many people. First, I would like to thank the individual community members who donated their time to helping me with my project. Everyone associated with the Kutztown Folk Festival, from my unnamed informants, to June DeTurk, Dave Fooks and Elaine Vardjan, did their best to help me experience all appropriate context. I would not have found or pursued this project without the encouragement and support of my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Dorothy Noyes. She has been with me throughout this process, and I sincerely value the way she has given me advice and guidance. The other members of my dissertation committee, Drs. Margaret Mills, Randy Roth, and Richard Green, have offered support and constructive criticism to help me discover the questions that really need to be answered. I have truly appreciated the time they have taken to help me. I also thank the Ohio State Folklore community for adopting me into the fold. I could not have asked for a better academic support system. I have benefitted from a wide range of archival resources. Dr. Don Yoder met with me to discuss the project and shared many documentary resources unique to his collection. Corinne and Russell Earnest opened up their personal library of Pennsylvania German texts and have graciously answered any number of questions. The Historical iv Society of Berks County Henry Janssen Archives has been a welcoming archival home, and the assistance of its staff, especially Kimberly Richards Brown and Lisa Adams, and volunteers, especially Irv Rathman, has been invaluable. The Library Company of Philadelphia; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Society, and Ursinus College’s Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection and its librarian, Diane Skorina, granted me access to their materials. Many members of the Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation offered assistance. The library staff at both Ohio State and Penn State has answered questions both technical and procedural, as has the staff at Ohio State’s Historic Textiles and Costumes Collection. I also would like to thank the Center for Folklore Studies Mullen Prize, the Council of Graduate Students’ Ray Travel Grant, the Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Grant, the Department of Comparative Studies, and the David and Helen Birdsall Memorial Scholarship for financial support. Accommodations to allow me to pursue my studies and research were also made by my supervisors, most notably Merijn van der Heijden and Mary Ellen Jenkins, who smiled as they signed off most of my requests. My community outside Ohio State has also been invaluable. I thank Andrea and Steve Straka for their hospitality and friendship on my research trips. Jennifer Voelker Linton has been a consistent cheerleader over the past twenty years. Jeremy Williams refreshed his German skills, learned to read microfilm, and formatted citations, simply because I asked him to. Doug and Judith Birdsall Taylor have gone above and beyond their appointed duties to help give me peace of mind. Above all others, I thank Matt Spanos. For all the little things, and for all the big things. I also thank our children, Benjamin and Mairen, for all they do. v Vita June 1993 .................................................... Westerville North High School 1997 ........................................................... B.S. Biology and History, Denison University 2000 ............................................................ M.A. History, Pennsylvania State University 2007 to present ........................................... Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Comparative Studies Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Folklore vi Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... iv Vita ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Map .................................................................................................................. viii List of Photos……………………………………………………………………………..ix Introduction: Why Susanna Cox?.......................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Susanna’s Story as it Unfolded in the Public Eye, February – June, 1809 ..... 20 Chapter 2: Clemency and Legal Ramifications .............................................................. 66 Chapter 3: Susanna Retold: Ballads and Oral Histories .................................................. 98 Chapter 4: Susanna’s Story Reborn in Performance ..................................................... 167 Chapter 5: The Current Audience Interpretations – and Reinterpretations .................. 215 Conclusion: "She's Not There, You Know" ……………………………………….….264 References: ……………………………………………………………………………..281 Appendix A: The Gombert Ballad…………………………………………………..….297 Appendix B: Louis Storck’s 1865 Translation of the Gombert Ballad……..………….302 Appendix C: List of Bastardy, Fornication and Infanticide Cases in Berks County…...306 Appendix D: List of Known Ballad Variants…………….………………………….... 308 Appendix E: Transcription of “The Execution of Suzanna Cox” July 2009……….….310 Appendix F: Images of the script for “The Hanging of Susanna Cox”………………...315 vii List of Map Map 1. Berks County, circa 1813 (reproduced by permission of HSBC)………………..4 viii List of Photos Photo 1. The Gallows, 2012……………………………………………….………….224 Photo 2. June DeTurk and "Suzanna," 2012……………………………….…..………225 Photo 3. The Hanging Body, 2012…………………………………………..……..….226 Photo 4: "Suzanna" in her coffin, 2012…………………………………….…………..227 Photo 6: Tourists, with"Suzanna"……………………………………….….…………..228 Photo 7: Opening of Richard Gougler's Script………………………………..………..315 Photo 8: First two pages of Richard Gougler's Script……………………………….…316 Photo 9: Second two pages of Richard Gougler's Script…………………………….....317 Photo 10: End of Richard Gougler's Script, with June DeTurk's notations………..…..318 ix Introduction: Why Susanna Cox? Before 1809, Susanna Cox lived as an