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October 27
New Orleans Recreation Department Cultural
Division
October 27, 1955 
Back in the day, NORD's Cultural Division sponsored special arts and crafts projects during holiday seasons.
These two little girls from the Delgado Center made cat costumes for Halloween. The photograph was taken on October 27, 1955.
(Text and photo from the New Orleans Public Library)
Born in 1936 in the Ninth Ward, Lawrence Nelson became "Prince
La La" after combining his nickname with the African prince costume he wore in his publicity photos. He was born into
a musical family. His father, Walter Nelson, was a noted jazz and R&B
guitarist who played with R&B pioneer Smiley Lewis. His elder brother, Walter
"Papoose" Nelson Jr., played extensively in the 50s and early 60s with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair,
and was a featured session guitarist for New Orleans bandlander and producer Dave Bartholomew. Sister Dorothy was married
to the singer, songwriter and producer Jessie Hill. It was Hill who brought 19-year-old Barbara George to Harold Battiste's
newly founded A.F.O. (All For One) label (see above) and proposed that she sing Nelson's song "She
Put the Hurt on Me". He played a demo with Nelson's vocal. Battiste decided to have Nelson sing the song instead and
in 1962 it became the first release by the A.F.O. label (with the flip side "Don’t
You Know Little Girl (I'm In Love"). "She Put the Hurt on Me" became a national hit, reaching #14 on the
R&B charts. Nelson followed with a second single at the end of 1962 -- the Charley Julien record "Gettin’ Married Soon"/"Come Back To Me".
Nelson died on Sunday, October 27, 1963 of a drug overdose at his residence at 1123 Villere Street at 4:50
a.m. at the age of 27 and is buried in Holt Cemetery. His death was the subject of Oliver Morgan's 1964 hit
song "Who Shot the La La?". More information.
On October 27, 1908 Tony Pulahovitch petitioned the city council in Protest against lunch wagons operating near his
restaurant.
CLARK, Joseph Samuel, educator, civic leader. Born, Sparta, La., June 7, 1881. Education:
public and private schools in Bienville Parish, Coleman and Bishop colleges; Leland University, B. A., 1901; Ph. D., 1914;
Selma University, M. A., 1913; Arkansas Baptist College, Ph. D., 1921. Further studies at Chicago and Harvard universities.
Served as principal of Slater High School, Donaldsonville, and of Baton Rouge Academy between 1901 and 1912; president
of Southern University, 1913-1938. During his administration, the school progressed from an institution with an enrollment
of forty-seven students and an appropriation of $10,000 to a university with 3,067 students and an appropriation of approximately
one million dollars. Married Octavia Head (q.v.). Two sons. Served as president of the National Association of Teachers
in Colored Schools, 1916-1917; reorganized the Louisiana State Colored Teachers Association and served as president for
eight years; member, Inter-Racial Council of Land Grant College Presidents Association; served as superintendent, Louisiana
State School for Negro Blind in Baton Rouge. Appointed by President Coolidge to a commission to produce a national survey
on education. Appointed by President Herbert Hoover as minister to Liberia, 1930, but declined the offer to continue development
of Southern University. Appointed by President Hoover to the White House Committee on Child Welfare and Protection, 1930.
Participated in the President's Conference on House Building and Home Ownership, 1931. Became president of the New Capital
Insurance Company of New Orleans, 1932. Retired, June 30, 1938, completing a quarter century as president of Southern University.
Succeeded by son, Felton G. Clark (q.v.). Died, October 27, 1944, New Orleans; interred campus of Southern
University, Scotlandville, La. From http://lahistory.org/site20.php
Rene C. Metoyer (September 7, 1858-October 27, 1937), one
of Louisiana's first black notary public, and descendent of a prominent Louisiana family, was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana
on September 7, 1858. During Reconstruction Metoyer went to New Orleans to work as a page in the Louisiana Legislature.
He received his law degree from Straight University in 1886 and was admitted to the Louisiana Bar that same year. Before
opening his own law office in the Pontalba Building, he clerked in the law office of Rouse and Grant. In 1917, he was appointed
to the position of notary. Rene Metoyer was active in several organizations in New Orleans and was grand commander of
the Supreme Council of the 33rd degree.He died in New Orleans on October 27, 1937. He is buried in St. Louis Cemetery No.
3. (NOPL)
On October 27, 1908 Tony Pulahovitch petitioned the city council in Protest against lunch wagons operating near his
restaurant.
Through Pinckney's Treaty signed on October 27, 1795, Spain granted
the United States "Right of Deposit" in New Orleans, allowing Americans to use the city's port facilities. In 1800
Spain and France signed the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso stipulating that Spain gave Louisiana back to France, though it
had to remain under Spanish control as long as France wished to postpone the transfer of power.
1780 - The City Treasurer informed the Cabildo of the impossibility of collecting the
taxes due the city by the Cabaret owners, as they are soldiers of the Battalion stationed in the
Plaza who sell and operate without license. The Cabildo resolved to issue the necessary orders to correct this abuse.
The Axman Murders
A Wave of Terror
Michael Pepitone/Pipitone was attacked on the night of October
27, 1919. His wife was awakened by a noise and arrived at the door of his bedroom just as a large, axe-wielding
man was fleeing the scene. Mike Pepitone had been struck in the head, and was covered in his own blood. Blood splatter covered
the majority of the room, including a painting of the Virgin Mary. Mrs. Pepitone, the mother of six children, was unable
to describe any characteristics of the killer. The Pepitone murder was the last of the alleged axman attacks. Not long after Michael Pepitone's muder, his widow married Angelo
Albano. Ironically, according to Esther Pepitone Albano, her second husband went missing exactly two years later, on
October 27, 1921 (more about that below). The Axman was an alleged serial killer active
in and surrounding communities, including Gretna, from May 1918 to October 1919. Press reports during the height of public
panic about the killings mentioned similar murders as early as 1911, but recent researchers have called these reports into
question. In each of
the murders one or more of the residents was killed with either an axe (which often belonged to the victims) or a straight
razor and the murderer never removed items from the victims' homes. In most cases, the back door of a home was smashed
or the door panels were removed to allow entrance into the homes. The majority of the victims were Italian-Americans. The first victims were Joseph
and Catherine Maggio. Joseph Maggio. He was an Italian grocer who was attacked on May
22, 1918 while sleeping alongside his wife, Catherine, at their home on the corner of Upperline and Magnolia Streets,
where they conducted a barroom and grocery. The killer broke into the home, and then proceeded to cut the couple's throats
with a straight razor. Upon leaving he bashed their heads with an axe, perhaps in order to conceal the real cause of death.
Joseph survived the attack, but died minutes after being discovered by his brothers Jake and Andrew Maggio. Catherine died
prior to the brothers' arrival, her throat having been cut so deep that her head was nearly severed from her shoulders.
In the apartment, law enforcement agents found the bloody clothes of the murderer, as he had obviously changed into a
clean set of clothes before fleeing the scene. A complete search of the premises was not completed by police after the bodies
were removed, yet later the bloody razor, which had been used to conduct the murders, was found in the lawn of a neighboring
property. Police ruled out robbery as motivation for the attacks, as money and valuables left in plain sight were not stolen
by the intruder. The razor used to kill the couple was found to belong to Andrew Maggio, the brother of the deceased who conducted
a barber shop on camp street. His employee, Estaben Torres, told police that Maggio had removed the razor from his shop
two days prior to the murder, explaining that he had wanted to have a nick honed from the blade.Maggio, who lived in the
adjoining apartment to his brother's residence, discovered his slain brother and sister-in-law roughly two hours after the
gruesome attacks had occurred, upon hearing strange groaning noises through the wall. Maggio blamed his lack of notice to
the attacks that had occurred in the early morning hours to his intoxicated state, after a night of celebration prior to
his departure to join the navy, yet police were nonetheless surprised that he failed to hear the intruder as he made a forced
entry into the home.Andrew Maggio became the police chief's prime suspect in the crime, yet was released after investigators
were unable to break down his statement, as well as his account of an unknown man who was supposedly seen lurking near the
residence prior to the murders. Louis
Besumer and his mistress Harriet Lowe, were attacked in the early morning hours of June
27, 1918, in the quarters at the back of his grocery which was located at the corner of Dorgenois and Laharpe Streets.
Besumer was struck with a hatchet above his right temple, which resulted in a possible skull fracture. Lowe was hacked over
the left ear, and found unconscious when police arrived at the scene. The couple was discovered shortly after 7 AM on the
morning of the attack by John Zanca, driver of a bakery wagon who had come to the grocery in order to make a routine delivery.
Zanca found both Besumer and Lowe in a puddle of their own blood, both bleeding from their heads. The axe, which had belonged to Besumer, was found in the bathroom of the apartment. Besumer later stated to police
that he had been sleeping when he was bashed with the hatchet.Almost immediately, police arrested potential suspect Lewis
Oubicon, a then 41 year old African American man who had been employed in Besumer's store just a week before the attacks.
No evidence existed which could have proved the man guilty, yet police arrested him nonetheless, stating that Oubicon had
offered conflicting accounts of his whereabouts on the morning of the attack. Shortly after the attempted murder Lowe stated
that she remembered having been attacked by a mulatto man, yet her statement was discounted by police due to her disillusioned
state. Robbery was said to be the only possible explanation for the attacks, yet no money or valuables were removed from
the couple's home.Oubicon was later released as police were unable to gather sufficient evidence to hold him accountable
for the crimes. Media attention soon turned to Besumer himself, as a series of letters written in German, Russian, and Yiddish
were discovered in a trunk at the man's home. Police suspected that Besumer was a German spy, and government officials began
a full investigation of his potential espionage. Weeks later, after going in and out of consciousness, Harriet Lowe told
police that she thought Besumer was in fact a German spy, which led to his immediate arrest. Two days later Besumer was
released, and two lead investigators of the case were demoted due to unacceptable police work. Besumer was once again arrested
in August 1918, after Harriet Lowe, who lay dying in Charity Hospital after a failed surgery, stated that it was he who had
attacked her more than a month previously with his hatchet. He was charged with murder, and served nine months in prison
before being acquitted on May 1, 1919 after a ten minute jury deliberation. Harriet Lowe was attacked while in bed with Louis Besumer. As is mentioned
previously, Lowe was hacked above her left ear and found unconscious at the scene of the crime before she was rushed to Charity
Hospital. Lowe became the center of a media circus, as she continually made scandalous and often false statements relating
to both the attacks and the character of Louis Besumer, some of which are described in the preceding description. The Times-Picayune
sensationalized Lowe and her outspoken nature upon discovering that she was not the wife of Besumer, but his mistress. A
Charity Hospital source discovered the scandal, when Besumer asked to be directed to the room of "Mrs. Harriet Lowe,"
and was inevitably denied access as no woman by that name was a patient. Besumer's legal wife arrived from Cincinnati in
the days immediately following the discovery, which further inflamed the ongoing drama. Lowe further gained media attention
as she repeatedly made statements which voiced her dislike of the New Orleans chief of police, as well as her reluctance
to comply with police questioning. After the truth of her marital status was revealed publicly, Lowe told reporters from
the Times-Picayune that she would no longer aid the police in their investigation, as she suspected that it had been Chief
Mooney who first informed the press of the scandal. Despite the scandal, and her delirious statements which suggested that Besumer was a German spy, Lowe returned to
the home she shared with Besumer weeks after the attack. One side of her face was partially paralyzed due to the severity
of the attack. Lowe died August 5, 1918, just two days after doctors performed surgery in an effort to repair her partially paralyzed
face. Just prior to her death, Lowe told authorities that she suspected it was Louis Besumer who had attacked her.
Mrs.
Schneider was attacked in the early evening hours of August 5, 1918. The 8 months pregnant, 28
year old of Elmira Street, awoke to find a dark figure standing over her, and was bashed in the face repeatedly. Her scalp
had been cut open, and her face was completely covered in blood. Mrs. Schneider was discovered after midnight by her husband,
Ed Schneider, who was returning late from work. Schneider claimed that she remembered nothing of the attack, and gave birth
to a healthy baby girl two days after the incident. Her husband told police that nothing was stolen from the home, besides
six or seven dollars that had been in his wallet. The windows and doors of the apartment appear to have not been forced
open, and authorities came to the conclusion that the woman was most likely attacked with a lamp that had been on a nearby
table. James Gleason, who police said was an ex-convict, was arrested shortly after Schneider was found. Gleason was later
released due to a complete lack of evidence, and stated that he originally ran from authorities because he had so often been
arrested. Lead investigators began to publicly speculate that the attack was related to the previous incidents involving
Besumer and Maggio. 
Joseph
Romano was an elderly man living with his two nieces, Pauline and Mary Bruno. On August 10, 1918,
Pauline and Mary awoke to the sound of a commotion in the adjoining room where their uncle resided. Upon entering the room,
the sisters discovered that their uncle had taken a serious blow to his head, which resulted in two open cuts. The assailant
was fleeing the scene as they arrived, yet the girls were able to distinguish that he was a dark-skinned, heavy-set man,
who wore a dark suit and slouched hat. Romano, although seriously injured, was able to walk to the ambulance once it arrived,
yet died two days later due to severe head trauma. The home had been ransacked, yet no items were stolen from Romano. Authorities
found a bloody axe in the back yard, and discovered that a panel on the back door had been chiseled away. The Romano murder
created a state of extreme chaos in the city, with residents living in constant fear of an axman attack. Police received
a slew of reports, in which citizens claimed to have seen an axman lurking in New Orleans neighborhoods. A few men even called
to report that they had found axes in their back yards. John Dantonio, a then retired Italian detective, made
public statements in which he hypothesized that the man who had committed the axman murders was the same who had killed
several individuals in 1911. The retired detective cited similarities in the manner by which the two sets of homicides had
been committed, as reason to assume that they had been conducted by the same individual. Dantonio described the potential
killer as an individual of dual personalities, who killed without motive. This type of individual, Dantonio stated, could
very likely have been a normal, law abiding citizen, who was often overcome by an overwhelming desire to kill. He later
went on to describe the killer as a real-life "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". Charles
Cortimiglia was an immigrant who lived with his wife and baby on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Second Street
in Gretna. On the night of March 10, 1919, screams were heard coming from the Cortimiglia Residence. Grocer
Iorlando Jordano rushed across the street to investigate when he heard screams from the Cortimiglia residence.Upon his arrival,
Jordano noticed that Charles Cortimiglia, his wife Rosie, and their infant daughter, Mary, had all been attacked by the unknown
intruder. Rosie stood in the doorway with a serious head wound, clutching her deceased daughter. Charles lay on the floor,
bleeding profusely. The couple was rushed to Charity Hospital, were it was discovered that both had suffered skull fractures.
Nothing was stolen from the house, but a panel on the back door had been chiseled away. A bloody axe was found on the back
porch of the home. Charles was released two days later, while his wife remained in the care of doctors. Upon gaining full
consciousness, Rosie made claims that Iorlando Jordano and his 18 year old son, Frank, were responsible for the attacks.
Iorlando, a 69 year old man, was in too poor of health to have committed the crimes. Frank Jordano, more than six feet tall
and weighing over 200 pounds, would have been too large to have fit through the panel on the back door. Charles Cortimiglia
vehemently denied his wife's claims, yet police nonetheless arrested the two, and charged them with the murder. The men
would later be found guilty. Frank was sentenced to hang, and his father to life in prison. Charles Cortimiglia divorced
his wife after the trial. Almost a year later, Rosie announced that she had falsely accused the two out of jealousy and
spite. Her statement was the only evidence against the Jordanos, and they were released from jail shortly thereafter. Rosie
Cortimiglia was the wife of immigrant laborer Charles Cortimiglia. She was attacked alongside her husband on March
10, 1919 while sleeping with her baby in her arms. She was badly wounded by the axman, but survived the incident.Mary
Cortimiglia was the two-year-old daughter of Charles and Rosie Cortimiglia. She was killed while sleeping in her
mother's arms with a single blow to the back of the neck when she and her parents were attacked on March 10, 1919. On March 13, 1919, a letter purporting
to be from the Axman was published in the newspapers saying that he would kill again at 15 minutes past midnight on the
night of March 19, but would spare the occupants of any place where a jazz band was playing. That night many New Orleans's
dance halls were filled, while bands played jazz. Victolas also played jazz in home living rooms. There were no murders
that night. The letter read:March 13, 1919
 Hell, March 13, 1919 Esteemed Mortal: They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether
that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians
and your foolish police call the Axman. When I see fit, I shall come and claim other
victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of
he whom I have sent below to keep me company. If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I
take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid
as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover
what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axman. I don‘t think there
is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise
and know how to keep away from all harm. Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse
if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens,
for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death. Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In
my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:
I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether
regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If
everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some
of your people who do not jazz it on Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.
Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is
about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well
with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy. The Axman Some
citizens sent the newspapers invitations (to be published) for the Axman to visit their homes on that St. Joseph's Day evening
and see who would be killed first. One invitation promised to leave a window open for the Axman, politely asking that he
not damage the front door. A song was written (see above) by Joseph John Davilla titled "The Mysterious Axman's
Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa) and published by the World's Music Publishing Company which maintained an office at 413 Godchaux
Building. Steve Boca was a grocer
who was attacked in his bedroom as he slept, by an axe-wielding intruder on August 10, 1919. Boca awoke
during the night to find a dark figure looming over his bed. Upon regaining consciousness, Boca ran to the street to investigate
the intrusion, and found that his head had been cracked open. The grocer ran to the home of his neighbor, Frank Genusa,
where he lost consciousness and collapsed. Nothing had been taken from the home, yet, once again, a panel on the back door
of the home had been chiseled away. Boca recovered from his injuries, but could not remember any details of the trauma.
It should be noted that this attack took place after the emergence of the infamous axman letter. Sarah Laumann was attacked
on the night of September 3, 1919. Neighbors came to check on the young woman, who had lived alone, and
broke into the home when Laumann did not answer. They discovered the 19 year-old lying unconscious on her bed, suffering
from a severe head injury and missing several teeth. The intruder had entered the apartment through an open window, and
attacked the woman with a blunt object. A bloody axe was discovered on the front lawn of the building. Laumann recovered
from her injuries, yet couldn't recall any details from the attack. Police
arrested several suspects but all were cleared of charges. However, a murder in 1921 brought attention to the wife of
the last of the axman's victims when Esther Pepitone Albano shot and killed Joseph Mumfry in Los Angeles. Mumfry's criminal
record in New Orleans included a 1915 arrest for the murder of Vincent Moreci of which he was cleared. He had been convicted
for dynamiting the grocery of C. Graffignino at 241 South Claiborne and spent two years in the penitentiary before being paroled
in 1917. Soon after he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and sent back to prison for the parole violation.
He was realeased three months before Pepitone's murder. In 1919 he was again arrested in New Orleans -- in his pocket
was a notebook containg the the name of Angelo Albano (1100 Howard Avenue) along with aproximately 100 other names of "Italians"
living in the city as well as in Chicago, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New York, and other cities. Police suspected that
this was his blackmail list but could find no proof. Not long after Michael
Pepitone's muder, his widow married Anglo Albano (who was included in Mumfry's notebook). In 1917 Albano and Mumphry
were arrested together in Jefferson Parish. According to Esther Pepitone Albano, her second husband went missing on
October 27, 1921 after Mumfry repeatedly threatened death to both she and her husband unless they turned
over money to him. Mrs. Albano said that she was sure that Mumfry had killed her husband. She said that on December
5, 1921 Mumfry came to her and demanded $500 and threatened to kill her if she refused, so she shot him in self defense.
At the time of his death, Mumfy was using the alias "M. G. Leone".
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Axeman_of_New_Orleans and The Times-Picayune.
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