He gang cinnati Ohio this is Story number two from Spring Grove Cemetery the historic Spring Grove Cemetery if you’ve not seen part one you’re going to want to check it out I’ll put the link below but this is a the same era of a story this part one this part two story
We’re going to talk about a very sad story story of a young man who was 18 years old here who well not here we happened up in northeast of Columbus a place called gambir it was Kenyan college and the year was 1905 now the fraternities and the
Sororities you know this goes back to the 1700s with these rituals and the Oaths and the hazings I mean basically the students uh the people that the students that want to join the fraternity you’ve got to go through a process first is what they call rushing
And that’s a a week or two process where all these sororities and frats kind of have parties and they kind of feel everybody out and they’re very discriminating they’re like okay you you you you’re you’re cool or you’re goodlook you’re in and well you’re not quite in you have to go through the
Pledging process and that that can take any anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months usually in fall and big part of that the biggest part of it is called hazing and all the fraternity brothers who had to go through it themselves take great pleasure in making up amazing and
Horrifying stunts and tests that they put the Freshman through and some of them are very very dangerous and and many time I would I don’t want to say many times but it it’s it wasn’t uncommon back then I mean it it’s it it was bad up until very recently still but
Back then it was pretty bad too and sometimes a student would die you know they too much alcohol or dangerous situations falling off a cliff while blindfolding at night you know stupid stuff well this this tops the list of stupid stuff and this poor boy named Stuart
Pearson 18 years old he was really excited about joining this frat and let’s take a walk I’ll tell you the story it’s very sad story and it’s kind of one that’s going to probably make you make you mad as it did me so let’s walk around this fabulous
Cemetery and look at some of the statues and some of the artwork and I’ll tell you the story so yeah 1905 up in gambir now that college was and is a liberal arts college I’m not sure if it’s as exclusive now as it was back then but back then it was pretty much
For the richy riches the the rich families right well this 18-year-old boy Stuart Pearson was the son of a wealthy Cincinnati Lumber dealer his name was newold Leroy Pearson and his mom’s name was Margaret now they were a nice upstanding and respectable family and they were part of the
Elite all the elites stuck together where would he go well he would go to Kenyon that was the that was the elite place to go Kenyon College and Stuart was a freshman and of course he wanted a pledge for am Men’s Fraternity the most exclusive one which was called Delta Kappa
Epsilon and this was the Lambda chapter now this was a very I say exclusive because I mean they had they had people like Teddy Roosevelt went there I don’t know if he went to that chapter but he was part of that fraternity everybody wanted to get in
There and Stuart was this really likable guy this boy I mean just was 18 and he was small in stature but huge personality I mean under key not overstated everybody loved him so he got his bid and he was really excited to try to pledge for this fraternity and these guys had some
Really terrorizing hazing tests and they had a special one for Stuart they decided that it was going to be on the night of October 28th 1905 was just before Halloween and steuart’s turn they decided it would be most amusing to tie him up to the railroad
Tracks down in the woods on the bridge in order to really scare the crap out of them you know the idea was to tie them up and say hey see you later we hope we get back before a train comes well of course they wouldn’t leave
Him there to get run over by a train they knew what the train schedule was highly Dependable train no train scheduled for that night so all would be okay but Stuart wouldn’t know that he would be terrorized so they took them there in the dark under the
Moonlight they tied them up they laid them out and they left steuart could probably hear their laughing fading away in the darkness but unfortunately what those guys didn’t know is that there was a special train coming that night and it came now just imagine this poor boy laying there tied up he’s not
Blindfolded and he can hear it coming he can see the light he is struggling trying to get off rolling trying to get off the tracks at least but he was probably in a complete panic and as it was quoted in the paper the train came and tore the boy to
Shreds just imagine his last seconds looking up seeing the light the rumble the ground the bridge actually vibrating as it rolls over him and tears his body into little pieces just terrible well the boys came back and they couldn’t find Stewart where’s Stuart they’re looking around they’re looking up they’re
Looking down he’s not there on the bridge where they left him so they walk in the Moonlight to the other side of the bridge still can’t find them but there one of the boys looks and he’s horrified to see the mangled body of Stuart on the side of the tracks literally in
Pieces holy cow we are in trouble now is that really him yes well what could they do they panicked they didn’t leave him there and this gets to the story They Carried him in a bundle they wrapped the pieces of his corpse up as best they could down the tracks then up
On to College Hill passing Old Kenyon where Stewart’s room was and I’ve got a picture of that that I’ll show you right here you can see his room the red circle they did not want I guess they said they did not want steuart’s father to see or find his body
But what would you do if you were in that this gets to the end of the story would you do that as kids no you would leave the body there you’d call the the authorities they didn’t why cuz they probably needed to remove evidence like the rope that they tied them up just
Maybe just think about it well they went back and interestingly interestingly the of course the the the police were called and the authorities in the college and but interestingly Stuart’s father did not want to press the investigation he wanted to hush the whole thing up I mean he was devastated yeah
But nobody wanted to talk about about it of course the fraternity didn’t the college didn’t this would look really bad and it would look really bad to steuart’s Father why why because Stuart’s father was one time a member of that same Fraternity in 1880 alumni and as such he swore the
Oath he swore the Delta Kappa Epsilon oath which which reads I swear by all my hopes on Earth to keep this pledge with the Brethren of our order may my life be a cursed my death be loathsome my heart cut out and cast into the
Dust My Flesh rot from my bones my bones crumble away if I ever reveal any of the secrets of our beloved order or betray my brethren but was it just being loyal to his brothers the alumni the father no why I’ll tell you why because the father was there he was part
Of it he came to celebrate Stewart’s initiation he was part of the plan he was smoking a cigar back at the fraternity Lodge while his boy was run over by the train and what did they all say we sent steuart down there no he was to wait for the committee they were
Going to go down and do the stunt but he was there ahead of time we sent him by himself to wait for us yeah right that was the beginning of the big cover up his own father was part of it yes the big cover up well the coroner got
Involved and the coroner knew that something was a miss these things were not adding up he found all kinds of evidence he even found on the body rope burns on Stuart’s wrists he found that Stuart’s shoulders were dislocated he was obviously struggling to get out of his bindings before he was
Hit but no ropes were found and what’s really despicable is that the coroner received an anonymous note and the anonymous note came from none other than the University it was unsigned but everybody knew who it was from basically said that unless you stop harassing the university and pushing this
Case we’re going to come find you and we’re going to make it warm for you which means I’m going to beat the crap out of you so yeah everybody was in on the cover up well after this walk we got some more information from some more research on
The autopsy and turns out that not only did Stewart have rope burns on his wrists but one of his hands was completely torn off and it was not pulled off by the train impact it was actually wrenched off by steart himself they think as he desperately tried to escape
Well it turns out that only Stuart’s head was demolished not his entire body in fact which means sadly he he almost saved Himself Yeah two men the father and the college presidents what were their names I’ll tell you I will tell you both of these names so they can go down in history as the Cowardly bums that they were bum number one the college president’s name William F Pierce William F Pierce remember that
Name who by the way was interestingly originally the professor of psychology and ethics at Kenyon in 1892 became its president in 1896 that’s right ethics showing good ethics then in 1901 he was ordained as a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1894 and he became a priest 1901 that’s right a
Priest what a pathetic hypocrite and that’s his legacy that’s his legacy the father bum number two new bold Leroy Pearson yeah we mentioned his name at the beginning fraternity Brothers come first oh and by the way old newold got his 22 years later he was hit and killed
When he stepped in front of a car being driven by a 17-year-old young man fractures of the skull and left leg he was 70 years old when he was killed the father that that helped kill his son and then went along with the cover up and that’s his legacy that’s his
Legacy what a cover up what do you guys think do you guys think it was Stuart went to the tracks and you know did that all by himself got run over by a train you know stupid enough to just sit there as the train came hit me
Oops or do you think he was tied up and the whole thing was a cover up I think it’s obvious at least to me the family plot is right up here there were other brothers that steart had and there are descendants I wonder what they all
Think it’s quite a big Monument here for the family and a lot of graves I see the inscription here these are more recent this is the inscription that we’re looking for new buold L Pearson 1857 of 1928 and then Margaret 1866 to 1938 she lived almost 10 years later and then there’s Stewarts
And script ion son of 1887 1905 and here are their graves the father’s grave the mother’s grave and Stuart for Stewart right here well that’s the story here so yeah I I guess I I question the university you know maybe there’s a plaque there maybe there’s a plaque for Stuart in the
Student center don’t you think there should be I mean it was a university coverup I don’t know do you think they remember him I’ll bet not I don’t think the sports teams have any you know they wear the black stripe right oh that’s for recent stuff they’re uh universities called the owls they
Used to be called the Lords and the ladies how appropriate how ironic the Lords and the ladies well the Lords and the ladies if you go there now you need to know this history of the coverup that’s your Collegiate Legacy at Kenyan College in gambir well all that said I do hope that
The the Pearson family especially Stewart’s resting in peace so long folks see you on the next next one I
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