Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Wamanica. Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller,
Speaker 1: to diminish themselves. Some of used that to their advantage,
Speaker 1: disappearing into new identities. For others, a disappearance was the
Speaker 1: end to their stories, but the beginning of a new
Speaker 1: chapter in their legacies. This month, we're talking about disappearing acts.
Speaker 1: Today we're talking about a writer whose legal woes kreemed
Speaker 1: her career and life off the map and out of
Speaker 1: the public eye. Let's talk about Ida hillis Attis. Ida
Speaker 1: was born in Kansas around eighteen fifty seven. After the
Speaker 1: American Civil War began, her family moved to Mexico. Her
Speaker 1: father was a photographer. His work took him all over
Speaker 1: the country. Ida often accompanied him on these trips. She
Speaker 1: got to see Mexico through a different lens, a lens
Speaker 1: that uplifted the country's indigenous cultures, history, and the oral
Speaker 1: tales one generation passed down to the next. When she
Speaker 1: was fifteen years old, Ida's family moved to Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: Ida graduated high school there and got a job teaching.
Speaker 1: In her spare time, she wrote fictional prose for a
Speaker 1: San Francisco paper called The Argonaut. Because of her upbringing
Speaker 1: in Mexico, Ida was fluent in Spanish, so she also
Speaker 1: wrote and contributed to Mexican newspapers and periodicals. She was
Speaker 1: possibly the first American writer to translate Mexican legends into English.
Speaker 1: Her work told tales of the supernatural and centered women
Speaker 1: protagonists adventuring through love and romance. She wrote about life
Speaker 1: in California and in Mexico. Her story depicted cross cultural
Speaker 1: understanding and introduced US audiences to the traditions and history
Speaker 1: of Mexico. Ida's work gained momentum, and soon she was
Speaker 1: writing for publications like Harper's Monthly, The Los Angeles Times,
Speaker 1: and the Chicago Times. Her wit and charm translated off
Speaker 1: the page into real life. With her success came the
Speaker 1: attention of many men. In eighteen eighty seven, Ida accepted
Speaker 1: a marriage proposal from former California Governor John G. Downey,
Speaker 1: but they never made it to the altar. His family
Speaker 1: disproved of the relationship, and the governor called it off.
Speaker 1: I'da sued him for half a million dollars for breach
Speaker 1: of promise, and so began Ida's life in court. To
Speaker 1: take the heat off of her After going to court,
Speaker 1: Ida went back to Mexico, but trouble managed to find
Speaker 1: its way below the border. While there, the wife of
Speaker 1: Ida's editor accused Ida of stealing her husband. Ida was
Speaker 1: named as a co defendant in the wife's lawsuit against
Speaker 1: her husband. With two scandals to her name, Ida tried
Speaker 1: her luck again in California. She was working on her book,
Speaker 1: A History of sis southern California Counties. Her research led
Speaker 1: her straight into the arms of attorney Charles Stork. The
Speaker 1: couple married on September tenth, eighteen ninety. Ida finished writing
Speaker 1: her book and retired to take care of her new
Speaker 1: husband's teenage son. So when Charles cashed the four hundred
Speaker 1: dollars check from Ida's book deal and didn't give her
Speaker 1: a dime, Ida was particularly hurt. She left him and
Speaker 1: told her story to an La Times reporter. According to Ida,
Speaker 1: her husband began abusing her three weeks after the marriage.
Speaker 1: The story prompted an angry letter from Charles back to
Speaker 1: the La Times. He tried to discredit Ida, saying she
Speaker 1: tried to take her own life, took extreme dislike to
Speaker 1: his son, and threatened Charles's life twice. It was an
Speaker 1: arduous process. The case moved up through court after court
Speaker 1: for years until the divorce was officially granted in eighteen
Speaker 1: ninety five. Charles was ordered to pay alimony and Ida's
Speaker 1: attorney fees. Unfortunately, the nightmare didn't even end there. Charles
Speaker 1: continued to appeal. It wasn't until eighteen ninety seven that
Speaker 1: the California Supreme Court forced Charles to pay up. During
Speaker 1: this debacle, Ida moved to San Francisco and resumed writing stories.
Speaker 1: Her writing was sharper than ever. Her stories always had
Speaker 1: themes of feminism, but now they were stronger and more focused.
Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety eight, the Santa Barbara News Press, the
Speaker 1: paper Charles published, and a few local officials, received anonymous letters.
Speaker 1: These letters accused one doctor Winchester, of engaging in a
Speaker 1: moral and scandalous conduct. The doctor in question had testified
Speaker 1: against Ida in her divorce case, and the handwriting on
Speaker 1: the letters looked just like Ida's. All signs pointed to Ida.
Speaker 1: Ida denied her involvement and insisted she was set up
Speaker 1: by her ex husband's employee, a man named Teddy Grant Jackson.
Speaker 1: But despite her protests, Ida was charged with criminal libel.
Speaker 1: While awaiting her sentence, Ida took matters into her own hands.
Speaker 1: She broke into Jackson's home. She said all she did
Speaker 1: was beg him to confess to framing her. He said
Speaker 1: she tried to kill him with chloroform while he was sleeping.
Speaker 1: Either way, Ida was thrown in jail for eight months
Speaker 1: with an attempted murder charge hanging over her head. The
Speaker 1: case was eventually dismissed, and months later she won an
Speaker 1: appeal on her libel case too. After she was released,
Speaker 1: Ida disappeared from California and the public eye completely. Her
Speaker 1: name ceased to appear in newspapers and public records. Some
Speaker 1: stories say that after years of legal battles persecuting her
Speaker 1: on the grounds of insanity, she did check herself into
Speaker 1: a mental institution. According to another story, her only planned
Speaker 1: post incarceration was to leave Santa Barbara for good and
Speaker 1: go somewhere she wouldn't be persecuted. The truth about her
Speaker 1: post incarceration life largely remains unknown. What we know for
Speaker 1: sure is that in her disappearance, she left an impressive
Speaker 1: body of written work and a whirlwind of tabloid stories
Speaker 1: in her wake. All month we're talking about disappearing acts.
Speaker 1: For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
Speaker 1: and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow