Tillie Smith

SEASON 1 : EPISODE 2
JUNE 6, 2022

I am excited to share tonight’s story with you because while well known locally where I live, it is not widely known. Also, it combines two of my favorite things to talk about - true crime and hauntings. If ever a murder victim had reason to haunt somewhere, this is it. This is the story of Tillie Smith.

Listen via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher or where ever you listen to podcasts.

James Titus

2.bp.blogspot.com

Tillie Smith

Forsakenlydeparted.com

Monument erected in Tillie Smith’s memory in Union Cemetery in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

Forsakenlydeparted.com

Grave of James Titus in Union Cemetery in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

Findagrave.com

Original building of Centenary Collegiate Institute in Hackettstown, NJ

Lehighvalleylive.com

Victorian Umbrella Defense: How To Defend Yourself: San Francisco Call, 1902

Racingelliebly.com

A woman using her umbrella during a ‘Lesson In the Art of Womanly Self-Defense’, 1906

History.com

Victorian Umbrella Defense: Philadelphia Institute of Physical Culture, 1908

Racingelliebly.com

Episode Sources

Articles

Centenary University

The Mystery of Tillie Smith

Matilda “Tillie” Smith

James J Titus

The Story of Tillie Smith

Murdered Maid Haunts Centenary College

Tillie Smith murder at Centenary College remains part of Hackettstown lore

Weird NJ: Ghost of Centenary College

She Died in Defense of Her Honor

Vintage photos of Centenary University over 150 years

Local author, paranormal investigator team up to research 1886 murder of Tillie Smith

Victorian Society Tip

Early 1900s Women Had an Ingenious Method for Fending Off Gropers

Sherlock Holmes and the Womanly Art of Self-Defense

Victorian Umbrella Defense Surpassed Perilous Hatpins