The Ricochet of Virginia Brannen’s Betrayal
A man’s vengeance at rejection started a ricochet of tragedy that tore through the hearts of anyone in reach.
A Small-Town Girl Moves to New York City
Virginia Brannen was a small-town girl from Maine. She was the daughter of Joseph Brannen, a Maine Central Railroad Construction Engineer, and his wife, Margaret O’Neil Brannen, both immigrants from Canada [5, 18]. She had six sisters, and a brother, Francis. She was much loved by her family and friends [7]. It was her friend Gertrude McDonald who had lured her to Manhattan in New York with the promise of work. This was her second time in New York City, this time only being back around 25 days before tragedy struck [1, 5, 18]. Unbeknownst to her parents, or even the family friend she stayed with, she had started working at the Dime a Dance Halls [27, 32]. Aside from how she earned her money, she was also secretly engaged to be married to Henry Miller. He was to take her to a completely different life in May where they would be wedded in her favorite month because it is “when lilacs bloom” [14]. She was going out with her friends…
