March 31, 2023
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about a brazen swindler who once stayed at her ancestor’s Wolfe Tavern & Hotel. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
The famous Wolfe Tavern & Hotel, once located on 98 State Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts, hosted many colorful characters back in the day. One such was Philip Doremus Watkins (1879-1935), an infamous grifter who stayed for four months and left behind a trail of bounced checks, broken hearts, and bad debt.
The scandal shyster made headlines all over the country and created a great sensation. Although Watkins came from a monied, respectable family in Montclair, New Jersey, his reputation from an early age was that of a spendthrift sharpie and social lion. He used his posh background to disguise his chicanery.
His father, Dr. Samuel Watkins, was a wealthy dentist; his grandfather, Philip Doremus, was president of the Montclair Savings Bank; and his uncle, Edwin Burpee Goodell, was a well-known corporate lawyer. All three men ended up having to rescue their rogue relation.
In 1901 Watkins brought his swindle schemes to Massachusetts. He contacted businessman Clifford A. Moore of Lowell and convinced him that he was a recent Yale graduate about to be flush with cash.
Moore was so impressed with Watkins that he set him up with Peter Wilson, the proprietor of Amesbury File Works. Watkins was given a position as acting manager and treasurer of the firm.
According to newspaper reports, Watkins conducted himself with the manners of a French count. He caused quite a flutter in Amesbury society. He was charming, tall, and handsome.
The local gals were smitten. He was an “A” game golfer and gained entry to all the clubs, where he was dubbed the “original shirt-waist man” for his athletic physique and gilded fashion.
He won the confidence of Curtis E. Adkins, a cashier at the Amesbury National Bank who would fall prey to Watkins’ great racket.
Rumors began to circulate that Watkins was not making payroll and owed large debts. Moore confronted Watkins, but this cool con cat had a story.
Watkins claimed he was the victim of a swindle made by Chauncey Street Brokerage House in Boston. He promised he would make good on the losses. Moore investigated and discovered that Watkins worked at the brokerage house and fleeced the firm out of money.
With the heat on his trail, Watkins headed over the bridge to Newburyport where he created the same facade. He checked in at the Wolfe Tavern where he landed himself the prettiest belle of the town.
In his new digs, Watkins started to court brunette beauty Etta “Ethel” Hall Boardman, daughter of Captain Thomas Henry Boardman, who made a fortune in the tugboat industry and Merrimac River Towing Company.
Watkins’ smooth wooing won Etta over and the couple announced their engagement. Watkins’ parents made a motor trip up to meet the bride to be. They stayed at the Wolfe and hosted fancy dinners with champagne toasts, oblivious to their son’s web of deceit.
The blissful betrothal was short lived. The hot romance soon grew chilly when Etta caught wind of Watkins’ exploits and empty coffers. She sent him packing.
Now the hottest topic of gossip, Watkins made tracks. In a Pullman car headed west he worked his magical charm on heiress Helen “Maud” Shonfeld, daughter of Omaha tycoon Henry Austin Shonfeld and Sophia Petitt.
The couple married within days, on 10 June 1902. The newlyweds’ lavish bridal tour was bankrolled via a little black checkbook Watkins clipped from the Amesbury File Works.
When his con was discovered, it was displayed in the society pages. Sources say the new bride had passed up proposals from a duke, two earls, and a host of diplomats to hitch with Watkins.
Relations and friends claimed Watkins hypnotized the lass and her father told the press: “When I find him, I will shoot him on sight.”
More discovery revealed that a slew of businesses and hotel bonifaces were left in the lurch from Watkins’ rubber checks.
And when he caught up with T. Wesley Wright, a family friend, Watkins persuaded him to cash a check for $400. The poor lad was duped and could not get reimbursement. He contacted the Watkins family and the fuzz.
Wright’s report led to Watkins’ capture. He was arrested on August 28 in New Castle, Wyoming. The honeymoon was over.
Meanwhile, back on the North Shore, the Newburyport Daily News reported on August 23 that more bad checks were passed by Watkins using the Amesbury bank.
Forgery was added to Watkins’ criminal trickery. He stole the identities of two locals: George William Swain and Stanton Warren Bray.
Swain worked in the shipping industry in Boston. Bray was a master auto mechanic, and a frequent guest at the Wolfe, who managed Central Street Garage for Carl R. Walton and Rodney E. Stevens.
Swain and Bray had to defend their honor and clear their names on warrants issued for charges of fraudulent checks. Swain was also charged for beating up on a hotel owner, another crime committed by Watkins on his spree.
During the hunt for the fraudster, Amesbury’s Chief of Police Stephen Carter Osgood traveled to California to assist authorities. Watkins was a much-wanted man. He passed well over $2,000 in bogus checks drawn on the Amesbury bank. That is equivalent to over $70,000 today.
After he was busted his family joined forces, using their cash and connections, to bail him out of debt and the slammer. All was right with Watkins’ world again.
Watkins and his wife had one daughter, Darthea Beckwith Watkins, who married William Henry Coffin, a direct descendant of Newbury’s Tristram and Dionis Coffin who settled Nantucket.
Etta Boardman married Edward Newton Carr in 1930.
If Watkins was living today, he would be trolling Tinder for targets to finagle his trickery!
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Note on the header image: the Wolfe Tavern & Hotel, Newburyport, Massachusetts. Courtesy of James Zafris of Newburyport.
Articles on Wolfe Tavern:
Just wondering what is at the location now where the WOLFE TAVERN used to be? I have an old dinner menu from around 1892.
Hi Rick, the location is now the Newburyport Library on State Street. Thanks.