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Katherine Ann (McFee/McPhee) Stevens, was the wife of Mr. Byron E. Stevens. The couple resided in Brooklyn Ward 7, New York, USA with their 5 daughters(1). Story has it that Katherine was killed in New York when a stranger pushed her from a passenger train. Byron then joined a shipping crew headed for Panama. Ship Record: Sailing from Cristobal, Canal Zone, Panama, Byron E. Stevens died at sea, 05 June 1919 on the S.S. Advance. He lived at 2586 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, New York. He was a widower. A series of searches of periodicals did not yield any valid results. A search of interment records did produce a likely result, Catherine Stevens buried on the 1st of August, 1911 at lot(1715) section(87) (3). These two records support the timeline of Katherine being killed but I don't see any proof to support the theory.

Would be excited to know if she was in fact killed, and if so who killed her.

(1) 1910 US Census, Place: Brooklyn Ward 7, Kings, New York; Roll: T624_957; Page: 10B; Enumeration District0100; FHL microfilm: 1374970; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5QC-VDF

(2) Source:Ship Record: Sailing from Cristobal, Canal Zone, Panama, Byron E. Stevens died at sea, 05 June 1919 on the S.S. Advance. He lived at 2586 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, New York. He was a widow.

(3) Green-Wood Cemetery Burial Index

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Are you asking about Barbara Stanwyck's mother? Is so, you might want to check the source that her Wikipedia article cites to see what the original source of the information was.

Given that specific timeframe (funeral two weeks before the father left) and the dramatic nature of the crime, it doesn't seem like it should be that hard to find a contemporary newspaper account.

The NYC death index at italiangen.org has the following entry which is a good match for your grave:

Surname Given Name Age Month Day Year Certificate Number County
Stevens Catherine 42 y Jul 29 1911 14976 Kings

In addition to checking the death certificate, you could also see if you could get a volunteer to photograph the grave marker for you. It may contain additional information which establishes the relationship of the person buried there.

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  • This was the mother of Barbara Stanwyck (Ruby Catherine Stevens). I pointed out the lack of records and periodicals. +1 for the death certificate #. The other records are un-sourced as far as I'm concerned. Thank You for the attempt. : }
    – Ezri Rediker
    Jan 1, 2013 at 21:01
  • Does "as far as I'm concerned" mean that you've actually checked the bio for any sources that it cites or are you just assuming that it won't have any such citation? Do you have a photo of the grave marker? The description of the "periodical search" doesn't really say what you searched. Did you do a page by page scan of all major newspapers for 2 or more days after her death or just throw a generic query at an OCR'd database?
    – Tom Morris
    Jan 2, 2013 at 13:20
  • I didn't intend to insult you Tom Morris. I've searched the available online periodicals for many months prior and after. By unsourced I contend that the Wiki article is unsourced. It only provides the page, I'm reading the multiple biographies in my spare time. I upvoted your answer because of the death certificate #. Good job, buddy. : }
    – Ezri Rediker
    Jan 3, 2013 at 2:00

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