WEBVTT - The Backstory: Kate Chase: From the belle of Washington to egg lady

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<v Speaker 1>Are you with me here? You'll look at pics of

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<v Speaker 1>people from the eighteen hundreds and they look so serious

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<v Speaker 1>and respectable. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but

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<v Speaker 1>that wasn't always the case. They just kept their indiscretions

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<v Speaker 1>under wraps. In Washington, d C. During the Civil War,

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<v Speaker 1>Kate Chase was the reigning Society princess. Her father, a widower,

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<v Speaker 1>was Treasury Secretary, and Kate was his official hostess and escort.

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<v Speaker 1>So how did she go from being a rich, beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>queen bee to selling eggs and produced door to door

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<v Speaker 1>to make ends meet. I'm Patty Steele, from the toast

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<v Speaker 1>of Washington to poverty stricken egg lady. It was all

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<v Speaker 1>about sex. That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back.

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<v Speaker 1>Imagine you're born into a life of luxury, a wealthy

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<v Speaker 1>intellectual father, a beautiful young mother. You are exquisitely beautiful,

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly well mannered, and best of all, celebrated for your

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<v Speaker 1>intense intense despite being a woman in what was definitely

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<v Speaker 1>a man's world. Kate Chase was the daughter of Salmon Chase,

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<v Speaker 1>a brilliant guy who went on to become Abe Lincoln's

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<v Speaker 1>secretary at the Treasury and eventually Chief Justice of the

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<v Speaker 1>Supreme Court. Yeah, that's a lot to live up to.

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<v Speaker 1>But Kate far exceeded everybody's expectations. She was gorgeous, tall

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<v Speaker 1>and slender, with an incredible figure. But in addition to beauty,

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<v Speaker 1>her expensive, fabulous wardrobe, and her style and charm, she

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<v Speaker 1>was brilliant. She could handle herself in the most intense

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<v Speaker 1>political conversations. When she first arrived in DC from her

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<v Speaker 1>home in Ohio as her father joined Lincoln's cabinet, one

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<v Speaker 1>politician described her as follows. She was about nineteen, tall

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<v Speaker 1>and slender, exceedingly well formed. Her nose was somewhat audaciously

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<v Speaker 1>tipped up, fitting pleasingly into her face with its large,

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<v Speaker 1>languid yet vivacious hazel eyes shaded by long dark lashes,

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<v Speaker 1>and arched by proud eyebrows. Eyebrows can be proud. He

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<v Speaker 1>went on to say. The fine forehead was framed in

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<v Speaker 1>waving gold brown hair. She had something imperial in the

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<v Speaker 1>pose of her head, and her movements possessed an exquisite

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<v Speaker 1>natural charm. No wonder she was admired as a great

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<v Speaker 1>beauty and broke many hearts, and Miss Kate took a

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<v Speaker 1>lively and remarkably intelligent part in conversations that soon turned

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<v Speaker 1>itself upon politics. That is a fan. She was in

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<v Speaker 1>demand for every social event. She visited army camps, she

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<v Speaker 1>was friends with high powered politicians and generals, and with

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<v Speaker 1>all that going for her, every man in Washington wanted her,

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<v Speaker 1>and women either wanted to be her, or, like Mary

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<v Speaker 1>Todd Lincoln, they hated her, which Kate actually seemed to enjoy.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, when Kate married the very wealthy Civil War

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<v Speaker 1>general turned Rhode Island governor turned senator William Sprague in

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<v Speaker 1>the social event of eighteen sixty three, Mary Lincoln refused

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<v Speaker 1>to go with her husband Abe to the wedding. He

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<v Speaker 1>went alone. He was not immune to Kate's charms. As

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<v Speaker 1>a wedding gift, Sprague gave Kate a tiara that today

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<v Speaker 1>would cost well over a million dollars. She had it all.

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<v Speaker 1>Kate was devoted to her father, to the point that

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<v Speaker 1>she actually had married Sprague solely as a financial resource

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<v Speaker 1>to help her dad run against Lincoln in the election

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<v Speaker 1>of eighteen sixty four. He wanted the Republican nomination. Both

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<v Speaker 1>Kate and her father saw the White House as his

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate goal, but folks found out that Chase's dad had

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<v Speaker 1>plotted against the president in the run up to the election.

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<v Speaker 1>Plus the war had turned around. All that allowed Lincoln

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<v Speaker 1>to win his second term, much to Kate and her

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<v Speaker 1>father's disappointment. But the problem was she was now stuck

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<v Speaker 1>married to William Sprague, who had become an abusive alcoholic

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<v Speaker 1>with a violent temper. He was a notorious womanizer and

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<v Speaker 1>was rapidly descending into insanity. Well, it seems, Kate continued

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<v Speaker 1>to enjoy all the intention in other men gave her.

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<v Speaker 1>There were rumors that she had numerous affairs beginning shortly

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<v Speaker 1>after her marriage. While she and her husband had four kids,

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<v Speaker 1>the last two, according to gossip, might have had different fathers.

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<v Speaker 1>Now along comes one of the hottest men in Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>not just powerful and wealthy. Senator Roscoe Conkling was considered

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<v Speaker 1>to be the best looking man in politics. He was

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<v Speaker 1>devoted to exercise, unusual in those days. He was about

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<v Speaker 1>six foot three, a big, well built guy who dressed impeccably,

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<v Speaker 1>had incredible manners, and he was a remarkable speaker. Despite

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that both he and Kate are married to

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<v Speaker 1>other people, they fall in love or maybe it was lust.

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<v Speaker 1>Their affairs uncovered when Kate's drunken husband shows up unexpectedly

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<v Speaker 1>at their summerhouse in Narragancet, Rhode Island. Yikes, he finds

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<v Speaker 1>Roscoe lounging in a bathrobe having breakfast with Kate. Sprague

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<v Speaker 1>chases him out with a shotgun. None of this looks good,

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<v Speaker 1>The New York Times to scribes the incident. Senator Roscoe

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<v Speaker 1>Conkling was a frequent visitor at the Sprague's estate and

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<v Speaker 1>was unpleasantly conspicuous in the proceedings which ended in the

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<v Speaker 1>divorce of the Sprague's mister. Conkling had been forbidden by

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<v Speaker 1>mister Sprague to come to the house, but Sprague later

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<v Speaker 1>met Conkling coming from the rear of the house. Reports

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<v Speaker 1>had it that Conkling jumped from a window, with Sprague

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<v Speaker 1>coming after him with his old Civil War musket in

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<v Speaker 1>his hands. Sprague apparently also threatened to throw Kate out

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<v Speaker 1>of a second story window, but instead he has her

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<v Speaker 1>locked in her room. Kate manages to escape and the

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<v Speaker 1>Spragues separate permanently. The pair divorced a few years later,

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<v Speaker 1>but she got no money from her ex. In those days,

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<v Speaker 1>a woman involved in an affair forfeited any right to

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<v Speaker 1>her husband's financial support. As for Roscoe, he went back

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<v Speaker 1>to his wife. So Kate took her three girls and

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<v Speaker 1>moved to her father's home outside of d c. While

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<v Speaker 1>her son, Willie continued to live with his father. Sadly,

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<v Speaker 1>Willie committed suicide at the age of twenty five. Kate

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<v Speaker 1>became a recluse. Her father now long dead, no financial

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<v Speaker 1>help from her husband, and the failure of her dead

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<v Speaker 1>father's businesses, so she was penniless. In order to get by,

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<v Speaker 1>Kate raised chickens and vegetables and sold eggs and produce

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<v Speaker 1>door to door the last decades of her life. People

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<v Speaker 1>said she looked years older than she was, but she

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<v Speaker 1>allowed no photos to be taken of her. She died

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<v Speaker 1>of liver failure in eighteen ninety nine, at the age

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<v Speaker 1>of just fifty eight. In her obituary, the Washington Post

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<v Speaker 1>called her the most brilliant woman of her day. None

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<v Speaker 1>outshone her, but newspapers said only two or three close

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<v Speaker 1>relatives gathered for her burial. They said, dust to dust,

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<v Speaker 1>ashes to ashes. The mortal remains of the daughter of

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<v Speaker 1>Salmon p Chase were laid to rest forever beside the

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<v Speaker 1>dust of her illustrious father. This remarkable woman came closer

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<v Speaker 1>to being queen than any other American woman ever has

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<v Speaker 1>for a while, she had owned her time. The question is,

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<v Speaker 1>how does that kind of an RC happen in just

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<v Speaker 1>one lifetime. Hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty

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<v Speaker 1>Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>Duran Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.

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<v Speaker 1>Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday

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<v Speaker 1>and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with

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<v Speaker 1>comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty

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<v Speaker 1>Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history

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