Today in New Jersey History:
May 13, 1849: William Henry “Willie” McGee was born in Newark. On August 29, 1863 McGee, then a waiter, enlisted in the 33rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. He went on to be awarded the Medal of Honor under false circumstances, become an army officer with assistance from New Jersey governor Marcus Ward, then be dishonorably discharged after shooting a fellow officer in the back, marry three different women and desert them and pass himself off as the only survivor of Custer’s last stand, among other dubious achievements that make him stand out as one of New Jersey’s greatest 19th century scoundrels and con men. McGee apparently died in the early 20th century in Sing Sing prison in New York while serving a sentence for stabbing a man to death in a fight over the quality of a meat pie.
May 13, 1881: The body of Philomena Muller was discovered near Weehawken. She had been in a bigamous relationship with Martin Kenkowsky, both being married to other people at the time. Kenkowsky, who promised to bring her back to Germany, apparently murdered her the same day he married her.
