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Catherine Tross
Died December 26, 1892. Aged 22 years, 6 months, and 9 days. She was a native of Washington, D.C., black, and the wife of Frostburg resident, Isaac Tross.
Isaac had been a ladies man and his marriage to Catherine caused great despair among three former local girl friends that desired Isaac’s pocketbook, as well as his affections. With an accomplice, they conspired to put just enough poison in Catherine’s beer to make her ill in hope of scaring her into leaving town. The dosage turned out to be lethal. The four perpetrators were arrested and jailed, but all were eventually released within four months due to a lack of evidence.
Illustration of Tross grave stone in Percy Cemetery, Frostburg.
Dr. Anthony E. Crosby Jr. and Dr. Michael R. Olson, Sociology, FSU, "Commemorating Frostburg’s Percy Cemetery: Restoration and Research", revised edition, Frostburg Journal, August 2000. Also available at Percy Cemetery, Frostburg.