Topics in Chronicling America - The Kidnapping of Ellen Stone

Jump to: Sample Articles

Important Dates:

• September 3, 1901: Ellen Stone, an American missionary, is captured in the Ottoman Balkans by members of a Macedonian revolutionary organization seeking independence from the Ottomans.
• September 26, 1901: A missionary colleague of Miss Stone receives a letter from her. The letter states that the captors demand $110,000 in ransom.
• September 28, 1901: The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions announces that it cannot pay the ransom. The U.S. government also announces that it will not pay the ransom.
• October 1901: Stone’s relatives and a group of Boston ministers appeal to the American public to raise money to pay the ransom.
• October 1901: C.M. Dickinson, an American diplomat in Bulgaria begins negotiating with the bandits for Miss Stone’s release. Dickinson requests that the bandits accept a lower sum, arguing that it is impossible to raise $110,000. February 1902: The captors, after initially refusing, accept the reduced sum, and Miss Stone is released.

Suggested Search Strategies:

• [Try the following terms in combination, proximity, or as phrases using Search Pages in Chronicling America.] Miss Stone, missionary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonian Committee, American Board of Foreign Missions, ransom.
• To narrow results, search between September 1901 and February 1902.

Sample Articles from Chronicling America:

• "Captured by Brigands," The Houston Daily Post (Houston, TX), September 7, 1901, Page 3, Image 3, col. 4.
• "Miss Stone, Abducted, Tells of Her Plight," The Evening World (New York, NY), September 27, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 3.
• "Miss Stone's Imprisonment," The Houston Daily Post (Houston, TX), September 29, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 4.
• "To Secure Miss Stone's Release," The Salt Lake Herald (Salt Lake City, UT), October 4, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 6.
• "$17,808 for Stone Ransom Money to Save Her Life," The Evening World (New York, NY), October 5, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.
• "Refuses," The Akron Daily Democrat (Akron, OH), October 17, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.
• "Roosevelt hopes to get Respite for Miss Stone, Brigands' Captive," The Evening World (New York, NY), October 7, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 6.
• "Ransom not yet Paid, but Captive Still Lives," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), October 9, 1901, Page 8, Image 8, col. 1.
• "Russian Authorities Aiding in the Rescue of Miss Stone," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), October 22, 1901, Page 5, Image 5, col. 3.
• "Lessons for Turks and Bulgarians," The Minneapolis Journal (Minneapolis, MN), October 30, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 6.
• "Miss Stone, Captive of Bulgarian Bandits, Will be liberated within a Few Days," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), October 30, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.
• "Full Ransom or Nothing, Brigands Say," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), November 1, 1901, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.
• "Why the Stone Case Worries Europe," Bisbee Daily Review (Bisbee, AZ), January 19, 1902, Page 2, Image 2, col. 2.
• "Brigands Give up Miss Stone," The Suburban Citizen (Washington, DC), February 22, 1902, Page 1, Image 1, col. 3.
• "Say they Stole Women to Set Country Free," The Salt Lake Herald (Salt Lake City, UT), February 24, 1902, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.