https://www.reddit.com/r/cincinnati/comments/1igf0ji/once_upon_a_time_on_peete_street/
created by missmelic on 03/02/2025 at 02:48 UTC
9 upvotes, 1 top-level comments (showing 1)
Another poster’s photos of Peete Street reminded me of this excerpt from America Bewitched.
“…An elderly German woman named Christina Meyer, who lived at a boarding house at 45 Peete Street, Cincinnati, was one such victim of childish persecution in 1878. The area was a heartland of the German immigrant community in the city, so she certainly did not stand out because of her background. She did arouse curiosity, however, for regularly sitting on the floor of her room at night with a candle between her feet reading an old book. Her window gave onto the street so she was something of a public spectacle. One suspects she was browsing her Bible or some German religious text, but the local children imagined the solitary old woman was reading up on her charms and spells. Meyer was pestered by children peering at her through the window, and by the protective crosses they drew on her door and the threshold. Two girls named Clara and Lena Roher were particularly troublesome. The Roher parents were also German immigrants, and the family lived in the same house as Meyer. A newspaper report on the case suggested the girls were 19 and 17 respectively, which would perhaps give a different complexion to the situation, but the census shows they were only 16 and 13 at the time. Meyer was so disturbed by the accusations and activities that she prosecuted the two girls. Brought before the local court, Squire Schwab lectured the girls on their foolish beliefs and persecution of Meyer and ordered bonds of $100 to ensure their good behavior. This no doubt caused some disruption to relations in the street and we find the two years later, Meyer was no longer living in Peete Street and the Rohers had moved around the corner to Mulberry Street.”
There isn’t anything at 45 Peete Street now, but I always think of Christina’s story when I see the name.
Reported in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune first on 12 June 1878 and then retold by Owen Davies.
Comment by Handeaux at 03/02/2025 at 03:04 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I wrote about Christina some time ago. Odd story.
https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/cincinnatis-fireproof-witches/[1][2]
1: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/cincinnatis-fireproof-witches/
2: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/cincinnatis-fireproof-witches/