The Ghost of Gil-Martin's Castle

The veiled white woman terrorized several horses and ladies, in the fall of 1900, up on the heights of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The Eagle described her as "a white figure stalking along the road," reminiscent of Wilkie Collins' ghostly character Anne Catherick does in The Woman In White (1860).

Bay Ridge, originally named Yellow Hook (for the yellowish soil there) was renamed after a yellow fever outbreak in 1853. In the late 19th century, many wealthy New Yorkers built summer homes on the Bay Ridge heights, on Shore Road.

The ghost was always seen near a curious castle-like house at Fort Hamilton Avenue and 18th Street. The odd-looking house, pictured above, was set back on a large thickly-wooded lot. Several old columns were scattered among the trees and rough stones were left here and there from the construction of the castle.

The image above is from the Eagle. Underneath, it is stated that the castle was inspired by "Greek and Pompeiian models," and that parts of "several buildings" were used to construct it. The exterior was from a "Fifth Avenue brownstone." This was dismantled, and the stones were sent by barge from Manhattan to Bay Ridge.

The castle was owned by a wealthy artist who liked to roam the neighborhood barefoot, wearing knickerbockers. His name was Joseph Palmerston Gill-Martin.* He was born around 1867 in Ireland. He worked as the curator of the Ansonia Hotel, for W.E.D. Stokes, buying and restoring paintings to display in the hotel. He also painted landscapes, describing himself as "a lights and shadows artist."

Soon after his arrival in August 1900, Bay Ridge residents noticed a ghostly figure, a woman in white, drifting down Fort Hamilton Avenue in the evening darkness. By the end of September she had frightened enough people to attract attention from the local papers. Two women driving in a carriage had an accident when their horse reared up at the sight of the ghostly woman. The carriage was smashed and the women were injured as well.

A Miss Georgiana Dathe and Miss Lilliette Stewart heard of this and went off to see the ghost for themselves. They did - and Georgiana fainted at the sight. Some Bay Ridgers thought that it was the ghost of Mrs. Gill-Martin, wandering in the woods near the house.

They were only partly right. The so-called ghost was indeed Joseph's ex-wife. Her name was May Nolan Moore Gill-Martin - but she was very much alive.

Marie Josephine (May) Nolan Moore had been the wealthy widow of "a prominent English Army officer." Like Joseph, she had been born in Ireland and brought up in New York City. They were married sometime in the mid to late 1890s.** Joseph and May's relationship grew rocky about 1898-9, when they were living in South Brooklyn. May began to shop rather often at the dry-goods emporium belonging to Patrick McInerney. Joseph suspected that May was doing more than buying curtains.

He was furious and sued McInerney for alienating May's affections - to the tune of $100,000. The judge awarded him $10,000. Joseph promptly divorced May, then built his castle. But her charms must have been prodigious, for she moved there with him as soon as it was built. She sometimes came to the door for deliveries, tradesmen said, but always wore a veil.

Six months later, in May 1901, Joseph informed the Bay Ridge police that "they [were] going to keep a strict watch on the premises" because he had a lot of money stashed away inside. Joseph also said that May was "only living in the house as his ward and not as his wife." The Eagle added that Joseph liked all the stories about him and May because "he claims to be an artist."

In October 1902, Joseph and May remarried.

SOURCES

"Romance in a Ghost Story," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sept. 27, 1900, p. 1.
"The Gil-Martin House At Bay Ridge," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sept. 30, 1900, p. 7.
"Bay Ridge's Visitant," New York Times, Sept. 27, 1900, p. 2.
"Gil-Martin Castle Guarded," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 15, 1901, p. 20.

* His surname was sometimes spelled in the papers with one 'l' - so that it resembled the name of the devilish Gil-Martin in Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) by James Hogg.

**See here at ItalianGen for the Gill-Martin marriage record entry, giving Marie's name as Marie Gillmartin - presumably a remarriage. The same date is recorded in the IGI, but there Marie's maiden name is given (Marie Josephine Nolan/Nolon).