Murder victim; folk figure. Said to be Centenary College's resident ghost and the namesake of its campus coffee shop, 19-year-old Tillie Smith was a poor country girl who had worked as a kitchen maid at the college during the 1880s.
Born c.1866, in April 1886 she was found murdered in a field behind the school. James J. Titus, a 29-year-old janitor and fellow employee, was arrested and convicted of rape and murder after a sensational trial.
Initially sentenced to the gallows, in May 1877 the condemned man confessed that he had accidentally killed Tillie during a quarrel. Claiming that she had seduced him into having an affair, the 29-year-old husband and father said that he had grabbed her by the throat in a desperate attempt to quiet her talk of being pregnant and threats to reveal their relationship.
His death sentence was subsequently commuted, and he served 19 years in prison.
Returning to Hackettstown, he died there in 1952 at the age of 95.
Titus's conviction, which was largely based on circumstantial evidence, remains controversial.
Tillie's ghost, which reportedly materializes on occasion, is said to haunt the South Hall* dormitory at the college's main building, moaning and causing lights to flicker.
* Source of specific haunting location: Findagrave member #47826295, Terry Margaret Ongaro
View Memorial
Born c.1866, in April 1886 she was found murdered in a field behind the school. James J. Titus, a 29-year-old janitor and fellow employee, was arrested and convicted of rape and murder after a sensational trial.
Initially sentenced to the gallows, in May 1877 the condemned man confessed that he had accidentally killed Tillie during a quarrel. Claiming that she had seduced him into having an affair, the 29-year-old husband and father said that he had grabbed her by the throat in a desperate attempt to quiet her talk of being pregnant and threats to reveal their relationship.
His death sentence was subsequently commuted, and he served 19 years in prison.
Returning to Hackettstown, he died there in 1952 at the age of 95.
Titus's conviction, which was largely based on circumstantial evidence, remains controversial.
Tillie's ghost, which reportedly materializes on occasion, is said to haunt the South Hall* dormitory at the college's main building, moaning and causing lights to flicker.
* Source of specific haunting location: Findagrave member #47826295, Terry Margaret Ongaro
View Memorial
Murder victim; folk figure. Said to be Centenary College's resident ghost and the namesake of its campus coffee shop, 19-year-old Tillie Smith was a poor country girl who had worked as a kitchen maid at the college during the 1880s.
Born c.1866, in April 1886 she was found murdered in a field behind the school. James J. Titus, a 29-year-old janitor and fellow employee, was arrested and convicted of rape and murder after a sensational trial.
Initially sentenced to the gallows, in May 1877 the condemned man confessed that he had accidentally killed Tillie during a quarrel. Claiming that she had seduced him into having an affair, the 29-year-old husband and father said that he had grabbed her by the throat in a desperate attempt to quiet her talk of being pregnant and threats to reveal their relationship.
His death sentence was subsequently commuted, and he served 19 years in prison.
Returning to Hackettstown, he died there in 1952 at the age of 95.
Titus's conviction, which was largely based on circumstantial evidence, remains controversial.
Tillie's ghost, which reportedly materializes on occasion, is said to haunt the South Hall* dormitory at the college's main building, moaning and causing lights to flicker.
* Source of specific haunting location: Findagrave member #47826295, Terry Margaret Ongaro
View Memorial
Born c.1866, in April 1886 she was found murdered in a field behind the school. James J. Titus, a 29-year-old janitor and fellow employee, was arrested and convicted of rape and murder after a sensational trial.
Initially sentenced to the gallows, in May 1877 the condemned man confessed that he had accidentally killed Tillie during a quarrel. Claiming that she had seduced him into having an affair, the 29-year-old husband and father said that he had grabbed her by the throat in a desperate attempt to quiet her talk of being pregnant and threats to reveal their relationship.
His death sentence was subsequently commuted, and he served 19 years in prison.
Returning to Hackettstown, he died there in 1952 at the age of 95.
Titus's conviction, which was largely based on circumstantial evidence, remains controversial.
Tillie's ghost, which reportedly materializes on occasion, is said to haunt the South Hall* dormitory at the college's main building, moaning and causing lights to flicker.
* Source of specific haunting location: Findagrave member #47826295, Terry Margaret Ongaro
View Memorial
Bio by: Nikita Barlow
Inscription
"SHE DIED IN
DEFENSE
OF
HER HONOR
APR. 8TH, 1886
AGED 19 YEARS
_____________
ERECTED BY AN
APPRECIATIVE
PUBLIC"
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