Did A Muncy Man Inspire The Great Gatsby?

Henry Gibson Brock - From Prisoner to Prison Warden

In 1923, wealthy businessman Henry Brock, heir to Muncy Farms,  was arrested for killing 3 people in what is possibly the first prosecuted vehicular manslaughter case.  While serving his sentence, he was not only a model prisoner, he set out to reform the penal system, and within a few years he was pardoned and appointed to the board of the prison.  Researcher Jonathan Schau believes that the Brock case inspired the Great Gatsby.

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Henry Gibson Brock was born November 23rd 1886, In Philadelphia.   His parents were Robert Coleman Hall Brock & Alice [Gibson] Brock - two extremely wealthy families. Robert Coleman, Henry's grandfather, had been  an ironmaster, & had purchased Muncy Farms [the Samuel Wallis homestead] in 1805.   Alice's father, Henry Gibson, manufacturer of rye whiskey,  was one of the richest men in Philadelphia.  It's said that he possessed the greatest private art collection in the United States during the 19th century. 

Henry served in the 151st Field Artillery during World War I, as a 2nd Lieutenant.   After the war, he pursued a career in banking and investments.

In 1923, papers across the state described Brock as "quite wealthy and prominent in Philadelphia Society Circles"

On Friday March 2 1923, Henry Brock Henry Gibson Brock attended a Philadelphia Main Line party hosted by Bernard “Buzz” Law for an evening of partying, card playing and drinking. Around midnight, Brock left the party in a Marmon Touring Car.  The car 

struck and killed three people who were exiting a Philadelphia trolley car.

According to newspaper accounts, Henry drove into a ditch when he reached the main road, then headed east towards the city and passed his host a high rate of speed.

Three people were exiting a Philadelphia Trolley car 45th Street and Lancaster Avenue - Ellen A. O’Donnell a sixty five-year-old widowed mother of seven children, her son Leo A. O’Donnell, a World War veteran and their neighbor, Mary J. Murphy, a high school senior

Leo O'Donnell & Mary Murphy

Henry's car swerved to pass the trolley, and fatally struck all three of the exiting trolley passengers. The car continued for several blocks, made a left hand turn, and struck a pole. Off duty police offers heard the collision, and went to investigate. The found Henry standing beside his car, alone, but remarked that "I was not driving".

Brock Being Arrested

The Tyrone Daily Herald reported: 'The motorman was just closing the door when the big machine shot from the rear and without slackening its speed a fraction witnesses said, smashed into the little group. They never knew what hit them. Their bodies were lifted and hurled fifty feet through the air. Crushed and mangled, they were thrown far.

Miss Murphy was dashed on the pavement of a restaurant on Westminster avenue, which joins Forty-fifth street at the intersection of Lancaster avenue. Mrs. O'Donnell fell twenty feet away from her. Her son's body was hurled across Lancaster avenue. So great was the impact that Mrs. O' Donnell's shoes were torn from her body and found on Lancaster avenue between Forty-fourth and fifth streets, half a block from the scene. Her black hat was found some distance away on Westminster avenue. As the machine hurled itself into the three victims, the force of the smash swerved it to one side. The driver did not stop, however, but, increasing his speed, continued east on Lancaster avenue. Near Forty-fourth street he narrowly averted crashing into a taxicab driven by Meredith Andes, 2943 Girard avenue. Andes, with al quick tug at, his wheel sent his car almost on the pavement. He had heard the crash as the machine hit the three persons and later identified Brock's car as the one which nearly collided with his taxicab. There were a dozen persons eating in a restaurant on the corner where the O'Donnell's and Miss Murphy were struck. They ran outside. One look convinced them all were dead.

Hugh O'Donnell standing beside the tombstone of his wife and son

Hugh & Ellen were separated at the time of the accident.

Police found Brock standing at Holly and Ogden streets, four blocks from the scene of the accident, beside his large blue touring car, with the curtains down. This was the description: of the death-car given by all witnesses.

Leo O'Donnell

The rear wheel of Brock's car, on the left side, was broken, the rim being torn from the spokes, which remained. One headlight was broken.! Blood was spattered on this headlight. A piece of fur from Miss Murphy's neckpiece clung to the car. A button from O'Donnell's clothing was within it.

When Shannon and Toy, police, accosted him as the driver' responsible for the accident, Brock spoke quickly, "I'm no fool," he said. "I wouldn't be here if I'd done any such thing." Police believe Brock, after the accident, swerved his car, the speed of which witnesses estimate at from 55 to 75 miles an hour, into Brown street, and at the corner of Holly, struck his rear wheel against an electric light pole, sheering off the rim. Then, they say, he managed to buck the car, with one wheel merely a ring of jugged spokes, to Ogden street, on Holly, where they found him."

Henry, who was by his own admission intoxicated, claimed to have no memory of the accident. No one seemed to know for certain what exactly had happened, but rumors persisted that a wealthy socialite had been behind the wheel, and that Henry took the blame for her. The inquest ruled that there was no evidence of anyone else in the vehicle, and Henry himself denied that there was anyone with him.

According to Schau's blog, there were some discrepancies in the case:

• Henry G. Brock, under arrest as the driver of the car, says ‘I was at Barney Law’s and had some musty ale to drink. I left about midnight.’
• Bernard C. Law, of St. David’s [sic]: ‘After dinner we played bridge until about 10 o’clock. Mr. Brock was not in the least intoxicated. I did not see him drink anything.’ For reasons never explained, Law originally claimed Brock was not intoxicated, and then changed his story at the trial a month later
• A woman who answered the telephone at the Law home said: ‘Mr. Brock had nothing to drink but ale.’
• From St. David’s [sic] to 45th st. and Lancaster av.[sic], by the direct route over the Lincoln Highway, is about 8.4 miles. The accident happened at 12.45.”

Henry Gibson Brock was sentenced to six to ten years confinement at Eastern State Penitentiary.

" While incarcerated, Brock recognized the importance of prisoner rehabilitation and set about developing a workplace skill set – teaching prisoners a variety of occupations so that they could succeed once released from prison.

Purchasing machinery and tools, Brock set-up two workshops at the penitentiary where prisoners created fireplace sconces, card tables, and parchment lampshades to name a few of the products produced and sold through the prison system. After serving three years two months of his prison term, the state pardon board recommended that the governor grant him a pardon. "

While serving his sentence, Brock met Margaret Burgwin, a Pittsburgh socialite who was doing prison welfare work. Shortly after his release and pardon, Brock and Burgwin married. [Note - while all newspaper accounts referred to the two meeting while Henry was in prison, In his book Only One Child, Mr. Barlow states that they were engaged before the accident. He also mentions that the families of the victims signed the petition asking for Henry to be pardoned]

After his release, Henry was appointed to the Eastern State Penitentiary Board of Trustees. From Prisoner, to Board Member.

Henry and Margaret lived primarily at their large rural home and farm in Muncy, Pennsylvania – Muncy Farms – and many of the farm’s employees were former convicts.

During World War II, the childless couple stepped-up to take England’s children out of harm’s way as the Germans threatened invasion of Great Britain.

Sadly, Henry died a few weeks before the children’s arrival. Margaret honored the couple’s promise – four young children arrived in America, and shortly thereafter, traveled to their new home at Muncy Farms.

Brian Bohun Barlow was one of the children adopted by the Brock Family.

He wrote a book entitled Only One Child. https://amzn.to/41DzFhv

Although Mr. Barlow never met Henry - he came to America just after Henrys death - it was still an interesting read with many mentions of Margaret.

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The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

In April of 2016 , Jonathan Schau presented a program for the Muncy Historical Society,  in which he  identified no less than forty-six similarities between the Brock case, and The Great Gatsby.  "Philadelphia-born Schau’s background includes curatorial responsibilities at the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works and assistant librarian and curator for the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. "

 The timing fits - Fitzgerald revisited the draft of his novel that would become The Great Gatsby in April 1924, just one year after Brock was sentenced to six to ten years’ confinement in Eastern State Penitentiary.

The party Brock left on that fateful night in March 1923 had been hosted by Bernard "Buzz" law.  Law, a son of a wealthy iron and steel broker,  attended Princeton at the same time as Fitzgerald.  

A few of the observations Shau has documented on his blog, Show Me A Hero, include:

In the Great Gatsby, Jordan also recounts Tom giving Daisy “a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars." Gatsby claims he lived throughout Europe, “collecting jewels.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle ran a photograph of Duchess of Devonshire wearing a pearl necklace valued at $400,000 given to her by her husband who had collected the pearls one by one. Beside the photo of the Duchess was an article on the Brock vehicular homicide.

"Gatsby’s automobile kills Myrtle in front of her husband’s gas station and Michaelis’ “all-night restaurant” following the confrontation scene at the Plaza Hotel. Fitzgerald describes this section of the valley of ashes as “a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it and contiguous to absolutely nothing.” The text continues, “One of the three shops it contained was for rent and another was an all-night restaurant… the third was a garage.” This describes the Brock accident scenes."

"Myrtle’s death scene in chapter seven closely follows the Brock case newspaper accounts. George Wilson, standing in his service station doorway next to the restaurant, witnesses Gatsby’s vehicle strike and kill Myrtle. This is similar to a Brock witness John J. McCann, a mechanic like Wilson, who testified he saw the accident from the corner restaurant. Fitzgerald uses the identical term, “death car,” used by the newspapers covering the case, “The ‘death car’ as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop.”

Read more of Shaul's finds here:

https://protogatsby.wordpress.com/

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Margaret Brock chaired Muncy Township’s emergency relief; she purchased the township’s first fire truck; belonged to the American Needlework Guild; founded Three Towns Press, keeping the long-standing Muncy Luminary in print; worked tirelessly for the Lycoming County Chapter American Red Cross, founded the Muncy Youth Center; and served in a number of community-oriented director roles, including with the Lycoming United Way, the Muncy Valley Hospital, and the Children’s Aid Society.

"Is Muncy Farms’ “Henry Gibson Brock” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Gatsby”?
MUNCY. On Sunday, April 17 at 1:30 p.m., the Muncy Historical Society will open its 2016 season with Jonathan Schau’s presentation “Show Me a Hero: The Effects of a Vehicular Homicide on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby” at its 40 N. Main Street location. Deemed a literary classic, critics have studied the Gatsby characters for years and many feel that Fitzgerald was describing his visits to Long Island’s north shore and his experiences attending parties of the extremely wealthy residing there. Or was he?

Philadelphia-born Schau’s background includes curatorial responsibilities at the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works and assistant librarian and curator for the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Schau will present the results of extensive research in which he has identified no less than forty-six similarities between a widely-publicized vehicular homicide that occurred in Philadelphia in March 1923 and Fitzgerald’s narrative. In addition to the possible literary implications, Schau’s presentation will revisit a real-life tragedy in which the primary character—Henry Gibson Brock—turned a catastrophe into an opportunity to help others.

According to newspaper accounts, Henry Gibson Brock arrived at a Philadelphia Main Line party hosted by Bernard “Buzz” Law for an evening of partying, card playing and drinking. Around midnight, Brock left the party in a Marmon Touring Car and at 12:47 a.m. his automobile struck and killed three people exiting a Philadelphia trolley. Brock was admittedly intoxicated at the time of the accident. No one knows quite what happened and Brock himself had little to no memory of it. Despite all his advantages in being born to an accomplished, prominent and wealthy family, Henry Gibson Brock’s life course and his legacy of service would be determined by something more tragic and personal—a drunk driving accident.

Had Fitzgerald read one of the accounts that went out across the nation over the Associated Press and United News wire services? Fitzgerald and Law, the son of a wealthy iron and steel broker, attended Princeton at the same time so Fitzgerald might have been truly inspired when he read the newspaper accounts that, in some manner, involved, or implicated, his fellow classmate. 

The timing works—Fitzgerald revisited the draft of his novel that would become The Great Gatsby in April 1924, just one year after Brock was sentenced to six to ten years’ confinement in Eastern State Penitentiary.

While confined, Brock recognized that prisoners should be taught a trade as part of their rehabilitation. He used his own money to purchase the machinery and tools that prisoners used to make fireplace sconces, card tables, and lamp shades. He then set up a distribution system in Philadelphia to handle the sale of prisoner-made products. Deemed an ideal prisoner, Brock was granted an early release in 1926, having served just three years two months of his term. Following his release, Brock took up permanent residence in his Muncy Township, Lycoming County."

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From Find A Grave:

BROCK, Harry G., Bullitt Bldg.: res. 1612 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Investment banker: b. Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 23, 1886, s. of Robert C. H. (Coleman Hall) Brock and Alice (Gibson) Brock; ed. Haverford School, Haverford University, 1906; Phi Kappa Sigma. With Trust Co. of North America, 1910-13 when formed co-partnership with S. Dees Sinkler, the firm of Sinkler and Brock, investment bankers, Philadelphia, Pa.; dir. Aero Service Corp.; second lieutenant artillery detached service, 1917; in ambulance service, artillery commander, United States Reserves, 1917 to cessation of world War. Recreation: Tennis. Clubs: Rittenhouse, Merion Cricket. Republican. Episcopalian.

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