John Bellew

I was born in Chicago in 1890, into a proud but poor immigrant family. My granddaddy’s parents came over without a cent from Ireland after the famine hit, but settled quickly in New York and opened a tavern where my granddaddy and father grew up, hearing all kinds of wild stories from the sailors and merchants who stopped in.  But it was closed long before I was born: I grew up in Chicago, listening to my father tell the story of the 1863 Draft Riot. He was just a baby when my granddaddy got killed trying to protect his business and his property and his family.  The tavern was sacked. That’s why my dad moved to Chicago as soon as he could afford a train ticket. But my granddaddy was a Tammany Hall Democrat and they take care of their own. They helped my dad get in with the Chicago Democrats, and that’s how he got his job with the police force. Our friends in Chicago helped me too:  when I came of age I was offered the chance to invest in a Brazilian gold mine. I didn’t much like Brazil. It was hotter than a witch’s… well… and I definitely didn’t like a lot of the people there. You know what I mean. But Brazil made me rich, and I liked that!  The first thing I did when I got home was visit some friends in the old neighborhood, and that’s when I met Clare.  She was just a girl, but what a looker! There’s something about her eyes, her face… I just can’t put my finger on it. But I was crazy for her.  As soon as she turned 18 we eloped.  I’m away on business a lot now, probably too much for my own good, but when I’m home there’s nothing I like more than walking down the street with her on my arm. People can’t help but look at her.