Kate Morgan
Encyclopedia
Kate Morgan is an American who died under mysterious circumstances, and is thought by locals to be a ghost
at the Hotel del Coronado
in Coronado, CA. She was buried at nearby Mount Hope Cemetery
in Division 5 Section 1.
In 1870, Kate's father, George Washington Farmer, was appointed to be the Postmaster of Hamburg, Iowa. He remarried in 1871, fathered two more daughters and then moved to Texas, where he died in 1876.
On December 30, 1885 Kate married Thomas Edwin Morgan and they had one child, a boy, born on October 31, 1886; he only lived two days.
According to a note written on the back of Kate's photograph by Tom's daughter, around 1890 Kate ran off with Albert Allen, a stepson of Tom's stepmother, Emily Dennison Allen Morgan.
Kate was hired as a housemaid by the Grant family in Los Angeles and told her co-workers she was married to a gambler. From this statement, Tom Morgan was assumed to be the gambler in question, but in fact, he was a rural mail carrier in Burchard, Nebraska at the time of Kate's death on November 28, 1892.
wound to the head
. This was five days after checking into the Hotel del Coronado
in Coronado
. A San Francisco lawyer, the late Alan May, speculated in the 1980s that her death involved foul play
. Evidence for the alleged suicide was a passing statement (or misstatement), during the coroner's inquest, that the bullet found in her head did not match that of her own gun.. Nevertheless, whatever the merits of his book, he did revive interest in the subject by causing a stir with his murder theory. Officials reviewing the case, however, reviewed his speculations and chose not to reopen the case. Kate shot herself in the head on the steps from Hotel Del Coronado onto the beach and it is still considered a suicide.
sightings, and other potential paranormal
events at Hotel del Coronado since then. The official Hotel del Coronado
website mentions the ghost.
The hotel's Heritage Department has published an official book on this subject, written by the hotel's professional historian, titled The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado . It avoids speculation in its research of historical documents available in local public libraries, historical societies, and university libraries as well as city hall and police files. The Heritage Department's book leans toward the official suicide verdict.
In late 2008, the Hotel del Coronado removed its book from circulation in all outside bookstores and other venues, including Amazon and other online sellers. It now only sells the book in its own giftshop. Even the Coronado Historical Association is not permitted to carry their book any longer.
There are three other books available now.
John T. Cullen has written two: his first, updated in 2008 is Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition, is a non-fiction account of the mystery. His second is Lethal Journey, a novel published in August 2009.
The third book is "The Ghost of the Hotel del Coronado, The TRUE Story of Kate Morgan", by Terry Girardot. Kate's husband, Tom Morgan, was the half-brother of his maternal grandmother, and his book contains full versions of all articles from the San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco newspapers from that period, along with documents from his genealogy research including the original telegram sent to Tom advising him of Kate's suicide. Tom's granddaughter provided him with the photograph of Kate seen on this page.
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
at the Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
in Coronado, CA. She was buried at nearby Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego
Mount Hope Cemetery is a municipal cemetery located at 3751 Market Street, San Diego, California, and gives its name to the neighborhood of Mount Hope. The cemetery is adjacent to Greenwood Memorial Park....
in Division 5 Section 1.
Background
Kate Farmer was born in Fremont County, Iowa about 1864. Kate's mother died in 1865, and at the age of two, she was sent to live with her maternal grandfather, Joe Chandler.In 1870, Kate's father, George Washington Farmer, was appointed to be the Postmaster of Hamburg, Iowa. He remarried in 1871, fathered two more daughters and then moved to Texas, where he died in 1876.
On December 30, 1885 Kate married Thomas Edwin Morgan and they had one child, a boy, born on October 31, 1886; he only lived two days.
According to a note written on the back of Kate's photograph by Tom's daughter, around 1890 Kate ran off with Albert Allen, a stepson of Tom's stepmother, Emily Dennison Allen Morgan.
Kate was hired as a housemaid by the Grant family in Los Angeles and told her co-workers she was married to a gambler. From this statement, Tom Morgan was assumed to be the gambler in question, but in fact, he was a rural mail carrier in Burchard, Nebraska at the time of Kate's death on November 28, 1892.
Death
She was found dead on November 29, 1892, of what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshotGunshot
A gunshot is the discharge of a firearm, producing a mechanical sound effect and a chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a gunshot wound caused by such a discharge. Multiple discharges of a firearm or firearms are referred to as gunfire. The word can connotate either the sound of a...
wound to the head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
. This was five days after checking into the Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
in Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
. A San Francisco lawyer, the late Alan May, speculated in the 1980s that her death involved foul play
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
. Evidence for the alleged suicide was a passing statement (or misstatement), during the coroner's inquest, that the bullet found in her head did not match that of her own gun.. Nevertheless, whatever the merits of his book, he did revive interest in the subject by causing a stir with his murder theory. Officials reviewing the case, however, reviewed his speculations and chose not to reopen the case. Kate shot herself in the head on the steps from Hotel Del Coronado onto the beach and it is still considered a suicide.
Haunting
There have been many putative ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
sightings, and other potential paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
events at Hotel del Coronado since then. The official Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
website mentions the ghost.
The hotel's Heritage Department has published an official book on this subject, written by the hotel's professional historian, titled The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and The Hotel del Coronado . It avoids speculation in its research of historical documents available in local public libraries, historical societies, and university libraries as well as city hall and police files. The Heritage Department's book leans toward the official suicide verdict.
In late 2008, the Hotel del Coronado removed its book from circulation in all outside bookstores and other venues, including Amazon and other online sellers. It now only sells the book in its own giftshop. Even the Coronado Historical Association is not permitted to carry their book any longer.
There are three other books available now.
John T. Cullen has written two: his first, updated in 2008 is Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition, is a non-fiction account of the mystery. His second is Lethal Journey, a novel published in August 2009.
The third book is "The Ghost of the Hotel del Coronado, The TRUE Story of Kate Morgan", by Terry Girardot. Kate's husband, Tom Morgan, was the half-brother of his maternal grandmother, and his book contains full versions of all articles from the San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco newspapers from that period, along with documents from his genealogy research including the original telegram sent to Tom advising him of Kate's suicide. Tom's granddaughter provided him with the photograph of Kate seen on this page.