The Murder that Gave Lincoln Place its Name

And no, it wasn’t the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Ephemeral New York dug up an interesting bit of history, explaining the reason why Degraw Street suddenly becomes Lincoln Place on the east side of Fifth Avenue.

In March of 1873, 41-year old Charles Goodrich was discovered dead inside his house at 731 Degraw Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. He had been shot three times, and his body was cleaned of all blood. The case made citywide headlines, and investigators soon learned that he shared the house with a young lady who he was frequently seen with, so they set about tracking her down.

They searched for the woman, a 20-something Massachusetts native named Kate Stoddard, for months, and she was finally captured after Goodrich’s ex-roommate spotted her on the Fulton Ferry. She confessed after detectives found some of his personal items in her High Street boarding house room. She also gave them her true name: Lizzie Lloyd King, and told the investigators that she had met Goodrich via personal ad and that they were married.

Turns out that Goodrich wanted to leave her for another woman, and that the wedding was actually officiated by a doctor, Goodrich's friend, as opposed to a minister. An argument ensued, and King murdered him. She spent the rest of her life in an upstate insane asylum.

The block’s residents were, needless to say, horrified to be associated with the crime, so they petitioned successfully to have the street renamed in honor of the recently fallen President.