Interview with Author Timothy Parrott

DO YOU KNOW HOW THE SUPERSTITIONS STARTED? WAS THERE A PARTICULAR STORY THAT STARTED IT ALL?

As far as I know, the first published legend about the Black Angel appeared in the Nov. 5, 1922, issue of The Daily Iowan:

“One story related concerns an Italian soldier who requested in his will that an angel be sculpted in Italy of Italian marble and erected above his grave. Accordingly, a famous sculptor was secured to do the work. All went well, the story says, until the statue, after being placed on board ship, came in contact with the sea air. Almost immediately, we are told, a chemical change took place and the white marble turned black.”

Note that these early legends began circulating before Theresa Dolezal Feldwert (the woman buried beneath it) was even dead. Of course, this story bears no resemblance to historical fact. There is no Italian soldier buried beneath the Black Angel, the statue was not created in Italy, and it is not made of marble. I actually heard this same story as a child in the 1960s, but in that version, the “marble” angel fell into the sea on its way to the U.S. (No one seemed to notice the inscription on the back of the bronze statue, which indicates that it was actually cast by the Florentine Brotherhood Foundry in Chicago, Illinois!)

In my opinion, the dark legends were the direct result of Mrs. Feldwert’s occupation. She completed her training as a midwife at the Univ. of Vienna in 1869, after which she delivered nearly 100 infants in her native village of Strmilov, Bohemia. After settling in Iowa City in late 1877 or early 1878, Mrs. Feldwert continued her work as a midwife. To quote from the Epilogue of  my book:

“Sinister tales about the Black Angel began to circulate even prior to Theresa Dolezal Feldwert’s death in 1924, and it is quite possible that her chosen profession may have contributed to the emergence of such stories. Midwives of the Victorian era enjoyed an oddly dichotomous reputation as bringers of life and purveyors of death. They were routinely eyed with suspicion, especially by members of the medical community, who portrayed them as ‘dangerous abortion quacks.’ … Even in a town the size of Iowa City, the stigma attached to this profession would have been clearly felt by Theresa Dolezal. Is it mere coincidence that so many of the nefarious legends of the Black Angel involve a dead infant? Not in the view of this author. The Black Angel has also been linked with witchcraft and Satanism on several occasions during its 100 years of existence. Once again, this can–at least in part–be attributed to Mrs. Feldwert’s choice of occupation. There is a longstanding historical association between midwifery and witchcraft, which would not have escaped the minds of early Iowa City residents.”

HOW MANY DIFFERENT SUPERSTITIONS HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE BLACK ANGEL?

In addition to the aforementioned story from 1922, involving an Italian soldier, I’ve heard many other (equally fantastic) stories. For example, some claim that the statue turned black due to Mrs. Feldwert’s marital infidelity (although she was already a widow at the time she commissioned the statue!). Others claim it turned black because Mrs. Feldwert had actually murdered her infant son (even though her son died of natural causes at the age of 17…hardly an infant!). It’s been said that the statue turned black when it was struck by lightning, or perhaps due to “the sins of one of the errant daughters in the family.” (Note: Mrs. Feldwert had no daughters!) Perhaps the most outlandish story involves a preacher who murdered his son. He is said to have placed the white angel over his son’s grave, but the angel immediately turned black due to the “foulness of the misdeed.” In addition to all these fanciful tales about the causes of the statue’s dark color, there are also many superstitions about the horrific results of touching the statue, kissing the statue, etc. Generally, one dies within a prescribed span of time following such an action. (Of course, if one really died from touching the Black Angel, I would have died some 50 years ago!)

HAVE YOU EVER PARTAKEN IN ANY BLACK ANGEL SUPERSTITIONS?

Short answer: No. I’ve never seen the Black Angel as anything more than a very large grave marker (of questionable artistic merit).

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH YOU GATHERED INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEMORIAL FOR YOUR BOOK? BESIDES THE INTERNET, DID YOU MEET WITH PEOPLE CONNECTED TO ITS CONSTRUCTION? IF SO, WHAT CONNECTION DID THEY HAVE?

My research actually started by going (page by page) through the Slovan Americký, a Czech-language newspaper published here in Iowa City from 1873-1891, and later published in Cedar Rapids. I also went through back issues of other Iowa City newspapers, beginning with the installation of the statue in 1913. In addition, I contacted several archives in the Czech Republic, the archives of the Univ. of Vienna in Austria, the mayor of the town of Strmilov, Czech Republic (who provided a photo of Mrs. Feldwert, as well as some of her poetry), as well as the director of the nursery school in Strmilov, who is a distant relative of Mrs. Feldwert and works at the nursery school, which was built and funded by Mrs. Feldwert around 1914 as a poorhouse for the elderly of her native village. Of course, I also interviewed local residents (primarily my uncle, who worked at the cemetery with my grandfather for many years, and who was acquainted with the cemetery superintendent who oversaw the erection of the Black Angel in Oakland Cemetery in 1913).

BEING THE GRANDSON OF A CEMETERY SUPERINTENDENT CLEARLY HAD AN IMPACT ON  YOU. DO YOU EVER LOOK FOR STORIES TO TELL ABOUT THE LIVING? WHAT FASCINATION DRIVES YOU TO WRITE ABOUT THE DECEASED AND THEIR MYSTERIES?

Yes, I’m sure I have a much different perception of Oakland Cemetery than most. In fact, that is also the case with younger generations of my family. (I have a great-nephew, who–as a 5-year-old–begged me to take him to play in the “park with all the signs.” 🙂 ) Since my grandfather was superintendent of the cemetery as far back as I can remember, I grew up hearing fascinating stories about various individuals buried there. As a young adult, I remember reading Iowa City historian Irving Weber‘s weekly columns, but was always mystified by the fact that he never included any of the stories I had always found so interesting and–in fact–didn’t mention any of the people I wanted to read more about. In 2006, I finally decided to rectify that situation and began publishing small booklets concerning interesting/colorful individuals buried in Oakland Cemetery, e.g. Theresa Dolezal Feldwert (of Black Angel fame), Harriet Z. Deuell (perhaps the first victim of physician-assisted suicide in the U.S.), Wesley Monroe Sauer (Iowa City’s “mad poet” of the 1930s), and even my own grandfather, Charles F. “Polly” Parrott, who played many roles before becoming superintendent of the cemetery (i.e. teenage runaway, grocery store clerk, army deserter, bricklayer, gardener, carnival “barker,”  liveryman, steeplejack, member of Egans Rats in St. Louis and later the Capone Syndicate in Chicago, bootlegger, cattle rustler, rodeo cook, laundry foreman, communist, truck driver, night watchman, etc.)

NSM