The Mystery of Rock City’s Native Son: Martin Schultz
How did Rock City’s Native Son Martin Schultz become an “idle tramp”?
From the tragic circumstances of Martin’s death in 1893, we trace back in time. On the 19th of March 1884, Martin’s wife Madame Anna Bishop died at their home at 1443 Park Avenue in Manhattan. From that point until his death, he struggled to make ends meet.
Despite articles printed in the New York Times in 1884, records of a burial for Madame Anna Bishop Schultz or her son Augustus Bishop who she wanted to be buried next to cannot be located in the archives of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Red Hook in Dutchess County, New York. Walks in the cemetery have not yielded any sign of either grave site. Have the records been lost? Was Madame Anna Bishop never buried at Martin’s family’s cemetery? Were she and her son buried in unmarked graves? Did his wife’s death or circumstances surrounding it contribute to “Baron”s decline?
All hope remains that the mysteries surrounding Martin’s final years and that of Anna’s gravesite will be revealed as further historical documents come to light.
What a sad end to an exciting life for Martin Schultz, Rock City’s native son who left the countryside of Upper Dutchess County to make a living in New York City.
“Baron” was a diamond merchant and world traveller before meeting his future wife world renowned opera singer Madame Anna Bishop who had left her husband famed composer Sir Henry Bishop and three small children to begin a love affair (rumored to be the inspiration for DuMaurier’s Trilby and Svengali) with harpist Nicholas Bochsa.
After Bochsa’s and Bishop’s deaths, Madame Anna Bishop married Martin Schultz, son of David Schultz, descendant of Palatine immigrant and Rhinebeck resident Christian Otto Schultz and Lucy Griffin of Rock City, New York. Martin was one of eight sons and two daughters who worked as farmers and operated a mill.
During their marriage, Anna became close to his family and performed locally during some of her visits. Stories of the couple, photos of the famous opera singer, and letters from Martin were passed down through the families of Martin’s nieces and nephews. In 1859, one newborn niece was named Anna Martina in honor of the beloved aunt and uncle.
To his family and friends in Rock City, world traveler Martin remained the beloved brother and uncle who always remembered his family home.
How will the mystery of Martin’s last years and his wife’s gravesite be solved? The research continues…
