1934 November 21, Death of Ida Lee Owens:

Scope and content:

After disappearing from the Eastern Steamship liner the Robert E. Lee, the body of New Yorker Ida Lee Owens washed ashore at Virginia Beach. Her death was ruled a suicide by drowning. According to a newspaper article accompanying the coroner's inquest a note was found in Owens' stateroom that expressed boredom at having to live with "these human beings, with their petty affairs and pretenses and pitiful ego... The philosophers say that dreams are the best part of life. I have had my dreams. This world is too ugly for me to live in. For one with my ideals, life among such people is no longer endurable. If only he knows how bored I am."

Access and use

Location of collection:
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888