A Harbor of Deceit: A Gilded Age Tale of Money, Murder, and Madness

TWO GUNSHOTS. A HASTY SUICIDE VERDICT. AND A CITY DETERMINED TO BURY THE TRUTH ALONGSIDE THE BODY.

In the autumn of 1885, the Gilded Age splendor of Newport, Rhode Island, was shattered. Benjamin J. Burton-a prominent Black entrepreneur-was found dead on his kitchen floor with a gunshot to his head, another to his heart, and unchewed bread still in his mouth.

Despite the bizarre scene, authorities moved with suspicious haste, declaring it a suicide and burying Burton without an inquest. But a...