Johnston man shoots employee in the head & she survives

Those living in or traveling through Johnston, who wanted to kick back and chug down a few cold intoxicants, found what they were looking for at Luigi Margherita's Saloon.

Operated out of the Lafazia Building, on the corner of Morgan Avenue and Atwood Avenue, the hole-in-the-wall was usually quiet. But on the afternoon of June 19, 1907, Charles Booth decided to shoot his housekeeper there. Booth was a 53-year-old night watchman at a laundry, who resided on Knight Street in Providence. His housekeeper, 39-year-old Elizabeth Guilmette, lived with him.

Charles repeatedly had trouble with his domestic employees. During the spring of 1903, while living on Westminster Street, he filed a report one evening at the police station stating that while he was home napping that afternoon, someone had come into his house and stolen a purse containing two dollars and a valuable ring which was underneath his pillow.

A couple of days later, his housekeeper Alice Corrigan was arrested and charged with the theft. The following year, his new housekeeper, Sarah Meehan, was arrested and charged with stealing five dollars from his trunk on July 5.

Now, Elizabeth was working for him. A native of Nova Scotia, she had come to America in 1887. Her 16-year-old son James resided with her in Booth’s home, despite the fact that she was a married woman with a husband in Providence. Booth had a wife and three children of his own who were living in Canada.

On the evening of June 18, 1907, Elizabeth's friend Helena Ormsbee visited her at the Booth home and witnessed to an argument between the housekeeper and her employer. The discord seemed to have perished the following day when Charles, Elizabeth, Helena and James enjoyed a fishing trip together on Hughesdale Pond. After leaving the pond, it was decided they would all stop at Luigi’s.

 James, who had a very close relationship with Charles, was sent to a nearby market to purchase food for their dinner and when he returned at about 5:30, they all sat in the saloon’s back room and ate. From the bar area, Luigi could hear the conversation.

 Elizabeth was complaining that she had been unable to find her revolver, which she kept with her things at Charles's house. Charles responded, “I'll show you where it is."

Charles immediately pulled the gun from his pocket, aimed it at her and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered her head just over her right eye and exited through the side of her head. Luigi and another man raced into the back room to see Charles holding the still-smoking gun and standing over Elizabeth’s body. James quickly grabbed a chair and lifted it over his head to pummel Charles but, before he could do so, Luigi ran toward Charles and grabbed the gun from his hand. The other man called for police. Other than a painful wound on her head, Elizabeth suffered no serious repercussions. After the attempted murder, Charles was sentenced to the Rhode Island State Prison. He expressed remorse for the shooting and explained it had been done on impulse. He died the following year, on Sept. 10, 1908, of pulmonary tuberculosis. He was laid to rest in North Burial Ground. Elizabeth became a patient at the Rhode Island State Infirmary on Jan. 19, 1925. There, she suffered a stroke on April 16, 1933 and died six days later, at 2:30 in the morning, from its effects as well as those of longstanding heart disease.

1934 US Naturalization photograph of James, who once witnessed his mother being shot by her employer.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.