Wicked Victorian Boston
Thomas J Loud
Prominent State Street Banker
In 1881, Thomas J. Loud, a prominent State Street banker married sixteen-year-old Ellen Mack. Before the wedding, Ellen had been unaware of Loud’s vicious temper but she soon learned; on their honeymoon, he pulled her out of bed and threw her across the room for being too amorous. Their short marriage ended in a sensational public divorce in which it was revealed that Loud punched her, tried to strangle her, threatened her with vitriol and a pistol, locked her in the bathroom and burned her violins. Shown above is Loud in his signature move, the “Grecian bend kiss,” which was performed by grabbing her arms, bending her backward and kicking her with his knee.
