In the years following the Civil War, Hicksville was not a village which one expected to see mentioned in front-page news - newspapers usually reserved such honors for criminal, the gory, or the terrifying. Thus, if it got mentioned, it probably was because ofa railroad mishap which had killed or maimed someone.
Early in September 1875, however, something quite different put the village in the news - and not just in Long Island and Manhattan, but beyond, in Oswego, in Philadelphia, in Washington, and who-knew-where-else. It was the most unlikely news story ever to emanate from Hicksville. Staid businessman George de Languillette was challenged to a duel, and given a choice of pistols or swords. To add more spice to the tale, the challenger's wife, a summer resident of Hicksville, was a clairvoyant, and she was well-remembered for her connection to a notorious murder trial.
The news clipping below covers the beginning of the incident. Two clarifications are needed in order to understand it properly. First, before 1899, Nassau County did not exist; Queens County extended from Brooklyn to Suffolk County. Second, Captain Hussey and his Mulligan Guards were fictitious characters, popularized by a music hall song; their two known skills were parading smartly and drinking hard.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 8, 1875
Hmmmm.... "A remarkable clairvoyant" - really? What can we learn about her, or for that matter, about any of the others involved? Was there ever a duel?
Let's find out whatever we can, and en route get a glimpse of 1870s life on Long Island.
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