In the 1920s, Jesse Shima, a Japanese immigrant, was taken under the wing of Mary Henderson , a wealthy widow who lived in a castle across from Meridian Hill Park. The young Shima — who washed dishes at a 14th Street sandwich shop — had struck the widow as intelligent, respectful and discreet. Shima moved into the room of Henderson’s late son, John Jr., who died in 1923. In a further twist, when Mary Henderson learned that Trixy was adopted, she adopted her, turning the adoptive granddaughter into an adoptive daughter. After Mary Henderson’s death in 1931, Trixy contested the will.

Source: Washington Post December 16, 2017 21:56 UTC