Among the Living

The first girl “Mysterious” Billy Smith ever loved met her tragic death on their honeymoon. Billy had a monument erected over her grave that cost a fortune. Today the beautiful monument—a large sculpted angel—is part of the Historical Monuments on the Cemetery Tour page of the River View Cemetery website. The fact that her husband was a famous prizefighter has escaped everyone’s notice, until now . A young "Mysterious" Billy Smith When “Mysterious” Billy Smith came to Portland in 1892 it was to take challenges to fight at Jack “Nonpareil” Dempsey’s new Pastime Club, a fight club located in the old Cyclorama building, where the Multnomah Hotel now sits. (see Cafe Unknown post) Smith was young, good looking, and famous, having just been given the very first ever welterweight champion belt by the New York Police Gazette . Portland seemed to be the place for a pugilist to meet a lovely girl willing to lower herself to become the wife of a prizefighter. Dempsey