Child Movie Star or Clever Runaway? Who was Maquesa D’Glarey?

A mysterious thirteen-year-old captivated Tuscarawas County in the summer of 1925 by claiming to be a famous movie star’s stranded cousin.

A thirteen-year-old girl identifying herself as Maquesa D’Glarey arrived in the Twin Cities of Dennison and Uhrichsville in June 1925 and sparked a month-long sensation. She claimed to be a child movie star and the full cousin of famous actress of stage and silent film Pola Negri. Maquesa told local authorities that she was traveling from Chicago to New York City to meet her famous relative when she was accidentally placed on a westbound train. Her story gained immediate sympathy when she reported that her pocketbook containing fifty dollars, valuable papers, and her railroad ticket had been stolen at a hotel, leaving her stranded in Tuscarawas County.

As the days turned into weeks, the local community rallied around the girl, who was described as beautiful and fluent in four languages. She was initially cared for by local residents and later placed in the custody of Sheriff George Stucky (1864-1939) while awaiting word from her relatives. Despite having no money, she maintained her actress persona and reportedly put on skits for those interested in her case. Local officials initially marveled at her intelligence and were reluctant to doubt her, even though they were unable to confirm her identity and claims.

The situation grew more dramatic in early July when one night Maquesa decided to escape the custody of the Sheriff’s home. After being discovered at another resident’s house and returned to detention, she became hysterical and threatened to harm herself. During this outburst her stories became even more elaborate as she claimed she was attacked in a hotel, asserted her mother was the screenwriter Catherine Carr, and stated her father was the French minister to Poland. She even insisted that $6,000 worth of jewels and clothing waited for her in a trunk in New York City.

However, her story began to fall apart as Judge John H. Lamneck (1891-1975) conducted a thorough investigation. Telegrams responding to inquiries started to arrive from Hollywood and New York. Pola Negri herself wired the court to state she did not know the girl and had no such relatives in America. Further inquiries revealed that actor Tom Mix did not know her either, the film company she claimed to work for did not exist, and her letters to alleged contacts in Hollywood and New York were returned unclaimed. By mid-July, the court was forced to make an effort to find the girl’s real parents through legal advertisements in newspapers.

The mystery of who Maquesa D’Glarey really was finally resolved itself when Chicago police identified the girl through photographs as Emily Kicmal (1912-?), a runaway from her uncle’s home in Cook County, Illinois. After a two-hour interrogation by the Judge and Sherriff, she broke down and confessed that she ran away from the family in Illinois, after stealing twenty dollars and a watch to fund a trip to New York. While she continued to insist that her name was Maquesa D’Glarey and that her kinship to Negri was true, she admitted that her stories of movie studios and New York jewels were lies.

The girl’s adventures in Tuscarawas County ended on July 23, 1925 when she was escorted back to Chicago by a social worker. She was made a ward of the Cook County juvenile court, with Judge Lamneck concluding that the child was the victim of a “highly imaginative mind”. Tracing Emily Kicmal’s life after her experience in Tuscarawas County has proven fruitless. Although she left behind a trail of confusion, she remained a memorable figure to the locals who had spent over a month trying to decipher the truth behind the “mystery girl”.

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© Noel B. Poirier, 2026.