Priscilla Hiss
Priscilla Hiss (née Fansler; previously married to Thayer Hobson) was the wife of Alger Hiss from 1929 through her death in 1984. Alger was a prominent American lawyer and government official who was accused of espionage and being an agent of influence for the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Her life became intertwined with the infamous Hiss-Chambers case, which played a central role in 20th-century U.S. political history.
Early Life and Marriage
Priscilla Fansler was born in 1903 in Evanston, Illinois, into a socially prominent family. She attended Bryn Mawr College, where she received a well-rounded education. Before her marriage to Alger Hiss, Priscilla was married to publisher Thayer Hobson. She had a son with Hobson in 1926, Timothy Hobson (1926-2018). She divorced Thayer Hobson in January 1929.
In 1929, she had an affair with another man, journalist William Brown Meloney V (1902-1971), ending the life of her unborn child by murdering it with an abortion when he said he would not marry her.
She married Alger Hiss, whom she had known as a Freshman at college, in December 1929 when he was a Supreme Court Clerk for Oliver Wendell Holmes. With Hiss, Priscilla had another son, Anthony, in 1941.
After she married Alger Hiss, the couple briefly lived in New York City in 1931-1933. While there, she registered to vote for the Socialist Party.
Hiss-Chambers Case
Priscilla Hiss gained public attention during the Hiss-Chambers case, when her husband was accused of being a Soviet spy by Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist and editor at Time magazine. Chambers claimed that Alger Hiss had passed classified State Department documents to him during the 1930s, which were then retyped by Priscilla on the family's Woodstock typewriter, and then the documents were microfilmed by Chambers and relayed to Soviet intelligence.
Priscilla became a key figure in the trial when Chambers produced copies of documents that he claimed were typed on the Hiss family typewriter. These documents, known as the "Baltimore Documents," were alleged to have been typed by Priscilla herself. The typewritten evidence became central to the case, with many suggesting that Priscilla had been involved in preparing the documents that Chambers presented.
Hiss defenders claim that the noise of the typewriter would have been heard by neighbors due to very thin walls between the housing units.
Throughout the trial, Priscilla stood by her husband's side, maintaining his innocence. Despite their defense, Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950 and sentenced to federal prison.
Later Life
Following Alger Hissâs imprisonment, Priscilla Hiss retreated from public life. The Hiss family remained steadfast in proclaiming Alger's innocence, even as the case left an indelible mark on Cold War history.
Priscilla and Alger separated in 1959 and Alger began dating Isabel Johnson, a former model. Alger asked Priscilla for a divorce, which was refused. They would remain technically married until her death, when Alger would finally remarry Isabel.
Priscilla Hiss passed away in 1984, but the controversy surrounding her and her husband's involvement in espionage persists.
Legacy
Priscilla Hissâs involvement in the Hiss-Chambers case and her role in the infamous typewriter evidence has made her a significant figure in American legal and political history.
See Also
References
- Smith, R. Harris. Alger Hiss: The True Story. Yale University Press, 2001.
- Weinstein, Allen. Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case. Knopf, 1978.
- G. Edward White. Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars: The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy. Oxford University Press, 2004.