Myrta Gregg, wife of P. A. Shriver, was said to be the wealthiest woman in Greene County, Pennsylvania when her name was thrust into the public eye as a result of her relationship with another well-known resident of Waynesburg, the county seat. Other than a handful of articles in 1911 discussing the affair she reportedly had with S. Irwin Lippincott, information is quite hard to find.
Lippincott in Jail, Pleads Innocence
Waynesburg Excited Over Arrest of Man Who Found Soul-Mate in Mrs. Shriver
Mrs. Lippincott Wants Balm
Waynesburg, Sept. 12., Two homes have been wrecked and two characters smirched because of the arrest last Friday of S. Irwin Lippincott, of East Waynesburg, and the probable arrest of Mrs. Myrta Gregg Shriver, of the same place, Lippincott’s alleged soul mate, on indictments found by a Greene county grand jury.
A pretty face whose possessor has a $50,000 bank roll and an automobile for joy rides, appears to have lured Lippincott to his domestic doom.
Lippincott, who is a steam engineer, is aged 50 years, and is the father of five children, two of whom are married, and has a good motherly-looking wife. Mrs. Shriver is the spouse of P. A. Shriver, a liveryman, of this town and a highly respected citizen. She is aged 33 years, of the brunette type of beauty, and is noted for her good looks. Mrs. Shriver, who recently came into possession of a fortune inherited from her father, will be called upon to defend herself against a $25,000 suit for damages.
Mrs. Lippincott will ask for the amount through her nephew, C. W. Waychoff, district attorney of Greene county, to help heal her wounded feelings.
The strange infatuation between Lippincott and Mrs. Shriver is the talk of the town. Two attempts to take their lives have been made. Six weeks ago Mrs. Shriver had a physician remove three buckshot from her neck, after being fired at by an unknown assassin. One year ago, Lippincott was shot from ambush. When taken to the Greene county hospital ten birdshot were removed from his body.
Lippincott, in jail and unable to make bail, says he wants the world to understand that Mrs. Shriver is not his soulmate, but that he is “her hired man.” Mrs. Lippincott, unresentful of her husband’s actions, says she will welcome Lippincott home if he behaves himself. Shriver has told his wife “there are as good crickets on the pond as ever were chased off” and declares that he is done with her forever. He says he will apply for a divorce.
No move was made today to arrest Mrs. Shriver. She is not at her home. Her attorney, Joseph Patton, declares he will produce her at the proper time. He is endeavoring to arrange for bail for his client.
Lippincott and Mrs. Shriver will be tried at the December term of court and detectives who will be witnesses, as well as several Pittsburghers, will testify as to the couple’s movements in the big steel city. Even those from whom Mrs. Shriver bought the “joy car” will be called, In this connection, Lippincott will declare that he was only Mrs. Shriver’s chauffeur and that he has the right, as an American citizen, to sell his services to the highest bidder. Shriver, however, intends to make Lippincott prove why he used Shriver’s name.
The Daily News (Canonsburg, Pa.), 9/912/1911
But, wait, there’s more!
Waynesburg, PA Sensation Keeps Gossips Busy
Waynesburg, Pa., Sept. 11 – The failure of the county authorities to apprehend Mrs. Myrtle R. Shriver, the woman in the Lippincott-Shriver sensation, still keeps the gossips of the town busy. It was reported that Mrs. Shriver is in town, but her home is in darkness.
Her attorney, Joseph Patton, on Saturday made an endeavor to ascertain the amount of bail required for her appearance and said he would produce her at the proper time. So far, no bail has been offered for her appearance. I. S. Lippincott, the aged contractor, who was arrested last Friday night, at his home, is in the county jail, unable to secure bail.
P.A. Shriver, liveryman, a member of the board of directors of the Jefferson Fair association and husband of Mrs. Shriver, and Mrs. Lippincott are not taking much interest in the prosecution, but it is said neither will interfere.
Lippincott is the father of five children, four boy and a daughter. Three of his children are married and some of them are the parents of children, making Lippincott a grandfather. Two boys, aged 10 and 14 years, are at home with their mother. The Shrivers have no children.
It was reported that shortly before the two families moved to Waynesburg from Morgan township, last spring, Lippincott, while at the Shriver home, received a charge of shot in the back. Between 50 and 50 shot penetrated his hip. He was a patient in the Waynesburg Hospital for about a week. No prosecution followed.
Last spring, the two families moved to Waynesburg, Mrs. Shriver purchasing property valued at $10,000 on East High St. The Lippincott family moved to Maiden St., about 200 yards from the Shriver home.
The Pittsburgh Press, 9/11/1911
More details emerge in the next article.
Scandal Ends In Double Divorce
Waynesburg Stirred by Charges in Lippincott Case
Special to the Telegraph
Waynesburg, PA., Sept 12. While S. Irwin Lippincott, a wealthy contractor of this city, is languishing in the Greene county jail, his alleged “soul mate”, Mrs. Myrta Gregg Shriver, the richest woman in Greene county, is defying the police to arrest her. Irwin Lippincott, once the most popular man in Waynesburg, is today friendless. There is no one who will go his bail. His property is in his wife’s name and she refuses to go on his bond. Mrs. Lippincott, through her nephew, District Attorney C. W. Waychoff, will sue Mrs. Shriver for $25,000 damages for alienating her husband’s affections. Both the Lippincott and the Shriver homes have been wrecked by the scandal.
Two attempts have been made on the lives of Mrs. Shriver and Lippincott. While seated on a porch a short time ago someone fired shots from a double-barreled shogun into both, and for a time their lives were despaired of. But this did not put an end to the wooing.
Midnight Signals
From the window of her palatial residence at night, it is said, Mrs. Shriver would communicate with Lippincott by means of signals with a lighted lamp. Mr. Shriver, the woman’s husband, declares he had long been aware of their wooing, but did not interfere until two weeks ago, when his wife took Lippincott on an extended joy ride through Canada. Shriver engaged a score of detectives to trail the couple on their trip. Thus sufficient evidence was accumulated to warrant several charges being made against both. They were immediately indicted by the grand jury. When they returned Friday night Lippincott was taken by the police. Mrs. Shriver was to have been arrested that night, but dared the police to interfere with her. She locked herself in her beautiful home and ordered the officers off her premises.
Shriver declares he will divorce his wife. He says that a disgraceful example of their action was shown when Lippincott’s own daughter lay dead in the Lippincott home. “My wife,” he asserted, “was sitting in Lippincott’s lap beside the body.”
Harrisburg Telegraph, 9/12/1911
Despite the various declarations made, P. A. Shriver does not appear to have divorced his wife as his death certificate from 1927 still shows him as married, though Myrta remarried 10 years after his death.
Myrta was born 4/19/1878 and married P. Albert Shriver in 1896. She died 11/23/1956 and was buried at Greene County Memorial Park in Waynesburg, as was Mr. Shriver.