Our Arklahoma Heritage: Fort Smith Mayor and his niece/wife gave family relationships a whole new meaning
- Dennis McCaslin
- Aug 13, 2025
- 3 min read
Colonel James Brizzolara, who served as the mayor of Fort Smith in the late 1800s, was a figure shrouded in controversy, particularly due to his first marriage--an incestuous union with his niece, Virginia Bacigalupo, which caused quite a scandal.
Brizzolara was known for engaging in numerous duels, the most notable being in 1869 with George R. Phelan in Memphis.
During this duel, Brizzolara was severely wounded, shot through the left breast and arm by two balls from Phelan's Navy Colt Repeater.
While recovering at his brother-in-law's house in Little Rock, Brizzolara fell in love with his niece, Virginia Bacigalupo. The couple married and lived in Fort Smith until 1876, when Virginia, known as "Jennie," left Brizzolara and returned to Little Rock with their three-year-old daughter, Permillia.
In September 1877, Jennie married Angelo Marre in Little Rock without obtaining a divorce from Brizzolara, leading to charges of bigamy. Jennie attempted to argue that her first marriage was void because it was not recognized by the Catholic Church, but the incestuous nature of the marriage further complicated the situation.
After the legal battles, Jennie returned to Little Rock and started a new life as the wife of Angelo Marre, a prominent broker.
Angelo Marre was born on September 11, 1842, in Borzonasca, Italy, and moved to the United States at the age of 12. His family settled in Memphis in 1854. Angelo and his brothers worked in various saloons, and from 1865 to 1868, Angelo served in the Memphis Police Department. He was forced to resign after being accused of killing a man during an argument, though he was acquitted
In 1872, Marre was convicted of stealing money from a local business and sentenced to three years in Tennessee State Prison, losing his American citizenship. He was pardoned two years into his sentence and regained his citizenship in 1879.
After inheriting money from his former lover, Annie Melrose, Marre moved to Little Rock for a fresh start.
Marre and his brother John opened the Senate Saloon and &Billiard Parlor in Little Rock, which was advertised as carrying the finest stock of wines and liquors. Angelo met Jennie Brizzolara-Bacigalupo during this time, and they married after her controversial divorce from Brizzolara.
Angelo and Jennie Marre lived in a small house in Little Rock from 1877 to 1881. Despite Angelo's bad temper and violent outbursts, which often landed him in trouble with the law, he eventually entered local politics, serving as a Republican city alderman and running for sheriff.
Jennie struggled with the social stigma of her incestuous first marriage and Angelo's extramarital affairs. She lost her parents and two sisters to yellow fever in 1878, and her son lived with Brizzolara in Fort Smith. Jennie found solace in Angelo's sisters, Mary and Teresa.
Angelo Marre died in 1889 from blood poisoning after a minor injury. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock, with a custom-designed marble monument ordered from Florence, Italy.
After Angelo's death, Jennie inherited a substantial amount of money and began remodeling and updating their house, Villa Marre.
She hired architect Thomas Harding to design a new kitchen, constructed in the original back porch, as the kitchen had previously been located in the basement.
She also had a chicken house and stable built in the backyard, along with other minor repairs and maintenance, including frescoing the ceilings of the twin parlors. Jennie finally made the society column in the Arkansas Gazette after purchasing a 123-piece set of Dresden china in 1892.
In October 1896, Jennie married Marion E. Dunn, a Little Rock broker. Angelo Marre’s sisters immediately accused Dunn of being a gold digger. For reasons unknown, Jennie and Dunn built a smaller house in 1901 at the corner of 22nd and Spring, using Villa Marre as rental property.
On December 4, 1904, Jennie met her husband at the train station upon his return from a business trip, and the couple immediately got into an argument. Dunn stayed at the Capital Hotel that evening, and Jennie returned home.
A few hours later, one of their wait staff found Jennie dead in the hallway. The first doctor on the scene suspected poisoning, as Jennie collapsed after drinking her usual nightly glass of wine from a hallway decanter.
Rumors of murder spread, exacerbated by Dunn's refusal to allow Marre family members into the house. The coroner ruled her death a result of heart failure.
Villa Marre is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home is immortalized on television in reruns, as exterior shots of its façade were used to portray the fictional Sugarbaker & Associates Interior Design Firm on the hit CBS show "Designing Women."
James Brizzolara is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Fort Smith.
His life, marked by controversy and scandal, remains a fascinating chapter in the history of Fort Smith.
