Who's That Girl?

Several months ago, my dad sent me this photo which was labeled "Margaret Catherine Coppenbarger." But, there's a problem: we don't have anyone on our family tree named Margaret Catherine Coppenbarger. So, who was this young lady?

Thankfully, my dad recently realized he had another copy of the same photo! And, this one was labeled slightly different. It is labeled "Matilda Katherine Coppenbarger Bro. to Josiah." Of course, it should say she's Josiah's sister, not brother, but we do know the identities of both Josiah and Matilda.

Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger (1844-1934) was my great, great grandfather. He was the son of Peter Coppenbarger (1817-1847) and Mary "Polly" Randolph (1818-1885). Since Peter died at the young age of 30, he and Polly only had 3 children: Josiah, Matilda Katherine who also went by Kate (who is the girl photographed), and William Frank who also went by Cottie. Polly was married two more times - once before Peter and once after Peter - so Josiah also had step-siblings.

Matilda Katherine Coppenbarger (1848-1899) married Robert F Barnett (1843-1912) in DeWitt County, Illinois in 1868. She and her husband had three children and were living in Sumner County, Kansas by 1875. She is buried in Grant County, Oklahoma, where she was likely living at the end of her life.

My dad put the photos side-by-side for comparison. Isn't it interesting how two copies of the photo aged differently?

Are we related? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Fighting in The Black Hawk War

Here, on May 14, 1832, the first engagement of the Black Hawk War took place. When 275 Illinois militiamen under Maj. Isaiah Stillman were put to flight by Black Hawk and his warriers. So thoroughly demoralized were the volunteers that a new army had to be called into the field. - Historical Marker at the site of Stillman's Defeat in Stillman Valley, Illinois

List of volunteers including Geo. Copperberger [should be Coppenbarger] as 3rd corporal,
Elisha Butler & Obediah Hooper as privates

My great, great, great grandfather, Peter Coppenbarger, was 14 years old in the spring of 1832. He was too young to fight, but he must have watched his older brother, George, and brothers-in-law, Elisha Butler and Obadiah Hooper, as they set off to defend their land. They were living in Macon County (soon to became De Witt County), Illinois.

The land ceded to the U.S. in the 1804 treaty
is shown in yellow (image from wikipedia)

The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as Stillman's Defeat, was one of the first conflicts in what would become known as the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk was a member of the Sauk tribe who did not want to give up his homeland which had been signed away in the St Louis Treaty of 1804. In 1832, he returned to Illinois bringing women, children & warriors with him. A panic started among the white settlers and the governor called for mounted volunteers. Peter's family answered the call.

"Scion's of County's Best Families Fought in War Against Indians in '32",
Decatur Review; Decatur, Illinois, 11 Sep 1927, page 12, column 1; digital image
newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 22 Aug 2014)

Sadly, the main action that these three brothers-in-law faced was at Stillman's Run on May 14th, 1832. I say "sadly" because this battle was such a fiasco. Although the stories differ, it appears that these militiamen killed some of Black Hawk's warriors who had come under a white truce flag. According to an article in a 1927 "Decatur Review", here's what happened:

"Stillman's Run", public domain image from wikipedia
Benjamin Drake, 1st published in 1854 book,
"Great Indian Chief of the West"

We don't know how valiantly or efficiently Macon county troops fought in this campaign, but we are assured that they fought as valiantly and efficiently as other untrained, undisciplined troops fought, and one man was killed, several wounded and some had their horses shot. Major Stillman's brigade and that under Major Bailey were ordered to proceed without delay to the head of Old Man's creek, twelve miles north of Dixon. The first clash with the Indians was at this point and it was due to foolhardiness and boneheadedness.

Black Hawk sent out three men under a truce flag. These men were captured. Another squad of five men under a second flag were sent out. These were fired upon and two o[f] them were killed. Infuriated by this treatment and without stopping to collect his main force and with only forty warriors, he fell upon the whites with the fury of a tornado. The white troops were put to ignominious rout and some of them never stopped running till they reached Dixon. Eleven white soldiers and seven Indians were killed. 

In other articles I've read it was reported that the volunteers believed there were over 1,000 warriors fighting against them while, in reality, there might have been between 20-50.

I wonder what kinds of stories young Peter heard when these three young men returned home. At the time, the war was still going on. What kinds of fears did my family face? And, how did they feel about this battle?

George Coppenbarger was 3rd corporal in this battalion. The 4th corporal, James Milton, was killed in this battle. Were they friends? Were George, Elisha or Obadiah injured during this battle? Were their horses shot out from under them? Were they some of the men who didn't stop "running until they reached Dixon?"

"Chicago Daily Tribune", 12 Jul 1891, page 25, column 6;
www.chroniclingamerica.com

On August 27th, Black Hawk surrendered in Wisconsin and the Black Hawk War was over. He gave an incredible surrender speech which can be read here or listened to performed by Don Cheadle here. His speech ends: "Farewell, my nation. Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk."

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Family Lore: Related to Pocahontas

My great aunt, Beulah (Peters) Brewer, got me interested in genealogy about 18 years ago. One of our ancestral lines are the Randolph's of Virginia. Here's the story she emailed me of what got her interested in learning more about her family:

Myrtle Mae (Coppenbarger) Peters painting
Probably the photo taken for the newspaper

James Madison Randolph is the reason that I started doing genealogy. Mother had a copy of the paper that had his obituary in it, and his part took up about four pages. It was one of the smaller papers. Mother started doing oil paintings when she was in her late 70's, and the paper came out to take her picture and then they wanted some of her background history. She was so proud, and when she showed it to me, I asked her why she had them put all the Randolph data down? It had been handed down by word of mouth for generations and you couldn't convince any one of them that it wasn't so. In Lee County, Virginia, they still tend to believe it.

Image of Pocahontas from Wikipedia

So, what did the family believe for generations? That we were related to Pocahontas.

Just last week I came across a typed copy of the obituary of James Madison Randolph my great grandmother probably showed her daughter, Beulah. (I found it on De Witt County's Rootsweb.) Besides being related to Pocahontas, it states our family is related to a handful of other prominent people! Wouldn't that be neat? However, my great aunt said that her finding showed that, though we are descended from the Randolph family of Virginia, we aren't a part of the more famous Randolph family of Virginia. Here's the wonderfully lengthy obituary:

Dated April 8, 1927; Paper: Unknown

JAMES MADISON RANDOLPH PIONEER OF THIS COMMUNITY. 

Laid to Rest Under Sheltering Branches of Ancestral Oaks in Randolph Cemetery.

The subject of this sketch, James Madison RANDOLPH, was born June 27, 1846 in Logan county, Illinois, on the old homestead which had been taken from the government about two years before by his father. He was the oldest son of Willoughby H. and Louvicy (BARR) RANDOLPH, and the Randolph family of three brothers- James, Brooks, and William RANDOLPH had emigrated to Illinois from Virginia ,a sixteen years previous, before the winter of the big, snow in 1830. William RANDOLPH was his grandfather and James RANDOLPH was the father of J. S. RANDOLPH, better known as "Shelt". While he and "Shelt" were thus second cousins, yet all their lives and until the death of J. S. Randolph a number of years ago, their association was almost that of brothers, instead of distant cousins. He was thus one of the few remaining pioneers of the first generation and with advancing years took delight in recounting experiences of his boyhood. He told of one occasion of starting to Clinton with a load of grain and two yoke of oxen and having a serious breakdown on the present site of Kenney. He was married to Elizabeth G. JETT on December 30, 1871 who survives him. Seven children were born to this union; G. A. RANDOLPH, of Richmond, Va., R. J. RANDOLPH, of Kenney; Jett and John RANDOLPH, Mrs. Mack CARLLEY and Mrs. A. P. ROBERTSON, of Tulsa, Okla. One daughter, Grace, died at age of five. Two sisters, Mrs. Emma HILDRETH, and Mrs. Mary FORREST are living, both residing On Pacific Coast, and there are ten grandchildren. Always a deep student and constructive thinker, he spent the years 1865 and 1866 at Shurtleff college, Alton, Ill., and but for several years of weak eyesight from an epidemic of eye trouble, he would have graduated as a civil engineer and made this his life work. Generous with his family, tolerant of the opinions of others and yet with firm convictions of his own, his life showed continually the workings of a well balanced and orderly mind. Baptized in the Christian church at Kenney, following a revival in 1888, he talked freely in his last illness of the state of his soul and said he was prepared to meet his God. In all the trials of life, in withstanding the "Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune,"' he showed the iron determination of his forbears who stood at Crecy and Agincourt.

In the summer of 1923, he visited his son, G. A. Randolph at Richmond, Va., and took great delight in looking up the site of the home of his ancestor, William Randolph, of Turkey Island, and in visiting the monument of the Indian Princess, Pocahontas, at Jamestown Island, from whom he was descended. On a boat trip down the historic James, the captain, on learning his name and ancestry, showed pleasure in pointing out the sites of the homes of the Randolphs in this locality, so aptly called the "Cradle of the Republic."

Among his relatives were, John RANDOLPH, of Roanoke, Peyton RANDOLPH, President of the First Continental Congress, and Edmund RANDOLPH, Governor of Virginia and First Attorney General of the United states. Thomas JEFFERSON, Chief Justice MARSHALL, General Robert E. LEE and Carter H. HARRISON of Chicago were kinsmen, their mothers being Randolph's. After being in remarkably good health for a man of his years, the final illness came in January and he passed away at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 26. The remains were brought to Kenney to the home of his sister-in-law, Mrs. Sabra BUCHANAN.

Funeral arrangements on March 28 were handled by R. B. PULLEN and the services were at the Christian church in charge of Rev. O. P. WRIGHT, who is an old friend of the family. He delivered a most feeling discourse. A quartet composed of C. A. TROWBRIDGE, Ned WARRICK, H. K. CANTRELL, and E. *. HOGGARD, rendered appropriate selection with Miss Nina WARRICK at the piano. The pall bearers were four grandsons James HOMER, Ross and Harry RANDOLPH and two nephews, Roy and Ralph BUCHANAN. Services at the cemetery were conducted by Kenney Lodge I.O.O.F. of which he had been a member nearly 50 years.

Under the sheltering branches of the ancestral oaks of his grandfather Randolph's farm where he had wandered happily with his cousins, Levi and Whitney REGAN and Frank and Josiah COPPENBARGER, all that was mortal of James Madison Randolph was laid to rest. 

Do we share common ancestors? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment or contact me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

SNGF: Ancestors or Cousins Born on Your Birth Date

Randy's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge tonight is to see if you have any ancestors or cousins that share your birth date. You can find the 'rules' on his blog, Genea-Musings.

1. What is your birth date? (Not the year... just the month & day)

February 22nd

Robert F Barnett's headstone, Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Salt Fork, Grant Co, OK
Image by bobetx1 posted at FindAGrave

2. Do you have anyone in your tree who shares your birth date? (Randy's post shows how to find this from your genealogy program)

There is one person on my tree with my same birth date: Robert F Barnett (1843-1912). He is not a direct ancestor, but he is someone I'd like to research more. He is one of the husbands of Matilda Katharine "Kate" Coppenbarger (1848-1899) who is the daughter of Peter Coppenbarger (1817-1847) & Mary "Polly" Randolph (1818-1885) who were my 3rd great grandparents. Their son, Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger (1844-1934) was my great, great grandfather, and Kate's brother.

I'm going to extend this 'challenge' & see what I know about him & his wife & what I can find out.

WHAT I KNOW:

I have Robert F Barnett's birth & death dates (1843-1912) & place of birth (WV). I don't have recorded where I got this information. I also have him in the 1880 census in Sumner Co, KS with his wife, Kate, and their two children, Lawrence & Luna who were 10 & 8. So, I also have their marriage date & place (1868 in De Witt Co, IL) though, again, no documentation. Robert was Kate's second marriage, so I believe they were together until her death in 1899 in Oklahoma, though I also show she was buried in Wisconsin. (Sadly, again I don't have any documentation!)

WHAT I FOUND TONIGHT:

• Find A Grave entry showing burial in Grant County, Oklahoma and verifying years of birth and death. It also shows Kate buried here, so I don't think she's buried in Wisconsin!
• Found another son, Ray, through census records
• Found Robert was born in Illinois, not West Virginia (several census records)
• Found Robert as a child with his parents & siblings in De Witt Co, IL
• Found the family on the 1875 census which showed daughter's name as Lura, not Luna
• Determined his probable place of death (Grant Co, OK) based on the census of where he was living two years before his death and where he was buried

3. Share!

Here's my post. I found quite a bit in about 30 minutes of work. It's always a good idea to follow this children of your ancestors!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

The Kind of Newspaper Article You Don't Want to Find...

S. P. Coppenbarger death, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, 23 Aug 1893, page 4, column 2;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 07 Oct  2014)

Of course we expect to find death records of our relatives. But, this is the kind of death you don't want to find. Sylvester Perry Coppenbarger (1839 in De Witt Co, IL - 1893 in OK) was my 1st cousin four times removed. His grandfather, Jacob Coppenbarger Senior (1769 in Wythe Co, VA - 1841 in De Witt Co, IL), was my fourth great grandfather. Sadly, "S. P." evidently died at the age of 53 by an "accidental discharge of a gun."

Do we have ancestors in common? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Divorce & Death (Learning about Lena, Part 2)

As I discussed in Part 1 about Lena, I found that the land being sold and partitioned between 32 members of my family originally belonged to Lena R. Tremlett. But, I've never heard of Lena. I decided to search for her on Ancestry and see what I could find.

When I searched for Lena R. Tremlett in Missouri, I came up with 4 good hits - 3 death records and an 1880 census.

1880 Census - St Louis - John Tremlett is 3rd person - Lena Randolph Tremlett is 4th
people below John & Lena are boarders

The 1880 census is for John Tremlett, who appears to be running a hotel & whose occupation is listed as rooms provider (unsure of second word), and Lena Randolph Tremlett! Randolph is the last name of the parents/grandparents (William & Matilda) of those 32 family members! This Lena was born about 1832 in Virginia. This fits with one of the children of William & Matilda - Selina "Lena" Randolph! But, I had her married to a Noah Herman Smith, though I have no documentation. Perhaps this is a second marriage? Or perhaps she was never married to Noah Herman Smith.

Next, I looked at the three death records for Lena each showing she died in May of 1887. The records show she died of nephritis and was born in DeWitt County, Illinois. I think she was actually born in Virginia, but she grew up in DeWitt County.

Next, I Googled "Lena R Tremlett" and was surprised to uncover another article about her on Newspaper Abstracts. This was published in March of 1887 and it was for the filing of a divorce! It sounds like a pretty nasty divorce, too.

The last thing I uncovered was through Mocavo. It is a judicial index from 1887 in St. Louis so it is probably the divorce case file. (The case number is 16305; microfilm reel C38388.) She died only two months after filing for divorce, so I'm really interested in that case file. I'm going to hire someone in St. Louis to look up that file for me.

Here's the article about Lena filing for divorce which was in the "St Louis Dispatch Post" on March 31, 1887. The transcript was contributed by Gigimo.

A divorce suit was filed late last evening in the Circuit Court by Mrs. Lena R TREMLETT against John TREMLETT of the Hotel Belvedere, Washington Ave. They were married in May, 1879, and lived together until last October. Mrs. TREMLETT makes serious allegations against her husband, charging him with conduct rendering her position intolerable. She accuses him of heaping shocking indignities upon her at various times, making false accusations against her and acting in the most violent manner. She alleges that her husband was unduly intimate with a female servant and that he caressed another woman in her presence. He also took the part of a young woman who had assaulted his wife. Mrs. TREMLETT further charges that her husband transferred his affections to another woman and that he tried to get rid of his wife by filing a suit for a divorce which he subsequently withdrew being unable to furnish proof of the allegations contained in the petition. When the separation took place he said that he was going to Florida. Mrs. TREMLETT asks for alimony, alleging that her husband is possessed of $30,000 worth of property.

I actually found an image of the Belvedere Hotel; it was pretty amazing looking! But, did Lena's husband keep the hotel because she died before the divorce was finalized? And, did he actually own this hotel? In the 1900 census, I found a John Tremlett who was born in England the right year and is running a hotel, but other details don't make sense. What happened to Lena's husband, John? And did the divorce actually happen? Are there records from when John filed for divorce? Did he remarry? And, was Lena married to Noah Herman Smith?

Another big question now that I see Lena was married in 1879 is: why did she get 5 pieces of land conveyed to her in 1879 from the Queen's and the Hammett's, people I've never heard of?

1883 City Directory for St. Louis found on Fold3

Update: On Fold3, I found an 1883 city directory for St. Louis showing John Tremlett was proprietor of the beautiful Hotel Belvedere at 1230 Washington Av.

Source: 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Saint Louis (independent city), Missouri, Enumeration District #12, printed page #224A, dwelling 159, John Tremlett household, online images, Ancestry.com <http://www.ancestry.com>, accessed 20 Jul 2014, citing Family History Film #1254717.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Neighbor Nuptials: HistoryGeo Puts Neighbors On the Map

Who did your early ancestors marry? Of course, it was often their neighbors! Last week I learned about HistoryGeo through a Genealogy Guys podcast (#263) and was able to visually see that my Coppenbarger & Randolph ancestors of De Witt County, Illinois were neighbors!

HistoryGeo's First Landowners Project contains nearly 8 million original landowners in a single map. You can search for landowners by surname or by location. My Coppenbarger & Randolph ancestors were early settlers in De Witt County, Illinois (then Macon County) under the Land Act of 1820. Basically, this land act required cash instead of credit for land purchases. It also dropped the price of an acre from $1.65 to $1.25 and tract size from 160 to 80 acres. This land was available for purchase in the Northwest Territories (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) & Missouri. These lower prices ($100 for 80 acres versus $264 for 160 acres) encouraged many settlers to move West, including my two families from Virginia.

1833 U.S. Land Office Record for Jacob Coppenbarger then in Macon County now in De Witt County, Illinois
(from ancestry.com)

HistoryGeo doesn't just show you a map with names and the year of purchase. If you click on a specific piece of land you can see the following:

• the names of all warantees & patentees
• the patent date
• the accession (I don't know what this field is)
• location
• township
• range
• section
• aliquot
• meridian
• authority (for example, mine shows it's from the Land Act of 1820)
• longitude
• latitude

You can also click on the following links:

• "View U.S. County Boundary History"
• "View this Spot in Google Maps"
• "View BLM Source"
• "View BLM Document"

Unfortunately, the BLM website (Bureau of Land Management) doesn't seem to be working today so I can't share any specifics from there. I know when I looked at a document the other day, it was the same as the above document I found on Ancestry.com. But, there might be more records available.

A few other things I noted about the Coppenbarger & Randolph families while on HistoryGeo's maps:

• I found that the two families owned a lot of land! (most of my ancestors were fairly poor, but this branch might be an exception)
• I found other 'neighbors' who my family intermarried with - like Elisha Butler
• I found the Randolph Cemetery which was located on Elisha Butler's land (there is also a cemetery 'search' button for these maps!)

One note: most of the First Landowners are from the west coast and central United States, not from the colonies. I counted entries for 30 of the 50 states. So, it really depends on where your ancestors lived as to whether or not you'll find this site very useful at this time.

Next up: I'll explore the Antique Maps Collections!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

The Fortune Teller that Stole a Wife

What if a fortune teller told you there was a fortune buried on your land? Would you dig up your land in search of it? That's how my family, the Coppenbargers, figure into this strange tell of a fortune teller who...

...told the Coppenbargers there was vast wealth buried on their land

...said that he could tell who murdered the German family who was found hung in a tree a few months earlier

...and stole the heart of the wife of the man he was employed by

What a crazy story... and I guess it's true. I don't know exactly who these Coppenbarger's are, but my Coppenbarger's were from this area. My direct line had moved on by this time, but I'm guessing the family who dug for gold were grandchildren, or cousins, or some kind of relation. 

I found this story at the DeWitt GenWeb Project site. It's from the Clinton Public newspaper and it's dated February 22, 1878 and the second article is dated March 29, 1878. They were submitted by Judy Simpson.

The Fortune Teller That Stole A Wife

February 22, 1878
Clinton Public
Clinton, Illinois
NOT FOR JOE.
But for the Other Fellow.

It is money wasted to send missionaries to heathen lands when there is such a field as DeWitt county to labor in. For awhile our courts were deluged with cases of lechery that would put to shame the most degraded savage tribe, but of late these disgusting and degrading scenes have either become fewer or are carefully covered from the public gaze. The neighborhood of Midland City has for some time been scandalized with an open violation of all of the rules of decency and propriety, and the matter finally culminated in bringing grief and shame to the home of Joe DAVIS, a well-to-do farmer in Tunbridge township. Last November Frank JACKSON, a stout, burly fellow applied for work at Mr. Davis's to gather corn, and he worked in the fields for some two or three weeks. He was a rare hand to work, for his robust nature was capable of great physical endurance, and this won upon the heart of Joseph. It seems that Mrs. DAVIS also fell in love with Frank's physique, for from the time he entered the house her lawful spouse was relegated to other sleeping apartments. After the corn gathering season was past, Jackson still remained in the Davis mansion. He professed to perform miraculous cures on the sick, and also claimed to be the embodiment of great magnetic power. It was this bird who set the whole Coppenbarger family wild with the intelligence that the spirits had told him that on the Coppenbarger farm was hidden vast stores of wealth. For days and weeks the deluded people dug till almost every inch of soil was turned over, but no gold was found. Yet they had confidence in him and still believed that he would yet have a revelation as to the exact spot where the wealth was buried. He also professed to be able to tell who it was that murdered the German who was found hung by the neck to the limb of a tree near Kenney some months ago. Jackson is a sharp rascal, and he evidently has succeeded in gulling a great many others besides the Davis family. Many sensible people have submitted to his manipulations in the expectation that he could cure them of disease.

His influence over Mrs. Davis was supreme. He made the family believe that he could perform any great miracle, and threw such a glamour over Mrs. Davis that he had complete control of her. Old Joe was banished from his own bedroom and Jackson occupied a lounge in Mrs. D.'s room. Well, to make a long story short, Joe Davis thought it about time that he was getting mad at the conditions of affairs in his household. He ordered Jackson to leave the house, but Jackson evidently had the inside track and he wouldn't budge. Joe found the pair in bed together, and because he objected to such familiarity Jackson told him he was the most jealous man he ever saw.

Joe hadn't the courage to bounce Jackson, so he appealed to State's Attorney KELLY to help him. A warrant was sworn out for the arrest of Mrs. Davis and Jackson and deputy sheriff McHENRY executed it. The guilty pair was brought before Judge RICHEY on Wednesday afternoon and waived an examination. Mrs. Davis was bound over to the circuit court, but Jackson had to go to jail for want of bail. Mrs. D. tried to induce several men to go on Jackson's bond, offering to secure them by giving a mortgage on some property she owns, but she did not succeed.

Joe Davis went on his wife's bond. The poor old fellow, notwithstanding her sin, could not see the mother of his children go to jail.

Jackson says he has the power to unbolt the doors of the jail and walk out a free man, but somehow he does not exercise it.

................
March 29, 1878
Clinton Public
Clinton, Illinois
SUPERSTITION AND IGNORANCE.

The DAVIS - JACKSON trial in the court house last Monday afternoon brought to light a condition of affairs in this county that would even be discreditable in a nation of barbarians. Frank JACKSON is one of those sharp, shrewd fellows who lives by his wits, and superstitious and ignorant people are his game. Some time last October he hired to Joe DAVIS to gather corn, and after two weeks spent in the field and in the house, he succeeded in ingratiating himself so fully into the good graces of Joe and his wife that he became master of the situation. Frank represented himself as one having great supernatural power. He could tell fortunes, discover buried treasure, hold sweet converse with departed spirits; in fact there was nothing that his mind could not grasp and conquer. Such an accomplished charlatan found victims in the Davis household. Joe is somewhat in debt, and Jackson one day told him there was buried treasure on the farm which he could bring to light. There was a superstition in the family for years that the mother of Mrs. Davis had hidden a large amount of wealth somewhere, and the coming of Jackson awakened the hope that it was almost within grasp. Joe and his wife are very gullible, and it was but an easy matter to impose upon them. In order to aid in the incantations, Jackson had first to be filled with pure alcohol, which, he said, was to act upon a piece of steel in his stomach. When full of alcohol, Jackson would lay on a bed and paw the air and have Mrs. Davis deal out the cards from which he told fortunes. This state of affairs existed for weeks, and in the meantime a criminal intimacy sprang up between Jackson and Mrs. Davis. Poor Joe was so blinded by his desire to secure the hidden wealth that he did not take notice of what was going on under his own eyes. The fame of Jackson spread throughout the neighborhood as one who could heal the sick as well as tell fortunes, and plenty of fools were found to believe in him.

Joe Davis finally became convinced that something was wrong at his home, and one day he came to this city and swore out a warrant for the arrest of his wife and Jackson on the charge of adultery. Jackson was committed to jail in default of bail and Mrs. Davis was liberated on Joe going her bail. The case was tried last Monday. Part of the testimony was disgusting in the extreme. The main witness of the criminal intimacy of the parties was the little twelve-year-old daughter of Mrs. Davis. The poor child realized the terrible position in which she was placed, but told such a story, and apparently so truthful, that ought to cause that mother to bury her head in shame. Every one of Mrs. Davis's children were witnesses against her.

It appeared in evidence that Jackson drank in less than five weeks six gallons and three pints of pure alcohol.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty against the defendants, when their attorneys made a motion for a new trial, which is now pending.

It is to be hoped that the effects of this trial will be beneficial. Within a radius of a few miles from the Davis mansion there are some three or four well-to-do farmers living in open adultery with women, while their wives are totally neglected.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net