NEWS: Items from the Cambria Freeman, September 25, 1903, Cambria County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Patty Millich Copyright July 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ _________________________________________ Cambria Freeman Ebensburg, Pa. Friday, September 25, 1903 BABE'S BODY FOUND IN A BOX Some children who were playing in the cellar of a house on the Portage township side of Benscreek, about one and one half miles from Benscreek or Cassandra, on Monday afternoon, says the Johnstown Tribune, found a wooden box which they dragged outside. Slate keeper Ritchey who lives not far away took the box to break it up into kindling wood and found inside it a paper box. In this was discovered the badly decayed remains of a full birth baby. The babe was well dressed and the presence of talcum powder on the body indicated that the little one had lived some time. Constable William Inman took the bones, for the body was not more than a skeleton, to Cassandra and notified Coroner E. L. Miller. Coroner Miller on Tuesday went to Cassandra and learned that during the last six or eight months a couple of families had lived in the house in which the babe was found. The family which occupied the house immediately before the last tenants was made up of English speaking people, so it is thought they could tell something about the box mystery. That family, unfortunately has left the region so that no light can be thrown on the affair. The house is untenanted at present. BOOM AT FALLEN TIMBER W. T. Moore of White township is authority for the statement that the town known as Fallen Timber has taken on a boom and that the mines are running full time. The mines are operated by the Anderson Coal company of which ex-county Treasurer E. F Spencer is manager. The company has at present 50 tenement houses in the course of erection and work is being pushed on them. The houses are intended for the miners and are comfortable and roomy. At Frugality about two and a half miles from Fallen Timber, things are not so lively. There are about a dozen cases of diphtheria among the children and the mines are not working very steadily. LOCAL AND PERSONAL Liveryman Thomas Peach has returned from his Texas trip. Miss Mary Lloyd has returned to her studies in Butlerville, Md. Mrs. Francis J. O'Connor is the guest of her sister, Mrs. P. J. Little. Mr. John Gray of Jackson township had business in town Tuesday. Mr. Leonce Shields of Pittsburg spent Sunday in town with his parents. Mr. Francis Smith has returned to Bethlehem where he is attending Lehigh University. Alvin W. Evans, son of Congressman Evans, left on Saturday for Oberlin, Ohio, where he is attending college. Mr. Luke Durbin on White township paid the FREEMAN office a friendly visit on Saturday. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Dougherty of Pittsburg are the guests of Mr. A. J. Darragh and family of this place. Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Kittell, their little daughter, Bernadine, and Miss Blanche Henry, left last week for a visit to Atlantic City. Rev. Father Ludden, pastor of Holy Name Catholic Church, in this place, returned home Friday evening from a two month visit to his old home in Ireland. Michael Brown, a Spangler foreigner, arrested there one day last week on a charge of changing numbers on the mine cars in order to defraud his fellow workmen and who jumped his bail, was arrested at Gallitzin Thursday by Officer Lees and taken back to Spangler to face his accuser. The hearing took place Friday when Brown was held to answer the charges at court. Patrick McCauly of Barnesboro was in this place on Wednesday. He stopped over on his way to Nanty Glo where he attended a miner's meeting on Thursday evening. Mr. McCauly enjoys the confidence and respect of both the miners and the operators and has always shown conspicuous ability in all the positions of trust with which he has been honored. It is reported that Fitzharris Bros. of Gallitzin will shortly begin the erection of a brewery in that town, which will cost in the neighborhood of $100,000. It is stated that the Harvard and the Pittsburg Brewing companies are behind the venture and that expert brewers now in the employ of these companies will have charge of the new plant. The Messrs. Fitzharris say that they have no information to give out at the present time. THE GRIST GROUND FROM JUSTICE'S MILL On last Thursday there were a large number of cases disposed of but few of them were important. P. J. Schultz was the first victim. Schultz was accused of stealing a lady's gold watch and $8 from a room mate at Conemaugh. He got the costs, $5 fine, and was ordered to make restitution of the goods stolen within nine months from date of his incarceration. Warren N. Kyper who was accused of forgery by C. I. Robinson, assistant paymaster in the car shops at South Fork, was soaked for the costs. Further sentence was suspended. It seems that Kyper asked for the check of D. N. Burtnett, receipted for it and then had it cashed. The next case was that in which Thomas J. Merriman was accused by Emma Mothersbaugh of pointing firearms and carrying concealed weapons. Merriman was an engineer at Blandburg during the strike, It seem that one day he jumped out of his engine and having a pistol, pointed it at the prosecutor, who with two other ladies, was looking out of a window. It appears that Merriman, who refused to go out at the announcement of the strike, had been annoyed by having people call at him as he passed and thought he would make a bluff that would keep all people silent when he was around. The jury brought in a verdict of guilty. Charles Grubb and John Bozic were the next ones to air their troubles. Bozic keeps a shooting gallery in Johnstown. It seems that Grubb went into Bozic's place and did some shooting and then refused to pay for it. This started the trouble. A fist fight followed. Blows were struck and weapons were pulled. As a result, Bozic had Grubb arrested on the charge of assault and battery. Grubb made a counter charge. The jury found both men guilty. Mrs. Mary Beninger got all that was coming on the witness stand today. She is the mother-in-law of Jacob Houser. From the testimony the two bore but little love toward each other. They had sundry difficulties. The mother-in-law finally had Houser arrested. The jury is out on the case. Another trifling case heard was that wherein Nannie Davis charged David Watson with embezzlement. This charge grew out of Watson's acting as agent for Mrs. Davis in renting a house from Brown & Otto, Johnstown. He failed to get the house and kept the $10 advance payment. The jury acquitted Watson and placed half the costs on each party. The difficulties between Adam Shirley and James Fesler, two farmers from Adams township, next took the attention of the court. Fesler was charged with larceny, Shirley alleging that according to an arrangement between them, Fesler was to ship paper wood for him, this wood to be shipped and the checks returned in the name of Adam Shirley, Fesler representing himself as an agent of a Roaring Spring paper company. Fesler shipped three cars in his own name and received $250 for them, but failed to pay it over to Shirley. Fesler claimed he bought the wood and kept the money in payment of a debt due him from Shirley. But the jury did not rely on his version of the transaction and convicted Fesler, who was sentenced to pay the costs, further sentence being suspended until Wednesday. Friday Mary and Ada Allen, inmates of Irene Russell's resort at No. 96 Frankstown road, Johnstown, were found guilty of selling liquor without license and were each ordered to pay the costs, $500 fine and serve six months in jail. Ruby Scott charged with larceny was acquitted. Lee D. Hite of Lilly, the prosecutor testified that on May 7th he had gone to Johnstown from Wehrum and after spending some time in saloons, had gone on a tour along the tenderloin. He visited No. 96 and was entertained by the three inmates named. He said he had bought a number of bottles of beer from the Patton and Allen women and some from Irene Russell and that after enjoying a sleep, he awoke to find that he had been touched for $120. Ruby Scott, he said, acknowledged to him that she had swiped the roll. Harry Patterson of Johnstown accompanied Hite on his slumming tour. Milton Corbett pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement, false pretense and larceny, preferred by Manager M. T. Crowley of Gately W. Fitzgerald's' furniture store in Johnstown, $227 in money and household goods being involved. On the larceny charge he was sentenced to pay the costs, $25 fine, make restitution and serve one year in the penitentiary. In the other two cases he was directed to pay the costs and make restitution, further sentence being suspended. Joseph Rock of Gallitzin, pleaded guilty to stealing powder, Constable H. E. Crouse, prosecuting, and was ordered to pay the costs, $25 fine, restore the stolen goods and serve six months from date of incarceration. These two pleas of guilty were made on Thursday: Elmer Crocker aged seventeen years, charged by D. S. Oldham with the robbery of $60. Ordered to pay the costs, further sentence to be imposed on Wednesday. David Williams charged with malicious mischief in breaking open a door in John Malone's house in Johnstown. He was ordered to pay the costs and serve sixty days from date of incarceration. Maud Wilson of Blandburg charged by Constable Matts with felonious breaking and entering and entry and detaining, was acquitted, the prosecutor being directed to pay the costs. Matts had bought on the installment plan, a property at Blandburg from R. L. Bower, the Democratic candidate for prothonotary in 1901 and had failed to make the payments agreed upon. During the prosecutor's absence, Mr. Bower authorized the defendant to take possession of the house, the suit resulting. Saturday Henry Corter was acquitted of assault and battery and the costs were placed on Emma J. Custer, the prosecutrix. Corter boards at the Custer place in Johnstown and according to the prosecutrix, on August 3d, took hold of her and pushed her against the wall. In the case of John Dement vs. Elizabeth Thompson, larceny, assault and battery, and Elizabeth Thompson vs. John Piement, assault and battery, both defendants were convicted of assault and battery. Mrs. Thompson being directed to pay the costs in both cases. The principals are foreigners from Nanty Glo, Dement boarded with the Thompson woman and claimed that she stole $50 which he had stored in a satchel, later throwing the receptacle out of the window. A fight ensued. The court directed a verdict of not guilty in the larceny charge. Friday evening a jury found William Myers and Yetta Myers not guilty of assault and battery as charged by Mrs. Elizabeth Jones, but ordered Mrs. Myers to pay the costs. The case came from Johnstown, the Myers boy, it was claimed, hitting Oliver Jones on the head with a stone. Mrs. Jones went over to the Myers home and claimed Mrs. Myers hit her with a broom. The defense was that the hitting of the Jones boy with a stone was accidental, etc. The jury in the case in which James Dawson, a salesman for the Ryan- Correll company of Johnstown, charged J. G. Chestnutwood, a merchant of Bakerton, with false pretense; going on when this report closed yesterday, acquitted, the defendant and placed the costs on the prosecutor. Monday During the afternoon John Helsel who was charged with burglary by M. C. F. Crowley, pleaded guilty to a charge of entering without breaking. He claimed that he had gone into the store to sleep and not to steal. Judge O'Connor sentenced him to pay the costs and undergo imprisonment in the Huntington reformatory. Allen Roberts pleaded guilty to a charge of malicious mischief in assisting a brother of the prosecutor, John Brawley, in digging up a number of fruit trees by Brawley's farm and was fined $5 and the costs. Tuesday The case of John Colgansky vs. John Mickey, for assault and battery, was won by the plaintiff. Mickey gets 30 days and costs. While driving a beer wagon the defendant ran into Colgansky and severely injured him.