The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-07-13 00:00:00

A QUESTION OF IDENTITY.

On the 28th of May, at West Overton, Ohio, a
young man was found under a shed insensible', end
apparently dead drunk, and in a few hours he died.
His coat was missing, and all his pockets had been
turned inside out. At the close of the inquest, a
man who had witnessed the proceedings stepped
forward and said that the corpse was that of one
Hiram Christ, of Regansport. On this, several
others who had known Mr. Christ during life were
found, who affirmed his identity with the body before
them. Next, the father of Hiram was sent for
who, on seeing the corpse, promptly declared it to
be that of his eon. On examining more closely, how-
ever, the father was unable to find a scar on the chin
of the deceased, and another on the foot, which, during
life existed. This was rather staggering; but some-
body came forward with the plausible suggestion that
scars often disappeared after death--why or wherefore
was not set forth. Meanwhile, the mother of Hiram
arrival, snul she also at once said the body was her
firm's. Vet she, also, not finding the "mark on the
chin and the split in the toe," hesitated, and was left in
the most painful perplexity, vacillating between hope
and fear. At th.s point a bright idea occurred to the father.
He remembered that when his son was last at home he
had bought a pair of boots. He complained, on coming
home that one of these was too tight, and on examina-
tion found that the boots were of different numbers, one
oeing a number eight, the other a number seven. The
sun remarked that he hated to take them back, and
guessed he'd keep them as they were. Mr. Christ,
sen., having related this incident, the boots worn by
the corpse were closely inspected, when one was found
to be a number eight and the other a number seven.
This certainly seemed conclusive' and was accepted as
such by the bystanders, although the parents could not
feel entirely convinced in the absence of the scars.
Presently Hiram's sisters were sent for, and arrived
only to increase the somtuon perplexity, for one in-
sisted at once that the /net/ was that of her dear
brother, while the other as positively ,Jeclared it was
not. . . . _

mos
Two days passed, and no satisfactory understanding
could be reached. It became necessary to bury the de-
ceased. Whether the corpse was that of Hiram Christ,
or that of somebody else, it was requisite that it
should be interred. This was accordingly done, and
the strange spectacle was presented of the sisters
attending 'the funeral, while the parents refused to do
A messenger was despatched by the father to
seek out his son. The latter nari been sent, it transpired,
by his employer to M'Ker sport, a short time before. To
this place he was followed; but, on inquiry, it was found
that he had disappeared, and the most diligrnt search
failed to reveal the slightest trace of him. The father
and mother, in great sorrow, reluctantly admitted that
they must have been in error respecting the identity
of the body, and orders were given for its disinterment
and removal to the family burying-place, to which they
had refused it admittance before. This proceeding
was begun, but it never was consummated. It was
interrupted, in fact, by the singular circumstance that
Mr. Hiram Christ walked quietly into the paternal
mansion That youfig man, it appears, had been tem-
porarily absent from M'itieesport, had returned, been
apprised of the proceedings at West Overton, and
instantly went thither to set things right