The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-04-02
RuIrlllunh qSpatcb.
MONDAY MORNING. .......AP1alLa, 1880.

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MONDAY Observation-Disclosures, ie0 s'
The Rsyal Family sf Gtpsies u Asaerscs.
The King Of the 1ipsies, Owen Stanley, was
huried NJ DAYTON, Ohio, recently, aud the
pst,shurr Post takes the occasion 70 give q
his,orv Of that branch OF the 0ipaey trace" In
America. II says:
The a{3ipsey King" Owen Stanle5, and his
namsrous family. have frequently vistted this
part Of Pen nsy lvaniA, and we know them
will. The government Of this peculiar peo-
pic, among themselves, Is patriarchal. the
eldest member OF the tribe or family reeeiv.
ing peculiar reverence aud implicit obedience
from all its members.
The Stanley family OF 0ipsies, of which
Owen Was the Patriarch. Chief or King, came
10 America some seven or eight years ago from
King was the father Of seventeen children, all
OF whom, we believe, are in America ana NV.
Ing. These, with their descendants, ROW
number about two hundred persons. Ansy
stiil keep up their nomadic, Gipsey nous
Of living, travelling from place TO place, In
hands, sub divided according 10 circumstances
The tribe il possessed of considerable wealth.
In horses. wagons. ana money, .ns .as'ea VI
sons in whom they have implicit commence.
Knowing themselves suspected, they are nat
uraily q suspicious people but when once
their confidence is acquired they are free
hearted, open -han ded and jovial. In all mat
,ers of practical lie they are well informed
They drive sharp bargain, are cautious and
prudent, and we can say that the Stanley fam
lily have proved themselves honest, for in all
charges made against them which are not un-
frequent, shey insist upon Investigation ana
come out triumphant. .
We recoiiect that ut one tire when in this
city, a man from Ohio swore positively TO the
ownership of q horse which was in the posses
sion Of a member Of the tribe, and offered for
sale at the horse market, and he was arres ted.
After he had, by questioning and cross. ues-
ficning, induced the complainant TO swear pos
iuvely tina, the horse was his fathers, Stanley
produced the bill and receipt for the purchase
OF the horse, gave bail for stay of proceedings
for a couple of days, and not only proved his
legal ownership in the horse, bnt also that tt 9
man who was said to have been its owner still
had his own horse.
When the Stanley tribe first came TO this
country, the father and mother remained in
England, and joined their children in this
country at the req uest of their son Levi Stan
ley, who sent to England thousand dollars
to aid them and some Of the poorer members
OF the tribe to come to the United States.
The old man had many valuable articles
which had descended TO him from his ances-
tors, and which he desired to preserve rs
relics Of the Olden time. They We're silver
cups and silver quarts or tankards, which
had been presented to various members Of
the tribe, by English noblemen and gentle
men, as rewards tor feats OF agility, strength,
running, jumping, dancing, &c. When en-.
cainped upon large common grounds belong
ing to the nobility and gentry Of England,
amuseneats of this SOFT were common, but by
an act of Parliament, passed about twenty
years ago, these grounds were enclosed, and
the camp grounds and the grazing of the Clip.
sizes, like the hunting grounds of our Indian
tribes, were taken away from them. This
fact, together with the fear that the younger
members of the tribe might be impressed for
the Russian war, induced the S;anleys, to-
gether with several other Gipsey tribes to
emigrate TO America, where they could fad
nf hain dad Ag
tres passers.
When the Stanleys resolved to come to
America, one and all, the question arose rs -
how they should convey the family relics
above spoken Of, which were numerous, and
being of silver, valuable. They feared that
both in England and in this country, the pop
uiar prejudice which sets down the Gipsey AS
thief might induce the authorities to seize
them under the SuppOsition that they We're
stolen, and that thus they might be put to
trouble and delay, or might lose their cherish
ed treasn altogether They accomplished
the affair with true Gpsey cunning Pur-
chasing a cask of liquor, they secretly placed
the silver ware in it, wrapped up 10
deaden the sound. and then entered their H.
quor for regular expectation at the Custom
House. The cask and its valuable content is
came safely through official hands, and the Ii
quor was unnjurad by the valuable deposit
which it contained. The family are still in
possession Of these relics, which they regard
as heirlooms to be handed down to future gen.
creations.
Owen Stanley, at the time OF his death, was
about eighty years OF age. He was of very
small statue--Only about five feet two inches
in height-but 1.-the and active as cat, not
withsianding his advanced age. When en-
camped in the vicinity Of Pittsburgh, at East
Liberty, last year, he could leap from the
ground upon the back of the largest sized horse
as neatly as ever Eaton Stone the circus
rider, could do.
The whole tribe are remarkable for their
longevity, and for their robust health, show
ing that the nomadc life, with all its discom-
forts. as we jewellers in cities would esteem
them, is conducive to sound bodily vigor and
length OF days.
Now that the patriarch has ceased his wan
deripgs in the land Of his adoption, Levi Stan
ley. the oldest son, will mount the Gipsey
throne. He is man Of more than ordinary
intelligence, and with a decided turn for specu-
aiion. lie is a thorough Yankee in this re-
speet-ready to trade anything he has, except
ms wife and children, to turn In honest penny
He Is fine looking man, and his wife is No.
bic specimen of the Gipsey race. She is tall
and stately, with the presence and the action
OF born queen. Her hair and eyes are black as
let-fhe latter brilliant aud sparkling; her
complexion is a dark, rudy brunette; her
features handsome Her mien and step are as
independent rs those of the "MacGregor on
hat and holiday attire, brilliant with strong
contrasts of colors, when we saw her last, she
looked the queen as much as Victoria or Eu.
geniu ever could do
The wife of Owen Stanley died, and was
buried III South Carolina, about three years
ago, and since the death OF the OLD patriarch
Levi Stanley and his handsome wife are now
the Gipsey King and Queen Of the United
States.