The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1865-08-19
. "A GREAT RASCAL.
An Insurance Agent with Ten
.-+--- Wives.

insurance company, located at Madison, Wis.
He represented himself n single man, and
paid his addresses so the daughter of an
esteemed and intelligent famiiy--the name
of which we omit by special request. The
parents did not favor the suit, Case being
almost a. stranger, and his age, hearly forty,
was deemed unsuitable for the young maiden
Of scarcely twenty years, However he sue
ceeded in winning the girls affections, and
she. viewing him through the rc.eate. hue of
her girlsh love, with her guileless uhsuspect-
ing nature, believed him all that her fancy
painted him. The parents being determined
to prevent the match, avaied themselves o.!
n temporary absence on the part of Case to
send the girl to friends at Strawberry Point,
Delaware county, to get her out OF his way.
On his return. Ccse, by some meanssJearned
her whereabouts, when he i'm nediately
sought her. The result was, that the Young
girl, away from home and the loving care
which would have saved her, vie 'ded to the
specious pleading of an artfal villain, and
consented to a clandestiue marriage, which
was effected at Delhi, in this staie on the
Goth day of April last Soon after the mar
riage, Case, and she who supposed herself
his honored wife, returned to her parents at
,iiS place. who, seeing that further opposition
would he useless, received them kindly and
cordially. SO matters passed on until
month or six weeks ago, when the father OF
the lady was informed by ciiiz n Of tins
place that Case had wife living in Wiscou.
sin at the time of his marriage here As
might be expected, this intelligence fell with
crushing weight upon ianlsiy whose good
name was above reproacli and nO one o!
whose members had ever suffered even the
shadow of dishonor 10 fan on their domestic
hearth Stone. The father Immediately began
investigating the matter, and found the in
formation but 900 true Cautiously he went
to work 70 collect the evidence, having OBJ
taued which, he had Case arrested the early
part OF this week He had his examination
YES erday before Justice Crosby. j. b. Pow
ers appearing tor tae Sta'e, and 4. +. BTowH
c inducing the defense. The facts developed
in the examination, and learned from other
reliable sources, prove Case 10 be william
Of the darkest dye. 1t is satisfactorily as.
certained that he married not less ;han five
different women in Vermont aud contiguous
States, before commencing his career in the
West. Al one time he Vas paying bis ai-
dresses TO the sister of lady now residing
in this city, and she wa; about aceep ing
him, when, at the advice OF friends he
write down to another Part Of the state
inquripg into Bis chariot r: The answer
returned was, that he had wife living
ere. aud two or three children happy
circumstance would it have been .Or the M
fortunate girl whom e dishonored here. had
she taken similar precaution. Since Inc has
been west. Case has married no less iha
four other women. and We understand that
al the time OF his arrest he was intending to
marry the fifth one, young lady living in
this Si4,c, not IA great dist lnce from Cedar
/ Falls; He ssas arrested. Of course, ,'on the
charge OF big.my. The plea OF the defeud-
aur was novel one, remarkable for It's
bsrefaced shameful.ess, is unqualified &C.
knowle ledgmeut OF heulous crime. The de-
fenSc was this: ss7s-.-f
In 1860 Cc-e married one Lenora Cady.
who he says asserted him. Shortly alter
wards he married Hauuah Switzerland. the
only daugher of wealthy farmer of Green
county, Wis. Some time alter this maria te
he procured divorce IRON Lenora Cady.
He now clrims that he did n t commit big
amy in marrying the lady in this place, be,
cause Hannah VAS not his iawiu! wife. be
h,yiug married her before he had procured a
divorce from i4eudra. Ne a, .,knowledge
that he had committed bigAmv, but ii was
, 10 Wisconsin. and not in Iowa, therefore the
court had 80 jurisdiction iu the case, and
should discharge him from Gust sdv. The
prosecution offered in evidence a certified
: copy of the marriage certificate. showing that
Cl,e had been married IN eya form TO Han.
nah Sutherland, and aS the mar .e7 viii
! the lady here was also proved. lie clearly
stood convicted OF bigamy, and WAS Leld Il
/ bail in the SUM of fifteen hun red doll .rs
/ for his appearance at the next term OF The
/ District Court III default OF whIth he was
committed 10 the county Jail. Therd i, no
/ doubt but that Case was divorced frouh Leuo,
| ra, and uutil after he had married rH.aua
as he had a cer, fled cory of the divorce bill
| III court, bat 1t beiag not properly auihentc
aied, il was not admitted as e,dence
| Ii was a scene of thrilling interest when
! Cases last victim came into the court room.
! SO overcome was she by her sense of the
I degra ling aud humili,iing position III which
sht Was placed, that her emotions well-nigl
( overcame her, and she had to be supported
/ by her aged mother, wEo accompanied her
Ii was we'll that she was not Obliged u gC
on the witness stand for we do not believ,
/ she ycs.d have passed the terrible ordeal
As soon "a the mother saw Case, She shook
her fist and exclaim d, 4" Oh, you infamou.
villain If bud pistol l would shoot vol
dead on the spot, and the clencned teeth anc
flashing eyes of the jured mpther were q
guaranty hat she would not have been slow
to execute her threat, bad opportunity OF
fered. Cast sat there .with-. sneering smil.
on his dark swar'hy face, apparently the leas
eonrerned of any one present The girl is Z
noblc specinient of wonanhood, and tkVse
who know her say that she isas COOL as fair
This is anniher Instance Of the oft repeatct
story Of wo VANS pure, trusting love, ant
man s periidy Young aud Inexperienced
she was unable 10 look beneath The masl
which hid the Incarnation of evil, and fell
victim to the wiles of~o whose long ex
perience rendered him competent 10 pursue
his nefarious designs with success.
I L. S.-Jast as we GO to press We lear
i that the prisoner committed suicide thi
! morning. Last evening officer Session
placed Case in charge of A. L. Brown VIII
took the prisoner to his room to pass th,
night. This morning Brown went to break
fast, leaving the man in bed. hand-c,tfed, IA
he had been all nigh; About o'clock Off
Ger Sessions got the key and went to tax
charge of Case. He entered the outer offic
4 aud passed to the bedroom, when he disco,
cred Case hanging in the doorway, he ha,
ing taken pair of drawers aid tied ther
over the transom and about his nedk. tn
officer Immediately cut him down, and ser
brown, who had in the meantime come In, IL
a physician. Life, however, was extinct al
Case had passed beyond all reach Of huma
: laws, TO appear before the tribunal of tn
? Most High. His selfdestructon was d,
, termined effort, as when discovered his fec
rested upon the floor. He must have draw
= UP his knees and kept the weight of his bod
J, upon his neck until strang .lation took P ac
u and he so far gone that he could not stan
5 upon his feet. He efta letter to his wife
this place, saying that he did the deed throue
love of her, and that her father had drivs
him TO the, act. Thus iynominiously ha
ended the earthly career of, one who. Ia
: bla ,ted the happiness of anv family circle
e and, as he was ,detested and a5hnrre1 whi