The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-06-20
From the Nashville Banner, ilth.l
LOVE AND BLOOD.
The Story Of q North Mississippi Girl
, whe Runs Away witk an Overseei
and the Assassiaaiien Of the Lat

VINO hous AVN WIZ -
and the Assassiaafien Of the Lat
ter. O. - o. y 'a-'.-'l--~2 "
On Sunday afternoon we cOnversed
with Esquire John Richardson, Of Cold
Water, North Mississippi, who passed
through Nashville en- ronte for Eliza.
bethtown, Kentucky, where he has a
married daughter residing. From him
we learned the details of one Of the
most romantic love affairs and san
culinary denouements which has been re.
corded in the Southwest since the IA
nous Beauchamp tragedy. We give
the story in very nearly the words OF
our informant.
Before the war there lived near Cold
Water a widow lady by the name OF
Bysom. She had two children, 4 sor
and daughter, and was REPEATED to br
rich. When the war began the son en-.
tered the Confederate service ss Lieu
tenant in Colonel Kennedy's rife regi-
ment, leaving his mother and sister on
the home place in charge of John Ogles-
by, q young man who left the rebel SER
vice after the first year, and assumed the
duties of overseer and general manager
of the Bysom plantation. He was OF
good connections, however, and a stu
dent of law-pOor, and rather hand
some. Between him and Miss BysOm an
attachment soon sprang up, which re-
suited in q matrimonial engagement.
This the young people concealed for
months, but it came at last to the
knowledge of the mother who had con-
ceived dislike for Oglesby, and the
course she pursued under the circum-
stances was little peculiar, and as the
sequel proved, most unfortunate. She
sent for the "Overseer," as she persisted
in styling her would be son-in-law, in
formed him that she was aware of his
desire TO marry her daughter, adding
that she had no objection, that it was
for the two to decide and they might
suit themselves; "but," she continued,
sit is right to tell you that you will get
nothing but a wife by the arrange
ment-not q cent of money nor an acre
Of land, nor q single Niger" She then
Showed him the title deeds by which it
appeared that her dover embraced all of
the original estate over and above the
debts, amounting to nearly fifty thou
sand dollars, and concluded by assuring
him that "she meant to live q long
time, and when she died he need not eX-
pect to be any richer, for she intended
to will her property TO others"
On receiving this rather blunt state
ment Oglesby declared that he was in
different to moneyed considerations; did
not care for expenses, and would mar
ry the girl in spite of her lack OF the
stamps"
every WE'LL" said the old lady, "you
do it at your own risk. My overscer
must not marry my daughter. You
must resign your position OF the place,
and l give you notice that l shall notify
the conscript officer that lie has chance
for another soldier, as soon as you give
it up"
Oglesby reflected for moment, asked
for time, and there the matter rested for
several weeks. Meanwhile the war
went on; news came of the battle of
and with it tidings that
young Bysom was terribly wounded.
The mother, frantic and for the nonce
o5liv;ous to every other circumstance,
set out at once for the 'front.'" leaving
the plantation and the daughter to the
care of the overseer, whose ambition,
"impertinence," as she called it, she
v ;. inly imagined she had quelled. But
she mistOok her man. Three days aft er
she left, a party of Federal guerrillas
under Dave Ransom, of Hawkins com
mand, came into the neigborhoOd.
Late that night, the neighbors were
startled by the glare of fire from the
Bysom homestead. Panic-stricken and
confused, they did not make an effort
to save the premises or stir out of doors,
and when daylight came, and a few
people, more ventursome than the rest,
sought the scene of the conflagration
they found o pile of ashes and smolder-
ing embers, watched over by the
negro women of the place and one old
negro man.
The story told by these, was that "the
Yankees" had come there for supper;
that Mr.. Oglesby and "young mistus"
had entertained the officers; that about
eleven O'Clock these officers, accompani-
ed by the overseer and the young lady,
had left in company; that an hour or
two after, q squad of men had returned
and fired the house and induced the
"likely" ones of the negro men to go off
with them.
Nothing more could be elected and
nothing more was heard of the guerril-
las or the runaway couple. When Mrs.
Bysom got back with her wounded son
she found Ter dwelling and her daugh-
ter gone. Pursuit was impossible. The
fortunes of the South were beginning
to wane; the countre was filling with
partisan bodies of rowing troops. Young
Bysom was wounded "nigh unto death"
and when he got on his legs once more,
all trace of the fusitives was lost. He
was too feeble, however, to return to
the war and remained at home, con-
structing Il cabin for himself and his
mother, and managing to press liveli-
hood ont of the farm by the aid of the
few antiquated negroes that staid with
him. Thus time wOreo on. Wilson made
his raid, Lee surrendered and the war
came to an end.
About a year later young Bysom-
who had married-concluded to go into
the dry goods business and started
North to purchase goods. He went to
New York and Philadelphia, and stop
ped on his way back at Pittsburg. Here,
while walking carelessly through the
streets, he encountered his long lost Sis
ter. She either did not recognize him
or tried to avoid him, but he followed
her to the door of house of ill-fame,
saw her enter, rang the bell, was u.s.
hered into one of the "saloous," and
stood face to face with the unfortunate
woman.
Her story was sad indeed. The harsh
conduct of her mother had somewhat
alienated her affection, and she bad par.
TALLY consented to secret marriage
with Oglesby, who, under one pretext
after another, had so far overcome her
scruples as to compromise her honor and
get her in his power. She had no inten-
ton of eloping with him. The evening
the party Of guerrillas came she was
ignorant of his or their design, but en-
tered very readily into the hospitalities
of the occasion, and stimulated by wine
and moved by threats and entreaties,
she was at last half forced away. She
knew nothing of the conflagration.
They had gone first to Memphis and
then to Chicago, where Oglesby got in
to some employment. Thence he went
to New York, where he made considera-
bile sums of money as a gambler. FL