Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-07-06
A BOY WIrH TWO MOTHERS.
Rom anee fn Real Ltfe-Narrative of
an EVenIful Experience.
Rrnrn the Peorin Ill Trnnscrint

an EVent1uI Experience.
From the Peoria QII.) Transcript.
We have the following from good
authority, and although not per-
tanning to this locality, we have no
doubt it will prove interesting to
our readers:
In the winter of 1865, there re-
sided in Terre Haute, Indiana,
Mr.. William Cook, who had a wife
and one child, three years of age.
Mrs. Cock started on visit with
the little fellow to a friend, and
while waiting at the Union depot,
indianapolis, was approached by
a gentlemanly-looking parsonage,
who, after patting and fondling the
little boy, asked permission to take
him out and buy him some candy.
She gave her consent, and the
stranger departed with the boy. The
lady waited for his return, but he
did not come back. The time for
the departure of the train drew
near, but still the child could not be
found. A search lasting through
days and months was unsuccessful
in revealing the Whereabouts of the
missing boy. Advertisements were
inserted in the leading papers, and
the skill of the detective force was
resorted to, but all without avail.
The parents were finally forced to
the conviction that their child had
either been murdered or had died
of grief.
In the year 1867, Clark Conrad,
formerly a member of the second
regiment, Michigan infantry, was
arrested in the northern part of
this State on a charge of breaking
open a safe. He was convicted and
sent to Joliet. Mr.. L. B. Perry, of
Pontiac, an old New York detect
i've, hearing of the abduction of the
child, had worked the case so far
as to lead him to think Conrad knew
something about the matter. By
working upon Conrad and prom
ising to use his influence to get him
pardoned for the crime of safe
breaking, he induced him to divulge
the Whereabouts of the child and
the particulars of the abduction.
Conrad acknowledged to the alb
duction, and said it was done for
the purpose Of obtaining the reward
which he supposed would be offered
by the parents of the child. When
he took the child from the depot,
he delivered it into the hands of
woman, whom he claims as his wife.
She was to keep it until the reward
was offered, but fearing detection
and arrest, she escaped to Michigan
with Conrad. Tha officers were in
close pursuit of Conrad to arrest
him for the safe-breaking operation,
and the pair were obliged to aban-
don the child in Union City, Michi-
gan.
The county authorities there
took charge of the child and sent it
to the poorhouse. The boy was an
interesting one, and was supposed
to be an orphan. Rev. Mr.. and
Mrs. Harshberger, the Episcopal
minister and lady of that town,
took the child from the poorhouse
and adopted it as their own. As
they were childless they soon
learned to love their charge as their
own, and the boy learned to love
them and regard them as his parents.
A few days ago, detective Perry
went to Union City, and informed
the foster parents that he was in
correspondence with the natural
parents of the child. The grief OF
the new parents was uncOntrollable,
and when the parents arrived the
others would not give the child up
until compelled to do so by due
course of law. Mrs. Harshberger
feared all the time that the child
was yet victim Of conspiracy, and
on the 18th of this month, accom-
panied the boy to his old home, and
there gave him up, when satisfied
all was right. The mutual love the
mothers entertained for the child,
caused lively love for each other
to spring up in their hearts, and
when Mrs. Harshberger returned to
her home, she was somewhat con-
soled for the loss of her adopted
child with the knowledge that she
would always be welcome to his
home, and might see him whenever
she would.