Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1869-08-26
"A Romance.

An Illinois paper, the Peoria Tyon-
script, tells this story:
"We have the following from good au-
thority, and although not pertaining to
this locality, we have no doubt it will
prove interesting to our readers:
in the winter of 1865 there resided
in Terre Haute, Indiana, a Mr.. William
| Cook, who had a wife and one child, three
years of age. Mrs. Cook started on a visit
with the little fellow to a friend, and
while waiting at the Union depot, Indian
apolis, 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 de-
parted 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, Adver-
tisements were inserted in the leading pa
pers. and the skill of the detective force
was resorted to, but all without avail. The
parents were finally forced to the convic-
ton that their child had either been MUIR
dered or had died of grief.
"In the year 1867 Clark Conrad, for
merly a member of the second regiment,
Michigan infantry, was arrested in the
northern part of this State on a charge of
breaking open {. safe. He was convicted
and sent to Joliet. Mr.. L.. b. Perry, of
Pontiac, an old New York detective, hear
ing 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
promising to use his influence to get him
pardoned for the crime of safe-breaking,
he induced him to divulge the wherea-
bouts of the child and the particulars of
the abduction.
Conrad acknowledged to the abduc-
ton, and said it was done for the purpose
of obtaining the reward which he sup
posed would be offered by the parents OF
the child. When he took the child from
the depot, he delivered it into the hands
of a 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
The officers were in close pursuit of Con-
ard to arrest him for the safe-breaking OPP
Grafton, and the pair were obliged to
abandon the child in Union City Mich.
s.The county authorities there took charge
of the child and sent it to the poor-house.
The boy was an interesting one, and was
supposed to be an orphan. Rev. Mr.. and
Mrs. Hashberger, the Episcopal minister
and lady of that town, took the child from
the poor-house 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 re-
gard them as his parents.
a few weeks 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 uncontrolla-
Bile, and when the parents arrived the 9th
ers would not give up the child until COM
PEELED to do so by due curse of law
Mrs H~arshberger feared all the time that
the child was yet a victim of conspiracy,
and on the 18th Of this month accompa-
MED the boy to his old home ard there
gave him up, when satisfied all was right.
The mutual love the mothers entertained
for the child caused a lively love for each
other to spring up in their hearts, and
when Mrs. Harshberger returned to her
home, she was somewhat consolod for the
loss of her adopted child with the knowl-
edge that she would always be welcome
at his home, and might see him whenever
she would"