Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-03-17
Stranger than Fiction.


ms ISIS Is the story; Somewhere about a.
year 1902, wealthy farmer, named Jes. 'l'
Hershy, arrived at Williamsville. in 1pspa
county, New York state, from Ma,n,L 'is
and there established his honest, i 'ra-
ing both rich and speculative, he -, o.
farms. not only in his neighborhood' 'Sll
also, "as has since appeared" even in W ua'
er parts OF the Union; snd to this me,o Otu,
prosperity were added the choice don,ol!Ns
accessories of fine vile and six bloom;usc
daughters. No mar in the country sesr.l
more blessed with al the good this euIS
can yield than Joseph Hershy, vet ' CIV
certain day some fifty years ago, when Ia
eldest daughter. Eliza, was six wears ~, an
be mounted bis horse for ride in tbe saS
die to some place in Pennsylvanio SOU a1,
went so lar that his family never saw p ~au
again. Kind relatives and friends of,a u's
what solace they might to the once ham, NV
home thus suddenly bereaved, and tho ky
erless girls, with the usual elasticity ofyonr
outgrew, almost, the memory of tbeir ~
phanaoe. After few years of moprnis.
Mrs. Hershy died, broken hearted. in TX
later years the daughters all married on ,'i
went to other places with their husbanSsS
excepting only Eliza, whose sucaeS.,1
sutton remained with her in Williamson
This Eliza was the one destined TO VOL
out the true destiny Of the family. and -
her the story now inclines. Some time "
1852 she received a letter addressed fron.
Decatur, Alabama, narrating that ono Il
seph Hershy had died in that place nav oO'
niless and bachelor and that the Ma
sonic order had kindly buried him. TLo
consequence of this sudden breakjpp forth
of post-mortem intelligence excited FL
zas suspicious, 'as well it might :" no,
were those suspicious subsequently al.
layed by other epistles from the same al
dress, limiting that watch and otbs,
small property of the dead man had fallen
into the hands of his landlord. who had NJ
forwards removed to Texas. The dauobt.
er-now woman well advanced in wears
at once contracted the idea that her (atbo,
was still living, and that some people some.
where were trying to make her believe 9th.
erwise. She was regarded as insane on
this point for long time, even by her own
sisters; but later events have proved that
such madness has q method After tba
Decatur correspondence was finished Eliza
received several letters from young man
who represented that his uncle was a claw.
yer of Massachusetts, engaged in looking
up GAINS" md who desired TO ne.
gotiate for the purchase of tract
of land in Illinois, "said to belong
to the estate of the late Jos. Hershy." In
this letter Eliza felt sure that she recop.
nized handwriting similar TO that in the
Decatur epistles, and grew stronger in the
conviction that deep game was practising
upon her family. CHANGING at last to hear
that man known as Joseph Hershy was
living in Gorham, Ontario county, New
York state, she took with her a very old
man of Williamsville, named Miner, who
had known her father, and repaired in
haste to that place. In quiet farmers
home, surrounded by a jealous family, she
found poor, broken down old gentleman,
who, as well as his wandering wits would
allow, recognized her as his daughter The
old man whom she had brought with her
also recognized the human wreck as bis
old friend, and there seemed little reason
TO DOUBT That Joseph Hershy was indeed
found at last. The family at the farm.
house, of course, secuted at this
idea, and before Eliza could establish the
requisite identity, death removed both the
father and the old man who had
hin. The whole Hershy family
is now convinced that Eliza was right, and
it is understood that the law will be called
upon to vindicate the deserted ones Of Erie
county. In the above condensation OF the
whole story from its original n re verbose
form in the Buffalo Express, the caption Of
stranger than Fiction" is not employedin
its hackneyed sense, but rather as an init
nation that the superior strangeness Of
such true narrative lies chiefly in its lack
o. that satisfactory conference which is
more or less observable in the average work
Of fiction. There is, SO to speak, certain
'jerkiness" about the coming in of those
letters and the deaths of the two old men,
which would be seriously incredible in
novel of the period.