Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-02-12
A JOHNSON CITY SENSATION.
A Young Girl Writes Gushing Letter TO
Respectable Merehnnt

n
We condense the following thrilling ro-
nance $50 to call it, from the Greenevile
Sentinel and Reporter:
A family of the name of Keycs living at
Johnson City have daughter called
pet" who conceived, some five or six
months ago, Il violent passion $50 called
for very respectable merchant of that
place named Thomas Ellison. She went
10 his store often, displayed herself in his
presence profusely and began to write let
tiers to him. To these he made no answer.
She would request a meeting and then she
would write for money. And on one luck
less occasion she selected piece of paper
upon which to indite him note, upon the
back of which her mother had previously
written n begging letter to Mrs. Myra
Gaines, the famous lady claimant of New
Orleans, with whom Mrs. Reyes was at
tempting to claim kinship.
THE LETTERS.
The sheet of paper now in our posses
sion had been cut into two pieces. On one
side of the sheet belonging to this case we
find the following from the elder lady
Keyes to Mrs. Gaines:
'he rot to me you had no money then.
am fifty-three yers four helpless girls we
ar living in johnson city Ant If you pleas
Civ NEE monney enought to by lot two
hundred and fifty dollars. i think we can
bid a hos on it ant i rot befor my relation
ship sited you to Ant salley which is now
dead lid will site you to Cosin John s.
Gaines and wifi her mother was uncle Ed
mon sister my father mother was his sister
lucy Childress my name is Lucy Ant Mier
i want you if you pleas anser my letter no
more if you knew how needy / was your
wod sertenne help me
your tro neice
Lucy l keyes
4. -. vi l.
ing Co Tcsce."
Upon the back of this rare document
over which pen had been gyrated to erase
the written words was penned the follow
ing:
johnson City.
I will write you u long letter / am a
shame to call upon you for this amount of
money but as it is the last time / ever eX-
rect to ask you for money, do not think
that you will deny me shurely My Dearest
friend / have in the world or ever expect to
have ] want to go my visit up where we
can enjoy our sells and without you lend it
can not get to go for it will take (S25O) to
get what will have to get before | get to
90. If YOU will give it to me right off they
will not now it, come to the spring when
you see me go and bring it with you, il
YOU will this time / will make sacrifice to
YOU ever privilege that you can, request
and meet you at any point. / VIII write
you how to do when we go uD there II you
will give so 5O) to day mo signature.)
This letter "Pet" sent to Mr.. Ellison
The fact became known to parties about
town and created no small amount of Cos
sips and sensational rumors. Mr.. Ellison
was approached by parties who told him
that the whole matter could be settled by
the payment of a small sum of money.
This Mr.. e. very properly refused to do
Thereupon the father of Pet circulated
the information about, that this matter wa
all a "lie;" that Mr.. e. had stolen the lettel
of his wife to Mrs. Gaines from the Post
Office and forged the note on the back, at
tempting to palm it off on his daughter
This was expected to fetch" Ellison, bu
, he was too old to be caught that way. Hi
store being in the Postoffice building, thu
story had an air of probability, to say m
more, and Mr.. Ellison and wife, were ar
rested upon the charge preferred of rob
bling the mail. The case was tried, thu
handwriting of the note fixed upon thu
girl, and the whole matter thoroughly in
Yestigated. The result was the honorable
acquittal of Mr.. Ellison.