The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1875-11-02
Important CapfIre OF Counter
r feifelS.


son Drlggs and wife, Nicholas SIantine
and wife, and brother Of Mrs briggs.
All except Orig - are Germans. SLAM
tine and his wife speak no English The
officers brought with them the imple
ments used bv the counterfeiters, and
about sl50,000 in counterfeit money y
The plates on which it was issued were
not secured. The prisoners are in Jail
here. and are very reticent. They will
be arrsiyned before the Unite,l States
Commissioner here to morrow for pre-
liminary examination. They have long
been under the surveillance of the de
tectives, and might have been taken
some time ago, but the time had not ar
rived to make sure thing against them
Tuesdays St. Louis Globe Democrat.]
Washington dispatches state that on
Saturday the Sec; etary of the Treasury
and Solicitor Wi son were thrown into
ecstasies over the capture Of brace Of
counterfeiters by Washburne and his
men in Illinois. And well they might
be, the prisoners in question being none
other than Nelse briggs aud Ben Boyd
the former the most notorious dealer
in spurious money that the country ever
knew, and the latter the most expert en-
graver in the ranks of the koniackers.
InAhe house they found man named
Stadfelt and his wife, and the wife OF
Nelson briggs briggs and his partner,
Charley Stadfelt, made their escape from
the house just previous to the arrival of
Washburne, aud were pursued eight
miles on horseback by Washhurne and
two men. and finally surrendered in a
piece of woods where they had been shot
at several times. Such are the bare facts
of capture which is, by all odds, the
most important made by the Secret Ser.
vice Department for many years, as will
be seen by perusal of the followin 9
sketches of the f.i
CAREER OF THE NOTED CoUNTERFEIrERs,
BRIGGS AND BOYD.
Both were we'll known to one or two
OF the St Louis detectives, and it was in
this city that briggs came to grief for
the first time in his eventful career.
On the 7th of March, 1861, John Ea-
gan, at present doing special duty at the
Union Depot, was in the employ of the
Secret Service Department, and looked
upon as the most competent man in the
west. On that day he added to his rep.
utation bv arresting briggs at the house
of John Roe, on the north side of Nor.
gan, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth
streets In his possession was found
S265, 900 in counterfeit money on differ
ent State banks, and 81 full sets oil
plates, besides press, inks and bond pa
per enough to make
49,. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
Were found in the house. While Ea.
gan, accompanied by Sergeant Francis
and Dick Barry, had briggs under ar
rest his Is year old nephew, Henry
Guthrie, alias Henry G Henry, entered
the house, accompanied by valise, which
he carried. Both were seized, and in the
valise $4,000 one dollar notes were
found. Materials to ''raise' bills were
also found in trunk in the house. As
a result of this haul no less than 80 in
dictments, were found against briggs
and being allowed to plead guilty on 6
single count, he was sent to the peniten
tiary to serve out ten year term. His
nephew, Guthrie, was also convicted and
sentenced to six years imprisonm ant, bu
before his time had expired CIV. Gam
BILE pardoned him out. Soon after
DRIGes' RELEASE
From the Missouri Penitentiary he wen
to Louisville and sold goods for shor
| time. He then returned to this city
hunted up Boyd, and in November
1871, they went to Nauvoo, Ill.,, taking
up their residence at the house of Louis
Sleight. "Nelse," who must now b,
over seventy years of age, originally
came from Ohio, where he was in early
life well-to-do merchant, controlling
almost the entire trade of five counties
and looked upon as highly respectable
He has been dealing in "coney" for thu
last thirty five vears, and served a tern
inathe Illinois Penitentiary, before it wa:
removed from Alton, for having beer
found with plates in his possession
Twenty five or thirty years ago,
BRIGGS WAS COMM crED
With Jerry Cowden and Oscar Finch
the noted eastern counterfeiters, aud hi.
cronies in the west have been such mer
as Louis Sci bit, now dead, John Fris
bic, Pete Mccartney. John Veasey
Charley Hathaway, Nat Kinsey, DR.
Parker and Lou Dollman, who was sho
and killed by Chief Harrigan, in thi.
city, in 1866. In 1856 or 1857, Drigg
made his headquarters at Metropolis
ILL.,. ear Cairo, having for partner
Sleight and Frisbie, who subsequent,
moved to Nsuvoo, where Frisbie's broth
er was killed in an alteration on boat
Dliggs was the business or moneytt
man OF the party. Milt, alias doctor
Parker, was another of the gang, ant
be is now serving out term in the Eas
ton Pennsylvania) Penitentiary unde
the name of Edwards. having been ar
rested and convic ted in Philadelphia las
year. During the war, Parker, Frisbi
and Sleight we're taken to the old Capi
tol Prison and kept there for some time
a9. 81 H BEN BOYD,
AS previously stated, is the engraver o
the country. He was arrested at Dav
enport, Iowa, in 1859 or go, and sen
to the Penitentiary at Fort Madison.--
At this time he was engaged in. engrav
ing plates for Jim Veasey and Charli,
Hathaway, who were in this city, Ill
though the Hathaway family lived a
Fort Madison After his release from
the Iowa Penitentiary, Boyd came Il
this city and operated for Sleight anG
Frisbe. He soon after went to Deca,
tur, Ill, and ss5 l.it
MARRIED ALICE ACKMAN,
The eldest daughter of Mrs. John B
Trout. whose husband has done time ir
the Michigan Penitentiary, for counter
feiling, of course. Boyd's wife, who
was captured with her husband at Full
ton, on Thursday night, is sister to
Martha Ann Ackman, who is the wife
of Pete Mccartney, the great American
briber, who believes in paying well fol
liberty when in the custody of men who
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