Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-08-19
COPELAND.
The Career of a Handsome and
Handy Fellow.
Preacher, Lawyer, Doctor, EeWs
Reporter and Sunday
School Teacher.

Knoxville Appreciates His Genius
and Gives Him = Suit OF Tar and
Feathers.
Knoxville Chronicle, Aug. II.
About the last of May Ofthis year, when
the flowers were blooming, the birds sing
ing, and nature was assuming her lOvelieSt
attire, handsome young man, handsomely
dressed, dropped into Knoxville, no one
hardly knew from where. He was a good
looking fellow, and but for his inOrdinate
egOtism, would, we think, have made a
favorable impression generally. This trait
in his character caused him to assume airs
of superiority, and whatever else may be
said of him, we have never heard it charged
that be failed to give himself full credit for
all he knew. He said his name was Lucius
f. Copeland. He presented credentials as
a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal
Church, signed by Rev. DR.. Hubbard, Of
New York, and exhibited letters recon-
mending him as a gentleman of good
morals, signed by a number Of WelLknOWn
gentlemen, among whom was Gen. Clinton
B. Fisk, of st. Louis. He also produced
his church letter, or certificate Of removal,
CENTRAL New YORK CONFERENCE,
GENEVA DISTRICT, EAST MARION, March
10, 1S75.-This certifes that the bearer,
Rev. Lucius T. Copeland, has been an &C
ceptable member Of the Methodist EpiscO-
pal Church in this place.
w. A. ELY, Pastor.
This he showed to Rev. j. +. Goldman,
Pastor of the First n. E. Church in this
place, who, however, never enrolled his
name as a member of his charge. BE- his
energy, activity, and we may say ability,
he soon ingr2tiated himself into the good
graces Of large proportion Of that congre
CATION and was invited and did preach in
the church. He also preached once in the
Second NJ. L. Church, in Northwest Knox
vile.
He soon displayed his versatility Of talent
by claiming to be a lawyer, and applied for
license to practice law, and upon examina-
ton was found "duly qualified" and re-
Ceived license to practice in our courts. He
made several attempts to form a partner
ship with number Of Our resident lawyers,
but failing 10 do This, he went into the
Office Of Attorney General Williams and
chung out his shingle."
He next turned up as a regular reporter
for the Chicago Times, and other papers,
and in this capacity he visited GreeneVille
and was quite active in reporting the death
and funeral of ex-President johnson. In
this capacity he assumed great superiority
again and evidently regarded ordinary
newspaper men as mere pigmies when COM
pared with himself.
"JAOk OF ALL TRADES
l. = L.
ments, he was a Sunday-schOOl man, a
temperance lecturer, ''beautifuln singer.
His dress was in style and faultless, and
he no doubt took some pride in his per-
sOnali makeup. Things went on swim
mingiy for awhile, but soon suspicious cir
began 10 present themselves.
CHARLES ". WARREN.
He called at the pOstOfiee and requested
the officials that if any mail came addressed
20 "Charles w. Warren" to put the same
in his box, as he had a client Of that name.
This request was complied with, and num-
bers Of Charles W. Warren'S letters were
delivered TO Rev. Lucius T. Copeland,
ESQ, Attorney at Law and Solicitor in
Chancery. In the meantime, he had rented
box 274 in the pOstOfiCe, and his mail was
placed in that.
About this time, Judge Andrews, U. S.
District Attorney, received the following
mysterious letter:
GENEVA, n. Y, Aug. o, 1ST5.-TO U.
5. District Attorney: Dear Sir-Will you
please inform me whether Mr.. C. w. War
rem IS in Knoxville at presant? He wrote
sometime ago, saying his office Of business
was in with yours. If you will answer
you will confer kindness upon me. Pts.
Ans. Jimmy, * Oblige, yours, very respect
fully, Miss NJ. DEsEMCK,
Geneva, y. Y.
?. Size has received his mail in care
of Box PA.
Judge Andrews replied that he had never
heard of such q person as G.. w. Warren,
but if she would send description of him
he would try to find out something about
him. he has not had time yet to receive a
reply.
STIRRING HIM UP.
While at Greeneville writing up the
funeral obsequies, be got into trouble with
Samuel W. Small, Of the Atlanta CORSti-
tuition, and in a few days that paper called
to the exploits of a man who
had travelled and preached in half dozen
States, under fifteen different aliases, and
inquired if he might not be the man.
The Chattanooga Times called attention
to the matter. When this came to Cope
lands ears he manifested some uneasiness,
but tried game Of bluff on the C0RStitU-
tiOn, and demanded a correction or retrac-
ton. The Atlanta paper did neither, and
things began to grow interesting.
A THUNDER CLAP.
On Sunday morning the Press and Her
aid Of this city reproduced from the Bdlti-
more Gazette the above alluded 10, but
without any way connecting it with our
Mr.. Copeland. Some people wondered
why the Press and Herald gave so much
space to an apparently unimpOrtant matter
10 our people. But soon it became nOised
about that the Rev. Mr.. Copeland, ESQ, Of
Knoxville, bore a remarkable resemblance
to the man alluded to in the Baltimore
Gazette. II spread and gathered volume
as it went, so that by II o'clock everybody
was talking about it.
INTERVIEWED.
Soon Mr.. Copeland was interviewed and
called upon to explain. He manifested
grief that was painful to behold, and with
tears in his eyes said that the scandal re-
ferred TO was too true, but that his brother
was the guilty man. This appeared we'll
and if his brother had been such
a bad man it was wrong 10 hold him Te-
spOnsible for deeds he had never been
guilty Of. But when called upon TO ex-
plain the Charles w. Warren matter, he
failed to do it satisfactorily. He said that
he had only received the letters and for
warded them to his brother. But unfor-
for his story, he had stated some
days previous TO this that his bad brother
had committed suicide year or two ago.
He made several attempts at explanation
yesterday and on Sunday, but none Of
them were satisfactory. On the contrary,
EVIDENCE OF HIS GUILT
seemed to accumulate. He had had con
versatiOns with a number Of our citizens,
aud it was gathered from one and another
that he had been at all the points mention
ed in the Baltimore GGzette'S articles. The
more he tried 10 explain the worse he got
matters mixed. Whether be was the man
who had been W. E. Copeland, of Massa-
Rev. G. w. Warren, Of Whining
ton, n. c.; Rev. +. w. Horton, Of Canton,
Miss, or Q. W. Copeland, the forger at
Wis, or the Rev. EpuphrOditus
W. Simmons, Of Memphis, or the Rev.
Lucius T. Horton, Of Pennsylvania, hesOon
some Of our people that he was
an adept in telling different stories about
the same thing. He did it apparently with
ont any prospect Of making anything by it.
Several things leaked out during yesterday
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