Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-03-03
Parton Discounted.


YOUNG MAN MARRIEs HIS sTEPMoTH-
ER--THE OLD MAN UNEXPECTEDLY
TURNS UP TO DIE.
An extraordinary story comes from Sill
yer station, Ohio, wherein young man is
reported to have married his stepmother,
under the belief that his father was dead.
Twelve years ago the wife of James Swim
gle, a wealthy farmer of the locality named,
died, and year and half afterward the
widower, being sixty years of age, married
a young woman who had lived in his fam
lily. She was twenty-five. He had six
children by the first wife, and three OF
them married. Old Mr.. Swingle was one
Of the most prominent men in the town
ship, a devout mem Der of the church, and
a man generally respected. In 1865 Mr..
Swingle disappeared and was supposed to
have been robbed, murdered and mysterl-
ously buried. Eighteen months afterWard
skeleton was found in deep forest near
his house, and believing them to be his
bones they were buried in the church yard
by the side Of his first wife. A stone set
ting forth the circumstances connected
with Swingle's death was placed at the
head of the grave. An administrator of
the estate of the deceased was appointed,
duO DID plOpCACy CHudlly ulf4uCu sesAoLAS
the children. The homestead fell to the
lot of the old farmers widow, and the
youngest son, also named James, continued
to live there and superintend operations
on the farm. In 1869 he married the wild
ow of his father, and,the couple were liv-
ing in unruffied ease with three children
that had been born to them when in the
early part of last month the young farmer
was given letter at the village postoffice
addressed ITO any living member of the
Swingle family" The letter was post
letter the farmer was astonished to find
that it purported to be written by his faith
er. long believed to be dead. 1t was as
follows;
CLEVELAND. December 3d. am very
sick and penniless among strangers [
was on my way home when taken sick.
Some of you come to me at once and will
explain all. [ am at a sailors lodging
| house by the lake. JAMES SwINGLE.
| The letter was written in a cramped and
! trembling hand, but it resembled speci-
mems Of the old farmers writing of years
ago. He was visited and found in Cleve-
land. He was very i'll with fever, and be-
came delirious soon after the arrival of his
| son, and it was some days before he could
| be removed to better quarters. Three
weeks passed before he was in condition
to be taken home, and during that time he
could be induced to say but little about his
| strange disappearance. He said that he
left while under the influence Of an i'm
pulse which he could not control. and at
ter travelling about for a few days he was
| ashamed to return, and resolved to go
west with about $4,000 he had with him
and invest it in some way, and after he had
increased it sufficiently, to return home
and surprise his family. He went to Cali
fornia, and from there to Australia, where
he made $115,O 900 in five years and came
back to California, where he lost all
Thinking he was drawing near his death,
he determined to return home, and was
taken sick with the fever at Cleveland.
He refused to enter into any details of his
ten years. absence till he recovered from
his illness. He was brought home, but he
died in a few days after his arrival. The
son and stepmother were REMARKED after
the funeral.
The skeleton was that of a murdered
| drOVer,