Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-07-18
4 REMARKABLY ROMANTIC EXPE.
RiENCE.
4 ioung Girl Elopes. Marrics Her
Lover. Works for Years i'm Male ut.
tire. is Abducted by her Relatives.
and il Declared Dead.


tire. is Abducted by her Relatives.
and i. Declared Dead.
In 1861 Miss Maria Matilda KibhclI
lived with her parents, well-to-do people.
at Albion, \. v She was then about
twenty, was prepossessed i'll appear
ancc, rather small in stature, with Ger
tam masculine appearance, though not
coarse which afterward served her
good purpose. Early in the summer
season she was with party of excur-
tionists to Niagara Falls, and met acct
dentally with Chauncey n. Niles, then
from Cleveland. 1t was a case of mu-
tual, as We'll as sudden infatuation, and
resulted IN promises to meet again.
Niles was a widower, with one child, a
lad, who, since grown 10 manhood and
to family, is now locomotive engineer
on the Lake Shore road, and lives ut
$40 South street, this city His name is
Rosalvi u. Niles The love-sick Niles
soon went to Albion, and aroused by his
visit the serious displcasure of Miss
kibbells relatives. They forbade furth-
er attentions to the young lady, under
penalty of sending her away To Il con
vent. But neither was dismayed nor
dishearcncd. They met clandcstinely,
and arranged an elopement. And so,
having given out to friends of the family
that he would yield To fate and lose his
love, he started homcward with the girls
promise to follow i'll fourteen hours, to
meet, not at Cleveland, where Niles was
known, but in Toledo Niles FASTENED
n, of IN ,.It, MI,
staid Il few hours, he took an eastern
train, and met the train bearing the
faithful girl at Fremont They found
they were pursued, and stepped oil and
were married ut once by Justice of
the peace The next train through
Fremont took her brother to Toledo in
pursuit, but he could get no trace furth-
er than that the couple took II train
for Toledo at Cleveland Both stayed
at Fremont few days, when Niles went
on to Toledo, and she followed, disguised
an engine shop, located, he thinks now,
on Erie street, and she, in her boys dis
guise, went to pcddlng oranges and
cigars on the street, and actually sold
some to her brother on one of his trips
to the city IN pursuit.
As the fall wore on they saw and heard
no more Of the searching of friends,
and had settled down to housekeeping,
throwing off disguise, though she went
out but little. The blast of war" was
blowing strongly-how iicrccly many n
lonely heart still remembers we'll Adj
vertiscment, from Cleveland were sent
out for engineers To run government
trains. Niles went there, made an en-
gagcmcnt for himself and fireman, and
midwinter found him running Il govern
mcnt engine on II Nashville railroad.
with his wife, in her old disguise, rs fire
man This lasted several months On
Buclls famous retreat to Nashville, there
were reports of II train being fired into
by buShwhackers, and number of per-
sons killed on the tram and many hurt
including the brave engineer, who paid
no heed to distractions on the track,
and by bravely pulling through saved
the government Il valuable train of cot
ton This was Niles. He was badly
wounded, and on being stopped at Tul-
lahoma, where the road was blockaded,
was removed to Murfrccsboro in an
ambulance, and thence to Il Northern
hospital, with his wifc-tireman for hos
pital nurse,
In 1860, the war over, the couple found
themselves in Cleveland Niles got the
gold fever, and leaving his wife in that
city, left for the west. He returned ut
the close Of the season, however, dis
hcartcned with the wet, which had made
the mining season failure. They lived
at Cleveland, in Toledo and Chicago, al
tcrnately, both doing what they could
for support, living together last Mt the
former city In 1872, leaving her there,
he went to Chicago 10 attend to some
business connected with the demise Of
his first wifc's brother, named Fits. On
his arrival, he found telegram that his
wife in Cleveland was suddenly i'll, and
might not live, though they would in
form him if she got worse He staid
four days, when he reached the Cleve-
land clearinghouse was stricken with
the tidingS Of her death and burial The
landlord showed her clothes and effects.
and took him to the grave, whose fresh
covering was too plain proof Of his Sc
we're loss. lie gathered up the keep
sakcs and gave up his place, and has
since lived here and there, earning what
he could. Here in Toledo he may bc
remembered Il. q skillul lcttcrcr Of
windows and painter Of signs
But it is the dcnoucmcnt which is the
strangcst part of his history, which is,
the discovery that hi, wife Is not dead,
but was discovered by her friends, and
by the deceit reclaimed from her wan
dering- and is now living at her old home
with the friends Of her youth Niles,
who has himself told these facts, de
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