The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-02-22
cHloA COS DA Wight BURGLARY
The Family Bulldozed and The Safe Hfed-
Plzaled Detectives,
From the Chicago TrIbune,l

Mr.. Amos S. Seeley is an old and veal
thy citizen ofChicago. Though living in
an humble way he has amassed a fortune
of some 100000. He is between sixty
and seventy years of age, and his wife
sixty-fve. II was known that the old
man kept his valuabes in the house in a
little safe.
On Monday afternoon two men rang
the front door bell. Mrs. Seeley answer
ed it. One man had book and
pencil in his hand, and said they had
come to look at the gas meter. She said
she would show them where the gas me-
ter was. One of the men followed her,
but the other refused to go, which some
what surprised her.
In the meantime three men had come
in through the summer kitchen from the
yard. They asked the girl where the
hydrant was, when one Of the two men
who had been guided by Mrs. Seeley
threw her on the floor. She said that
she would not even breathe if she could
help it, The girl had more nerve, She
was about to knock on the window when
she was seized by the throat. All this
took place in a room facing Hoyne street
where scores of people were passing,
and not over eight feet above the side
walk.
A huge knife was placed against the
girls throat, and pistol held to her head.
The thieves had seized the little boy,
Seymour, in the yard. One of the men
kissed him twice, then placed him on
the floor, with the edge of huge knife
against his neck, and told him that if he
stirred they would take his hearts blood.
One of the men went to the clock and
stopped it at $40.
They then went to work systematically
to ransack the house. In the sitting
room there stood the so-called safe,
wooden case covered with sheet iron.
This was broken open with heavy
sledge hammer and two cold chisels,
which the thieves left behind. The safe
was moved to the middle of the floor; yet
no one seemed to have noticed the unu-
sual noise made. Inside was hide-cov-
cred trunk. 1t contained 5000 in money,
and deeds, notes, bonds, and mortgages,
representing over 5000, 900 worth Of prop
erty. 1t was crushed in by the tap of
hammer, and the papers all taken. At
ter that every room in the house was
ransacked, and gold watch and chain,
a gold bracelet and gold pin taken, in
all valued at about $50. The robbers ex-
pected to obtain more ready cash, as
about the first of the month Mr.. Seeley
receives the rents of his houses. The
thieves took their three prisoners and
put them in a small clothes closet. They
locked the door and pushed the head of
the bed against it. -Four of them left by
the front door and the other jumped out
of the kitchen window. Before leaving
they broke the burglar alarm. For a
cool and audacious robbery this has pro-
badly had no equal in Chicago
One of the burglars is supposed to be a
man named Hawks, shoe agent, whose
wife, now divorced, had been employed
by the Seeleys. Mr.. Seeley says he has
a note of hand and contract signed by
Mrs. Hawks, which the burglars didn't
get, but refuses to say more. The detec-
tives do not know what to make out of
the case. One theory is that the motive
was to get hold of these, and possibly
other papers connected with them, and
that the remaining papers, the money,
and jewelry will be returned.