Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-06-15
LOCAL NEWS.
A Maryland Mormon.
rRB MATRIMONIAL ADVENTURES OF THE IA


mn. who for several years past had been
superintendent of the Metropolitan railroad.
and recently lived with his wife In a house
belonging 10 the railroad company near their
s,aoles IN Georgetwwn, died quite suddenly
there, leaving Solne personal estate and a
policy in the Masonic Relief ASsociation
valued al about 81 600, payable to the order OF
Mrs. Griffith. He also left three children
The amount OF this policy not being made
payable, as is customary TO my wife &c.,
but Ito Emily r.. Griffth,' the money was
TO his death.
The deceased was a carpenter by trade. and
mad resided here FOR about twelve years past
Dut nothing was known OF his previous life
i'm fact, no one had occasion 10 inquire into H.
lof as lar rs The public were concerned he
seemed TO De the right man In the right place,
Racing qulel lille and being strictly atten-
| nNe 10 his business. After hIS death the fam
| lily did not seem 10 be m a hurry 10 adminiSter
on on The estate. and Mrs. Grinith, suppoSing
that she was the lawful widow retained nos
session OF the little property he left
WIDOW No. 2.
10 the surprise Of the family and other
people here, new phase of his charac-
ter was made apparent on the 18th of Nav.
when Mr.. James &. Payne. as counsel for
tlenora c. Davis Edward J. Davis aud Fan
ME L: freeberger, claiming TO be the widow
and children Of Edward Davis alias Edward
ID. GrIfhth, filed petition I'm the Probate
Court of this District, asking letters of admin
lSiraton on the estate. In the affidavit they
state that the correct name of the deceased
was Davis, and that he had consequently been
llVing here Tor several years under an assumed
maine. The Probate Court directed an order
OF publication to be made, setting the 18th
instant Tor hearing. Ii is understood that
MtssIS. Enoch Totten and IL. T. Taggart will
appear to resist this claim i'm behalf of the
washington widow, Mrs T.. L. Griffith
Ike publication of this notice attracted
attehtlon at the time, and among those who
had known Griffith for some time the i'm
preston was that This was a case of mistaken
identity, Tor they could not conceive how a
man with wife and children in Baltimore
- NlgF Inn. Il.
lance, and occupying a position where he
would be likely To be seen frequently by Balti-
more acgualltanceS. 1t seems. however, that
there Is little room 10 doubt that Davis and
Griffith were the same man. and that he had
al least one wife too MANY
Hls EARLY LIFE AND FIEsT MARRIAGE.
From the statements of some persons who
ale residents OF this city, and who will proba
by be called as Witnesses ii appears that Mr.
Moses Donaldson residing in the neighbor-
MOOD ol IatuNent forge in Anne Arundel
county, Md. raised DAVIS from quite A small
child, and that for number Of years he made
Mr.. Donaldson house his home. He learned
The trade oil carpenter with Mr.. John Red
miles. and about lS49 or 80 he married a young
lady living in the neighborhood. BY this wife
he had several children as stated i'm the peti-
ton, II was charged that he Seduced his
Wlle sister Charlotte, who gave birth TO
TWINS
! Zone of whom is living tO-day) and the wiT,.
| very naturally feeling that she had been deeply
wrogged made il 50 warm for Davis that he,
started with Charlotte and the twins TO Balti-
mere. On the road he gave his name as Edward
fheIpsIthe real name OF man in the neigh
borh0od. Before reaching their destination
| the eloplng couple placed the twins i'm baS-
| ket and left the babes near a church on the
| roadSide: The unnatural parents then went
| on 10 Baltimore, but returned 10 the old neigh
loIhuod again within few days. BY this
| time the Howard county authorities had taken
measures TO md who had abandoned the
| twins, and being informed that Edward Phelps
| was the name OF the man, and also learning
| ihe name OF The woman, two cOnStableS came
| down with warrants for their arrest. They
| soon lound Phelps (the original PhelpS) and
TOOK hlm IN custody, much 10 his surprise but
! he soon recovered from his establishment and
With the aid OF some OF his friends convinced
The ofhcerS that he was not the man they
wanted, and led them to where Davis was at
! work.
| AN ARREST
| Davis was at the time engaged in spreading
| manure. Seeing the officers approach ne
| raised pitchfOTk and threatened to
| use ii on them: He was, however, secured,
and With The girl was taken to EllicOtt's CITY,
| where some of the neighbOrS gave bail for
| Davis appearance at court, and some special
/ arrangement was made for the girl by the
jailOr and she subsequently took charge of
| the children and went to Baltimore. Davis
| being fearful that the case would come to trial
| and that 1t would 20 hard with him, about 1855
! went 10 st. Louis, and a few months subSe-
| quently the case having been discontinued, his
| wife (ElenOral followed him, and for several
| years she kept boarding house there, ald for
| a time he was on the police force of that CITY,
RUMoRS As TO TWO MORE WIVES
During the early part of the war, Davis,
with his wife. returned to Baltimore, but he
! afterwards went TO Cincinnati and spent a
! few years there, and it is asserted 10y some
! people That there is a woman there who claims
that he married her. He then came to this
| city and lived for a time with a woman named
| lOngdOD, who claims that while travelling with
| him in Maine the marriage ceremony was
performed making them man and vile.
| HIS LAST MARRIAGE
| that is, so far as is known at present was SOL
emniZed In this city on March 10, 1867, by Rev
A; ii. jackson, of the Episcopal church.
VINO VINO united W n him in IN wedlock under the
| They resided for some time i'm the first ward.
| but since the removal of the stables of the Me
p tf9p9Lltan company to Georgetown they re-
SIDED on the company's property up to the
| time OF his death. Several years since the Raj
tlmore wife, having aScertained his where
acoHtS ms4n came came n, here and going to the office
| torecognlZe her as his wife and Informed the
otncers OF the road that she was a poor unfor-
aate canaG fr 6eented Zen sister OF his, who had es
! case will doubtless develop how much truth
there is in these stories OF alleged mOrmonism.
A WIFE's TRIALs.-In the Police Court
Judge Smell, this morning, FlOrus Van Ruth
was arralgned on the charge of assault and
battery with intent 10 kill his wife on the first
| Gay OF June. This man has been in iaiI ever
| since the day named, awaiting a hearing
when mas been necessarily postponed until
MS Wlle was aDle 10 appear against him: and
/ his is not the first time he has been before
thlS court on similar charges. Mrs Van Ruth
carries on the business of fashionable dress
making, and is an industrious and intelligent
lady, and of very ladylike address. She ap-
peared very feeble this morning from her in
lurles. and in giving her testimony appeared
TO Sufer much from the effects of kicks and
bruises received from her brutal husband
She went on to tell the court in detail the his
tory OF one days dOingS-that on which she
was misunderstanding therein a continuous
chaln oil. the most outrageous ard brutal
assaults from morning to night. He was, of
course, maddened with rum and during the
series OF attacks on her he sent out and pro-
cured bottl of whisky TO keep up the steam
knowing what would be the results If he drank
ii, she watched her chances and, sezing il from
him, tried to spill il. He, like an incarnate
demon, pursued her, and SeiZing her by the
throat with one hand, held her while he
took potent draught, and did not release his
grasp until she was black i'm the face. He then
dragged her by the head up some stone steps
and kicked her 10 his entire satisfaction She
was corrOborated by two witnesses-young
ladies in her employ The defence was yery
weak one, amounting to nothing Van Ruth
claimed the right of testifying in his own be-
half, but did not add much to his case starting
out with the assertion that he was not drunk.
The court listened 10 what he had TO saw and
after viewing the testimony imposed fne of
$50, or 80 days in JAIL and give $500 bonds i'm
good and suf1lcient suretieS, or stand com
mitted six months in Jail.