Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-04-01
Shocking Brutality of q Father.

For some time past the neighborhood of S
street, between 18th and 10th, northwest. has
been discussing and matchmaking the al
legged inhuman brutality of father to his five
daughters, and the disappearance of those
daughters from their home co, No. ISIS on
that street. A reporter of THE STAR learning
that the children who had run away could be
heard from at the residence of MI c. B. Park
man, ~ nth street southeast, called there to
ascertain what that gentleman might kOw of
the matter. He found Mr.. Parkman at home.
IN one oil the threestOry bricks on that street
which constitute Philadelphia ROw"-so
red brick houses. Mr.. Parkman being asked
IL he could give any information about the
TunaWays, answered in the Affirmative. The
the matter. Well said Mr. Parkman, the
head of the family is, as you know. J. r.. 7.
Mechlin, clerk in the office of the chief of
engineers, L. 5. A. He has a salary of 800
per annum. He is not an unpleasant looking
man, is rather preposSessing in appearance
when he wants to be, but is likewise fiend
old, about 5 feet 10 inches in height, and has
iron gray hair. He has seven chjldren-fve
daughters and two sons. The sons were the
and Bernard about q. Neither of them are in
the city now; they had to leave on account of
their fathers conduct OF the daughters, Ella,
the eldest, is still with her father, on street
she is the pet Of the family; the other four have
me az ainP h Charlie or Charlotte, is taken
and the two others-Aimee and Wiellie-are in
the Columbia hospital.
What about the fathers treatment of
tell you briefly what / know of it, and then LET
you talk with Sophie and Charlie. The first |
knew OF any trouble in the family was when
one of the girls (Willie) ran away. and was not
found until the next night. She left because
her father had beaten her The family then
moved to street. About Thanksgiving time
the same girl came over to Mr.. Adams, who
also lives i'm the row, complaining of having
been brutay beaten: She remained there
ards, the father was made to place the girl
with the Woman, S Christian Association. prom
ising to, pay her board: She staid there about
six weeks, when the eldest daughter, Ella. took
her home. She was locked up in the han bed
room, the window and blinds closed, and kept
there about four weeks, with barely enough
difficulty was on the I'd of last February when
Charlie came to my house, saving that she
could stand her fathers cruelty no longer, and
had been advised to come here by Major Rich
ards. with whom she had consulted. She was
very meanly clad. Three weeks afterwards
the other girls having been informed that their
mated that they would find homes if they de-
sired, also left their father and came over
here. one OF these came to my house and the
then Aimee and Willie have been taken sick.
and are now in Columbia hospital Their i'll
ness IS, do not doubt, the result of the treat
ment they had received at the hands of their
father. They all tell the same story. The
father has taken no steps to reclaim his chill
dren. The case was laid before General Hum
phreys, and he informed Mechlin that he
would have TO provide for his children. They
refused to return home, and he offered to place
them in some institution on the island, pro-
ylded they would renOunce those who had
befriended them. This the girls refuse to do
fearing that they will be taken home and a
repetition Of the old pandemonium follow.
SAD STORY OF TWO OF THE DAUGHTERS.
NnyI h-ir1 t1,a. rf.l..
any question yOulike. The girls Charlotte and
SOph!e) came into the rOOnl-One young lady
about eighteen, neatly dressed in black, the
checked stuff. Both looked subdued The re-
porter, questioned them both. Their stories
We're the same. Now and then when one hest
tated slightly about the details of some beat
ing administered by the father or Ella, the
eldest daughter, the other would prompt her
Charlie, the elder of the two. said that after
their mother death. about thirteen years ago,
the hNe daughters were sent to a MOravian
school III Pennsylvania. Here they We're poor
~ cad. because their father only paid half as
IN t l3[ tnGr support rs was paid for the rest
III October, 1874, and lived for a time on sth
street: between + and northeast. They then
moved to nth street. and then to S. Shortly
maitreat them. Oswald, the elder brother, left
In 1919: He was repeatedly struck and beaten by
their father because he interfered while the
rest OF the children were being beaten. A few
days after leaving he came back, being unable
TO secure any work. Their father gave him
twenty-five cents, loaf OF bread, and
gone. The reason the younger son left
was also on account of their fathers
brutality. Mechlin was subject to epileptic
make Bernard watch him ali night in case he
should be seized with one. One night while
watching his father, Bernard fell asleep. His
with his boots, brtiising him frightfully: then
told him to stand in the middle of the room
and not move all night He watched his OPP
pGr;nny' LETT III the house and shipped on a
schooner: which plies between Havre- de Grace
and Norfolk Oswald went to Montgomery
county, Va. and is now teaching a small
school. Tine daughters do not hear from either
OF the boys except now aud then through an
aunt. Oswald wrote to his father, wanting to
come back to his sisters, but was refused unless
hesbegged pardon This he would net do.
DISGUSTING DETAILS OF DOMESTIC TYRANNY
The reporter asked Miss Charlotte in what
manner the fathers brutality was manifested
She Said:-
He used to beat us all nearly every day. me
especially. had to do all the cooking. and if
anything went wrong was beaten. When we
moved from here TO street, my face was so
Inc go over during the day. He made me 90
over In the night with two thick wells on. All
of us have often had to keep in the house on
account of the bruised condition of our faces
What did he strike you with
Anything that came handy-the poker the
steel bar for sharpening knives, the hammer.
a chair, and his fists"
Why did he strike your
For anything and everything. The first
day after We moved over to Gstreet
did not get the dinner all right being
unused TO the new kind OF stove. He beat me
for that with his fist"
Did he never ill-treat Your Oldest sister.
Ella?''
"Oh, no; he used to a little when she first
came from school: but since then he has always
treated her Splendidly. She is the lady of the
family has whatever she wants to eat and
wear She used to beat me, too
For WHAT
For anything: just like father. One day
dirty spoon was on the table. He broke it over
Willie's head. Willie one day helped herself
TO some oysters, which Ella and father had
LETT oyer. For this she was beaten unmerci.
fully: as marks OF it she bears two large sears
on her person, which will always be there.
No: father does not drink. He has broken
two stools over me. One Sunday something
went wrong; didn't cook Elias breakfast
properly. He struck me with hammer and
knocked me down, and kicked me. The ham.
mer fell out of his hand, and Sophie fearing
that he might strike me again with it. picked
II up. He struck her with his fist, Snatched
the hammer from her, made me get up and
damned me against the wall. He then -four
lShed the hammer over my head, and swOre
that II l moved he would dash my brains out
Were the other three daughters treated as