Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-05-08
A Strange Story.
Buffalo EXPRESS,

! On the 23d OF october, 1877, William
Freeman was sentenced to the Erie
County Penitentiary for one year and
six months, the prisoner having pleaded
guilty to q charge of burglary and lar
cency. Freeman was duly received in
to the ,penitentiary, was put to work in
the shop at polishing buckles and con-
tinued quietly and with uniform good
behavior to pursue the dreary routine
of prison-life until yesterday morning,
when surprising discovery was made
1t became known to the prison author
tiles, and later to the police officials
and few others, that the supposed
William Freeman was a woman. It
seems that some parties, probably her
friends in Allegany county, had ap
piled to Gov. Robinson for pardon for
the supposed William Freeman. In
such cases it is usual for the governor
or his authorized agent to write to the
keeper of the prison in which the per-
son for whom the pardon is asked is
confined, for d statement Of the con-
dition of the prisoners health. To as
certain the physical condition of the
convict, medical examination was re-
quisite. DR.. P. Sonnick, the physician
to the penitentiary. was accordingly re-
quested to investigate the case, and at
o'clock yesterday morning proceeded
to perform that duty. 1t was not very
long before he hurried to Deputy-Super-
intendent Wander with the startling in
formation, "That's a woman" The
prisoner who, for the past six months,
had toiled in the shops with as hard a
lot of male humanity as could easily
be got together, was indeed woman in
male habiliments and the astonish-
| ment of the keepers was increased by
| her statement that she had worn the
| clothes first Of q boy, then Of man,
from the time she was II years old.
As soon as the startling discovery
of her sex was made, Mary Ann Schafer,
as she confessed her true name to be,
was removed to another and secluded
part of the prison, provided with the
costume prescribed for female state
prisoners, and by Superintendent Bak-
er's orders was made as comfortable as
the rules would permit. The woman
had utterly broken down from her
usual firm bearing. She begged the
Superintendent to keep her there for
life rather than to allow her secret
and her name to be published. This,
however, could hardly be prevented, as
several persons necessarily became
possessed of knowledge Of the facts,
and the news once out naturally soon
spread. And indeed the statement Of
her history will be more likely to enlist
the sympathy of the public for her
| than TO do her injury.
Mary is % years Of age, about S feet
or 8 inches in height, with dark eyes
but pale complexion. She is pretty
good sized woman, weighing probably
14O pounds. Her wrists and ankles are
small, but her hands and feet, from the
toughest kind of labor, are large and
coarse, and her waist has never known
the grip of corset. AS William Free
man, she was about as good looking as
the average man; as Mary Schafer, she
is not homely woman. Her story,
told with an abundance of tears and
with much apparent feeling, was to this
effect: She was born in New York city,
or on shipboard. Her early home was
in Allegany county, with her mother
and stepfather, whom she left when she
was II years of age. To make a living
was at best a hard task for one of her
age, and believing that as a boy she
could do best and earn most, she dressed
herself in boys clothes and hired out
to do farm work. This she has done
all her life nce,-ploughing, chopping
wood, taking care of horses: and all the
rough work of farm, and although
all the time in the vicinity of her home,
she AYERS that not soul except her
mother until yesterday knew her or
knew the secret so carefully preserved.
She has brother and a sister, Is and II
years of age, who probably to this mo-
ment do not know that they have a
sister, She worked for various farmers
ia Allegany county, at Niles Hill,
Knights Creek, and other towns. For
a farmer named Pendleton she worked
seven years. Through all the long
years Of her disguise she protests that
she preserved a character of strict
honor and honesty, which will be at
tested by those by whom she has been
employed. The crime for which she
was sentenced she declares she did not
commit. Sac had rented farm about
FIVE miles from her family's home,
which is at Wellsville, and hired a
woman to act as housekeeper. This
woman's nephew committed burglary
by which he secured quantity of dry
goods, which he concealed in her barn.
The property was found, and she was
one Of the number arrested. Being
committed to jail, she was employed by
the sheriff to take care of his horses,
and taking advantage Of the oppor-
tunity for liberty which this service
offered, she escaped and fled to Canada.
In some manner she, was induced to
return. The man who, committed the
crime threatened her life if she be-
trayed his guilt, and, she, says, under
intimidation she made the plea of
guilty. l3old IT. y bas ssaojE
During the time of lrer imprison-
ment,, Mary says she was in constant
terror of a discovery Of her SEX. and
indeed it is remarkable that she sue
ceededNso long infollowing prison rules
and habits without detection. Several
times she had been on the point of