Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-01
Wednesday Morning, Dec. 1. 1880.
THE STRANGE YoUNGs CASE.


 An extraordinary is now in progress
 in New York city in which the puzzle is to
 tell whether one Theophilus Youngs is dead or
 alive. Five years ago Youngs was living in
 Boston and suddenly disappeared A dead
 body was shortly afterwards found in the
 river, recognized as his and taken to the
 morgue. His wife and family went into
 mourning, and his wife was appointed guar
 dian of her three children and administra- trix of their inheritance, on affidavits that her husband was dead. As administratrix she brought suit to gain possession of some property, and the defendant set up the sur prising claim that she had no right to bring suit as administratrix at all, because her hus- band was not dead but living.
 Last August a man calling himself Theo- philus Youngs turned up in Boston and de- clared himself to be the very man who was supposed to have been drowned and buried four years ago He was in no hurry to see Mrs. Youngs, although he was requested to do so in order to set all doubts at rest His story was that he had left Boston to get rid of his wife, and had gone to the West-to Colorado and Dakota. Mrs Youngs, on the other hand, says that her husband loved her most affectionately, and that, were he really alive, nothing would keep him from coming home to her and his children. The alleged Theophilus further says that during all the years of his disappearance he never heard of the litigation or that a reward had been of fered for his reappearance. He was travel ing under assumed name, and no one in the country where he was knew his real one, so that unless he had chanced to read of the matter himself he could not have learned of it.
 The testimony that has been presented concerning his identity would puzzle Phil adelphia lawyer, a lawyer of any other city or town. Several persons have recog- nized him, and some of them were so positive of his identity that they would not admit the possibility of deception. On the other hand, John Brown, 8 former servant of Youngs, swore that he saw his body being taken to the morgue on 8 cart, Feb. 29, 1876 The counsel for Henry Youngs, brother of Theophilus and the executor who is fighting Mrs. Youngs' claim, went on to Boston and talked with Brown on the subject, and suc- SSSIeSot mission that he had not positively identified the body, but that it looked like that of his old employer. He also said that the body was carried to the morgue in the summer of 1877, and not in February, 1876 picture testified that he had seen Youngs in the fall of 1877, and on one oc- casion had pointed him out to his wife, Mrs Youngs retorted with the affdavits of three witnesses who had identified the body of Feb. %, 1876. The defense 1 produced four witnesses who testified that | they had seen Youngs pass certain picture i store in Greene street, Boston, in June, 1878, l and that one of the four called him up and l conversed with him. Another witness testi | fed to having seen him in Providence Anoth- l CT swore that in December, 1877, Youngs l spent the afternoon and evening in his sa- | loon. foster sister of Mrs Youngs testi- | fled that she had last seen TheophiIus in | Washington just before his disappearance, and did not again meet him until about a month ago, when she saw him and identified | him positively in New York city that Mr. and Mrs. Youngs lived together for 8 time in her adopted fathers family, and that the man present in court was Theophilus. A brother of Mrs. Youngs testified that he had known Theophilus Youngs well, even before he had been married to witness sister. and that the man before him in court was Theo- philus Youngs. Richard H. Atkinson, of Boston, testified that he was landlord, and rented premises in Boston to Theophi1us Youngs and wife. from the fall of 1874 to June, 1875, and that the parties present in court were the same persons. He said that while they were his tenants he saw Theophi | Jus sometimes dozen times day, and was positive as to the identity of the man in court
 Of course in this strange case there is fraud somewhere, but on which side, or if on both, does not yet appear. It is on small | scale some like the famous Tichborne case.