Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-02-16
CRUELTY TO A CHILD.
BOUND AND CHAINED TO A WELL BY
HEX FATHER.
4 Cunning Servant Girl the Cause of q
Parent Torturing His Innocent
Little Daughter.

Parent Torturing His Innocent
Little Daughter.
Charles Z. Crawford, clerk, his wife
and daughter, Annie Louisa, I3 years old.
reside in One ne-hundred-and-sixty-f first street
and Morris avenue, New York. On the
1st Of September last, Mary Dooley, aged
20, with good references. was employed rs
q house servant. \ month afterward vari-
Gus articles Of small value began to disap-
pear. Jewclry and money next were missed.
Search was made, and $50 was found
wrapped up in some of the dolls clothes of
Mr.. Crawford's daughter Other articles
were found in her dolls trunk. The child
was accused of theft, but denied it, and
was severely punished by her parents.
They desired her to confess what she had
done, and to this end severely chastised
her. To avoid further punishment she
acknowledged that she had stolen all that
was missed.
Property continued to disappear, and
the child was again accused. She again
denied, but through fear of punishment
again confessed. She said she had dc
stroyed them. Her parents began to
think that she was of unsound mind. \
physician was summoned, who called it
kleptOmania. The girl was watched, but
property continued to disappear.
On January the bed clothing in the
chamber of Mr. Crawford was set on fire
| and nearly 500 worth of property was de-
stroyed. Annie Louisa was accused of
doing this, being set down to insanity.
| To avoid punishment she confessed it.
After this her hands were strapped to her
side. Still the robberies continued. On
| January IS fire broke out III the !aun-
| dry of the house, which came near de-
| stroy;ng the entire structure. After
| it was extinsuished it Was discovered
| that the fire originated in the basket con-
| tanning the laundred clothes, part of
which had been saturated with kerosene
| oil; this also was attributed to the insanity
of the little girl Her father feared t..at
she would do injury to herself. He had a
belt made for her and procuring a long
| thin chain chained her to IL staple in the
! wall of the dining room during the day
time and at plight to the post of her bed.
Mary Dooley, the servant, slept with
The child to prevent her doing herself any
| injury during the night. Early t!:is
month a lady who called to see Mrs.
| Crawford was robbed Of 4 valuable fur
| lined mantle, muif and bonnet while she
was in the house. All efforts to find them
proving fruitless, Detective Jacob Will
kins, of the Thirty third precinct, was
called in. After examining the premises
he gave the opinion that the property was
taken by the servant girl, and she was ac-
cordingly placed under surveillance. That
day Annie Louisa was unclaimed, but
went about the house with her arms
bound 10 her side. The cloak, mur and
hat were found concealed in the garret.
The little girl, on being threatened with
punishment, confessed to having placed
them there. Shortly before this 4 case of
razors belonging to Mr.. Crawford had
been stolen from his drawer. A few days
later Mary Dooley, the servant, said that
while moving a fOOt-stool one of the razOrs
had fallen from it, and that a slit had been
cat in it in which the razor had been
placed. Investigation showed that this
was not wholly the case.
An it!ea struck Mr.. Crawford to watch
the servant girl. One evening she entered
the house with pair of elegant slippers
in Il box. She said 4 man had given them
not have the money to bny them. Dctec-
Mary went out and while she was gone
Mrs. Crawford effected an entrance into
the closet where she kept her clothes.
ty of the wearing apparel wl.ich was
thought to have been burned during the
fire in the laundry. Other of the stolen ar
ticles were also there.
When Mary returned last night she was
met by Detective Wilkins. She was &C.
cusc OF thefts and Of having set fire to the
house on the two mentioned occasions.
She confessed. She said that the greater
part OF the :jewelry and valuables that she
had stolen We're at her home, at Elton
avenue and One hundred and fifty eighth
street. There they were found by the de-
tective. To-day Mary was arraigned in
the Harlem police court, before Justice
Power, where only 4 charge of incendiar.
ism was preferred against her. She &C
knowledged the offence and was commit
ted in default Of $4,000 bail to await the
action Of the grand jury.