Morning journal and courier., 1881-08-29
Detective Pinkerton's Prisoner.
He Says That H is Not the Man of Man,
 Wives, but Quite Another Man.

He Says That H is Not the Man of Many
 Wives, but Quite Another Man.
 The man who it is alleged, under the vary ing names of General A. B. Morton, Thomas Marvin, T. A. Marvin, Kingsland, and others, has married nine or ten women in different parts of the United States, and succeeded in obtaininga considerable amount of money under false pretences by means of bogus or forged drafts, was brought to this city yes- terday on his way to Richmond by Detective Robert A. Pinkerton. His alleged exploits in marrying Miss Turpin in Richmond, Va, and Mrs. Nellie De Hart in Bricksburg, N. J., at about the same time in July, and his alliances with other women, together with his financial operations upon banks and friends of his various wives, were related in the San at the time of his arrest in Lynn, Mass, August 19. When arrested he was stopping at hotel in that city under the name of Benjamin F. Adams. He was iden- tifed there by A. M. Brownen, a relative of Miss Turpin- He is apparently about 55 years old, of medium size, and has & rugged, but forid face. He wore 8 closely trimmed gray chin beard and 8 moustache but he is said to have worn large English side whiskers and simply heavy moustache at different periods within the last five years. His eyes are dark and keen, and are partly hidden usually by spectaeles. He was we'll dressed, a feature of his wardrobe being heavy soft black felt hat. with an enormous rim, which cast heavy shadow over his face as he sat with his back to the light. He did not re- move it. He spoke very deliberately and with an impediment, which may be feigned His name, he said, was Budlong A. Nor l ton. He was born in Erie, and his father $ name was Willis H. Morton, formerly of Greenbush, opposite Albany. At the age of 19 he was sent to Heidelberg University, in Germany, to study civil engineering, pro- fession he has since followed He obtained his title of General during the war, in which he served as engineer. He declined to say in what regiment or division he served. Since then he has been connected with railroads, among others he said with the railroads, and Pittsburg. He said he was employed by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad company to make an examination ot the facts of the Ashtabula disaster.
 He said that he had boarded four of the last six years with Mrs. s. H. Jillson, 91 | the begining of the present year with Mrs. l.. N. Kennedy, PAP York street New Haven. He claims to have been con. fined to his room in the house of the latter lady from January 17th, 1881, until June 18th, suffering from rheumatism and partial paralysis. This period covers part od the time it is alleged he was courting Miss Turpln and Mrs. De Hart. On June 27th 1881, he says he went to Troy, N. r., to pre- pare for work upon the survey of a railroad in Kentucky. From that date until July g with the exception of two or three days, he remained in the house of E. J. Cook in Troy working upon the survey. This period GOV CTS the time he is alleged to have married Miss Turpin and Mrs. De Hart. July 2Stt he left Troy for Huntington, W. Va. He said that when arrested he had @ ticket issued to him on August 2d or 3d on the steamboat General Lytle, which runs between Louisville and Cincinnati This he cited to prove that he was in that locality on the date mentioned The detectives claim that about that time he was in Canada getting some forged drafts cashed.
 On June 24, 1879, the prisoner says he left lola, Kan, where he was at work on 6 new railroad, for New Haven. While taking night drive to the train the vehicle was thrown down bank and he suffered, severe injuries. On July 5, 1879, the day it is charged he was swindling member of the Missouri Legislature out of $2, 800 at Joplin, he says he was being transferred from one sleeping car to another in St. Louis, and on the evening of that day he suffered relapse in the house of a MT. Devinney in Cincin- nati.
 Afidavits of the men who transferred him at St. Louis, of people in Cincinnati, and from acquaintances from Connecticut, whose | names and addresses he gave and who called 1 upon him in Cincinnati, are on file in Jasper county, Mo, and show conclusively, he says, that he was not within 700 miles of Joplin the day the member of the Legislature was feeced out of $2, 800 by man named King man. He was arrested in St. Louis and in dicted in Jasper county for this offence a year ago, and the case, he said, was put down for trial last December
 l D. 0. Birdsall a lawyer at 165 Broadway 1 in this city, who he. says met him at 8 | time and under circumstances that con- | vinced the lawyer of his inno- cence, furnished an indemnity bail bond to the amount of $2O, ,OOO. When the case was called for trial last December the Gen. eral says he was too ill to go West, and an granted. When June came, he says she was still too i'll to take the trip, and in spite of the afidavits of his physicians and friends as 1 to his inability to be present the court de- clared his bail forfeited. Since then he has 1 been evading the Missouri officers, and hence his assumed name at Lynn when he was ar I rested.
 A friend of MT. Birdsau said yesterday 1 that that gentleman had been deceived by Morton. He would now probably recover ] the amount forfeited by him on the bail bond in Missouri The detectives are posi- 1 tive that their prisoner is the man they want, and that his real name is Arthur Merritt. = l-Neao York Sun, Aug. 2S.
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