The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-09-01


fresh victim Homes have been blasted
and banks and business houses victImized
in almost every section of the country By
this unique adventurer and yet the whole
Story 81 hi- unisdoeds - not known Inc
criminals real name is believed to be Ar
thur Merritt, but his more recent aliases,
among many others, have been Gen. A. b.
Morton, Thomas \. Marvin, 4. I. Marvin,
J. b. Lindsey and j. B. Mattheson. What
aggrayates his Offense i that he Is man OF
intelligence and talent and over go years OF
age
Readers Of the Herald sill remember
recently published articles describing the
marriage and desertIon Of Miss Iurpln, IN
Richmond, Va, and the deception, under
similar circumstances, Of lady in Lake
wood. y J. Marvin was the criminal IN
both cases, but the whole story remains to
be told
sSAEING HIS VICTIM.
In the latter part of May last an adyer-
tisement appeared in 4 Hartford religious
weekly newspaper, by which 1t appeared
that a widower Of means desired to employ
the services of eoverness for his daughter,
AGED years 4 Miss Turpin, of Richmond,
Va. saw the advertisement and answered
it, Miss Iurpin Is a young lady OF u
| wears. amiable accomplished and pretty
! She Is of au old aud we'll CONNECTED South
ern family, and the daughter Of widow
who, being in somewhat reduced cIrcum-
| stances, takes boarders. Thinking TO assist
/ her mother Miss Turpin applied for the SIT
nation. asking for further information, and
referring to a distinguished Judge and a
| Richmond clergyman ~ to her own charac-
! ter and qualifications. She received IN re-
! DIV a letter dated New Haven, Conn, and
/ Signed T. 4. Marvin The writer said he
! was the gentleman wanting gQverness, and
IL OH nd MI crit
/ rem account OF himself as an American gen
/ ilenaan of wealth and a widOwer with one
child, who spent his time mainly in travel
inc Europe, and who was now about to
90 the Hot Springs of Arkansas for the ben
eft of his health. He gave as references
Judge Cowan, of Germantown, Pa; William
4. Taylor, eX-member of Congress, of Cam
den, n ]. and the Rev. John Danforth of
Media, Va. He expressed himself as highly
pleased with Miss Turpin's letter, and al
though her terms were rather high, he
thought he would engage her, ana woun,
come on 80 see her as soon Is he had settled
some business affairs in New York. Miss
| Turpin wrote to the three personages Mr..
Marvin had named as references, and re-
ceived the most satisfactory replies. The
writers united in speaking of Mr.. Marvin
in the most hatterin5 terms They said
that they had known him a great many
/ = =
culture and refinement; of the highest
honor and integrity, and possessed Of large
means. The clergyman wrote that his
daughter had been Mr. Marvins first wife
and that he had treated her with the utmost
| kindness Miss Turpin expressed her salts
faction with the result of her inquiries aud
| so informed Mr.. Marvin, who came to Rich
mond to see her, and their interview result
ed in her partial engagement rs governess
| for his daughter, whose sudden illness, he
explained, called him away before the con-
tract was closed. Miss Turpin and her
mother were most favorably impressed by
! Mr.. Marvin. He tall, stout, fine
| looking man of 60 years, with white hair
and whiskerS, pleasant gray eyes, of insinuat-
ing address and conversational powers.
OVERTURE OF MARRIAGE
A few days after 4Er. Narvin's departure
| to attend his sick daughter Miss Turpin
! received letter from Mrs. Taylor, the wife
| of the Camden Congress man. making an
/ interesting and romantic disclosure. The
I writer said that she could not resist the
| temptation OF betraying Mr. Maryin's con
/ fidence in a good cause He had called on
! her since he left Richmond and told her
! that the young lady whom he was about to
| engage As governess was the most charming
! he had ever met in his life. He was in
! love with her, aud would be the happiest
| man in the world if he thought Miss Tur-
| pin would consent to be his wife. The
| writer strongly advised the latter to consent
! if Mr.. Marvin should offer himself saving
! that she had known him thirty years that
/ he had been a devoted husband to his first
wife, and had nuTsed her tenderly through
| the long illness which terminated in her
| death six years ago. Two days after this
| letter came from Mr. Marvin formally pro-
| posing for Miss Turpinis hand, and saying
| that he could not bear to think of employ
| ing her as Il mere governess.
: day or two after he presented himself
in person aud was accepted. He again had
| to leave hurriedly on business, and on his
return settled $4,000 for life on his pros
pective wife, and on the Doth of July last
the couple were married, the groom being in
haste to get to Hot Springs for his health
and thence to go abroad.
on THEIR HONEYMOON TRIP.
The happy couple started on honey
moon trip at once, but before leaving
! through the Identification of Mr.. A. M
BrowneIl, a Richmond business man and
| brother-in-law Of the bride Mr.. Marvin
/ cashed draft for $765, drawn by David &
Bradley, through the First National Bank
OF Madison, Wis, on the First National
Bank OF Chicago Out of this he took
$50 IN money and the balance in a draft
| on the Merchants National Bank OF New
| York
Mr.. Marvin had not left Richmond a
week before it was known that the draft
which he had presented was forgery, and
when it was discovered that he had stooped
| to the small business of borrowing SI5
from the minister who had married him #
was realized that he was scoundrel aud
| an adVentuTer.
Miss Marvins friends at once took meas
ures to discover the whereabouts of the man
who had so meanly deceived them. Through
| the letters of his trusting young wife. who
| had rot yet discovered that She was the
/ victim OF an unprincipled villain, it was
| believed that be was In the vicinity of this
city, and Pinkerton's Detective Agency was
! communicated with. For several days it
was impossible to obtain any clew to
| the scoundrel's whereabouts, for he was
adroit enough 10 have all his wifess letters
stmailed on the wing They were all post
ed on railroad trains or stopping places on
the road, 50 that his wife could not be COM
municated with. A lady friend of the Tur-
pins and Mr.. Brownell had by this time
come to New York 10 aid in the search and
20 take the Young lady to her friends a.
soon as she should be found:
At length, on the 18th ult., it was learned
by the detectives that the couple we're in
Albany. bat he was too old head to be
caught there and only stayed long enough
to get worthless draft cashed for about
$3.50 by Spencer, Trask & Co This draft |
vas the one he had procared ia Richmond
under the name Of Thomas 4. Marvin. He
Endorsed it to A. B. Morton, was identified |
at the bank. by man who knew him as
"Gen. Morton, a very prominent and wealthy |
railroad man." and procured the money, /
q portion Of which the detectives learned