Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1881-07-30
SATURDAY, JULY 80, 1881.
A Remarkable Life.
Correspondence of the Philadelphia Times.

Correspondence of the Philadelphia Times.
H~onesdale, Pa, July 2.-The news has
just been received here Of the marriage
of George Avery in one of the far west
crn states. The history Of this young
man-at One time the most notorious
character in this entire sectioa-has
been quite as romantic us that of IIugo's
hero, Jean Vatican. In 1870 Avery.
then about II years of age, was charged
with the murder of John Hayes, o fRow-
lands, Pike county, PA. He was arrest
ed and an officer detailed to bring him
to Milford. Evidence of the murder
was reported TO be SO conclusive that he
could not possibly escape hanging. On
their way to Milford the officer imbibed
freely of liquor, and finally got "bllnd
drunk" Avery secured the keys which
unlocked his handouts and shackles and
took them of, putting them in the bot
tom of the wagon. He took the reins
from the stupidity drunken officers
hand and drove to the nearest hotel,
where he arrived with the officer i'm
charge at a late hour. He put the
drunken man in bed, reused him the
next morning, got him in the wagon, on
t. Milford, the county seat of Pike coun-
~, when, after he had put the officer in
bed at Il hotel, he went up to the Jail
and delivered himself up to the keeper.
He was confined there till September,
1870, when he was tried for murder. and
to the surprise of every one acquitted.
Immediately after he was discharged By
the court, ne was arrested charged with
burglary, convicted, and sent to the
states prison for a year and a half. He
served his term, reading law during his
confinement. When he left the Eastern
Penitentiary he returned home, opened
n law Office, arrested several citizens
who had testified against him when he
was on trial for burglary, charging them
with perjury, and, a,i.ing to make out
his case was scntanced to pay the costs.
He had no money, SO he went to prison
again, where he remained till his friends
could scrape up enough mouey to get
him out. When finally he became Il free
man he returned to his old home at
X 'wlands. From that time forward
burglaries were numerous in that sec
>,.ll -au;l@.~" aaal.ia~.
to convict Avery be obtained. After a
while the young man went to Oil City,
Pa, and hung out his single as Il
lawyer. Clients were plenty and fees
large. Avery was reaping a golden
harvest, when he was convicted of
forgery and sent to the Western penitcn-
tiary, at Allegheny Cisy, for four years
and eleven months. While there he
fell in love with the Keepers daughter,
and she proposed TO assist him to escape,
but he refused to leave prisontill his time
was out. AT the end ofthe term he re-
turned again to LackawaXcn; soon after
professed religion, swindled a neighbor
out of 800 and was induced by the
neighbor, who enforced his arguments
with a shotgun, to refund the money.
tie then went TO LuZerne county, where
he got into a difficulty and went to the
eastern penitentiary again for a short
term. open being released the last
time he went to the mining regions of
the west, where ne opened IL law Office
and speculated in stocks. A few weeks
ago he Struck it rich" and cleared over
half a million dollars, gave up his stock
speculation forever, sent Drills atlianced
the prison-keeper's fair daughter, who
went west, and they have just been mar
ried. Avery is only about 81 years Of
age, and writes to friends here that he is
now al honest, upright man, and that
the next time he comes east it will be
as a United States senator from one of
the western states.