Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-08-02
Peculiar Incidents OF Our Mod
ern Every Day
Life. ---.
A Wheeling Lady Successfully
DecsiYes Her hus-
band,
And Palms OF Three Borrow
ed Children as Her 3 b
Own.
A Dramatic Interview - What
the Wifs Has to .7
Say.

For the past ten days there has been
good deal OF excitement occasioned in Phil
adelphia, over the fact OF the discovery of
systems by which ladies have been enabled
to supply their lords with heirs by simply
applying 10 the authorities OF the Aims
House. The first case reported by the
Press Of that city, was that OF Mr.. Lohmey-
er, a prominent merchant of that city,
which was made public on the 25th OF last
! month. Since then numerous other cases
have been developed. In speaking of this
case the Times gives the following:
The fact that Mrs. Lohmeyer succeeded in
obtaining an infant at the Almshouse to
palm of on her husband as her own Great.
ed quite a sensation yesterday. Mrs. Lob
meyer charged that the Guardians gave her
the child without objection, knowing that
she intended to use the waif to deceive her
husband, H. W. Lohmeyer, a grocer, at
Brown and st. John streets. She declares
that Mr.. DAILY, one of the Guardians, gave
her the child with knowledge Of purpose
it was to be used for. Mr. DAILY, when in
terviewed yesterday about the case, de-
clined to speak further than the following
communication, which is supposed to cover
his case:
AN article having appeared in the daily
and evening papers stating that the Com
mittee on Childrens' Asylum OF the Board
OF Guardians of the Poor, said Committee
consisting of the late Captain Marks, Mr..
Charles Spering, and myself, had given for
parental adoption a child named Gallaher
for an improper purpose, desire to say
that there is no truth in said charges in so
far as am concerned, my actions since my
connection with the Board being solely
guided by desire for the faithful per-
formance of my duty to the city and the
poor. Captain Marks is beyond the reach
of scandalous accusation; he can not reply
to ceDsure and praise, and it i'll becomes
any Of his former colleagues to hound his
memory or to heap odium on his grave. Mr..
| Spering can reply for himself"
The Child Must be Indentured.
Mr. Huggard, President of the Board of
! Guardians nf the Poor cold. ~ hove every
| confidence in Mr.. DAILY and feel confident
| that if he gave the infant of Miss Gallagher
| to an outsider it was because he was con-
yinced that he was doing better for the
! child. Mr.. DAILY is an exceedingly gener.
! Gus man and no doubt Mrs. LOhmeyer and
| her well dressed companion easily prevail
/ ed upon him to give up the youngster. Mr.
! Daly's action, however, was Irregular and
| il is the first case of the kind | have ever
! known, although they say similar cases are
! numerous. | can assure you, however, that
! no such circumstance will occur in the
future. l will at once cal! upon II. W.
| LOhmeyer to produce the child. IL ne IN
| tends to give II back to the city, all right
| Ii not, he will be compelled to have 1t in
dentured to him."
Several members Of the Society for the
| Prevention of Cruelty to Children say they
| have known that illegitimate infants were
! given out rather loosely at the Almshouse,
but they we're not able to cite any specihc
cases. They admit that it is all but impos-
Sible to keep account OF the babes IN the
| institution as a mother can at any time
step outside and give her child away.
The Trade I'm Babies
What disposition will be made of the lit
tie waif is as yet undetermined. Mr.. Lob.
meyer said yesterday afternoon that he has
not yet made up his mind whether to
adopt the child or to return it to the Aims
house. From some circumstances attend
ing the discovery he has been led to believe
that it is the design OF certain parties to
Dlackmail him and to think that it may be
the intention of the mother of the child to
extort money from his wife's attachment to
the baby Whether he will make any at
tempt TO secure legal redress from Mr..
DAILY, Mrs. Charles Rosenberg aud the
| other participants in the affair is also yet
undecided. Mrs. Rosenberg, it appears. first
suggested TO Mrs Lohmeyer the plan OF Sc
curing the child and assured her that the
device was one commonly employed to de-
lude childleSs husbands and that she knew
one woman in Jersey who had so obtained
three children which her husband believed
to be her own. Mrs. Lohmeyer paid her
ten dollars for her services and also gave
five dollars each to Mary Gallagher,
the mother of 1.-THE child, and to the
nurse who had it in charge. The name
of this woman she does not know, but
would be able to identify her. Mrs. Ros-
enberg has been for month at Atlantic
City, where her husband is runner for
the bath houses.
Mother and Babe.
The books OF Col. Hampton S. Thomas,
house agent at BloCkley, show that the
young woman Mary Gallagher was admit
ted to the house by order of Outdoor Agent
Caldwell on November Is, 1881. She gave
her age as 22 and said that she was unmar'
ried and had neither home nor friends. Hel
baby, which she called Mary, was born Feb
ruary 9, and 10 record of its discharge ap
pears upon the books of Colonel Thomas
. The mother eloped from the almshouse or
the 10th Of March. While at Blockley
women in her condition are allowed
to leave the grounds during the
. daytime, and are always re
quired to take their children with them
1t was therefore an easy matter for Mary tC
: get rid of her infant, and no one except her
self and the nurse, whose mouth was effsc
tually closed by Mrs. Lohmeyer's FIVE dol
lar bill, would notice that one little slip
! had vanished from the baby forests o.
Blockley. Mrs. Welch, matron of the fe
, male obstetrical department at the Aims
| house, is unable to recall any of the cir
; cumstsnces concerning the disappearance
, of the Gallagher child, and is quite certain
that no applicant ever informed her that
: child was wanted to deceive q husband
: | Nearly all the mothers earnestly desire Il
see their children find homes and are will
ing to give them up.
2 How the Transfer IL Made.
t Persons Supplying for child are showr
7 the babies and their mothers, the consen
. Of the mother being in all cases necesssr,
W 'Aie AeAlV'AA VA NAe AHASnS' Ane queStioi
of allowing them to take the children i
then referred to the Children's Asylum
committee of the board, who are expecteS
to make proper Investigation of the charac
ter of the applicants, and none of the Aims
: house officials or employees act except upol
the instruction Of the committee. Neithe
Colonel Thomas nor Major Phipps has eve
before b card Of a case like the present one
and I. B. Bunting, who preceded Colone
4 Thomas as house agent, and whose conuec
: ton with the institution dates back +
} 1878, has never heard OF child being take