Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-12-19
YOUTHFUL BUT NOT GRrEs.
A sevenieen-year-Old Boy who
Stole and Married a Fifteen
yeaV-OId Girl ON Eight Dollars
nWeek.


AENNAIAA ~ NANNMls
ATLANTA, December ia week ago
a smooth faced little fellow, wearing a
skull cap, turned up at Markham and
wrote on the register, Samuel b. Curtis
and wife, Utica, N. Y" The lady waited
in the parlor and the two were assigned
to room. The young fellow was a
blonde, while the wife was brunette.
She was fifteen and the young husband
not more than seventeen. The next
morning Western papers containing an
account Of the runaway marriage Of
Harry @. Edwards, an Indiana boy,
reached the hotel. The clerks read il and
showed It to Curtis.
"Whcn does the first train leave for the
South2' he asked.
He was told that he could be of in an
hour, and, paying his bill, he hastily de,
parted for Florida. He brought up at
Griffin, and registered as Clarence Cleary
and wife, Of Rochester, N. Y. This morn>
ing the pair passed through Atlanta, on
their way back home The young man
said to your reporter:
Ny name is Harry Edwards, and my
wife's name was Alice Randall We are
from Greensburg, Indiana, Aliceis father
is in the dry goods business. NV father
is q harness-maker. The Randalls thought
| wasn't good enough for Alice They
belong 10 the shoddy aristocracy, so they
forbade me to go with her. / Was clerk
ing in a shoe store at IS per week. Good
wages for boy, although not enough to
support wife. Alice has big
brothers and a younger sister
besides her parents, while j have a father
and several sisters, but no mother or
brothers. They abused Alice every time
she saw me, although we would meet fire.
quently Shesaid they beat her, Finally
they wanted Alice to go with another
fellow We had TO either marry or part
forever She said If was a man | would
run away with her | knew il was Sc
rious, but j had some meney saved up
and borrowed Sl25 more of my uncle.
Saturday we started for Cincinnati. We
went through to Lexington, KY, where
We spent Sunday and Sunday night, occu-
pying separate apartments, Of course. /
did not know whether ] could get license
on Sunday, so we did not try to marry.
The girls father and brother and
the City Marshal came 10
Cincinnati that day, while we
were in Lexington but lost track Of US.
Monday morning we proceeded to Chatta-
nooga and were married there by Rev, G.
o. Rankin. The papers stated that Alice
paid for the marriage license and had all
the money. The way of il was l got
tired Of carrying such q roll Of bills and
put 1t in her sachel. Not having the
right change in my pocket / reached in
the sachel for the money, (which was mine.
From Chattanooga we proceeded to ROmas
Ca. which we lett Tuesday and spent one
day in Atlanta. know how folks look
at clipping couples. They think we are
young and green, and they laugh and
snicker and think il is a school boy and
school girl affair. A Boston drummer,
Frank X. Reed, took me to be greener
than ] am. He told me there was re-
ward offered for our arrest, and il was
known where we were, He offered to help
US, and, as l was uncertain and alarmed,
took him up to our room TO talk the
matter over. He said Il would never do
for US to stay in Griffin, that we should go
GAINESVILLE and hunt a private house. in
order to throw detectives off the track
He and my wife would get of at Barnes
willie and search for place 10 stay, repre-
senting themselves as man and wife, whilst
Ishould 60 on to Macon and work. Well,
saw through that scheme, though Alice
thought he was kind. j didn't propose TO
get out of the way in order that Mr.. Reed
might run around with my wife | sup
pose / ought to have kicked the scoundrel
down stairs, but was too much amused at
the transparency Of his rascality. don't
see what they can do to me- as we are
and i am going back TO find
work either in Greensburg or Cincinnati.
Alice says she is afraid her father will
shoot me, but am not afraid Of IT,