Morning journal and courier., 1883-10-31
SorrusI sr6 Gprrisr.
Wednesday, October 31, ,1888.
An old Mystery Explained.

A Mother Learns the Fate of Her Child
 Alter . Lapse or Twenty Years.
 Twenty years ago this summer male child about four months old was found at night under a tree in South Windsor. It was ta- ken to the poorhouse, but after short time was adopted by Mfr. George 8. Bissen and brought up till the age of nine or ten years, when it died. Nothing was learned as to it's parentage or the circumstances under which it was abandoned Within few days the whole story has been cleared up by action in behalf of the child's mother, who 1t seems had had no knowledge of him since he was taken away from her. The story as obtained from one who has been familiar with the lat CT developments in the case is as follows: The father was man about thirty years old, who married girl of seventeen. by whom he had this child. They
 lived happily enough for some time, but af- ter the birth of the child the husbands af- lection cooled and within about four months the child was spirited away, the mother not knowing what had become of it. According to later developments it would seem that he came to Hartford and hired man to take ! the child away and, apparently, to report what became of it afterwards. In short time he took his wife to the West, where ! within year or two they separated, he, as | is alleged, going of with some other woman, while she returned to Connecticut. During | their life together after the disappearance Of \ the child he told her that it was with \ friends, and that he would take her east and get it after @ time.
 ' So matters remained until about six years ago, when the wife found among some old papers of her husband @ letter dated at Hart. ford sometime in 1868, about three years ' WnEk1 kI,a.7 sSfk hn 0h ! letter was to her husband and said that the | child was alive and well in a family in a town north from Hartford. It was not much ! of e clue to work on, as the writer could not ' be found and the woman was In strengthened
 circumstances. She put the case in the hands of Luke Martin, chief of police of Bir-
 mineham, who had made such inquiry as pos I sibIe from time to time, resulting at last in I presumption that the child had been left | in one of the Windsors. A few days | ago, the probability seeming to favor South | Windsor and information having been ob ! tained that a family of the name of Bissell had once had an adopted child, he visited that | place in company with gentleman who was | familiar with the town and who, indeed, l living there at the time, remembered in gen. eral way the finding of the child and it's re- moval to the poorhouse. They set out to visit if necessary every family of the name \ of Bissell in the place. At one house they \ learned of 8 young man who seemed to
 answer the description, but the mother \ asserted that he was her own son, and they were obliged to take her word foI it, at least for the time. After rid | ing several miles and visiting several families they came to that of MT. George s. Bissell | 8 substantial well-to-do man, served several terms as selectman. Here they found that .
 child had been adopted as first described l All the circumstances corresponded, and Mrs
 Bissell said she fully recognized 8 tin type ol
 the child, taken just before it's disappearance | and which had remained in the possession ot
 the mother. She produced picture of thu
 boy taken while he lived with her, and wal
 fully satisfied that the two represented thu
 same child. Aside from the rather doubtful
 testimony of the pictures, the circumstance
 seemed to leave no doubt that the missing
 boy and the waif adopted by MT. and Mrs
 Bissell were one and the same.
 This story is a very peculiar one, ana
 some of it's features which cannot we'll b.
 told now will very probably come out later
 It is understood that information has beer
 received of the absent husband, showing hin
 to be established in the West and with abun
 dant property. A suit for divorce will prob
 ably be brought.