St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-03
MIR. KINsELLA's ECCENTRIcITIEs.
Cudoing Manu- of the Things Done in iLft
on His Dedthbed


CudOing Manu- of the Things Done in life
on His Deat,bed.
New York Correspondence Chicago Tribune.
Thomas Kinsella, who edited the Brooklyn
Eagle, and who last week died and was bur
led, lived singular life, some Of the strang
est eccentricities of which have not come tc
light in the papers hereaway. His pluckJ
fight for recognition; his climb from com
mon ''case'' Of the typesetter in the Office
through all the intermediate positions to that
of editor-in-chief and managerial this has
been dwelt on-but his matrimonial and
theological versatility the local papers have
dropped a veil over. Kinsella was an Irish
man and Catholic, as was his first wife,
who bore him five daughters. All went well
till he fell in with the wife of politician and
office-holder of local celebrity, known as Tom
Fields. OF her he became deeply enamored,
and after short courtship, as it were, divor-
ces were obtained, at his instigation, all
around, and Mr.. Kinsela and Mrs. Fields
were duly married by Henry Ward Beecher
Fields brought suit against Kinsella for alien
ating the affections OF his wife and won the
suit, the jury awarding him $4,000. He
declared that he didn't want the money for
of his erring spouse, for her to use whenever
her new admirer should desert her. This he
did, and the $50, COO has been on interest
ever since-till last week.
Mr. Kinsella's daughters abandoned him
and followed the nisfortunes of their cast-off
mother. while he and 'sAfrs. Fields-Kinsel-
la,' as she has always been called in Brook
lyn, took highpriced pew in Mr. Beecher's
oh, IF oh,
This all happened some years ago, and Mr..
kinsella was an ardent supporter of the great
Plymouth pastor during his trials.
When Mr.. Kinsella was brought face to
face with death in his last illness he sent for
Mr.. Beecher, who came and prayed with him
and talked with him, but it did not seem to
ego to the spot" he said. The old menaces
of the life to come which had been instilled
into him by the Catholic Church when a
child rose imperatively before him. He was
afraid to die, and he admitted it.
His latest wife guarded his haunted bed
side, but he introduced some friend to carry
a note to Catholic priest with whom he was
well acquainted. The priest came but could
not get in. Mrs. ''Fields" -Kinsella assured
him that if she wanted him she would
send for him, but, that at pres
ent his services were superfuous.
He reiterated reluctantly, was again
summoned and boldly made his way to the
sick mans bedside. Kinsella wanted con-
fession, communion, baptism and the rites of
the Catholic Church. The caller told him
he could not be buried as Catholic except
by speedy repentance of his sins, especially
the sin OF putting away his wife and marry
ing another. He was in mortal agony and
mortal fear. He said he would do as he was
told. Under the urgency of his spiritual ad-
wiser he called Mrs. "Fields; Kinsella into
the room and formally discarded her, and
ordered her to pack up and leave, and then
his former wife was recalled to his bedside.
The will was changed. This is the strange
story told and generally believed. l suppose
it is correct And now the first wife who
shared with him the hardship of his early
struggles and her daughters will inherit his
great wealth, and Mrs. Fields"
has already, it is said, drawn from the bank
the $780, obtained from Kinsella. But if
he had lived wonder who would have been
his wife!