Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-04-12
A WOMAN MlSER
rouSu MURDERED ~ nrx nome
WnmsDi!o story OF once Beaniifui WON an
-Hcr Esrly Love, Di'sppoi otmcnt
ana Late Marriage

Numah!to tory OF a Once beRuiiful Woman Il
-Hor EsrIy Love, Di'sppoi intinent
ana Late Marriage.
Five years ago Miss Celia Bush, who |
had been noted for nearly thirty years rs |
rcclusc and was the owner OF an estate
valued at several thousand dollars, stu
ated near Williamsburg, Md, married a |
school teacher named Murphy. The old |
woman was theu about sixty years OF age |
aud Murphy was credited with having
married her FOR her money. After living
together threo months Murphy suddenly
disappeared aud was not seen again until
several days ago and then only for short
time. Thursday afternoon Miss Bush, as
she was called since her husband left her,
Was found in q thicket murdered. Her
throat was out from ear to ear and her
skull had been beaten in with an axe.
| Her house is in the centre Of q dense
clump of woods, almost inaccessible to
pedestrians, and she has been the sole in
habitant of it since girlhood, except dur
| lug the briei period of her married life
She very seldom loft her secluded place
and worked the farm herself. 1t was not
unusual to soc her blowing. and as she
| drew all her money from bauk years ago
it was gonerally accepted that she was
very rich. She was never known to spend
| a cent Of money, subsisting wholly upon
corn bread aud bacou-the product Of her
farm.
In the neighborhood che was regarded
as q witch aud it was certain that she had
concealed about her place all the money
which had como 20 her from her parents
aloug With the farm, The precise amount
of this money cannot now be ascertained,
as the murderer, who IL is suspected was
Murphy, rausacked tho building from top
L H. hF,s
aud other rcceptacles in search of valu-
ables. Murphy, the missing husband, was
a remarkably good natured man, as oil
remember, and this fact leads many to
doubt his guilt. While teaching school he
proved to be thoroughly educated, but was
undoubtedly remarkably lazy. When he
learned of Miss Bush's wealth he COM
meuced to pay her attentions aud furnish.
ed the neighbOrs quite a sensation by
marrying the old lady, despite her sixty
years. Not long after the marriage
Murphy resigned his position as school
teacher and commenced to lead life of
idleuesS. This euraged the hard working
woman, who insisted that he should work
beside her in the field. He declined, and
after several weeks squabbling, during
which Murphy discovered that he could
not hope TO get any of his wife's money.
he disappeared.
From the time her husband disap earei
the old woman, il possible. became wen
more austere 10 her life. She never en-
ployed help OF any kind, moving aud
stacking her grain, which she had previous
ly planted aud cultivated Nearly all the
produce Of her place she sold, aud as she
naver bought anything it latterly became
a mystery as to how she could sustain life.
Forty years ago she must have had ESQ, ,00C
and she probably doubled this during the
period named. She never kept q bank
account aud the money was undoubtedly
concealed about the house prior to the
murder.
States Attorney Henry came to tb,
, place aud took charge of tho effects, bus Q
. rigorous search failed To give any clue I,
the murder.
TIE murder was discovered by a lahore
on an adjoining farm, who, in passin.
through the woods yesterday afternoon
@ noticed that Mrs. Bush was not working il
t the field Suspectiug that she was very
, ill., as she had never before besn known t,
be idle, he went TO the house and saw tha
it had been robbed. The neighbOrs fOunt
. the body after au hours search.
] Cecilia Bush" said an old lady of tt,
town, was beautiful girl 45 years ago
when she was about 90 years of age SD,
, was educated in private school at vii
mington, Del, and she was engaged to {
man named Morley when she came homo
after graduating, Morley was small
delicate man, ugly aS sin, but evidently {
gentleman. Celia was crazy over him auC
{ when he Tilted her one day for a school
mate, a Wilmington girl who was visiting
her, she became virtually insane. In fact
think she did lose her reason through
| grief, as she was delirious for more thai
three weeks, with typhoid fever just ate
Morley lett her.
|, when she married Murphy five year
, ago, think she was crazy, as she ssvera
times asked mo il did not think he look
ed like her girlhood's lover. Any way
i from the time Morley proved false sh
became misanthropic, aud when her pa
A rents died suddenly of smallpox thre
months later, she shut herself up from th
world and commenced leading the liz
which has made her famous hereabout
for 80 many years. "Murphy's whereabout
are unknown.