The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-04-13
The UnWise Matrimonial Choi CO Of
Mature Maiden of
Sixty Years.
Welded to a Man Who Looked Like the
Love Of Her Girlhoods
Young Dream,
To be Murdered in Cold Blood for the
Savings of a Life-Time-a
Recreant Spouse.

CAMBRIDGE, MD, April l2.-Four years
ago Miss Celia Bush, brief announce
ment of the finding of whose body was
transmitted yesterday, and who had been
noted for nearly thirty years as
rccluse and was the owner
of an estate valued at sew
eral thousand dollars, situated near Will
liam's Barge, married a school teacher
named Murphy. The old woman was then
about sixty years of age, and Murphy was
credited with having married her for her
money. After living together three
months Murphy suddenly disappeared
and was not seen again until several days
ago, and then only for short time. Yes
terday afternoon Miss Bush, as she was
called since her husband left her, was
found in thicket murdered. Her throat
was cut from ear to ear and her skull had
been beaten in with an axe.
A RECLUsE AND RICH.
Her house is situated in dense clump
OF wo DDS almost inaccessible to pedes-
trians and she has been the sole inhab-
liant of it since girlhood, except during
the brief period OF her married life. She
very seldom left her secluded place and
worked the farm herself. 1t was not
unusual to see her blowing, and as she
drew all her money from bank years
ago, it was generally accepted that
she was very rich. She was
never known to spend cent OF
money, subsisting wholly from corn
bread and bacon, the product of her
farm. In the neighborhood she was
regarded as a witch, and it was certain
that she had concealed about the place
all the money which had come TO her from
her parents along with the farm. The
precise amount of this money can not
now be ascertained as the murderer,
who, it is suspected, was Murphy, ran
sacked the building from top to bottom,
breaking open bureas, trunks and other
receptacles in search of the valuables.
THE MAN SHE MARRIED.
Murphy, the missing husband, was a
remarkably gOod-natured man, as all re-
member, 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
menced to pay her attentions and fur
nished the neighbors quite 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
| ideness. This enraged the Woodworking
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 dis
appeared. Aboutitwo years ago it was
learned that he had been seen in Della
ware town just beyond the Maryland
border.
VERY RICH.
From the time her husband disappeared
| the old woman, If possible, became even
| more austere in her life. She employed
| no help except to now and pack
| her gram which she had previously plant
| ed and cultivated. Nearly all the pro-
duce of her place she sold, and as she
| never bought anything, it latterly became
| mystery as to how she could sustain
life. Forty years ago she must have had
$50, 900. As she kept no bank account,
the money was undoubtedly concealed
| about the house prior to the murder
State Attorney Hensy went to the place
to-day and took charge of the effects, but
a rigorous search failed to give any clew
| to the murderer.
THE DISCOVERY.
| The murder was discovered by a la
borer of an adjoining farm, who, in pass
through the woods Wednesday afternoon,
noticed that Miss Bush was not working
in the field. He suspected that she was
| i'll, as she had never before been known
to be idle. He went to the house and
saw that it had been robbed. The neigh
bors found the body after an hours
search.
AN EARLY LOVE.
Cecilia Bush," said an old lady of this
town to-day, "was a beautiful girl forty
five years ago, when she was about
! twenty years Of age. She was educated
in private school in Wilmington, Del,
and she was engaged to man named
Morley, when she came home, after gradu-
atng. Morley was a small, delicate
man, ugly as sin, but evidently
q gentleman. Celia was crazy
over him, and when he Tilted her one day
for school-mate, Wilmington girl who
was visiting her, she became virtually in
sane. In fact, think she did lose her
reason through grief, as she was delirious
for more than three weeks with typhoid
fever just after Morley left her. When
she married Murphy, five years
ago, | think she was crazy, as
she several times asked me if
| did not think he looked like her girl
hoods lover, Anyway, from the time
Morley disappeared, she became misan-
thropc, and when her parents died sud-
denly of smallpox, three months later,
she shut herself up from the world, and
commenced leading the life which has
made her famous hereabouts for so many
years"
Murphy's whereabouts are unknown