The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-03-09
CHARLIE GREENWOOD AGAIN
Mr.. +. II. Farrar, With whom Char
lie lived. says he is a bad boy,
and Relates the Story OF
his desertion by his

Parents,
EDITORS DAILY NEWS:-Havng read
in your issue of yesterday a somewhat
sensational story, related to you by one
Mr.. Morgan, in reference to Charlie
Greenwood, l beg space to make a reply
to that gentleman's statements. [ think /
I understand it more fully than any one. +
In the first place Charlie Greenwood is I
very bad and untruthful boy and his +
story about sleeping in the hammock for +
several nights is wholly volunteered tes- I
timony for | took him directly from tho |.
Florida House to my home, at the corner /
of Third and Oak streets, where l was at
that time residing. Some time in the
summer, having hOmesteaded some land |
up near Boyd's landing on the Ocklawaha
river, built me a home on it and moved
my family there later on,-probably in
November and it was about this time that
[ saw Charlie Greenwood. who was in
troduced to me as a homeless boy left
at Palatka without father or mother to
care for him. The landlady Of the Flor
ida House having told me that his board
was paid for only one week and that his
step mother had left for parts unknown,
[ interested myself i'll the boy, as [ want
/ ed such a lad on my place, and took him
| home with me telling him at the time
| that if he proved to be d good boy obedi-
/ ent and trusty ne should have good
! living as long as he desired to remain
with Us. And when myfamily went up tie
river we took him along as | could get no
! tidings whatever of his father
! Soon after Charles true disposition
| began to show itself. He proved to he
sulIen and diSObedient. but wife and !.
| disliking to turn him out on the world
bore with him until we heard from his
father. who, after time visited rs, end
! admitting that the child was hard to
manage, offered TO give him to me. To
/ this proposition [ demured aud frankly
! told Mr.. Greenwood that l had my
/ doubts about my wife beng able to con
| troll the boy. He then asked me to CON
| slider the mater and whatever decision ]
arrived at 10 communicate to his vile
/ by letter and she would, in turn, com
| mUnica5a with him, as size would be bet
ter able to keep posted as to his
whereabouts. his business being that of
a travelling mana repairer Of organs.
[ subsequently did write to Mrs Green
wood, as directed. and told her to notify
| her husband that we were unwilling
to keep the lad owing to his
bad traits and asked her to so
notify her husband IN reply
to this letter l received one from
Mr.. Greenwood dated at New Orlea rs in
which, he said he was sorry we could not
keep the boy, and that if he Charlie
choose to go to the devil he would have
to go and some day he would go in jail,
etc. Further than this he desired us not
to send the boy to his home, because, as
he stated, his wife would desert him and
in addition thanked US for careing for
him as long as We had This letter of
Greenwood's Isti,l have in my possession
and it is open to inspection by any one
who may doubt this statement Again.
my wife did not send him away because
we were too poor to care for him, on the
contrary we would have been glad to
have kept him if he had been an obedient
good lad.
He was directed too, to report to me
here at Palatka when he arrived, but he
did not do 50, and l only heard of his
being here through gentleman who had
met him and had some conversation with
him. To this gentleman he stated that
he had been living up on the Ocklawaha
but said he had forgotten my name,
which statement was palpable untruth
Perhaps | have written more than |
shauld about this matter, but as your ar
ticle has excited a good deal of sympa-
thy for the boy throughout the commu-
nifty, | feel that a tue statement of the
facts are due, both to you and your read
ers. Respectfully,
n