Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-21
roo MUCH

A Coffee County Bigamist Sent Up for
-Four Years-He Tells the Story Of His
Mi<fortunes and Says He is Not the
Man.
Among the prisoners confined in the
Jail is a tall, well-propOrtioned young
man named Andrew Charles Teston,
who was sentenced by Judge
Nsrsbon in the Coffee county su-
narior Court on Friday 30 four
vears IMPRISONMENT in the penitentiary
Co. hiyamv. Teston was brought 10 the
;sn ~ sheriff Pearson. Of ones county,
assisted bv a guard consisting OF I. A;
Wars- clerk Of the superior Court, and
Tb0mas Young. He expressed a wish 10
. q ranorter OF the MORNING NEWS, and
was visited IN MS cell yesterday, when
he following particulars relating TO MS
history and his arrest and conviction were
..Nv fathers name.s he said, sis r. B.
Teston. He lives about 10 miles
south Of S~umteryille, in Sumter
county. Fla. l am p years
old and nv mother died last October. /
have a natural half brother named Amos
Childs TestOn. who is - years old, and
strange to say. looks very much like me,
though he is but 5 feet : izches in height,
While i am , IcEL II AHCuGa VI CAv.c uu
feet. His mother was not married 10 my
father. and has been dead four years,
leaving six children. My father was the
parent Of three before she went away
from him. and was married 10 another
man. who was the father OF the
three q children. Inc
striking resemblance between my half
brother and myself is the cause, L think,
Of my getting where l m He Is also the
son Of nv fathers niece, or, IN otneT
words. his mother u L were cousins"
~Wben were you first maTTiedE'
L married Mile Gaskin, a daughter OF
John Gaskin. Of Pearson, Coffee county.
on Feb. y last, and that is the only time
was ever married. Col. Harriet, a
Justice Of the Peace at Pearson, the
same maj who issued the warrant for
nv arrest as a bigamist, performed the
ceremony"
AT your trial did you not plead guilty
to tue Indictment against your"
NO Sir"
was the N in court during the
trialE'
NO. sir. only sSTh her once in my life,
and that was on Oct. 2SO 7 ., when had
| a preliminary examination before Justlce
Harriet at Pearson. The wO2an tnen
| claimed TO be Nancy TestOn. She was 9me-
| dium-siZed, tallOw-faced woman, with blue
eyes, and bad an infant in her arms. She
was from the southern part Of the State
towards Florida. She claimed that | mar
| ried Der in Jesup in September, 1855. At
that time | was in Nassau county at work
throwing up earth for 4 tramrOad that
was being built by Messrs. Hlllyard Il
Bailey, Iumbermen. and l didn't come
back this way until / went 10 Pearson on
Jan. ) last, where l worked OF a turpen-
tine farm until l was arrested in Oc-
tOber by five men two hours be-
fore the warrant was made out.
When these men came TO arrest me /
thought they were playing a joke, as | be-
.lieyed them 10 be my friends, and we had
all been together during the day. diG
not resist or offer to make any disturb
ance. After | was in custody the Justice
gave me twenty-fOur hours TO get a law
yer, but there was none there, and l faced
the examination without one. The woman
who aid l was her husband gave my
name as Amos Childs TestOn. Just then
my mOther-in-laW pOked her in the back
and she corrected herself. She also
said she had got a letter from
me. and when she produced ii II was
identified as the handwriting OF Ey
brother. But the Justice didn't seem to
think the failure to prove the writing as
mine made any difference. l was re-
quired 10 give a bond OF $l,OOO or go to]an
at Douglass. the county seat. / told the
Justice if he would make my bond about
$500 l might give BAIL"
Everybody seemed to be afraid Of me.
They took me for a desperate because l
always carried my pistol in full view
over the Waistband OF my pants. L got
that habit when L was down in Texas. |
went there when L was II years old, and
continued TO 20 there in stock driving
seasons every year for about 6 years.
There all of US boys carried pistols in
full view. We didn't dare carry them
any other way. and there were hot times
down there occasionally.
Il was brought before the court and
plead guilty, as 1 thought it would go
easier for me. The Judge asked me what
l had to say. guilty or not guilty, and l
replied: As l cannot have my evidence.
I must throw myself upon the mercy Of
the court. The Judge then sentenced me
TO four years in the penitentiary, and here
am"