Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-27
KILLING HER CHILD AND HER
SELF
A Distressed Wife's Last Message to the
Man Who Had Deserted Her.

Man Who Had Deserted Her.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 24.-In a humble
room upon the second floor of a Callowhill
street boarding house, mother and child
lay down on Thursday night and died
locked in eachsother's arms. Upon the
head Of Jesse Logan, the recreant hus-
band and father, rests the moral respon-
sibility for the double tragedy. When
Mrs. Theodore Siefert, the mistress of the
boarding house, arose this morning and
went about her duties, she wondered why
her dodgers in the back room sic pt so late.
She did not 90 to their room till nearly
noon. Then she knocked violently and
called, but the room was quiet. She put
her face to the key-hOle. 1t was stopped
with wad OF paper, but she detected the
Odor of escaping gas.
The door was forced open. The body of
Annie Logan was on the bed. She had
undressed for the night. Her careworn
face was almost as peaceful as though
she slept. One arm was Outstretched
upon the pillow, and the other clasDed in
a tight embrace the body of her baby boy,
Howard. The bedroom was scrupulous-
ly neat. The clothing of mother and child
had been carefully packed away in a
trunk, together with some little trinkets.
Only a few articles of the child's clothing
were in sight. These had been carefully
used to seal cracks about the door and
window frames. Under the door was
tightly wedged piece Of carpet. The gas
jet was turned on.
A cup on the washstand was partially
filed with laudanum, and a teaspoon re-
dOlent with tincture of opium lay upon
the floor where Annie Logan had thrown
it after giving her child fatal dose and
mi b6
wife had also twisted and knOtted a towel
about her throat to hasten the work of
suffOcatiOn. On the bureau were a few
rumpled and teaT-stained leaves hastily
torn from a memorandum book. They
contained the story of the woman's shat
tered life, or as much of the story as the
heart-brOken wife chose to make public
on the night Of her death. The first note,
hastily written with pencil found beside
it, was addressed to her landlady. 1t read:
MRS. SEIFERT: You will let my brothers
know it as soon as possible. The oldest,
Jerome Fegley, lives at =, AIS Reece street, be-
tween Fifth and sixth streets. Thomas Feg-
ley, 2,Sl6 Poplar street, is fireman at Twenty
third and Race streets, with North and
Brother.
In the other message, written closely
upon five pages, the trembling hand had
confessed the motives that had prompted
to murder and suicide. The letter was
addressed to her family. 1t read:
DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS: NV dear
husband has forsaSen me and his dear little
boy that thought there was no one like his
papa, and was looking for him every day. l
hope he will often think of the best friend ne
has had for the last six years. l gave up all
for him, and | will die for him. l hone he will
forgive me for what | have done, and hope
we Will soon meet each other in the other
world, for l forgive him and still love him,
and hope our little boy will. Howard will be
three years old the 8th day of next March.
Please bury him in my arms. Dear brothers,
forgive me. Take care of my trunk, and bury
me wherever on wish to. Goodbye to all
and every one and to our dear papa. To him
Howard said the last word.
have lived as long as / could bear it. For
these two weeks | have lived in misery, but
before that l was
Here the writing waVered and stopped in
the middle Of a sheet.
Six years ago Annie Fegley lived with
her parents in POttsville. Here she first
met Jesse Logan, a man considerably her
senior. They were married. She was
then "a years old. They came to Phila-
delphia, where Mrs. LOgan's little fortune
was soon spent. Then the husband began
to neglect her, and last Monday he left
them, apparently forever. On the follow.
ing day Mrs. Logan received a postal
card. The husbands brief message was
this:
Win not be home again. Kiss Howard for