Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-03-10

Mrs. Sadie Van 0esel was found
dead in her bed at her home In Sandy, |,
Springs, W. Va, On the last day oil
FEBRUARY, and her death recalls the
story of her life, which, as told In the
Philadelphia Times. was rather re-
markablc In matrimonial way. Her
1Ather's name was Martin, and she was
born in Mercer County, Pa. about
fifty years age, and went TO Sandy
Springs when only 10 years 'ef age.
She was an unusually pretty and att
tractive girl. She married JohR Burke,
q lumbeTmaR. Burke lived only twoI
years, being killed by a failing tree.
Mrs. Burke received attentions from
Richard Rasin and m8rried him. 1
When Rasin married he was in excel
lent health, but after happy union Of
four years be succumbed to o malig
nant attack OF mslsrial fever. Rasin
had been under the turf about eighteen
months when his widow married
George T. Roberts. The people in theI
neighborhood began to look upon Sadie
Martin as very unlucky woman, and
it was prophesied that Roberts would
not live long
After being married three years
! Roberts was accidentally shot and
4 killed while out cunning. 1t was
several years before the widow brushed
the tears away from her eyes suffi-
i GENTLY to see love for her In those OF
Charles Ingie, a cousin to her first
husband. Ingle drank himself to
death, and quit the claim in favor of
John Bryant, sturdy. strapping
backwoodsman, who stood six feet In
his stockings, and was regarded as
one OF the most powerful men in the
camps. Bryant having married the
widow, took her over into Logan
County to camp called Beach Creek,
where they lived pleasantly together
and had two children, both girls.
Bryant finally got tired of his wife,
however, and disappeared and was not
heard of for five years, during which
time Mrs. Bryant supported herself
and the children by knitting socks for
the trappers and buying skins and
sending them to market. At the end
of five years she received information
that Bryant had been killed in row
on Mississippi steamer.
This left her once more free and
still comparatively young. She was
extremely poor and her children wen,
around almost in rags. While things
,, were going along from bad to worse
there happened along German ped
dler named Otto Myerf Myer could
talk English to the Queens taste ant
: had glib tongue, and the result of i
was he married Mrs. Bryant. But thu
peddler proved inconstant and skipped
and was never heard OF afterward
. Then the widow returned to Sand.
: Springs.
Three years ago, after waiting man,
years for some news of Myer, the ped
dler, the widow made her final mattel
with Samuel Van Gesel, a farmer, AM
widower with four children. Their
was violent opposition on the part o
Van Gesel's family, and his children
lett his house. She was several year
y older than Van Gesel, and her hal
was turned gray. There were wrinkle
in her face, but her black eyes sparkle
l. as bright as ever and a smile lighte
up her countenance as she became 70
: the seventh time q wifi. Van Gese
v DhSoCu AWAY az LnO Oliu Va o ySAAI w
ing literally crowded into his grave b
J the hatred expressed against him b
n his family and former friends.
y His widow aflerward lived In retire
1. ment. One day the widow had drear
i in which she saw the vision of he
!, eighth husband. She said she wa
: lying on the lounge in the sittin
,, room at the time, and the vision ar
a peared before her as natural as Iii
' and told her that he was destined I
marry her, and that unless this even
!, were speedily to happen she woul
!. die. She recognized in the yisio
z James Turpin, prominent widowc
. of the hamlet, school commissioner
: man of considerable property and in
Y fiuence and lifelong Democrat. Mrs
n Van Gesel awoke greatly disturpe
Q. over her dream. Being of somewha
70 superstitious turn of mind, she place
implicit faith in what she believed sh
q had seen. She called the hired gil
= and told her about the vision, an
q. counselled her to say nothing OF it
q, anybody. The girl, however, told til
dream in the village store the fir
u time she was sent there on an errano
N The storekeeper laughed at the dream
u and when Turpin came into the stor
that night chaffed him over 1t and I'D
vised him to sell out and skip.
% The news of the widows dream fle'
8. rapidly over the village and excite
Is any amount of comment. Some dc
= rided it as trick, others denounced
7 as downright lie, and few acknow
"a edged that there might be somcthin
" of prophecy in it. Turpin at first mac
light of 1t as much as anybody, an
l even offered to bet that he would d
the simple widower of Mrs. Turpil
In q spirit of braggadocio he went {
III far as to call on the widow to sho
+. the superstitious that he was not afra
CO OF an old woman who had outlivt
seven good men. What occurred
II the widows house while he was the
e is not known, but he came away
o. smiling as ever. He was at the villai
- store the same evening, but said lit
d about his visit, except that the wido
set was cheerful and in good health, ar
likely to last for many years TO com
=, He left the store about 10 o'clot
70 and was seen walking over Farm
N. Togewell's stubble field, in the dire'
ton of his home, which stands on Il
ss opposite side of The village, in gro'
"a. of chestnut trees, near cranberry bo
generally known as the "Wido
V. Peterson's half-acre." He has n
'. been seen since. His disappearan'
: was noted after day or SO, but it W,
IF supposed that he was kept home b
T. sickness. On last Friday one of u