Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-10-11
SAVED BY HER MOTHER.
A Wealthy Matrimonial Adventurer Near
ly Marries His Own Daughter.

H.
at happened about eighteen or
twenty years ago right here in this
city. A certain man, whose name you
think of whenever you read about sew
ing-machines, because he was one of
the first and most generally known in
ventors of that useful implement, paid
very little attention to the laws of this
country bearing on marriage" said
New street man.
"Never mind what his name was;
you ought to know who | am talking
attracted even more attention to him
than did his valuable inventions in
connection with the sewing-machine.
When he died, in 1875, he left nine
recognized widows, and no one knows
how many children, for some of his
widows did not make sufficient of a
| fight for share of his estate-which,
by the way, amounted to thirteen mill
| ion dollars-to reveal their identity.
Well, as | started to tell you, this old
fellow was the father of so many chill
dren by his half score of wives that
he didn't know more than one in every
ten of his offspring when he saw them.
He had to be introduced to them.
''In order the more successfully to
humbug these deluded women to whom
he sustained the relation of husband he
gave different name to each of them,
and he used so many names that /
guess he forgot some of them. He was
always great admirer of pretty girls,
and would spend small fortune to
win the favor of any handsome female
of whom he became enamored One
of the employees in the salesroom of his
sewing machine company told him one
day of an extremely pretty girl, who
was playing in an amateur dramatic
society over in Brooklyn. She was so
pretty that all the young fellows were
talking about her.
"Well, the old codger, he was about
fifty-two years of age, found out when
she was to make her next appearance,
and secured front seats for the per-
Torrance. He fell up to the top OF his
gray hair in love with the girl before
the evening was over; and in q few
days managed to secure an introduce
ton to her. Then he offered her dia-
monds, dresses, a furnished house,
| horses and carriages, and, in fact, all
those things which a rich person can
procure, and almost all women yearn
for, if she would marry him. Her
meetings with the ancient swain were
held in secret and without her mother
knowledge. She used an assumed
, name when she appeared on the anna
teur stage, although more than hall
the persons in the audience knew hel
by the name she was addressed by in
, the vicinity of her residence.
"The girl listened with both ears tc
| what the old man said, and finally
) asked him to call at her home to re
/ ceive his answer. He went there, sir
on the appointed ev ening. 1t was
/ a cheaply-furnished and small house
in rather poor neighborhood. Tn,
Q old fellow hadn't been in the house five
l minutes before his former wife, tn,
Q girls mother, came into the room
4 where he was. They recognized eacl
t other, and then the old man had ,
mauvais quart d'heure, and no mistak,
Q He had not given his right name to tn,
( woman when he married her, and sh,
t did not know that he was the wealth,
o and widely-known inventor"
n what was the upshot of the affairp'
!, "Well, the old man made hand
G some yearly allowance to the mother
d sent the girl to boarding-school, an,
, when he died he left the daughter h
IS wanted to marry half million dol
n lars. Strange story, isn't itp But it
Q true one, and lots Of the old-timer
n who read it will remember the man
IS What's his nameP Well, call hir
e Hummer; that's close enough."-M
g Telegram.