Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-06
VERONA BALDWIN.
She Is Committed to the Napa
Insane Asylum.
AN EXCITING EXAMINATION
A short History of Her Eventful
Life-Several Interesting
Incidents.

Judge Shaw yesterday afternoon, IN De
partment 5, on the charge Of insanity
After very exciting time, che was de-
cided to be crazy, and was ordered com
mitted to Napa.
Verona has been familiar figure
about the streets of Los Angeles for sew
eral years, and is well known over the
coast from Washington Territory to San
Diego. Her story is sad one, and pos
sessed of enough interest to make ii
worth relating. She was born and
brought up in Olympia, Washington Ter
ritory. She has always asserted tnat she
was a second cousin of E. j. Baldwin,
the famous Lucky" Baldwin OF Santa
Anita, but as the unfortunate
woman's mind has been for many years
unable to distinguish between TACT and
Imagination, this statement cannot be le-
lied upon. The woman's connections 10
in Olympia are good. She has now Nv
ing three sisters, all OF them married TO
weIl-to-do citizens, and one OF them is the
wife of @. III. Hanford, the Chief Justice
of the Territory. When her education
was completed she learned to set type In
the composing room of the Washington
Standard, which is the Oldest paper In
the Territory. Later on she went to
Portland, where she served for some
time as copyist.
1t was about ten years ago that she
made visit in San Francisco and be-
came acquainted with the man who, she
says, wrecked her life-Lucky Baldwin.
When she returned to the Territory she
talked constantly of "her cousin" how
rich he was, and how he was going to
provide for her by giving her
a school to teach on his ranch near Los
Angeles. Shortly afterward, in response
to an urgent invitation from Mr.. Bald
win, she went to Santa Anita. In her
testimony in her numerous trials, grow
ing out of her relations with that famous
capitalist and sporting man, she told the
story of what took place at the ranch.
Soon after she parted from Baldwin q
child was born to her, of which she says
he is the father. In the month OF Janu-
ary, 1883, she suddenly appeared in San
Francisco, and went to the Baldwin
Hotel, where E. j. Baldwin was staying.
She was armed, and, at the sight of him
in the lobby of the hotel, drew her re-
volver and fired. He was wounded, and
the girl was arrested. She was charged
with being insane, and, on the advice OF
the Commission, was sent back to Wash
ington Territory, to be among her friends.
The insane asylum at Steilacoom took
her in charge, and she remained there
about year. At the end of that time
she seemed to have quite recovered, and
was discharged.
Chicago was the next abiding place OF
this strange character. Her child was
with her for time ,and then disappeared.
1t is generally supposed that an asylum
in Milwaukee received the infant when
she found herself no longer able to as
sumo its care She undertook to con-
duct school on the West Side, and for
her strange conduct was once arrested
and tried for insanity. About this time
the celebrated Perkins Baldwin case
came on for trial, and out of this came
the Bell-Baldwin cult for libel. AS a
material witness Verona was brought out
from Chicago, and placed on the stand.
She was suddenly brought into promi-
nence by rumor that she had been kid
mapped, and for time was much talked
about. This was about two years ago.
Since that time Verona has been liv-
ing in Los Angeles. No one knows how
she has lived. She has not had employ
ment of any kind, nor have friends paid
for her support. She is supposed to
have husband-a man by the name of
Adams-but she does not live with him.
For short time one of the newspapers
gave her work as proof-reader, but her
strange conduct made everyone afraid of
her. The newspaper men she has re-
garded alternately as her best friends
and her worst enemies, now tormenting
them with long articles which she
wished Published, and then reviling
them as the source of all the injustice
which has been done her.
About week ago Verona came into
the HERALD office and left the following
note on the desk of one of the reporters: :
81 have been through all the horrors of bas-
tile, am royal born, and a Bras de Fer. l
have seen my father and God. am of IsraePs
race, and Christ was not cruoi1ed literally
Judas kissed the wrong man. The millennium
is here, according to Revelations.
FRANCES VERONA BALDWIN,
Sount of Monte Christie
Then she went into the business Office,
and left the following advei tisement:
LosT-A White Parrot, with yellow crown,
known by the order of Holy Ghost. Return
to No. 40 N. Spring street, to Bras de Fer, and
receive hundred fold reward.
These were the first symptoms of the
approaching dementia. A short time
afterwards she was found on the street
by member of the police force in con-
dition of raving insanity and was taken
to the County Jail.
Yesterday afternoon about O'Clock
Deputy Sheriffs Wray and Hunter took
her ever from the County Jail to Judge
Shaw's courtroom. 1t was thought best
to have the examination in private and
the Judges chambers were used for the
purpose. :,
When they entered the room, the off
GERS escorted Verona to chair and al
lowed her to be free and unrestrained.
She instantly dashed across the room,
and before they could stop her pitched
into DIR. Cochran, whom she took for
Judge Shaw, and cuffed him on both
sides of the head and slapped his lace
1t was not very comfortable, but the
Doctor took it very coolly. She was re-
captured and brought back to her seat,
and when informed that she had tackled
the wrong man, she apologized, and sale
that she could not be expected to know
all these new Judges that they had beer
putting on the bench.
The witnesses were Miss Walsh, the
kind landlady who had been supporting
Verona for several months without {
cent of pay, and who offered to continu'
to take care of her if she would refrail
from violent conduct; Mrs. Dillinghan
and Mrs. Watson. The latter lad
I1ro,ro.i.f Ao -,