The sun., 1889-12-07
DETECTIVES SCENT GUILT.
THE MAMIE HUGHES CASE BRINGS
Up THE RAILWAY MYSTERY.
Ths Girl's Story OF Detention and Forced
Marriage and or - Strange Confession |
lTAAo 20 Her hH Ono OF tho RrnnN Enrnllr.

Marriage and or - Strange Confession
Made to Her by One OF the Froat Family.
On the morning Of March 90, 1887, a come
". fresh-complexioned girl. with light blue
eyes and wayy brown hair. was found dead
with her throat cut on the outskirts OF Rah-
way. That was the beginning OF the great
Railway murder mystery. She was never iden-
titled. Scores OF clues turned up but all
proved fruitless. During all the investigation
and clue hunting that followed the suspicions
attaching to the Froat family OF Railway were
regarded as most siRnifcant. The Froats. or
Fouratts, were q family Of poor people, who
lived in q small house within 500 yards OF
where the body OF the dead girl was found.
None OF them over went to look at the girls
body. although hundreds OF their neighbors
did. Neither did any OF the Froats visit the
body at the Railway morRue.
It was found out that few days before the
murder the Froats had had strange girl stay
ing with them. This girl wns proved to be-
Irish. She had recently arrived in this
country, and her name was Nancy. The de-
tectives found her still alive. Nevertheless.
public sentiment in Railway set very strongly
against the Froat family; and few months
after the murder the family moved away from
Railway to Elizabeth, aud finally they dis
appeared from Elizabeth. Throughout the
northern part OF Now Jersey there are several
families like the Froats, all inter-married.
Around Halfway. Elizabeth. New Brunswick,
and the Amboys arc scores OF separate
families OF the Froats, or Fouratts, Sodens,
and Keeches. All OF these form sot In Now
Jersey. The nolice give some Of them Door
character rs regards morality. aud say thov
are lazy, shiftless, and generally reputed to be
criminal.
On Thursday John Fouratt and his WIFE and
III fhAfr H. l.
shanty In the woods between New Brunswick
and Railway, were held in 81 800 bail by Jus
tice Ford OF New Brunswick for abducting and
OBTAINING for five weeks Mamie Hughes, the
16-year-old daughter OF Richard Hughes the
proprietor OF o laundry and carpet cleaning
works In New Brunswick. The circumstances
developed in the case OF Mamie Hughes are
significant as bearing upon the Railway muir
der. 1t cannot be said that anything yet ia
proved, but. all things taken together. and the
whole history OF the Railway case reviewed, the
facts Just discovered are deserving OF further
investigation. These are the facts discovered:
/. 1t seems to be common thing for differ
ent families Of Froats. or Fouratts, to detain or
to persuade to remain among them young
women whom they chance to find. and for these
young women to be taken from one family to
another.
9. William Fouratt, one Of those concerned In
the alleged abduction OF Mamie Hughes. told
the girl (accordinR to her story that in the
spring two years ago he met young German
girl. wearing black fur cape and carrying q
black satchel. ON a road near his fathers house.
took her to the house and kept her there two
out to go % to party The two two @ apaFreliod. the
girl ran away, and Fouratt said shat that was
s. This girl as described by Fouratt. bears
general resemblance to the girl found mur-
aered at Railway. Tho murder took place in
before the murder there was q party held by
the Sodens. Keeches. and Fouratts or Froats. at
Froat's house Is eight miles % away from that Of
bis New Brunswick relatives.
n lam HTs6ss her
yss @ p hs ESSS to s oeosf n ,Sd
was to take the train at stelton, the first sta
Brunswick. and she started to walk there.
distance from her home Of couple OF miles.
started for tho house . Of Asher FleminG, who who
lived not great way ofi and With whose
the r I Resya she shS
shelter at the first house she came 20. II was
the the house Of the Fopratts; She says that the
liam Fourstt he + 81 years Old his @ issRsr "75,
and asked her to marry him. He told her not
to be afraid. as his father and himself had |
often n detained iS girls M there o,a vu,o
to her. according to her story, Il met q young
German emiGra1t girl travelling alone towards
q black satcheL 1 took her home and kept her |
for two weeks. One night we started TO go to
q. party; and @ on the way We quarrelled and she
Mamie Hughes says that, William Fouratt
heT this sSe SsEe5 II S H b1 to her
ever heard Of the girl again and pressed him
about the matter he became very angry and
tho thing again. Mamie says she refused to
marry William. and that the o9 man Proat
to the house OF his other son. james. at Key
terville Staten Island, and that there she was
forced to marry William, ministerr, named
ths! old Mr.. FSuratt tried to assault her her While
taking her to Keyserville.
ef aSa %sS @u5
sSmployed. and finally Detective Gregory Of
sT PFrpswk ae sS Vent tSsfs Of and P' bea s
NJ sSs Grse@Ty 5roasht Mamie Hue6iss M lies bone
talking oyer the girls adventures with her
parents. old Mrs. Fouratt. her son William, and
pear the house in wagon drawn by sick cd
horse, Without waiting for the lormality Of
%hoe pay and teoR hem nto M
Hughes's house. Then another pitiful history
S be Kas nhs Ff IN 10 the Years T"sI9G S9
isaad sEs $aSE s VIII % vhsn t&s
tectIes arrested the Fouratts She said she
had been hired in Keyseryille to come and
work for the Fouratts, near New Brunsgick, not
knowing who these people were. While at the
Fouratts William Fouratt tried to, get the girl to
marry him. and also endeayored to- ruin her.
The girl was treated Just like Mamie Hughes.
was closely guarded, and never allowed to
leave the house save in the company OF one Of
The Fouratts. Both the girls statements were
Iaken down later by sJustice Ford OF New
Brunswick. and the Justice held all the Fou-
believe that Mamie Hughes's story Is to be
trusted though her tale about being forclbly
detained there five weeks and travelling around
some ISme q the time may seem improbableH have
where Confederation is possible. have found
HAT three other, girls have been detained at the
touratt hut in tho woods in this same way, and
.hat they were taken about from PLACE TO place.
trom tn,ia one family to another Many ot the Fou-
And they all live lust about as these Fourntts
40. There IL no reason to doubt the girls
story as to- the German emigrant girl Tho
fouratts admit there was such girl Manic
Hughes. am sure did not know enough about
me Railway murder case TO describe, the, cos