Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-06-07
OLD JANE JUL.
Remarkable Story of Travelling Va
grant.


Woodland Mail, June 5th.l
"Old Jane JUL, the Midnight Spectre"
as she is called, who was run out of Wood
land by the officers Monday, has very
strange history. Her name is not Jane
Jull-it is Catherine Warner, and she is a
relative of H. H. Warner, the patent medi-
cine man of Rochester, n. Y. The woman
comes from the South, where other mem
bers of her family live upon the remnants
of shattered fortune. The woman is 81
years of age, and for thirty years she has
been a wanderer, homeless and nameless
In 1857 there lived in one of the central
counties of Georgia the family of Warner,
consisting of father, mother, son and two
daughters. The eldest of these was Cath
crime. When she had reached the age of
20 years she was married to planter by
the name of Cornwall. For a year she
lived with her husband in blissful, indo-
lent contentment. no troubles fitting over
the serene sky of her life, and no sound
harsher than the song of the mocking bird
disturbing her dreams. One day there
came, like ray of summer light, little
visitor to the house of Cornwall The
father was away, but il the evening he re-
turned and then there was scene of quiet
rejoicing in the stately mansion. Two
weeks passed, and cloud seemed to settle
upon the household. The father went
about with dark, suspicious look on his
face, and the nurses and servants were in
a state Of dread. Finally the storm broke.
Cornwall sent for the parents of his bride
and told them they must care for her aud
her child in future, for his supposed heir
unmistakably had negro blood in its veins,
and the thick lips and woody hair Of the
infant, he coldly said, were eloquent of his
wites intdelity. In vain poor Catherine
pleaded. In vain her mother shrieked and
wept Cornwall was firm, and old Warner,
pale and ghastly as deatt, sided with him
and said his daughter should never again
enter his door. She was sent forth a wan
derer and her child was given to female
slave.
Catherine Warner went to New Orleans,
and in that city of gilded wickedness was
soon lost to her former self. Among the
sirens of the New Paris she soon figured as
leader, and was not unknown on the
great river steamers, where time and again
she assisted to rob unsuspecung travellers.
In 1868 old Warner died, following close
upon the footsteps OF his wife, son and
child, who had succumbed TO some destroy
ing disease. On his deathbed old Warner
sent for d Notary and had him take down
| in writing the fact that negro blood was in
his veins and negro cunning was in his
brain. His daughter Catherine had been
true to her husband, but the unholy secret
of he grandfather had been revealed in
| his daughters child. Fearful of losing So
cial caste if he confessed that it was his
blood and not the honor of his daughter
which was tarnishe3 he allowed her 10 be
| reviled and spat upon and driven from her
home to ruin. After this confession had
been taken, an effort was made TO find and
save Catherine. Her former husband (he
had early secured divorce) was appealed
to, and he found her at Baton Rouge, but
she had fallen too low, and he left her in
her living grave of sin. From thst time
! to this she has wandered all over the
| United States. To-day she may be in San
Francisco and the next day in Savannah.
How she travels no one knows, but she
never seems embarrassed for q way to leave
or reach a town. When in a city or town
she may always be found in the neighbor-
hood of houses of ill-fame, and here il was
the Woodland officers found her on San-
| day night. On Monday she left for the
| north. and within week may be heard OF
: in Victoria or Chicago.