The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-09-24
THE VILLAGE BELLE.
The Early History of Eva Ray
Hamilton.
HER TEMPER WAS ALWAYS BAD.
Her Dreams of the World-Their First Realiza-
tion-The Man Who Betrayed Her
A Career of Crime.

Eva Ray Hamilton is told for the first time
in the World to-day. The woman was born
in May, 1850, in Northern Pennsylvania.
1t was in a log house in Bradford county,
on the banks of the Susquehanna river and
a station On the line of the Lehigh Valley
railroad. Her father, who is still living,
and old as he is, is the terror of the village
when drunk, is named William Steele; her
mothers name is Lydia A. Steele. AT the
time of the child's birth her father was en-
gagged as wood chopper and bark peeler in
the wilderness. The babe was named
Eva Lydia Steele. There was no christen-
ing. because the Steele's ''didn't believe in
such tom foolery."
The family consisted of the father and
mother and six children. Eva was just
like the rest of the children in the camp.
For three years the child appeared to be
stupid enough. She had one half-witted
brother and the folks about the village
thought that Eva wasn't going to be
bright" Entering her thirteenth year
Eva seemed to brighten up with great sud
denness. She developed a knowledge of
human vices and follies beyond her years,
and astonished her friends at times with
shrewd conclusions. The outside world
was vast fairyland to the girl. She had
never been ten miles from home and her
imaginings of what life in the great cities
was like she framed in words and kept
her companions interested for hours.
At the age of fifteen the freckle-faced,
lanky child had developed into an astonish-
ingly graceful woman, symmetrical from
her high instep to her well poised head.
And it did not take her long to discover
that her charms were the envy of her less
fortunate sisters and the admiration of the
rough miners of the town. With her physi-
cal development grew mental fungus,
violent unreasoning temper. When in one
of these frenzied moods Eva Steele was the
terror of the town, young as she was. One
MAY there came handsome commercial
traveller from WilliamspOrt. He saw the
village belle, and being the first man from
that fairyland of which she had dreamed so
often, captured Eva's heart without half
trying Perhaps she had been virtuous
girl until then. With the salesman she
fed to Oswego, where she remained for
four days and was then deserted. Her
mother said to a correspondent, Il never
knew a better behaved girl than Eva was
while she was at home.n
After her betrayal and desertion the
usual result followed. She entered house
.of illfame, and, perhaps stung by the
knowledge that she had been conquered
and then scorned, gave her fiery temper
full play This ended in being driven into
the street With few dollars she had in
her pockets, she made her way to Waverley,
n. Y and became an inmate of notorious
resort kept by Mrs. Washburn. Then she
sought refuge with a Nine. Meade in
South Waverley. A married man, and
prominent figure in that little town, be-
came infatuated with her. Refused a pc
cuniary favor by this lover who had been
drained dry, she shot at him. The bullet
narrowly missed his brain. 1t sliced off u
goodly portion of his left ear, however,
and his cries of murder" murder'',
brought half a dozen inmates who disarmed
the Infatuated creature before she could
fire a second shot. Then she was driven
forth again and her trunk was held for an
unpaid board bill. Eva had no notion of
leaving her effects behind, and she re
turned, battered down the door and de
manded her property. The landlady CAPT
tulated
From Waverley Eva returned to Der
nice, the home of her parents. There she
fell in with Walter Parsons, the twenty
year-old son of G.. A Parsons, Superinten-
dent of the Bernice coal company, of BOs-
ton. Her conquest was an immediate one
and two days later she ran off with him to
Elmira. The family of the young man heard
to bring him to a sense of shame, but with
out .avil. Then came a report that the
couple had been married. This set the
bows mother to work and the filial love
which had not been altogether smothered
brought him back to Bern:ce and alCne.
In the meantime Eva had. by some means
or other, managed to reach New York.
Her stay in the metropolis on this her first
visit was brief. She went to TOwando Pa, |
on1 ,uoc Stad thnre fOr. stealing n min.
of gold bracelets from a ieweler named
Eva appealed to Walter Par
sons, the young man mentioned above, who |
induced his father to compromise with the
jeweler and the scandal was hushed up. |
From that time until 1882, Eva went
from one small tewn to another living in
bagnios, until quarrel and an attempt to
shoot or cut would result in her dismissal
Her wretched temper seemed to decrease !
with her beauty.
The latter part of the year named found
her in Elmira. She was accompanied by !
pretty girl, who called herself Katie May |
Eva gave her surname as Parsons. The two
girls were extensively attired. The ad-
ventures had developed a strong liking for
liquor, ana many was the wild debauch in
that house with Eva as the central figure
and the slaves around her, men prominent
in business and politics in the county
A brother-in law of the proprietor of
big dry goods store in Ehnira met her one
day while she was shopping. Like q score |
Of others, he was iu5 antly smitteu. Eva |
nearly ruined him.
About this time the married lover, WHO |
had had piece OF his ear shot of, appeared !
Oh the scene and became ohtrusivc. He !
was tolerated while his money lasted. !
and then Eva shot at him again. |
Her aim this time was bad and the ball |
went wide of its mark. She had aimed a |
second time and was about to fire when |
she was disarmed by the proprietess of the !
place, who approached her from behind. 1t |
was then discovered that this female fury |
carried as an ornament in her hair q keen |
stiletJo. She tried to use it one day on one |
IF her frail sisters, and was given notice to |
cave with the young man who met her in |
The dry goods store. She came to this city |
and lived with him in apartments on East I
Thirty first street until her demands com
Delled him TO make an assignment for the |
benefit of his creditors; then ne was dis |
missed.
Following this came a iaison with an |
elderly New Yorker who lavished the most |
costly presents upon this hovel- born ad-
Fentur, SIS, and remained completely under |
her power until his home was broken up
md his wife died of broken heart
This completes the yet unWritten history |
If Eva Ray Hamilton. Her mother says |
hat she never sent her any of the large
sums OF money received from Hamilton.
Her mother adds that Eva has keptup a
correspondence with her since
eaving home, having written from New
York while she was in Europe, and from
california, but that no letter had been re-
eived since she left California.
physicians Acknowledge There is Less Deaf
ness.
New YORK, Sept. @. Physicians have