Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-22
A MARVELLOUS CHANGE.
A Jersey City Woman Who was Once Black
 Is Now a Pure White.

Is Now a Pure White.
 full white negro or Indian woman has been discovered in Jersey City. She called at the City hospital with a negro boy, who had been playing in the street and had fallen and sprained his shoulder. She was fine looking woman, aud was very we'll dressed. Her skin was white and her complexion was perfect The boy was dressed in ragged clothes, and his face was very black. Warden Osborn asked her whether she employed the boy She said, "Oh no, he is my grandson"
 This aroused the wardens curiosity, and he asked, "How is it that you are white and he is blackg'
 "Indeed, I'm no white trash" she replied. "Im an honest colored woman, I am."
 "Your hair is straight" said the warden. The woman took down her hair and showed that it was kinky. She tlid her name was Mrs. Sisco and her husband was black. She was black herself eighteen years ago, she said, and had been gradually turning white until a year ago, when the last trace of black disappeared from her body. She had not been sick day, she said. She took her grandson home with her after his shoulder was dressed.
 A Sun reporter called on her last night He found her just as Warden Osborn des- cribed, a fine looking, well built woman, with negro accent, kinky hair, negro chill dren, negro husband, but with skin as white as any white woman ever had. She said she was full blooded Indian. Her father was a Hoosac and her mother Mohawk. She was born in this state and lived on Mulberry street in this city until 1881, when she first began to turn white. Then she moved to Jersey City. She was as dark as colored people ill general are, she said, when she married Sam Sisco, negro. In 1861 a white spot appeared on her chin, and after being there a month it itdisappeared. In 1866 several white spots appeared on her neck, but they also disappeared In 1873 another spot ap- peared on her chin, and it stayed there. Other spots appeared on her neck and body. These spots kept getting larger, until her whole face and the upper part of her body turned white. Finally, about a year ago, the last black spot on her body disappeared, and since then there has not been a blemish on her skin.
 In all that time she had only been sick twice, she said. Once she had a cancer, and the other time she had trouble with her lungs. She had never had doctor give her anything for her skin. She had had three children (all of them were with her while she was talking). They are all black, and their children are black, too Mrs. Sisco said she was 55 years old, as near as she could remember. Her daughter, who Is 2l, said she could remember when her mother was black woman. ''She's got awful pale lately, though" she added.
 Mir. Sisco said that when he married his wife she was as black as he was He didn't know what had turned her white. It didn't seem to interest him much. Dr. Pyle, who has attended the family for fifteen years, said he remembered when he first called on her. It was for trouble with her lungs. She was black then. A little while afterward white spot appeared on her upper lip. It was round, but it gradually spread, until it looked like an irregular patch of white skin. Other spots appeared on her throat and breasts, and they continually spread until they ran into each other. Finally one hand turned completely white, and the entire arm followed.
 By this time nearly all of her face had turned white. There were no eruptions on her skin, he said; the white skin was no coarser or thicker than the black. If any, thing, the white part was softer to the touch. About a year ago, he thought, the last black spot disappeared and she was perfectly white. She always had good health, he said, except for slight lung trouble and a cancer. She asked him to prescribe for her to stop the change in the color of her skin, but as she was not inconvenienced at all by it he did not do it. He thought it was merely the dis appearance of the coloring matter of the skin. Such cases were rare. He had never heard of case before where the whole body changed color. Both Mrs. Sisco and her hus- band are in excellent general health.-New York Sum-