The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-09-18
BULLETS In A Church.
Baker Possei1 Shoots at His
Son at the Marriage
Altar.
ON ACCOUNT OF RELIGION.
The Son Insisted Upon Becoming q
Catholic and the Father OBJ
jected with a Revolver.


Henry Posseil, baker doing business
on Monticello avenue, near Emory street,
and living at No. Is Yale avenue, at
tempted to shoot his son Albert in st.
Patrick's Church, at Ocean avenue and
Grand street yesterday afternoon as the
young man was about to be married.
Albert Posseil is about twenty-five
years of age, and has for some wears been
employed as deck hand on the Pennsyl-
vaD1a ferries He is at present the
Courtland street boat, New Jersey. Last
spring he met young lady named Mary
I1erney, who lives with her parents at
No. 179 Clendenny avenue
After while their friendship rfpened
into love and they became engaged to be
married. Mary was Catholic and an
Young Posseil was Protestant and wor-
shipped with his father at Pastor An
dreae's ST. Johns Evangelical Lutheran
Church on Fairview avenue.
In order to marry Mary he expressed
willingness to embrace the Catholic
religion and the Rev. Father Macdonald,
assistant to Father Hennessey, of st.
Patrick's, undertook to prepare him for
his admission to that faith
When the elder Possell heard of this he
became exceedingly angry and endeav-
0red by every means in his power to per-
suade his son from becoming convert to
the Catholic religion. But all his en-
treaties and threats were in vain. Albert
was determined to marry Miss Tierney
and to change his religion.
ALBERT BECOMES CATHOLIC.
Before the marriage ceremony could De
performed it was necessary for the young
man TO be baptised and received into the
Church. Yesterday afternoon was fixed
for these ceremonies. and at five o'clock
Albert and Mary. Mrs Tierney, her son
John. Misses Louise and Mary Pender-
CAST and Minnie Gilfoyle and several 9TH
ers were in the church.
The party had hardly seated themselves
when the elder POsseil entered the church
and hurrying up the centre aisle took a
seat near the altar: At about the
sa sheehan. ' one a'aY' of the SAnass ASSISTANT
priests came out of the vestry and ad-
vanced toward the altar rail. Young
Posseil and Miss Tierney and their friends
left their seats, and approached the altar.
AS they did so the elder Posseil sprang to
his feet and excitedly cxclaimed:-
Il forbid the solemnization of this
marriage
Every one started and gazed at the man.
He was visible. excited and his eyes
flashed forth angrily.
Upon what groundss" asked Father
Sheehan. quietly.
.'The young man is not of age.n shouted
back the angry father. drawing near to
the altar rail.
7 am Of age; am twenry-two years
old. said Albert.
The father denied that that was SO. and
Father Sneehan, wishing to avoid an un-
seemly disturbance in the church, sug-
gested to the elder Posseil that they go
into the clergy house and talk the matter
over.
A RICOCHET SHOT.
The priest then walked across the
"a RI init ia
while the bridal party walked in the
same direction on the other side of the
altar rail.
just as the group was passing the altar
of St Joseph the excited baker drew
thirty-two calibre young American bull
dog revolver from his pocket and aiming
at his son fired.
The bullet missed its mark and struck
the rail, chipping out a small piece of the
polished oak. 1t then glanced upward
| and passed through the first handsomely
stained glass window from the altar
which looks out upon Bramhall avenue.
immediately there was wild scene OF
confusion. The women screamed and
started back with blanched faces, while
the bride tainted into the arms OF her
mother
For a moment Father Sheehan and
young Posseil stood motionless with sur
prise, but the click of the hammer as the
irate father cooked the weapon for a Sec
ond shot aroused them to action
FATHER sHEEHAN'S HEROIC ACT.
They both threw themselves upon the
elder Posseil and struggled with him for
possession of the pistol In the
struggle Father Sheehan succeed
| ed in grasping the hammer
| of the revolver in his hand and when
the elder Posseil pressed the trigger
down upon the feshy part of
| the priests hand between the
thumb and forefinger, badly lacerating
| the flesh. This act evidently saved
some ones life, for had the angry
man succeeded IN discharging the
weapon second time he would undoubt-
| edly have hit some one in the throng
| which crowded around the struggling
| men.
| Young Posseil succeeded in wrenching
| the revolver from his father and threw 1t
| over the altar rail, where it was subse-
| quently found by Detective Hottie.
The elder Posseil was then released and
permitted to leave the church. The ex-
| citement soon quieted down, and young
| Posseil was received into the church and
| then the marriage ceremony was per-
| formed The bridal party then went to
! the brida's home, where festivities were
kept up until late hour as though the
marriage had been attended with no un-
| usual incidents.
| In the meantime the police had been
not1ted OIL PoSSe1IS dolngS and Detective
Hottie and several policemen of Captain
| John Smiths command were detailed to
arrest him. They had not found him
! up to noon today.
| THE FATHER ATTEMPTS SUICIDE.
| After leaving the church the elder Pos
| sell went down to the canal and jumped
| in. He was rescued by two of his journey
men and then wandered off. The police
are guarding his house and looking for
him. They do not believe he has made
away with himself.
| Albert Posseil said this morning that
| he would prosecute his father if ha
| is caught. Mrs. Posseil was
seen at her mothers home this morning
she is pretty brunette, with full
round fignre. and appeared none the
| worse for her exciting experience of yes
I terday.
| She said that her husbands father was
4 opposed to her because she is a Catholic.
| Mrs. Tierney, her mother, interposed
| the opinion that he shot at his son be-
cause 1.-THE bad is in him." None
| of the family believe that he is
4 insane, but attribute his action to his
/ temper. 1t is said that the Elder Posseii
| illused his younger son about a year to
| such an extent that the boy ran away.
A lady named Meyer, living on Monti.
/ cello avenue, harbored the boy. aud
| when Posseil found it out he abused the
] il dr ch ornafr, tlv and aqqa4Iltad her