Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-07-16
Horse Stealing. Murder and Arson
are Charged Against a Young
Wife.
Within Three Months She Married a
Farmer, Burned His House and
Roasted His Son.
While the Fire Was Raging She
Gazed Calmly Upon the Desperate
Work.

n. Y, who, if all the charges against her
are true. is the incarnation of viciousness
and depravity. She Is under arrest for horse
stealing, but will be charged with arson
and murder Within three months she IS
said to have married an old farmer,
burned down his house, mill and barn.
roasted his weak-mined son to death in
one OF her fires and wound I'D by run.
ming away with a Newburg livery team
and surrey, and trading them for other
horses and a wagon in the Shwangunk
mountains The girl was arrested in
Newburg on a charge Of grand larceny on
complaint of Won Whitbeck, a Broad way
hveryman, and she then gave the name of
Jennie Williamson. The complainant
charges that the girl had stolen fine
team of horses and an old blackboard wag-
on In her cell at the police STA
ton she had acted wildly at times, and
tore up her white apron and hosiery in
what seemed to be a frenzy of insanity.
Early one morning, however, a white
haired and bearded farmer, sixty
five years Of age, appeared at the
police station. And he asked to see the
female horse thief, and as soon as he saw
her exclaimed, Eyes, that's her; that's my
wife. The old man then told his story.
He said his name was Paul Halliday. and
that he lived on his farm, near Burling-
nam, Sullivan county, twenty-five miles
west OF Newburg. He said that three
months ago he visited the intelligence
office of Mrs. J. B. Smith, in this CITY,
and while there hired as a domestic and
took home with him young girl named
Lizzie Brown, who said she came from
Ireland SIX weeks before. The old man
added that Lizzie was a good worker, but
that after she had been with him few
days he concluded that it would be cheap
er to marry the woman than to continue
paying her forty dollars a month for her
services. He had therefore proposed to
her, was accepted and they were married
next day by Methodist minister at Mo
dletown. Farmer Halliday said that
things went along rather smoothly for a
week or so, and then he discovered that
his wife had violent temper. About that
time he also made another discovery, it
was that Lizzies aad a double crown.
When he spoke to her about 1t she
said:
Yes, that's so, and so did Napoleon
Bonaparte have a double crown to his
head" He reminded her that Napoleon
had met his Waterloo. and that she would
probably meet. hers if she didn't cease her
violent, ebullitions of temper and give Hill
some peace. On May I'd the old man drove
to Mlddletown ON business, leaving Lizzie
at home with his son John. The latter
was thirty-seven years old and half-w itted.
When he returned home in the evening.
Halliday found his little house mass of
smoking ruins. Ii had been burned down
during the day. lizzie coolly informed her
husband that his son John had been burn
ed to a crisp in the ruins, and this was
found to be the case. He had gone into
the house, SO she said, to save her from
the fire, and had been unable to escape
while she had succeeded in getting out
The old man with tears in MS eyes told me
that he had to believe his wife had set fire
to the house in his absence after she had
first locked John Halliday up in room
from which be had been unable to escape
In support of this belief he said the door of
this particular room and the woodwork
that surrounded it were not so badly burn
ed but that he found that the door was
still locked. The key be found in the pos
session of his wife. He, however, contin-
ued to live with her. On May 26 the old
mans barn and mill were DESTROYED by
fire.
Lizzie afterward admitted to him that
she had started the fire, as the barn was
an old one and she wanted to see a new
one erected Ill its place. She claimed TO
have 81, 900 on deposit in the Newburg
savings ba0k, and wanted her
husband to come to the city with her aud
get 1t to use I'D putting up new barn and
house. lie had delayed coming, but later
the couple drove to Newburg and remain
ed there over night at Mr.. J. B. Smiths
residence. He claimed that during the
night his loving wife had stolen $51 from
his pocket. He drove home the next morn
ing before he missed the money, his wife
remaining here to finish up her business.
Halliday claimed that he ascertained that
Lizzie had been at Walker Valley, two
miles from his home, and there had trad
ed a good horse with Jim Scott and an
other one and a surrey with a man named
Wyatt, receiving much more common
horses, money and an old buck board wagon
in exchange. Wyatt, he SAID, was mem
Der of the Wyatt family, two or three
of whose members had been sent to Sing
Sing prison several years ago. They be-
longed to the gang of Shawangunk noun
tain robbers. He telephoned these facts
to Newburg and his statement led to the
arrest of his wife who had given the name
OF Jennie Williamson. There was a
strange young man with the woman shol t.
ly before she was arrested by policemen
Powers and McCracken, but he was not
captured. When Recorder McCroskery
called the case of the girl she stood in
front of the bar. She appeared to
be twenty-five years old, and was
commonly clad. Her long, white
hair hung over her face, and there was
wild look in her eyes. She had soma
pieces of her white apron in her hands and
occasionally tore them still finer and with
the pieces CAREFUL wiped imaginary dust
from the bar in front of her. When the
girls eyes rested upon Mr. Halliday she
gave him whitening look. She would
not answer any questions put to her by the
and would occasionally shrek
out, Take her away the old block
never liked herl" Then Mr.. Halliday
stepped forward and addressed his wife.
She failed to notice him at all. The old
man next remarked to the recorder that
the girl was shaming insanity; that she
was perfectly sane, and that she hoped by
her present actions to obtain immunity
for her crimes. He then wanted to secure
a warrant against the prisoner on the
charge of arson, for burning his house and
other property. and also talked of making
a more serious charge against her-that of
murder He was advised, however. to
take those proceedings nearer where those
crimes were alleged to have been commit
ted. The girls name was now on the
court calendar as Mrs. Paul Halliday.
Her case was finally adjourned for a few
days, and she was then remanded to jail. |
Then she acted wildly. DR.. Han
more, the jail physician, examined !
into the mental condition of the woman