Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-09-15
A RUINED MAIDEN.
Unsophisticated Girl Trapped
Into a Bogus Marriage.
HERSTORY OF THE CEREMONY.
No License was Issued in Clay County,
and Mr.. Johns Had Not Performed
the Ceremony-The Pseudo
Husband Lodged in Jail.

| Another case in which the credulity of an
unsophisticated country girl was imposed
! upon. came to light yesterday IN Fort
! Worth. The case is one where young
| lady, probably twenty Years OF age. was en-
| trapped INTO bogus marriage. Inc prlncl-
| pals in the affair are Miss Mary Jordan OF
| Wichita Falls and W. h. Mudd, q neWs-Ten-
! der on the Fort Worth and Denver road.
| Some time since Miss Jordan was a passen-
! ger on the Denver road and through some
| means made the acquaintance OF Mudd:
| The latter being a smooth talkef ana OF
| good address soon ngratiated himself INTO
| the good graces of MISS Jordan, the victim
| of the mock marriage. Before she left the
| train it had been agreed that i correspond
| ence should be kept up between them.
| This had been carried on, unknown to the
| parents of.thc young lady, from last January
| until about September l. y day or TWO be-
| fore then Miss Jordan left home and went
| to Henrietta, arriving there September l.
| Here she WAS met by Mudd and the two
| proceeded as she sad. TO the house
! of Mr. Johnson. four miles and half
| from Henrietta. Gu the way TO the place,
| and near the courthouse. the services of
! man purporting to be Rev. Mr.. Johns of
| Henrietta was secured to perform the
marriage The alleged minister reached
the countryman'S house on horseback. The
! Young lady described him us having long
| burnsides and being about five feet TWO
! inches in heighth, while the Rev. Johns of
Henrietta answers no such description.
| After the ceremony had been performed
| Miss Jordan returned home, and while here
received two or three letters from Mudd,
addressing her rs his wife. These letters
Miss Jordan says she showed to her parents
and told them of her marriage. but they re-
fused to believe her and thought she was
Joking Fouror five days ago she left home
and came to Fort Worth in company with
Nudd. who took her to The residence of Cal
houn Bell, on Sixth and Calhoun streets.
Here she has remained since arriving IN the
city. When the young lady failed to return
home ner parents at once gave credence
to the story which their daughter
had told them and her father W. s. Jordan,
Immediately began an investigation. Miss
Jordan had told all the circumstances of
her marriage when il had taken place, by
whom performed. and everything connected
with the unfortunate affair, 50 that her
father mad i good foundation upon which TO
begin his Investigation. He went TO the
county clerk of Clay county and found that
40 marriage license had ever been issued to
W X Mudd and Mary Jordan, procuring l
written statement to this effect He also
went to the Rev. Mr. Johns and WAS as
Sured by that gentleman that he had per-
formed no such ceremony for parties bear
ING the names mentioned. nor had lately
visited any place III the country to perform
q marriage ceremony Armed with these
facts Mr.. Jordan caused Mudd To be AZ |
rested ana lodged in the Henrietta Jail the
next time he came up Inc Denver. He then |
started out 10 find his daughter and rescue |
her from the man whom he thinks has |
grossly deceived his daughter. He arrived |
III the city Sunday and laid the case before |
Chief Maddox, who immediately put the |
facts in the hands OF the police force with |
instructions to keep a sharp lookout for the |
young lady and lind out. If possible, |
where she was located Most Of Sunday |
night was spent in the search, but no trace |,
WAS found of her till yesterday morning. Of |
ticer Sebe Maddox then went 10 the friends |
of Mudd here, Calhoun Bell and others, |
and told them that Nludd was in custody In !
Henrietta for this charge, and unless the |
young lady WAS produced the people there |
might take the law i'll their own hands and |
deal snmmarily with Mudd. They at once |
told where she was, and Officer Maddox |
went TO the house and accompanied her to
the city hall, where he was Joined by Chief |
Maddox and W. =. Jordan, the father of |
the young lady. Here the father and
daughter had Il long conversation, the |
former trying TO gain the consent of the
latter TO return home with him. This she
at first StubbornlE refused To do, and said |
she would never do 50, furthermore refuS-
ing to tell where her effects were. The |
father pleaded with his daughter and at
tempted to point out the facts which
seemed to show Enthusiastically that fraud
had been imposed upon her. but she still |
stuck to her determination of not returning
home The father was Obdurate. however,
and never lost patience in pleading with
her. She at last relented, and after Chief
Maddox had had a private talk with her
and held up TO light the character
of the man who claimed TO
have married her, promised to
return home to-day with her father.
re reporter for The GAZETTE Miss ,Jor-
/.
met AIudd. said: Il met Mr.. Mudd the
18th day of last January, between Wichita
Falls and Iowa Park liked him at first
sight and he seemed to be pleased
with me. Before we parted we agreed TO
correspond, and d clandestine correspond
emce has been kept up between us ever
since. was favorite child at home, and
my parents never liked for me to leave
home, but I used to do SO in opposition
to their wishes. | was on my
way to visit a friend when
l met the man who married me. The cere-
mony was performed at the house OF Mr.
Johnson, four miles from Henrietta, by
man whose name was Johns. don't know
whether or not he was 4 minister or 4
justice of the peace, but he mar
ried US and we returned to Henri
eta. | then went home to my
parents and told them what had done but
they disbelieved me even after had shown
written at Childress addressing Me rs his
wife. No, didn't see any license, but !
would swear before God and man that /
was married on the first day of September,
and TO the best of my knowledge
and belief ii was lawful marriage
Miss Jordan, the lady in the case, is a
tall. tine-looking young lady Of the blonde Il
type having gray eyes and light hair, and
when telling her story was visibly affected
several times giving way to tears.
w. X. Mudd, who is said to have married |
Miss Jordan, is a news dealer running on
the Fort Worth and Denver road between i
Fort Worth and Clarendon. He is low,
heayy-set man, and is said TO possess the
gift of CAB to u remarkable degree, havingsl
it is said been for four years a fakir
with 4 travelling show. He is well
known TO the officers and the
reputation they give him is anything but
savory, he having been arrested on Ape or
two different occasions. t7s.,zsj
W. 5. Jordan, the brother of the Mung
lady. is Il respectable citizen of Wichita
Falls, being now engaged Yin
the carpentering business. He is
man of probably forty-five years
of age He feels deeply the position in
which he and his family have been placedt
by the unfortunate occurrence. but sayssie n
viii push the case to the last extremity and
make the fellow pay the full penaltysss
LOTEi kPpNhtS