The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-12-17
A MOTHERS GREATLOVE
NoRcRoss, BEYOND QUESTION,
THREW THE FATAL BOM5.

Mrs. Norcross Kisses the Forehead of
| Her Dead Boy--A Pathetic Scene In the
New York Morgue The Statements
That Clear Up the Mystery.
New York, Dec. 18.-Never before in
the history Of the morgue has there
| been as sad a scene rs was witnessed
| there yesterday. The parents of Henry
| l.. Norcross, the Boston note broker.
identified the bomb thrower's head as
that of their son. Coroner Messemer
had charge Of the Identification and ac-
cepted it az complete. Previous to the
] visit to the morgue the coroner took the
sworn statements Of the bomb thrower's
| parents, and they will be used at the in
| quest, which will begin as soon as the
| expert jury can be summoned. In the
statements made the parents described
minutely the appearance of their son.
| how he was dressed, and also mentioned
| that Thursday, Dec. 3, was the last time
| they had seen him. He then said he
was going on a business trip, but failed
| to name any place They also swore to
the finding of letter in their sons
| office, the opening sentence Of which
follows:
DEAR MoTHER-l am going TO New
| York, today, to get Sl,aD,500. II successful, I
shall return. II not, shall kill myself.
They could not give the full contents
OF the letter, AS in accordance with a
wish expressed in it by their son, it had
been destroyed.
a Mothers Agony.
After the statement had been made,
| Mrs. NOrcrOss expressed desire to visit
the morgue as soon as possible. The
| coroner complied with her wish. and the
| party were driven to Bellevue hospital,
where they arrived shortly after
| o'clock. The warden ard his assistants
arranged the head so as to shock the
parents as little as possible. A cloth was
| placed about the neck, and the party
were then ushered into the warden's
| private Office. Mrs. Norcross was first
| shown the head. She identified it in the
| presence of Coroner MESSENGER. She
said positively:
This is my darling boy. Yes. yes, yes; poor
| Henry, poor Henry My poor, darling boy; he
| never meant TO do any harm. He surely did
| not mean TO do wrong. My own, my poor
| Henry; yes, yes, these are his teeth. know
| them. ! remember those under teeth and
| how proud he was Of them. And that tooth
| there; remember how II was separated. Yes,
| and his ears-how often | have looked ut
| them. And l remember his hair. That is
| Just the way he used to part it.
At this point the coroner asked the
mother if she positively identified the
| head. The sorrowing woman knelt
down on the hard floor of the hospital
office and laid her head upon the fore
head of her dead son. She was about to
kiss the forehead when some one gently
| drew her back. She turned and said,
almost fercely: RI wish l had come
here alone. l must kiss my boy.
A Pathetic Scene.
This Identification by Mrs. Norcross
makes it positive that the man who
threw the bomb was Henry l.. Norcross.
| With mothers instinct she recognized
| he who had been the idol Of her heart,
| and, losing sight Of the hideousness and
| responsiveness of the head in its present
condition, and seeing only in it the out
| lines Of one dearly beloved, she pressed
her lips to the forehead Of the dead man.
| None but the mother could have done
| that
Mr. Norcross also closely examined
the head, and fully identified it rs that
| of his son.
The coroner is fully satisfied by the
| Identification Of the bomb thrower's
head as that Of Henry L. Norcross. of
Boston, by his parents.
Peculiar Amdavit.
| Mrs. Norcross made a peculiar afIi-
| davit, in which she said:
My son was always mild hammered. am
positive that he never had any bad feelings
| toward Russell Sage. He advocated limita-
| tion OF wealth, saying that no man should be-
| permitted to accumulate an immense amount
| OF wealth. He had such clear gray eyes. He
| never drank, smoked or Chewed. He was
| regular In his habits. He was Free Thinker,
| hOwpVpr and hPliaVpd in M haraaftar
| gambled, did not like cards, was always home
| at nights, was retiring but quite firm, and was
| very determined and nfexible when he made
| up his mind. He never led me TO believe that
| he contemplated violence toward others or
| himself He always seemed to admire Russell
Sage as a brainy man, and he thought he had
| earned his money more honestly than some
millionaires. never knew him to handle ex-
| plosives, and It is a great mystery to me how
| he learned so much about them.
Statements That Clear Up tn Mystery.
Mr.. and Mrs. Norcross call ed at the
coroners office to get their sons effects.
Word has been sent to the family under
taker in Boston, who will employ an
undertaken in this city to have the re-
mains shipped: 1t is understood that
the parents will have the head and re-
mains cremated when they reach home.
The effects were shown to the parents Of
the unfortunate man by the coroner.
Mrs. Norcross instantly identified the
gloves and pocketbook. The white
handkerchief she was also positive
about. She carefully examined the
pieces Of clothing and was positive that
they belonged to her son. Mrs. Nor
cross swore to the remarks she made to
the coroner and the statement went on
file as her affidavit that the remains
were those OF her son.
The father, James E. Norcross, also
swore that the remains were his sons.
He described his sons head, teeth, ETC.,
in his statement, and gave number of
identifying marks by which he was
positive the dynamiter was his son.
The father described himself as book
keeper for George A. Lawyer, Quincy
Market, Boston.
George D. Whiting, of Lexington.
Mass, also swore to his recognition Of
the head by its general appearance,
The coroner empanelled jury. They
viewed tho remains of the dynamiter
and were then dismissed sine die. The
inquest will not be held until the micro
scopic examination of the brain is COM
pleted.
| Campaign of Education.
~