New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-03-22
MISS POTTS HAD BEENMARRIED
CARLYLE W. HARRIS HER HUSBAND
THE DEATH OF STUDENT AT THE CoMsio'h
SCHOOL RECALLED.

n
SCHOOL. RECALLED.
,o, ,,c,+ has bccn cast on the death Of Miss Helen
Nelson Potts at the Comstock school lot io"ns
Ladies in West Foreth-st., on February l, oy lae'S
that have jus; been made public. 1t has oeeh us
closed that CARLYLE W. Harris. the young ihcu''"i
student who prescribed morphine 1or the !o""7
woman, was her husband and her parents seem "
believe that he had more to 90 WIN hei uo''" '
no is willing 10 admit Miss Potts was the daughter
of Gcorre Potts of ocean Grove y. d. and entered
the Comstocl1 school in September last she h@h
known Harris since 1850, in the summer Oh "'no'
wear he lived in the house adjoining her ho'lc III
Ocean Grove While they had been togeUer iot
little none of their acquaintance suSpcctcu tV 'cS
were more than good friends. When Miss Pot'S came
~ This CITY TO attend school last fall Harris also came
n finish his studies at the College of physicians anu
Surgeons and he visited her regularly.
Last January Miss Potts complained OF having
headaches and of being unable to sleep she siu
that her friend had prescribed for her. ana that Me
mills relieved her pain and cured her insomnia. On
January 60 lie gave her four pills which had beeh
nreparcd by Even Mcintyre q Sons, druggists al
Flfty-sixth-st and Sixth-avc Each contained onesxt
of a grain Of morphine. Two days later Harris Weh'
TO Old Point Comfort on a visit MISS PortS uooh 'no
last of the pills saturday evening, January 3l ana
went 10 bed She was found in a stupoT few hours
later and died at IL a. m the next ddy III eP0 Vi MI
efforts to save her life
The Coroner's jury February o. decided that she
came to her death from opium poisoning but bIaiheu
no one. 1t was thought that the small quantity OF
morphine which she took was fatal because OF somo
constitutional weakness
The young woman's mother had learned last August
that her daughter and Harris had been married by
| Alderman Rinokhof February S, $780, Miss fots
haviu. given her name Helen Nelson. In August
the young woman. who was only Nineteen became Ill
The girl then told Of her marriage with Hafris ana
| said that he hsL performed criminal operation on
| her DR.. G. W. Trcveron, of Scranton, Penn, has
made an affidavit that he examined the young woman
who WIS his niece I'm July $780, when She WIS visiting
| him. and learned that several operations had been
| performed on her.
| Mrs, Potts did not wish to have her husband know
Of the secret marriage she consented to say not
ing about it to any one. Harris promised to have
| a minister marry him and his wife over again this
| spring when he should have finished his studies
When Mrs. Harris died her mother Informed Mr. Potts
| Of the secret marriage.
| Harris who lives at No. 90 East seventeenth
ST. with his grandfather Dr. benjamin W. McCready.
called on lct-Attorney NcO yesterday. in com
panv with his aunt and said that he would give him
self up whenever he was wanted. lie denied that he
| had had anything to do with his wifcs death cx'
cept 10 give her the pills which ordinarily would have
| been harmless lie believed that these might have
caused death in anomalous instances If several were
| taken at one time
Harris admitted his marriage to Miss Potts to Mr.
NicOll but denied that he had performed any opera
ton on her This had been done, he said. by her
uncle, DR.. Trcverton without his knowledge and after
he had strongly advised against II. Harris denied
that he though. Of marrying another woman or had
made love to after being welded TO Miss Potts
1t has been suggested that this might have furnished
a motive for desire to be rid Of his wife
Mr. Nic0l will lay the aidavits of the mother and
uncle Of the dead young woman before the Grand
| Jury tomorrow. He did not detain Harris nc
charge had been brought against him.
| Tie potts family kept their information secret
until about week ago. when Mr. Potts tried TO have
Young Harris expelled from the College OF Physicians
and Surgeons account Of his actions with regard "a
Miss Potts II to supply evidence % the faculty
that Mrs. Potts and Dr. AevcrtOn drew up their
| afidavlts.