Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-11-27
IS A BAD OLD Man
Remarkable Career of a Penn.
sylyania Justice.
HIS GRIMES ARE NUMEROUS.
Latest Msdemeauor of E. B. Eollister, @
Well-Known Politician and Writer

Seventy Years of Age, and He Has Been
Indicted and Convicted for a Variety of
Outrages-To be Tried for burglary
The Lieutenant Governor His Nephew,
and Others of His Relatives Noted.
HoNEsDALE, Pa, Nov. PIE. B. Hol-
lister of Hollisterville, this county, near
the Lackawanna County line, who has
been for more than a quarter of CEN
fury Justice of the Peace in tina t
county, although during that time he
has been indicted for conspiracy, bur-
glary, arson, and assault with attempt
to kill, and was convicted once on a
charge of burglary and sentenced to
four years in the penitentiary, but es-
capped through legal technicality, has
just been indicted for burgl Try, this
time by the grand jury of Lackawanna
County, and will be tried at the next
term of court.
HOLSTER is 70 years old and belongs
to one of the most prominent families in
Wayne County. Lieutenant-Governor
w aires is nephew of his, and he has
for 80 years been conspicuous in the af-
fairs of his section OF the county. Dur
ing the war there were many mail and
express robberies and masked burglar
les in that locality, and it was openly
charged that Squire HOLSTER was the
organizer and leader of a gang that
committed these crimes.
In 1867 burglary committed in the
village of Waymart, ten miles from Hol-
listerville, was traced home to him, and
he was arrested and convicted The
case was carried to the Supreme Court,
where the judgment Of the Wayne
county court was reversed.
! In 1879 Squire Hollister, his brother
in-law, George Burns, who had returned
| to Hollisterville, W. A. Meyers, and a
| young girl named Fannie Van Gorder,
! were arrested charged with conspiracy,
arson, burglary and attempted murder
The charges against these parties were
made by Theodore H. Baker, a mer-
chant of Hollisterville Squire Hollis
+ ter owed Baker So 900, for which the
latter held mortgage on the former S
property. HOLSTER insisted on paying
it, and the day the money was paid Ba-
ker sent it to a Scranton bank. Thai
night fire broke out in a barn near
| Bakers, and Baker ran to it, leaving
| his wife and child at home. While he
| was gone a masked man entered tn
house, and aided by Fannie Van Gor1er
beat Mrs. Baker into Inconsistencies
and took the wallet which had contained
|
Baker said that she had recognized the
masked robber as George Burns.
Baker, following alleged clues, wa:
| satisfied that Squire HOLSTER had con
spired with Burns, Will Meyer, Fanny
Van Gorder, who was Meyers sweet
! heart to fire the barn. The four prison
! ers were tried at Honesdale, and to thu
| amazement of every one Miss Val
| Gorder and her lover were convicted
| and HOLSTER and his brother-in law
| Burns, were acquitted.
A few weeks ago a daring burglary
was committed in Dunmore, n suburb
| of Scranton. Officers were put to worl
on the case. and the clews they fount
led them to Hollisterville, and fin ally t.
the arrest of Squire HOLSTER, hi
brother Henchel, Charles Engel, AM
William Snow. Besides being a Justi c.
of the Peace and the political boss O
his township, Squire HoIlister is a witt
newspaper writer. His brother, DR.. H
H. Hollister, of Scranton, wrote tn
''History of the Lackawanna Valley,
His sister, Mrs. Watres, was poet o
more than ordinary merit, her produc
tions during the war, over the signatur
of "Stella Lackawanna, being wei
known.