Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-07-18
Horse STEALING, Murder and Arson
are Charged Againsta 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.

| IHtIt II Blii III Jan az ~Np"Du -
| N. Y, who if all the charges against her
are true. is the incarnation of vlclousness
and deprayity. 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 weakmlned son to death IN
one of her fires, and wound up 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 charge of grand larceny on
complaint of Won Whitbeek, Broadway
liveryman, 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. Ia her cell at the police sta
tion she had acted wildly at times, and
| tore up her white apron and hosiery in
what seemed to be frenzy of insanity.
| Early one morning, however, 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, 'Y es, that 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 Newbufg lie 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 ner forty dollars month for her
services. He had therefore proposed to
her, was accepted and they were married
next day by a Methodist minister at Mid
dletown. Farmer Halliday said that
things went along rather smoothly for a
week or so, and then he discovered that
his wife had a violent temper. About that
time he also made another discovery, it
was that Lizzie's lad 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 meets hers if she didn't cease her
violent ebullitions of temper and give him
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 thlrty-seven years old and half witted
! When he returned home in the evening
| Halliday found his little house a mass of
| smoking ruins. 1t had been burned down
during the dily, Lizzie coolly informed her
! husband that his son John had been burn
ed to a crisp n 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 his 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 he mad 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 he found in the pos
session of his wife. He, however contin.
ued to live with her. On May 26 the old
mau's 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 in its place She claimed to
! have $4,000 on deposit in the Newburg
savings bank, aud wanted her
husband to come to the city with her and
get 1t to use in putting up anew barn and
house. He had delayed coming. but later
the couple drove to Newburg and remain
ed there over night at Mr.. J B. Smith
residence. He claimed that during the
night his loving wife had stolen S5l from
his pocket He drove home the next morn
ing before he missed the money, his wife
! remaining here t. finish up her business.
! Halliday claimed that be ascertained that
! Lizzie had been at Walker Valley, two
miles from his home, and there had trad.
ed 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 blackboard wagon
in exchange. Wyatt, be SAID was a menu
Der Of the Wyatt family, two or three
OF whose members had been sent TO Sing
Sing prison several years ago. They be.
lol ged to the gang of Shawangunk noun
! tam ROBBERS. lie 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 shott-
~ before she was arrested by policemen
Powers ana McCracken. but he was not
captured When Recorder McCrosker
called the case of the cir, she stood IN
front Of the bar She appeared 70
be twenty-five years old. and was
commonly clad. Her long, white
hair hung over her face, and there was a
wild look in her eyes. She had some
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
girl's eyes rested upon Mr. Halliday She
gave him a whitening look She would
not answer any questions put TO her bv the
recorder and would occasionally shrek
out, Take her away the old block |
never liked her. Then Mr.. Halliday
stepped forward and addressed his wife.
She failed TO notice him at all The Ola
man next remarked to the recorder that
the girl was shaming insanity; that she
was perfectly sane and that she hopad BE