Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-07-07

| The papers had had very little to say
| about the marrying man. In some in
| stances the affair had been hushed up and
| III others the man had disappeared in such
a way that foul play was suspected or it
| could be concluded that he was out of his
RICH. mind. Between his marriage to Mrs.
| Albe-tson and his arrest, eighteen months
later, he married six more women. On
counting up it was found that he had six
| in each state. He had stuck to Ohio and
Indiana, and some of his marriages were
not over fifty miles apart His last mar
riage was to a Miss Remington, of In
diana. He appeared in the town in which
she lived under the name of John Worth
| ington, and claimed to be a New York
architect on vacation The courtship
lasted only about sixty days, he claiming
| that he wanted TO go abroad to study
| French architecture.
They were to spend their honeymoon in
| Paris and the bride was given 81 900 or
| $1,000 as wedding present They were
at the depot to take the train when Mrs.
| Albertson came in on another and recog-
| Missed the rascal even before she got off
| She was not looking for him, but had
| come to visit a sister. She instantly de-
nounced him, and was so emphatic that
| the bride tainted away and was returned
| to the house. Worthington was not in the
least abashed. He blandly contended that
it was case of mistaken identity, and
| even suggested that he be detained by the
officers of the law until the woman could
| get her brother there. To his chagrin no
| doubt this course was pursued He was
not locked up, but put under surveillance
| and his easy demeanor and bland assur-
ance satisfied most people that a mistake
had been made. The brother came on and
| identified him. Worthington was still
denying his identity as Professor Robert
son when the affair got into the papers,
and inside of ten days three of his other
wives turned up. There were no less than
seven of them present at his trial. From
first to last he insisted that it was all a
mistake, and stuck to it that he was John
Worthington, architect, of New York.
The prosecution had provided for this
contingency. A salesman for a New York
house was in court on the day of examina-
ton, and also an architect from Indianap-
oils. Worthngton had doubtless visited
New York, but was not familiar with loca-
tions When asked to locate the street in
which he said he lived he made bad mess
of it. When examined in matters pertain
ing to architecture he showed his total
Ignorance of the profession. He had
good lawyer and made a good fight, but
was held to the higher court and remanded
to the county Jail He did not lose one iota
of his cheek, however. He simply insisted
that it was case of mistaken identity
which would be cleared up later on, and
he was perfectly willing to so to Jail dur
ing the interval | said in the beginning
of this story that nine-tenths of the adult
population feel more or less sympathy for
a erin inn I 70, al hot ,,i,
of the female sex feel a decided sympathy
for rascally adventurer who is young and
good looking. Worthington had an aver
age Of twenty-five bouquets per day. The
women carpeted his cell. sent him chairs
and books and eatables, and it is straight
fact that most of his wives called on him
and shed tears and hoped he.would not be
sent to prison
The turnkey at the Jail was an old man
the father-in-law of the sheriff. The sher-
if ID daughter sixteen years old. When
the old man realized the extent of public
sympathy he was considerably affected
and inclined to be as lenient rs possible
When the young miss heard the sympa-
thetic words Of the callers and noticed
tears in the eyes Of the more emotional.
she made the rascal her hero and fell in
love with him. He was quick to read her
feelings and to encourage her. believe
that ten out of the twelve wives visited
Werthingtou in jail. In each instance
they arrived in town with blood in their
eyes and thirsting for vengeance. In some
cases the turnkey took pistols and daggers
away from them before they were admit
ted. The adventurer himself told the
sheriff that there was not one of the lot
who did not fall upon his shoulder and
weep and forgive him, and each and every
one left him what money she could spare.
1t Is presumed that he promised each one
to return to her alone if he escaped prison.
The wives were so jealous of each other
that four of them had n regular hair pull
ing match when they happened to meet
one day in front of the Jail.
WorthngOn would have been convicted
otfhand by any jury in the land, although
by the date of his trial most of his wives
would have refused to testify against him.
He knew what was in store for him and he
didn't want any of it. He slyly encouraged
the sheriff's daughter in her feelings and
fattered the old turnkey, and a week be-
fore the date of his trial he walked out of
the Jail. The girl found opportunity to get
hold of the keys and let him out They
had planned an elopment. She bought
railroad tickets, gave him the time of the
CAdiI anu llt 10 inc depot rs soon as
clear of the Jail She joined him in time
for the train, but the fellow seemed to
have bit of conscience left He fixed ND
plan for her to meet him in indianapolis
three days later and saw her start for the
Jail residence before he took the train. His
escape was not discovered until next morn
ing and he was never recaptured. For five
years no one heard of the slick rascal.
Then one day, as a Mississippi river
steamboat landed at Columbus, Ky, a lone
woman got aboard and walked up to a
man on the promenade deck and shot him
dead. Her defense was that he had mar
ried and abandoned her and married again
without divorce. He had given the name
of Thomas, but there was no question but
that he was the adventurer who had left
twelve wives behind him in the north
SKELETON GUlCH.