The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1894-02-03
HIS Dual ROLE.
Silas Slaughter Impersonates a
Dead Comrade and as Such
Makes Strong Pension Affidavit for
Himself as Slaughter-The Conyic-
tion Of Silas Slaughter Recalls a
Remarkable Career and an Inter-
esting Case.
Parkersburg Journal

Parkersburg Journal.
In the U. 5. Court Silas G. Slaugh-
ter was convicted of filing false pen
sion affidavits and was sentenced to
the penitentiary for two years i'm
mediately after the verdict.
The case of Slaughter is intense
ly interesting and remarkable and
shows that he is decidedly clever
man, whose cleyerness has been di-
rected in the wrong channel.
He is the man who was arrested
on a warrant served by Capt. Mehen
on him just as he stepped from the
portals OF the Moundsville peniten-
tiary after serving TIL rec years sen
tence for horse stealing.
The story of bis present trouble
as brought out during the trial and
as further learned from a pension
agent, goes back to the war and even
before that.
He was a member of Company A
10th w. Va Infantry. He served
during the war and got an honora-
bic discharge and was up to then
considered respectable citizen.
He fell into bad company after
the war and was convicted of horse
stealing and other crimes so that he
has spent the greater part of his
life since then in prison. When at
liberty he taught school; he is a
man of more than ordinary intell
gence, and is splendid penman.
He acted as his own pension agent
and made an application to the de-
partment. His application was
good and with the proper evidence
would have been D. KID. promptly,
for his record was good. He could
not get his former comrades to make
affldavits for him because of the
wild life he had been living.
A comrade of his, WIN. ID. Walker
died in 1866. Slaughter learned
this and then planned shrewd
game. He moved to Richie county
and introduced himself as W. d.
Walker. He worked himself into
the good graces of the postmaster
and notary public, and as Walker
made a strong ana favorable affida-
Wit in support of Silas Slaughter's
pension claim and signed it w. ID.
Walker. The affidavit claims that
ho mae N oornra Ia in tho wac uif Il
Slaughter, witnessed his sickness,
etc. and spoke of the good character
of the applicant. This was sworn
10 by the alleged Walker who was
Slaughter making mis- own affidavit
in support of his own claim.
The record at Washington showed
that Walker was comrade of
Slaughter and the affidavit was then
considered excellent. To prove it
the department wrote TO Walker and
asked him to repeat in substance
what was in the affidavit. Slaugh-
ter was not to be caught. He had
kept a copy of the affidavit and
soon satisfied the department. He
told the postmaster and friends that
he was going to travel and sell pat
ent medicine. He went to another
part of the county, met and married
Mary j. Yoho, and they left.
Later they came back and she un-
der his influence made affidavit that
she knew Slaughter before the war
and he was in sound health when he
enlisted, and that his health was
broken after the war. She signed it
Yoho. They then went to Richie
county and before Squire Dawson
she fled another affidavit as the
wife of Walker to the same effect.
So by this means Slaughter got
the affidavit of Walker to show that
he was disabled, of Mary Yoho who
knew him to be sound before the
war, and of Mary j. Walker, who
knew him after the war.
He was Walker and be made his
wife act as two people. He did all
the writing and the signatures were
perfect He made an exceedingly
strong claim and the pension was
about to be allowed when it was dis
covered that something was wrong.
Capt. Roome had difficulty in
tracing 1t down, for Walker, the pat
ent medicine man, had disappeared
completely. He confessed when ar
rested and said that his excuse was
he could not get testimony although
he was entitled to a pension.