The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-03
HAD ANOTHER SPIRIT.
A GIRL LOSES HER IDENTITY AND
BECOMES SOME ONE LONG DEAD.
From the New York Herald.

Watseka, ILL.,, has a tale so extraor-
binary as to stagger the most credulous
and yet so we'll attested as to silence the
most sceptical. That there is a spirit
world many believe; that there is COM
munlcation between the two worlds is be-
lieved by few Yet from time to time
facts are brought to light that seem to
put it beyond question that there is a
life to come, and that it's inhabitants can
occasionally make themselves evident to
mortal men. Then are the unbelievers
compelled to either surrender their unbe-
lief or, as Andrew Lang wttily says, to
repeat at their leisure what the Psalmst
said in his haste "All men are liars"
Mary Rolf, daughter Of Asa b. and Ann
Rolf, was born in Warren county, Indiana,
in the autumn Of 1896 She was a nervous
child, and from her infancy was subject
to fits; which increased in severity as she
grew older. The family afterward went
to Watseka to live. When she was about
IS years old she deliberately cut herself
with knife in the arm. so severely that
she soon tainted from loss of blood and
lay unconscious for five hours.
on recovering consciousness she went
into violent commissions, which lasted five
days and nights. When the commissions
ceased she seemed to recognise no one
and was unable TO see, feel or hear in the
natural way, but she seemed to read
easily with a thick bandage over her
eyes. In this condition she remained for
three or four days, and then passed into
her former state. She died suddenly while
in a CONFUSION about year later-July
5, 1866
Mary Lurancy Vennum, daughter Of
Thomas j. and Lurinda ]. Vennum was
born in Milford township, seven miles
south of Watseka, ILL.,, not quite a year be-
fore Mary Roffs death. Her parents
moved to Watseka in 1871, their house
in that town being about forty rods from
that of the Roffs. Their acquaintance
with the Roffs was OF the slightest Mrs
Rolf called once on Mrs. Vennum, but the
call was not returned, and the husbands
had merely a slight speaking acquaint-
ance.
Lurancy had good health until she was
a little more than 10 years old. She told
her mother in the early summer of 1877
that some persons had been in her room
the night before and had called to her
"RancY! Rancy" She had felt, she said
their breath on her face. few DAYS
later, uly IL, about O'clock in the even
ing, her mother asked her to get supper.
Ma" she said, Il feel so queer" and
with the words, fell in an apparent fit
and remained rigid and Unconscious for
five hours. When she regained conscious
ness she still felt queer and described to
her mother and friends several persons
long dead, whom she said she saw. Among
them were her sister and brother. Dur
ing the following seven or eight months
she had these frances quite frequently,
and her relatives began to take steps to
have her sent to insane asylum.
DR.. E. w. Stevens of GAINESVILLE, Wis.
called. at the instance of friends, to see
Rancy on Jan. 81 1873. He found her he
says sitting in a chair near the stove
her elbows on her knees, her hands under
her chin, curled up on the chair, staring
looking every way like an old bag. She
appeared sullen and grabbed, calling her
father "Old Black Dick" and her mother
"Old Granny"
She said her name was Katrina Hogan
that she was 63 years old, that she had
come from Germany through the air three
days before and would stay three weeks.
She denied all this in few minutes and
called herself Willie Canning and gave
a very different account Of her move
ments.
When DR.. Stevens ros to 90 she fell in
state Of rigid catalepsy. DR.. Stevens
was spirituahst. and believing the
girl was controlled by evil spirits he took
her hands in his and in a few minutes
found himself talking with Lurancy Ven
mum herself.
She said she was in heaven, and that
her body was controlled by evil spirits.
The doctor suggested to her that she
should be controlled by some better spir-
its, and asked her to select one who would
be willing 20 do it for her from among
those she SAW around her. She said
there was one Rhom the angels desired