Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-03-29
A DEEP-DYED ADVENTURES
A Former Wilmington Girl Four
Times Married.

er by lawyer of that city. Two years
ago an elderly client sent for the LAWYER
She then told him that her SON. fresh from
graduation at Harvard college. had visited
Europe and had there met a woman whom
he ihad fallen desperately in love with.
They had become engaged without the
mothers knowledge and would have IN
doubtedly been married had not her son
one day met a man who knew the woman
and informed him of her character. pro-
ducing some proof Then the son. almost
heartbroken, broke of the match and re-
turned TO this country. He never sup
posed she would follow him. but she did,
and through her attorneys began a suit for
$4,000 for breach of promise. The son
had become Frustrated. and the mother
was so afraid of the publicity of the affair
that she was almost willing to pay the 500
600 ITO be rid of the creature" as she ex-
pressed it.
Beyond a photograph and memoranda
the lawyer had no information He saws:
''You can imagine how surprised ! was
when | saw the photograph and the beau
! tiful face thereon represented. The eyes
! seemed to attract and fascinate me l
could not blame the young man for falling
| in love if he supposed the original was
| good and pure. as he undoubtedly did As
! lawyer ! could understand that this suit
| was only a blackmail scheme. The girl
undoubtedly held compromising letters,
/ and these were her stock in trade. Ii was
/ plainly my duty to save my client and her
| family from scandal but to do this | must,
! of course. obtain definite information that
/ could use against the girl. for. bad as she
might be in character and disposition. her
! appearance was certainly in her favor. and
she would win before any jury"
/ After a long search for information the
/ lawyer was referred to Detective Newcome
| of New York, who was a post-office in
| spector for several years. Mr. Newcome
had her record on file in his Office
with hundreds of others. He at
once produced it and said There's
Just what you want The girl never was
/ convicted, for ! could not at that time get
any one TO complain against her. but there
is her pedigree from the time she was eight
years old up to three years ago. She is
now 80, but she would pas for ten years
younger. She has been married four times
| divorced once; two husbands died under
peculiar circumstances. which would adj
nit OF investigation. and the fourth after
being married TO her a short time. was so
/ glad TO get rid OF her that he gave her So
600 and paid her fare TO Europe You
give me the case and / will make her give
up every scrap OF paper she has that your
| client is interested in. If she refuses to
do this / will telegraph a man that have
no doubt will be glad to help us out She
made a mistake once and forged some mon
| ey orders
Il left the matter in Mr.. Newcomers
care" the lawyer continues, land within
few days he invited me 10 his office,
where, much to my establishment he pre-
sented me to the woman
" Nellie, said Detective Newcome, this
IS the gentleman l mentioned He is the
lawyer for the young man you wanted to
swindle. Give him all the letters, iewelrv
and trinkets you have. If YOU do this, I
shall feel satisfied. If you don't-wel,
Nellie, l won't say-but you know me-
''She evidently did know, for she gave
me everything the young man had given
her and then signed a letter to her attor-
ney Withdrawing the suit
The Recorder gave the history of the
! adventures, but it was not entirely cor
rect. The Phoenix, through correspond
| enCe with Detective Newcome and Others.
finds that the woman's maiden name was
! Nellie WATSON or Watson, that she lived in
! Wilmington, and ran away at ten wears old
as already stated. Her father was French
Canadian, a common laborer, and her
mother an English woman, mot very
bright. and not at all particular as to her
! morals.
In casting about for the girls probable
identity the New York story recalls to a
Wilmington resident of 80 years ago Rev
/ Benoni Tyler's adoption of a girl who de-
veloped strange characteristics. Nj. Tyler
was an itinerate minister and and ran a
/ nall in,
of the characters OF the town. and is well
remembered there by all of the older
residents. He died several years ago. He
found the girl at Lowell, Mass. on one of
his trips there to buy goods. He brought
her TO Wilmington and as a member of his
family she was known as Nellie Grant
She was exceptionally bright, but at a ten
der age developed a disposition for gen
eral wildness. When about ten years old
she ran away, coming to Brattleboro, but
staying only a short time. Where she
went from here is not known. While these
facts, including similarity of age, raise con
lecture as TO the identity OF the evil
mington girl nothing definite can be said
without further information.
The adventures is said to have gone to
New York as a nurse girl. She was large of
her age and very attractive in appearance.
She was finally adopted by a Mr.. Stevens
in Boston. Stevens took her with him and
his family to Europe, where she was edu-
Gated and grew 10 be a very handsome
woman. She speaks German, French
Italian and Spanish like a native.
While in Germany Stevens died and the
girl married in Berlin a young German of
good family named Oppernheimer who
was an army officer. From him she was
legally divorced after a few months, be-
cause of her intrigue with a French count.
A little later, still only 10 years old, she
married a wealthy American, many years
her senior. He was found dead in bed one
morning three weeks after his will was
made in her favor. In 1884 or 1885 she
married a man from South America His
death also was very sudden. From this
husband she received about $4,000. She
was always very extravagant in her mode
of living, and never lost a chance, even
during her periods of married life, of get
ting men into compromising positions, and
then, through some attorney, making them
pay.
There is man now in the Joliet I'LL }
state prison who robbed a bank to obtain
money for her, and after she got the mon
ey and he was arrested she never even Wis
tied him. Her last husband was a we'll
TODD sporting man of New York of good
family, who can be seen any afternoon on
Broadway. This is the man who gave her
$4,000 to be rid of her.
What the young woman is now doing in
New York is not known, but from her
looks and the manner in which she dresses
it is evident that she is in good favor with
somebody. The lawyer referred to above
| and RaeOrdar ranorfer saw her riding