The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-07
HOLMES PAYS THE PENALTY.
IContinued from Page IL

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family. He worked on his father's farm
and went 10 school in the winter. The
one thing particularly noticeable about
bim was that he was faithful student.
When he got to be 20 years old he was
still studying, though he had long before
left the school. Then he got married.
His bride was Miss Clara A. Lowering,
daughter of well-to-do citizen OF Lou
don, ~. IL. She was Is years old. He
had been courting her long time. They
went away together on the Fourth of
July, 1873, and were married in the town
OF Alton by Squire John w. Currier.
Holmes had some money at the time, end
he was am bitious OF studying medicine.
His wife encouraged him and he started
in at the college at Burlington, VT. The
next year he went out to Ann Arbor
Mich, to study there. His money was
gone. He determined to work his way
through the university, and he did. Then
his own story is that he began his crimi-
nal career. 1t was as a swiDdler of insur-
ance companies. He says that a fellow
student IN the university, who is now a
physician in New York city, was his ac-
complice. The thought came to him
when he was in the dissecting room and
a body was brought in, "Why couldn't a
body like that be substituted for the body
of a man whose life was insured?" he
decided it could. His fellow student was
of tn same opinion, and agreed TO get
his life insured for SI2, 500. A year later
body was obtained and successfully
palmed off on the insurance company as
that of the insured man. The money was
divided.
Whether this was Holmes first serious
crime or not IL is impossible to say.
Whether 1t ever happened as he said it
did is question. Certainly al a later
period than this he appeared TO be with
out money and taught school for a living.
This was at Moores Forks, Clinton,
County, n. Y. He went there as nursery
agent for a firm in Maine and was en-
gagged as district school teacher. He
represented himself as single, and pro-
posed marriage to
TWO OR THREE WOMEN.
He boarded with man named Hayes,
ran mp big board hill and then left in
broad daylight, never TO return. Holmes
had lived with his wife of and on. She
had borne him one child, a boy, and she
spent nearly all her time with her parents
In LoudUn. Shortly after the school
episode he visited her and then he lett, it
seems, for good.
Holmes is supposed TO have gone from
New Hampshire to st. Paul, where he
started in business, earned the respect of
his neig ghbors, and got appointed receiver
for restaurant. He stocked the restatu-
rant with goods on credit, sold them ell
and walked away, leaving his bondsmen
to settle. He was next heard of in Chi
cago Then began his Kaleidoscope career.
he began by marrying Miss Myrtle II.
Belknap, daughter OF resident OF Will
liamette, suburb Of Chicago. He had
not been divorced from his first wife. He
tried to get possession of her fathers
property by means of forged deeds. He
failed In that and then his wife left him,
keeping with her the.girl baby that had
been born to them.
The third wife, Geofgnna Yoke, he
married in Denver under the name of
Howard. She lived in Franklin, Ind,
and is n woman OF refinement and beauty.
The murder of the pietzel children was
PROBABLY Holmes next crime.after that Of
the father. Nhen Holmes was called
from st. Louis by the insurance company
TO identify Pietzel's body In this city he
prevailed upon Mrs. Pletzel to allow the
child Alice to go with him. Upon their
arrival, the body was disinterred from
the Potters' Field, and Holmes. in the
presence of doctors and officials of the
company, calmly cut certain marks from
the corpse The Identification being
complete, the money was paid, and as
Mrs. Pietzel swore at the trial, Holmes
appropriated ell but few dollars which
he gave to her.
Alter the departure OF Holmes end
Alice for Philadelphia, the next time Mrs.
Pietzel saw him was September ~.
He said he had left Alice in Cincinnati
IN the care of his .cousin," Minnie Will
liams. Then he induced her to let him
take Nellie and Howard there, SO that
Alice should net be lonely. She never
again saw her children alive. Sometime
sfterward he took her TO Detroit under
the pretence that she was to meet her hus-
band there. From thst\time to the day
OF his arrest
HE KETP HER MOVING
from place TO place throughout the coun-
try on some pretense or other. During
these travels Holmes carried with him
three separate dets chmrnts- Mrs. Pietzel,
Miss Yoke aad the chi dreD-all within
four blocks of each other in all the differ
ent cities, almost travelling together, un-
der Holmes lea ing strings, and yet each
detachment ignorant OF the presence of
the other two. Eventually he rid himself
of the incum brances by numbering the
girls in Toronto ana the boy in Indian
apolis.
remarkable illustration OF the Incon-
gruous elements making up the mans
character is offered right here, and II is
story that has never before heen told in
print. In some western city he register
ed at hotel with Miss Yoke-or Mrs
Howard-his third wife, but she saw lit
tie OF him, for he divided his time be-
tween her, the children at enother hotel
and Mrs. Pietzel at a third. His wife
unooub btedly loved him, ana chideo him
for neglecting her, OF course Ignorant Of
how his time was occupied. IL was not
Holmes purpose, however, TO spend any
night at the hotel where she was, but, 20
quiet her remonst ances, he promised TO
be more devoted, M employed plan
which shows that he had in his makeup
sofae grain OF sentlment-perhaps OF o.
etry. He told bsr he was very busy with
important affairs, and that there were
circumstances which would make it.un-
wise for him to be known at the hotel es
ner husband. When he found an oppor-
tunity 10 bee with her, he said. he would
surreptitiously come 10 the hotel and toss
rose I'm her window. The lonely vile
wife In name only then--watched patient
~ Tor the symbo, but the welcome rose
never came while she was there several
times, when size returned from crrande.
she found Il, hut II was then too late, for
Holmes hanssgone. This was his plan. lie
had watched from biuing place until
she had gone out. then tossed the lose