Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-09-01
FOUND HER RELATIVES
Taken From Her home Here When ONLY Five
Years Of Age.
Interesting Story of a Girl Who Was
Stolen FROM This City Thir-
teen Years Ago.

| sence of thirteen years. In this case Lille
Zenobia Daley, good-looking colored girl
| is the central figure She Is now eighteen
years old, and was taken from here by a
colored woman named Emma Cooper, or
| Butler, who has since died. When she died
| IN San Francisco. not long ago, the girl
made anxious inquiries about her relatives,
| and succeeded In interesting Mr.. A. f. Luz
cas-, the head of private detective agency,
i'll her case, and he made inquiries about
| her. About a week ago Inspector Holm
berger received letter from the head of
this detective bureau, in which he said:
Il herewith inclose you copy of state
ment made to me by young lady going Dy
the name of Lillian Swami and who thinks
| that she was born in your city. but left
there or was taken away from there by a
woman who married Frederick Swami.
She was a colored woman.
Inls Lillian Swami was only five years
Ola when she left Washington, which was
thirteen years ago. By reading her state
ment which she made to me l think that
| you will know how to act in order to find
her people. She does not know her moth
er name, nor her own name. She seems
| to be bright and intelligent young lady,
and what would be called very light mu-
latto girl. If you will take the facts from
her statement and cOndense 1t down to n
Few words, and have one of your evening
or morning papers publish 1t, do not think
young lady S mother and sisters.
Very Few Facts.
Her father, she said. died of sunstroke
about a year before she left home. This
woman who took her away from Washing
ton Travelled considerably, as you will see,
and passed this girl off as her own. l could
not set anything more definite from her
than what she has given. She does not re-
member any ones name in Washington, nor
does she remember any of the streets, nor
what street she lived on, nor even the next
door neighborS name, and, in fact, the in
closed is everything that l could ascertain
from her.
IF you will be kind enough to take in
terest IN trying to locate her people, you
will be comforting a great favor upon an
intelligent young lady; in other words, she
wants to find out who and what she is, and
she would also like to see her people. l
Wish that you would let me know soon
as possible what you have done, and what
you will do in regard to the matter. l am
satsi1ed that any newspaper in your city
would write up the article and publish it
Tree OF charge. l am charging the young
lady nothing for my services. There is no
one here who seems to know what her
name Is or was. The lady whom she came
to the west with has died, and SO she will
never be able to find out anything from,
that source
The Girls Story.
Accompanying this letter was one written
by the young lady herself giving her side
of the story. She says In her letter:
Il lived in Washington, d. c., thirteen
years ago. My father was colored, a light
brown color My mother white-a
blonde. My father was sunstruck and
! died. There was lady who lived the next
door TO u.s. and my mother was very much
heart-broken over my fathers death, and
was left alone without any money and with
three children. Mamie. Rachel and my
self. This woman who lived next door to
my mother got into her good graces and
took me off with her without my mothers
consent My name is Lillian Swami, and
l have never seen my mother since.
This woman never mentioned her name
to me, and she wandered from state to
state and lost all track of my mother.
am quite sure that my mother did not
give me to her. This lady who took me
was about to be married a the time, and
the name that she went by then was Coop
er or Butler. The man she married was
Frederick Swami. This woman that took
me was colored also; but she is dead now.
When / got on the train with this lady
my mother said to her: Now, Emma, you
be sure and write to me about my little
GIRL and she said that she would.
About three years after left my mother
this woman that l went with was in Chi
cago, ana. in fact. wandered all around
and me with her. She told every one that
/ was her little girl, and that l was her
own child. When she was out one day
went to her trunk and found letter from
my own mother. / read a few affectionaee
things which she said about me, and from
that l thought that this woman who took
me wanted me to think that 1 was her
own.
Lived in the Suburbs.
my own mother paid my board My
mother was a blonde, and her name was
Fannie -. Mamie was my own sister,
and is now between sixteen and seventeen
years of age. Rachel my other sister, is
about fourteen years of age. 1 am eighteen
years old Mamie Is blonde. Rachel has
straight, black hair. They are in Washing
ton, D. c. All OF my relatives are there
also. This woman who took me treated me
She has a great many relatives here. and
she told every one of them that 1 was her
own child. We lived in the suburbs Of
Washington VAS D. , c; My y, father was a
among colored people: she stayed in the
Tom. on my fathers side. l had one
cousin. who lived in the city of Washing
born in Washington.
There is young man, who is the wo-
| mans brother that took me, and she has
several brothers, who are buffers. scatter
mint When she came out here she told
them that 1 was her own child One of
them told me that she told him something,
| and that he was going to tell me when
| would become Of age, so when I did reach
my majority Walter Butler, who works as
clerk in the Liverpool and London Globe
Insurance Company, at 400 California
street, San Francisco, Cal, would not tell
me, we were mad with each other
when this woman died gentleman
friend of hers brought me out here She
had left me in a public institution in Chi
cago until / was thirteen years old NV
father was well known in Washington. D.
c. He was a very tall man. NY mother
was a slight woman My father died four
teen years ago, and every colored person
who lived there went to my fathers fu-
neral. We kept COWS and little chickens.
and there were two houses close together
One was a brick house and very plain. and
had a graveled walk and flowers. and the
sidewalk was laid with brick The other
house was wooden one. We had a horse
and buggy"
The Child Wa. Stolen.
When Inspector Hollinberger had read
| the letters he concluded that he would
have notice of the affair published in the
Colored American, which he did, and this
brought to light the facts in the case.
1t developed that the girl, Lille Zenobia
/ Daley, was actually stolen from here by
the woman Emma Cooper or Butler At
the age of five years Lille was an inter-
esting child. and photographs taken of her
only a short time before her Disappearance
show that she was bright and attractive.