Omaha daily bee., 1896-03-08
HIS CRIME FOUND HIN OUT
Peculiar Charges Against an Old Iowa
Citizen.
ACCUSED OF DESERVING HIS FAMILY
Cherokee Man the Victim of Ter
ribIc Mistake or Has Been
Leading " Double
Lirc.


highly respected citizen of chis place, was
accused of deesrting his family at Milwaukee
ON or about October &C. 1865. and eloplng with
a charming widow by the name of Clara
Mnlington. large number of papers of
that date were sent to Cherokee and the en-
tire populace was plunged into a furor of
excitement. Scarcely person put any cred
ence in the report 1t was branded as a myth
by the public and members of the Roddis
family claimed that 1t was the elimination of
an unsuccessful attempt at blsckmail; and
such may yet prove to be The case.
Scarcely had the excitement caused by the
firot report passed away when the matter
was again brought to public notice in man
ner which greatly intensifies the mysteries
surrounding the case and causes gossip to
break out anew In the clerks Office Cf Cher
kee county was fled divorce petition, the
title Of which is Sarah J. Roddis plaintiff
against Henry W. Roldls, defendant" 1t al
legged that the plaintiff and defendant were
married in the county of Milwaukee, IN the
state of Wisconsin, April II, 1862, and lived
together as husband and wife until October
26, 1866 that October &c, 1865, the defend
ant wlfully deserted the plaintiff and has
ever since absented himself from her without
any reasonable or just cause therefor.
The petition charges Rodds with having
duullSTy Win CldTd mllllNSNOll VII
or about October 26 1865, and that soon after
that date the defendant left the city of Mil
waukee in company with Clara Millington
going to the town of Pella, Ia, where defend
ant and Clara Mling;on lived together as
man and wife; that some time after and
about the year of 1868 or 1869 they moved to
Cherokee county, where they have since
sided. That the plaintiff has but little means
or property In her own right and has not
the means with which to prosecute thiS suit
The plaintiff declares she believes that Rod
dis in 1895 decided away his real estate and
confessed judgment in favor of various par
ties which have become liens on his real estate
for the sole purpose of getting his property in
shape so that the same could not be reached
by the plaintiff or any portion thereof sub
-jected to the support and maintenance Of the
plaintiff.
LATEST REPORT OF THE CASE.
The latest sensational report, in connection
with this strange case, is to the effect that
Roddis has 'scooped" the Milwaukee woman,
| having already secured a divorce himself.
| The story, which is doubted by a great many,
runs about as follows: year prior to the
| time the scandal was first made public, Rod
| dis left Cherokee, ostensibly to travel in
| the interest of a life insurance company, of
which he was secretary at the time and
| was only at home occasionally until late
| last fall, when he returned and has since
| resided with his family. Gossip has it
| that Roddis was in South Dakota during
| his absence for the purpose of securing a
| divorce from his Milwaukee wife, and that
| divorce was granted him by the Dakota
| courts; that after securing his decree, the
| woman with whom he has lived for the past
| thirty years, went to some point in Mime
sofa or Dakota, where she was met by Rod
dis, and the couple were lawfully welded.
/ If this be the case, alleged Mrs. Roddis No
| l, stands slim chance of getting judg
ment for alimony. as criminal action would
| be the only chance left open in the courts.
The fact that Mrs. Roddis made trip
| north early in the winter, tends much to
| strengthen the Dakota divorce and marriage
| theory, though friends of the family refuse
| to accept it, and declare they will not believe
| any of the accusations made against Roddis
| until they are proven in the courts. Mem
bers of the family were seen by the reporter,
but they declined to say anything pertaining
| to the matter, other than to express de-
sire that the Milwaukee aggregation may
come and fight it out in the courts, as there
was plenty of hot shot in store for them.
and that they would return to the brewery
| burdened city a sick lot.
| A local attorney, who is attending to mat
ters at this end of the line for the Milwaukee
woman, was seen, but he conversed sparngly
upon the subject. However, he is confident
| that there is a clear case against Roddis,
and gave some of the points in the case
| which the Milwaukee people claim they can
prove beyond any doubt First, Rev. j. p.
| 7. Ingraham Of st. Louis, who performed the
marriage rites, which made Henry w. Rod
| dis and Sarah j. Jones, husband and wife, at
| Milwaukee, April IL. 1862, will be produced.
Also great many of s.e wedding guests,
whose names are in the possession of Mr..
Smith, will be present. 10 testify at the trial,
together with many other persons, who are
familiar with RCddis' early life. 1t is also
claimed by counsel for the plaintiff that
they will prove that, October 90 1865, Henry
w. Rodds and Clara Millington occupied the
same room at the st. Charles hotel, in the
city Of Milwaukee, and registered as man
and wife. The marriage certificate will be
offered in evidence also witness who con-
versed with Rodds on the train as it was
carrying him away from his wife and fam
lily, in company with the Millington woman.
All of this, and much more, is claimed by
the plaintiff.
CAREER OF RoDDIs.
Henry w. Roddis early life, as told by
Milwaukee parties, 10 as follows. Away
back in the sos two Engishmen, 7. r. and
Edward Roddis, came to Milwaukee from
New Hampton. Several years later T. r;
Roddis went into the packing business and
accumulated a snug fortune. The financial
panic which was brought on by the Crimean
war injured the business and Mr.. Roddis
worried over financial matters until his mind
became deranged and he was sent to an asy-
lum. Edward Roddis succeeded him In the
packing business and made the establishment
one of the largest In the country. Edward
Roddis had nephew in England, OF whom
he was very fond, and he wrote for him to
come to America, setting forth, as an in
ducement, a good position in his packing
establishment. This nephew was none other
than the present Henry w. Roddis, and he
soon became his uncle's confidential man and
adviser.
The packing business In those days had
not been fully developed. Most OF the cat
tie were purchased in Iowa and the south
the packers sending out buyers, who bought
in great herds Of cattle. which, were slaugh-
tered and the meat exported to Europe. As
there were no bank facilities in those days
the buyers were compelled to carry great
sums OF money with them to pay farmers
and breeders for stock. This was the po-
sition that Henry w. Roddis held with his
uncle, and explicit confidence was placed In
him. He was then about twenty-five years
OF age, and his responsible position gained
for him a place in the front ranks Of so
ciety. He became acquainted with Sarah
the daughter of Peter Jones, a wealthy ant
} highly respected citizen, to whom he wai
: afterward merried. For three years they
} lived happily together, and two children, {
boy and girl, blessed their union.
In October, 1865, Edward Roddis called
! his nephew into his office and advised Will
him on a plan to invest some money in
/ plantation near Vicksburg, Miss. The wal
had just ended and northern capitalists wer'
! Investing in southern DrODerty. which WA