The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-21
HER MANIA IS RELIGION
THE MOTHER OF PRIZE-FIGHTER
MCCOY HAS DISAPPEARED.
A Commission Has Recommended that
She BE Sent to the Central
Hospital for Insane.


| has Secreted herself TO avoid being sent
to the Central Hospital for the Insane.
| About six weeks ago, at the instigation of
/ two or three of her children, commission
| investigated the state of Mrs. Selby's mind.
and decided that she was suffering. from
| religious mania and ought to be confined in
| the hospital. Mrs. Selby and her husband
| had inkling of what was going on, and
when two deputy sheriffs called at their
| home, southeast corner of Hoyt avenue and
! Spruce street Mrs. Selby had disappeared
| Since then officers have been unable to find
/ her Her husband says he does not know
where she is located although he says that
she is not in Indianapolis. Rrmor has it
that Mrs. Selby left home to go to her
| fathers house. and that through the latter
she communicates with her husband.
Mr. Selby stoutly maintains that his wife
| is not insane, and says that she is the vic
tim of persecution. Adhering to the scrip
| tural admonition, 'but say unto you that
We resist not evil. but whosoever shall smite
thee thy right cheek turn to him the
| other, also, and if any man will sue at the
law and take away thy coat let him have
| thy cloak also; and whosoever shall COM
| pei thee to go a mile go with him twain
! Mr.. Selby has refrained from taking any
| steps to prevent his wife being sent to the
| asylum, although he believes that the pro-
| ceedings might be set aside Rather than
get into court and enter into any contro-
versy with the agencies of the world he
| and his wife decided that it was better for
her to disappear for a time. He says II
| has been suggested to him that there is
| legal redress, but that he does not care to
invoke the powers, and prefers rather TO
suffer persecution for the time. Neverthe-
less, as Mrs. Selby decided that she could
do more good in other scenes than in the
Hospital for the Insane, she got her without
| the jurisdiction of the court.
| Besides his father and mother, the prize
| fighter has one brother, Homer, and four
sisters. The youngest, Grace, until the last
few weeks, resided with her father and
mother The two other unmarried sisters are
attending Leland Stanford, Jr., University
in Palo Alto. Cal. A married sister, Mrs.
Thomas, resides in Colorado. With her the
young sister Grace has resided since the
commission decided that the mother was in
sane. One of the bones of contention was
the sister Grace who is but fourteen years
of age. Her elder brothers and sisters were
dissatisfied because she was not kept in
school. One of the alleged reasons for the
insanity proceedings was that she might
be taken from the custody OF her mother,
who, according to the claims OF the elder
the tenets of a strange faith. After his
wife was compelled to secret herself the
elder Selby decided to consent to Mrs. Thom-
as taking charge of the young girl, and the
latter against her own wish, Mr.. Selby
says, went with Mrs. Thomas to Colorado,
| where she is now.
THEIR UNUSUAL SABBATH.
Mr. Selby was last evening disinclined to
discuss the distressing affair, saying that
his wife wished to avoid notoriety. He as
serted, however, that he regarded Mrs.
Selby as the victim of persecution, brought
about by the unwillingness of her children
to accept the faith and doctrine of their
father and mother. Both decline to accept
ordinary protestant creeds and attempt to
live by the teachings and habits of the
early monotheistic religion. While not
Seventh-day Adventists the do not accept
the ordinary view of the Sabbath. They
hold that Gods day begins at noon on Fri
day and lasts until noon Saturday. For
ideas of their parents on religious subjects.
The disagreement eliminated after the
kid" fought at Dayton, Q. When the bat
tie was over the young prize tighter sent
telegram to his mother. Because 1T came
on Saturday, during the hours MRS Selby
receive it, saying that at such a time she
could not transact any worldly business:
Later the message was delivered 20 her. and
the success of her son. Word of this was
sent to Homer Selby, who was with his
brother In Dayton. Homer came 10 1Huldu-
apolis, and after consultation with his sis
ter, Mrs. Thomas, made an affidavit charg-
ing his mother with being insane Justices
of the Peace Lockman and Nlckerson Wis
tied Mrs Selby and held conversations with
her. as did two physicians. Mean while, the
suspicious of Mr.. and Mrs. Selby had been
aroused by conversations of their children,
which they overheard, in which there was
talk Of sending Mrs. Selby to sanitarium.
After the visit of the justices, Mrs. Selby
decided suddenly to leave town. When the
deputy sheriffs came. with the, warrant for
her onnd MRS. 20 Them PPemaned in indian
apolis a few days. Before her departure for
Colorado with Grace, Mrs Selby was in
Indianapolis, but the mother suddenly left
town again, and according to Mr. Selby's
statement, nothing has been seen of her
since. Mr.; Selby says that his chiliran OBJ
iected to his wife preaching the gospel ac-
cording to her idea of 1t.
Did Kid know of the insanity proceed
Il do not know" replied Mr.. Selby, but
l presume he did, as Homer went back 10
him and must have told him OF it.
EVIDENCE BEFORE THE COMMISSION
Justice Lockman was unable, last night,
to recall all the evidence that had been in
troduced before the commission. He 1e-
membered that the affidavit was made by
Homer Selby, and that Homer and one,
perhaps, TWO, of his sisters, had testified
that their mothers actions indicated she
was insane. Beside this a grocer in the
house belonging to Mr.. and Mrs. Selby tes-
titled that when the latter collected rent,
she refused to receive it in the name of
Seby and insisted on giving a receipt in an
other name which had been given TO her by
her religious friends or some supernatural
powers. The testimony also showed, Justice
Lockman said that Mrs. Selby had sold her
belongings and had furnished a large house
in the north part of the city from pay
ment house. But one payment was made
and the goods were taken back by the store.
Mrs. Selby, according to the evidence, also
refused to recognize ner husDanq by the
name of Selby and insisted on calling rim
by some fanclful term, as she did her chill
dren Those who know Mrs Selby say that
she is a remarkably fine-looking woman, in
spite of her forty-nine years, and that 1t is
from her that her son Norman (kid Mccoy
inherits his attractive personality. The
father is himself a very intelligent looking
man He dresses well and has an attractive
pair of keen black eyes above well kept
gray beard. Persons who have come in con-
tact with the family nave noticed that they
are all unusually bright and attractive in
appearance.