The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-25
"REv.Y HOwARD,s ESCAPE.
How the Preacher swindIer Got out
of the Penftentiary.


tanned notice of the escape of Rev" G.
P. F. Howard from the oenitentlary at
Columbus on Sept. 49, The following ad-
ditional details are taken from the New
York Sun:
The manner in which he gained his free
dom is still mystery. Howard had been
'trusty' about the prison since he was
made editor of the Penitentiary News
several months ago, and on account of his
place as an editor had all the privileges
| it was possible to give TO a man in his
I situation. The guards outside of the prison
walls were expected to keep him under
their surveillance when he was about the
front office. The only reasonable theory
as to his escape is that the outside eenti-
neIs became careless and allowed Howard
to pass them by unnoticed.
Howard was in his prison garb and pho
tographs and descriptions of him have
been sent all over the country, so the
chances are that he will be caught. He is
said to have had considerable money, and
it is not believed that he is without friends
in this city. 1t is the opinion of some that
he is now in hiding in some house in this
| city. Howard has attracted the notice of
| a woman who has visited the prison
eral times of late and who always insisted
| on being shown through the printing office
Her name is not known, but the police are
| endeaVoring 10 find her from descrip-
! tlon which has been given to them.
Ever since Howard entered the prison,
| on Jan. %, 1891, he has been struggling to
| get out He has tried every conceivable
PLAN attempting to win the confidence of
| the officers and getting them to sign petit
| ions tor his release, and begging help
from distinguished persons all over the
| country. Not long ago he tried to get the
prison physician to assert that he was a
| sufferer from Rights disease. He had
| six years yet to serve
The Rev. G. B. Howard has been sailor
| IN the merchant marine and in the United
| states navy a teacher in a negro school,
| justice of the peace, a lawyer, the prin-
clpal of a large school, college profess
| sor, and a preacher of the GOSPEL He
was born in Edmonton, England, about
| 1orty-hVe years ago. His mother died
When he was about a year old. His father,
II he is still alive, is a retired London po-
! Ilceman. His name as a boy was Frederic
! Artyde Hewlett, and it was as Frederic
| Hewlett that he began his American ca
reer as a sailor in the navy in 1874. and
| he kept this name for a number of years
l While ne taught negro school at Smokes
Cross Roads Colleton county, South Car
DINA, and as a justice of the peace and
| lawyer at WATERFORD s. c.
1t was a this time that his criminal ca
reer began, and he ran away to escape
the service of a warrant for his arrest.
| He was next heard of at Port Robbins s.
| C.. where he induced the wife of a rail
| road man named Brown to run off with
him. He imposed upon Alexander Ste
! phens and Judge Lumpkin until they dis
covered that the woman whom he had in
| PRODUCED as his wife was Mrs Brown,
| and then he was driven out of the town.
| He appeared next at Fayetteville, Ga,
| where he called himself Frederick How
! ard, and praeticed law with Eugene Blay-
| lock as his partner. Here he Joined the
! Baptist church, and was received by the
! best people until Judge Lumpkins mother
| recognized him, told his story, and drove
| him out of town again.
At Atlanta, where he went later, he was
at the head of a big school and married a
| Mrs Burk, sister of Congressman Cabi-
Miss and Editor Cabinss of the Atlanta
! Journal. Here, through DIR. GWynn, he
| was taken into the Baptist ministry and
| later became the pastor of the First Bap-
| fist church of Jackson, Tenn. This was
| in 1881, and when he arrived at Jackson
he called himself George Frederic Bur-
| goyne Howard and said he came of dis
| tinguished English family. His eloquence
! and general air of accomplishment led to
his being made professor of moral phil
osophy at the Southwestern Baptist Uni
bama made him a d. D.
His first wife having died, he was mar
| ried again in Jackson to Miss Lizzie
| Hughes, a member of a good family. In
| Jackson he established new church and
| also a newspaper. the True Baptist, and it
was out of a warfare that he made upon
| the Southwestern University in this paper
that his history again became known He
| sued the Blade of Jackson for $50 600 dam
gaes, and in preparing for the defence
| Towards history was gathered from his
| youth. He got a verdict of one cent DAM
ages and had to pay the costs of court
He continued, however, to preach until
1891, when he came to New York, osten-
sibly to practice law.
He lived on Staten Island, kept yacht,
and professed new creed of occultism,
which he called the true Brahminsm as
| it was before the days of Buddha. He
talked of his mother having been a Begun
| of India, who left him the title of Prince
! of Prenagaya, and said that he had been
| a member of parliament, a soldier in In
! dia, and that he was knight commander
| of the Bath, and a member of the Order
| of the Garter. 1t was during these later
years that he entered into the business
/ which finally landed him in Jail. This
was swindling Americans who imagined
that they were heirs of English estates.
In London he had an office at 3 Shop
! herds Bush, Ingersol road, where he was
| known as William Lord Moore and in
New York he called himself Joseph Leger
| and E. Ross. The public got after him
| here in 1892 and that fall he returned to
jackson. From there he continued the
business under the name of G. F. B. How
| ard. He wrote to the persons whom he
had already feeced as Moore Leger, or
! Ross saying chat he had just returned
| from Europe and had in his possession
| valuable information regarding the es-
tates in which they were interested This
generally brought an answer, and upon
| the payment of a fee of $25 or so their
cases were gone into" Later, he would
| write and say that the case was encourage
| ing, and that he would undertake TO recov-
| er the million dollars or so which he found
| was cominp To tha nerson for q fao 20 :