The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-10
HILER HAD MANY WIVES
But ONLY ONE OF THEM, HE SAYS,
BEARS THE LEGAL TITLE NOW.
A Cincinnati Policeman, Whose
Daughter He Married, After Him
One oft-Married Song Writer.

John II. Hitler, for his age one of the
most married men the country has heard
of for some years, is in the city figuring
how to prevent being sent to Cincinnati in
time TO answer to the charge of having
married Miss Cora Henley, when he al
ready had one or more wives.
Hiler is but twenty-eight years old, but
he is record breaker in the matrimonial
line. He confesses to having been married
four times and TO having lived with other
women to whom he claims he was not mar
ried. He is a professional writer of songs
and came here to arrange for selling some
of his songs at the state fair as well as to
escape the consequences of his last mar
riage.
On Wednesday afternoon young man
called upon Charles E. Wilson. private
secretary OF the Governor. and said he had
come to protest against the honoring of
requisition from Ohio which he believed
would come for him. He was a young man
Of medium height and rather Stocky, with
dark hair, smooth face and regular fea-
lures. He was Hitler. He talked about him.
self with great GOODNESS and declared that
though he had been married four times, he
had been divorced three times and there
was nothing they could charge him with.
He mentioned the four women to whom he
had been married and one with whom he
had lived without a marriage ceremony.
He had married Jennie M. Graham in Iowa
and had got q divorce from her in Michigan
in 1898. Then he had taken up with"
Lizzie Myers in Wisconsin, but they were
not married. While he was travelling about
with her he met Grace Washburne one
one evening in a grocery at Bloomington.
He had called upon her the next evening
and the next day they were married. This
got him into trouble and he was sent to
prison year for bigamy but he appealed
to the Supreme Court of the State and there
the Myers woman was unable to establish
a legal marriage though it was shown that
they had lived together and had addressed
each other in letters as husband and wife.
Miss Washburne secured a divorce in 1895,
and he married Alice Mcclellan in Chicago.
He claimed that they were divorced in
January of this year and that his next ven-
ture was when he eloped with the daughter
of Policeman Henley, of Cincinnati, and
they were married at Columbus last Satur-
day. He declared that he proposed TO stay
here, as there was nothing they could catch
him on. When asked why he did not re-
turn to Cincinnati he declared that he was
afraid his new father-in-law would kill him.
He seemed unconcerned about the whole
business and rather proud of his record.
1t is declared that Carrie Sax, of Toledo,
and Mary Wilkinson, of Detroit also claim
to have been married to Hiler. He is a resi-
dent of Grand Haven, Mich During his
trial at Bloomington it was claimed that
he had at least two wives besides Miss
WaShburne.
Hitler called upon the superintendent of
police yesterday afternoon and made him
self known. He declared that he had no
intention OF running away and could be
found at the Occidental Hotel If wanted.
He was lounging at the hotel reading q
sensational article about himself in a Gin
reporter found him. There is nothing in
this whole business" said he, except that
| have been married four times and di-
vorced three times"
Did you get the divorces?" was asked.
mo, the girls got them. 1t just happened
father is postmaster at South Toledo and
you can wire him He will tell you that
his daughter and myself were never mar
ried. The Sax woman? She has been mar
ried since l last saw her, and she never
claimed to be my wife. Then there is moth
ipgton. Last January, right after the di-
vorce from my last wife, she and 1 were
bluffing about getting married and 1 Just
failed to get married. That was all. I
have sent for the records of the three di-
vorces and they will be here tomorrow, so
l shall go to Cincinnati Sunday to show my
new wife and her mother that / am all
right. They said If could do that she
could live with me-
DO you want to live with her?"
Yes, I'm willing to live with the girl
paper talk. If there was I wouldn't be-
sitting here, would I?'