The San Francisco call., 1897-12-20
DESERTED WIFE
TO We'd AGAIN
Charles w. Gregory Of
Pomona a Fugitive
Bigamist.
A Once Happy Home Wrecked
by the Exposure Of His
Perfidy.
Forced to Flee From His Second Wife
to Whom He Was Devotedly
Attached.
Special Dispatch to The Call.


POMONA, Dec. 19.-If the people Of
Pomona had been called upon a few
days ago to name one of the very hap
piest, sunniest homes in this place a
great many of them would have un-
hesitatingly designated that of Charles
w. Gregory, on South Thomas street,
near Seventh. The husband was a
genial man, who had travelled a great
deal and knew how to talk well. The
wife was a slight, blue-eyed, light
haired woman of q years and there
was a four-month old baby in the
home. The husband was popular here
and was esteemed by many. The
dwelling was a graceful cottage,
beautifully furnished.
To-day all is changed. The hus-
band, Charles Gregory, or John
Gregory, as his former name now
seems to have been, has fled the
country and police officers are search
ing for him. He is accused of bigamy
His pretty wife is on the verge Of
prostratiOn. The home is deserted
and will be dismantled tomorrow
morning and every one in Pomona is
wondering how his genial fellow-citi-
zen could have lived such a double
life.
Charles w. Gregory came to Pomo-
ma in the summer of 1894. He claimed
he was from Mexico, but the fact is
he came from Tucson, Ariz. He had
money and his graceful manners
brought wide circle of friends about
him. He bought an orange grove and
later was made foreman of the Loud
fruit orchards.
Among the tourists in Pomona in
the winter of 1894 and 1895 was Mrs.
Lillian May Whitney from st. Joseph,
Mo. She was young widow who had
lost her husband by death in the pre-
vious year. Gregory and she remem-
bered that they had known each other
in childhood in St. Joseph, Mo-, so
they became friends quickly. On May
16, 1895, the young people went to Los
Angeles and were privately married
by Rev. Mr.. Munger. Returning to
Pomona they lived on Loud's ranch
and their devotion to each other was
a subject of general comment at this
place.
Last spring Gregory was made Zan-
gero for the Pomona Land and Water
Company, and he and his wife took
up their residence on South Thomas
street. A child was born to them last
August. Gregory and his wife seemed
among the happiest persons in all Po-
mona.
Suddenly a dreadful storm came
down upon the Gregory home. Two
weeks ago a Mrs. Florence Gregory
of Fresno came to spend the winter in
Pomona for the benefit of her health.
She was in deep mourning for her hus-
band, John w. Gregory, who had gone
down to the mines in Arizona and had
been killed there in 1894. She was
walking about town on Thursday
when she>saw man in the distance
who looked like him whom she mourn
ed. She found there was a Charles w.
Gregory here, and that the description
of him tailed with that of her sup
posedly deceased husband.
On Friday evening she had her mind
made up, and she went down to Greg
ory's home. When she was admitted
Mrs. Gregory, the mistress of the home,
was sewing and her husband lay
asleep on the lounge nearby. The man
was on his feet the moment he heard
the visitors voice.
Good God, Florence, is that you?"
he gasped.
''Yes, John, and I've come to send
you to prison." was the reply.
The mistress of the house ordered
the stranger visitor out of doors, but
the husband begged her to stay. When
he had calmed himself enough to
speak he asked for an interview with
the new Mrs. Gregory on the porch.
Late in the evening he told his wife
he was a bigamist; that he had mar
ried Mrs. Florence McDade Gregory
in Fresno in July, 1892, and had fled
from her.
He said that he had had escapades
in other parts of the country. He had
agreed with Mrs. Florence Gregory to
give her $1,000 in cash. and she was to
go away and leave him alone.
There was no sleep in the Gregory
home that night. The husband and
wife paced the floor all night long.
When dawn came Gregory started
downtown to find a friend from whom
he was to borrow $1,000. He has never
been seen here since. The police Off
GERS, who are seeking him on the
charge of bigamy, say that they be-
lieve he has gone into Mexico.
Mrs. Lille May Gregory is in the
care of her friends. She is hysterical
and wild. She declares that her hus-
band is a villain and that she cares
not what fate he meets for his crimes.
Between her sobs she told to-day how
her husband had led a double life for
years and how he has eluded detec-
tives and police officers from San
Francisco and Denver, where he has
lived in the past dozen years. She
will have all the furniture in her pret-
ty home sold tomorrow, and with her
infant will go back to her mothers
home in st. Joseph, Mo. She is first
cousin OF United States Senator Vest
The first Mrs. Gregory will leave for
Fresno Tomorrow