The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-08-06
SLICK JENNY WILSON.
How She Worked the Stranded Actress
Game at Biddeferd and Other Places.

The Biddef ord Record last evening con-
tanned an elaborate notice OF young
woman who visited Portland not long
ago, and worked her game successfully.
The Record says
Jennie Wilson is a smooth article all
right.
She is the blonde haired and smooth
tongued young woman who recently
worked upon the sympathies of number
of Biddeford citizens by telling pitiful
story of how she was stranded in st. John,
the manager of the theatrical company of
which she was member skipping out
with all the funds and having to pawn
herswatch in order to pay railroad fares
to Portland for herself, husband and three
children, one of the latter being seven
months old baby which she toted about
in her arms to make the story effective.
Jennie turned up in New Britain.
Conn, Friday, July 80, and she worked
between S. and $40. In that city she
claimed to have been stranded in Hart
ford, the city she was anxious to reach
when she was here, saying she had sister
living there who was in good circum-
stances and who would assist her in
reaching her home in Columbus, Ohio.
The New Britain Herald of Saturday,
July 81. had the following story about
Jennie and her baby:
A very fresh young woman with an In
nocent little baby went the rounds yester-
day. She claimed to be an actress and
said she was stranded in Hartford. She
evidently concluded to work this town
and she did it with varying success &C
cording i'll her professional terms, as
whether or not she struck a Jay OF a
sucker" Her first tale was that she
wanted to go to Newburg. but when she
was furnished enough money to pay her
fare there by the Lyceum arrangements
she kept right on asking for funds
She called everywhere that was suggested
to her including newspaper offices, banks
and stores and occasionally the baby
would bawl. One bank man who did not
like the music paid her so cents to go
a way. She probably raised between five
and ten dollars by her little trip to work
1.-THE countrymen."
Since Jennie's disappearance from Bid
deford, when she went to Old Orchard to
enlist the sympathies of the patrons of the
race track there, City Clerk Freeman.
who drew up the subscription paper for
her and started the subscription with a
contribution of so cents to help her on her
journey to the sister in Hartford, has
been greatly troubled about the where
asked callers at his office whom he
thought might know about what had be-
come of her.
1t will be remembered that from the
city clerks office Jennie went to the
municipal court room, where organ
grinders and people out Of work who are
unfortunate enough to be caught by the
police in the act of asking for food at
houses, are sentenced to the Portland
work JAIL Here she told her story and
Recorder Weymouth helped her on her
way to the extent of halt a dollar.
Then she went to see City Marshal Har-
mon and discovered that the marshal was
an old friend Of an uncle of hers who had
been chief of police of Columbus for a
great many years. The marshal had O
nice little chat with the blonde haired
young woman and looking over her sub
scription paper went into his pocket book
for shining half dollar which he added
to her pile. Jennie worked Main street
pretty thoroughly all that forenoon and a
portion of the afternoon and about
o'clock left for Old Orchard. She had an
appointment with Clerk J. 81. Dearborn
of the overseers of the poor for O'Clock
that afternoon. Clerk Dearborn haG
promised to purchase for her railroad
ticket that would take her a portion O.
the way to Hartford, but Jennie did no
keep her date and she was not seen in thi
C ity afterward.