The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-03-15
DENOUNCED SHEPHERD
ACCUSED HIM OF ALL SORTS OF
BAD THINGS.
SUPERINTENDENT OF ORPHAN ASYLUM
Shepherd Claims That the Child Was Given
Him Until She Should Become Of Age
and the Court Decided that He
NJ, Nam ia.
May Keep pe:.

you're a liar and a black scoundrel,
sir. You shall not have my child. l
don't care what the courts say. You
have already murdered one of my chill
dren and you shall not have the others.
1t was a woman that uttered these
woris-Charlotte Reid-a respectable
colored woman here. They We're spoken
to Rev. Robert Shepherd, superinten-
dent of the cOlored orphan asylum at
Oxford.
Hush. sir" as he was about ito speak,
"open your mouth and I'll beat YOU"
Shepherd lodged and threw up his
hands to ward off the blow she was
about to aim at his head with an UNI
brella.
AN this occurred in the Supreme court
room at the conclusion of habeas cor
pus case before Judge Montgomery, and
present.
The woman was very much in earnest
and the Rev. Shepherd was very scared.
His large red eyes he rolled around in
mute appeal to judge and lawyers to
protect him from the furious woman.
When Marshal Bradley appeared and
qlelled the row by making the woman
leave the court room, Shepherd seemed
much relieved, hut he would not venture
ont of the building until the woman had
gone Then he came out with the girl
Charlotte Reds daughter-ab0ut whom
they had been c0ntending, and went in
exactly an opposite direction from that
taken by the mother.
In October. 1890, Charlotte Reid took
her three children. a girl and two boys
10 Oxford and put them in the orphan
asylum there. She says the contract
was that they were to be kept until they
were able to shift for themselves. Shep-
herd says he was TO keep them until they
were of age.
Since then one of the boys has died.
His mother says it was from the effect
of a blow on the head. The girl is near
ly 49, years old and her mother wants
her back home, and to this end insti-
tuted habeas corpus proceedings. The
writ commanding Rev. Shepherd to pro-
duce the child before him and show
cause why the mother should not have
possession of her was granted February
18th, by Judge Montgomery, and argued
before him yesterday.
Mr.. Moses n. Amis appeared for the
petitioner and Mr.. J. C. L. Harris for
the respondent, Shepherd. Three wit
nesses were examined. The girl. her
mother and an old woman, named
Worth
The mother said she did not intend to
bind her children out, that she simply
put them into the asylum to remain
until they were liable to shift for them
selves" She thought her girl was now
able to do that and she wanted her back.
The Worth woman corToborated her in
regard to the contract with Shepherd
The girl said she didn't want to go
back to her mother. but wanted to re-
main at the asylum and pursue her stud
les.
After some argument by counsel Judge
montgomery decided that under see
tion 30 of the act establishing the or
phanage, he was compelled to hold that
the petitioner was not entitled to the
relief prayed and he taxed her with the
costs of the action.
lit was at this point that the mother
called her child to her, took hold of her
dress and addressed the above warm re-
marks to the Rev. Shepherd. Much
more than that she said, all along the
same line.
Though there was much in it that was
very amusing to the on-looker. still there
was palthos in it all, when one consid-
cred that it was mother who was try
ing to get back her child-a child who
had been estranged by outsiders and
who even swore in court that she did
not want to return TO her own mother.
1t was another one of those everyday
tragedies of the seamy side of life.