The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-16
Burglars Invade Rev.
Mr.. Lewis House
WERE SUCCESSFUL.
While FamilyWas at Church
Valuables Disappeared.

An unknown member or members "A
the light fingered fraternity officiated
at another of their social functions in
Worcester last night, and this time Rev
Alexander Lewis. pastor of Pilgrims
Church. was the recipient of the attena
tions of one or more of the members
of that body.
| DR.. Lewis house was entered by brry
glars while he and his family vera az
| divine worship last evening, and ups
wards of $500 worth of valuables were
| taken. The family of household Of
DR.. Lewis consists of himself and wife
and domestic, Mary Sculley.
The reverend pastor and Mrs. Lewis
left their residence at the corner OF
I.oudon and Main streets at the usual
time for evening church service, and
Mary Sculley left at about the same
time to attend services elsewhere
When they returned at $50 O'clock, the
louise they had left two hours before
WAS in condition that made 1t look
as though a raid Of the Goths and
Vandals had taken place in their abb
Sence.
The furniture was displaced and over-
turned, the beds in the sleeping
apartments up stairs were wrong side
ZIP on the floor. DR.. Lewis desk was
open and rified, the sideboard in which
the silver was kept was in a state OF
confusion, bureau drawers were pulled
put ard their contents scattered and
everything in the line Of valuables in
the house, with the exception of the
silverware, was missing
DIR. Lewis hurried to the drug store
of A. G.. Woodward, 1888 Main street,
and telephoned the police, and the wag-
on With Officer Hurley in charge, was
driven to his residence. When the off,
GERS got there, they found that en-
trance had been gained to the house by
| means OF the pantry window In the
| rear. which had been pried open with
jimmy OF other instrument Of the
kind. The burglar, for 1t is believed
that only one did the job, had made a
| clean sweep, and had departed as ST.
| lently and secretly as he came some-
thing over $500 richer than he was be-
fore.
The articles OF value taken were Mrs.
Lewis pocketbook. in which there was
N the neighbcrhood of $8S, her gold
watch and chain valued at similar
amount. or perhaps rather more, a
string Of gold beads worth $50, and a
Jewel case in which there was a va
riety Of small pieces of Jewelry which
Mr.. Lewis is not able to enumerate In
detail, as well as number of small
pieces of gold. gold coins, dollars and
half dollars and other items like Jew
elled pins and similar articles that
brings the total loss up to the amount
stated. The silverware of which there
was handsome display on the side-
board In the dining room, was exam
ined but was not taken.
The most noticeable feature in the
affair is its exact similarity to the
break that Was made few months
ago at the residence of Fred NJ Clark
on West street. The circumstances Of
the whole job point very decidedly to
the view that the two breaks were
made by the same party or parties.
Inc pantry window IN each case was
pried open with a jimmy, the latch be-
ing broken into many pieces. The
workmanship in each of the breaks
bears the same ear marks. 1t was the
work OF slick professionals, despite the
View expressed by the officers that
some one acquainted with the lay OF
the land was the responsible party
Both breaks took place on a Sunday
night, when the occupants of the houses
were known to be out OF the way, and
what Is most striking Of all the cir
cumstance5 of the affairs u.s. that on
both occasions the thieves took every
thing there was In the line OF jewelry
and examined the silverware but did
lot MAKE way WIN IL. Inc actions Of
the burglars in each case while they
were in the house were the same. ana
at both places the game hurried but
thorough search of the premises was
made and the same general spirit of
wrecking everything was displayed
Even the method of departure of the
miscreants was the same In each case;
the exit was made by the back door.
which was unlocked by the thieves for
the purpose and tho spring latch
thrown on, thus leaving the door still
fastened when they mad departed.
When DIR. and Mrs. Lewis returned
to their home after the services at
Pilgrim Church last evening, they tried
to open their front door which thew
had left fastened only by the night
latch, but were unable to do so. They
found that the door was locked from
the inside. and they did not have the
key. They supposed at first that the
servant. Mary Sculley, had returned
and had gone in, locking the door after
her They thought that this was a
strange proceeding, and rang the bell
10 attract her attention. They got no
answer, however, and then they insti-
tuted an investigation. Going round to
the rear they found the window of tho
pantry open, and the reason for the
locked front door was explained En-
trance was gained to the house by
iliNpio VI Lie rear uOOf, ana the extent
OF the loss was soon defined to the un-
fortunate losers.
The house was in a wonderful cpn-
dltion OF confusion. and everything
looked as if a tornado had swept
through the house. Hurrylng up
stairs, they found that the sleeping
apartments were even worse than the
lower part of the house The bureau
drawers were all pulled out, and In
some cases their contents scattered
on the floor. The beds in DR.. Lewis'
and Mrs. Lewis chambers were torn
TO pieces, and the bedding was thrown
In heap on the floor, while articles Of
wearing apparel brie-abrac and every
thing else were mixed up with them.
The guest chamber and the servants
room had also been entered Down
stairs the library was in the worse
condition, and the contents of DR..
Lewis desk were scattered about. The
dining room had been carefully looked
over, but its contents had been spared,
except the sideboard, containing the
silver
The investigation of the officers was
thorough, but the only thing that they