The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-12
WAITING FOR TIE FIRE
FEW PEOPLE IN WOOD COUNTY
OHIO, HAVE A PECULIAR
NOTION
ABOUT WORLDS DESTRUCTION
Have a "Heaven," and Their Whole
Aim Is to Get Enough TO Sus-
tain Them Until That
Time.

One of the StrangeSt stories in the his
tory of the state is revealed in a dozen
and one law suits which have been in
stituted in and among the family Of
EDnraim Shanabarger, who, few years
ago, was one of the wealthiest men in
Wood county, but is now an outcast
without sufficient ready money to buy for
E-lself a bed
How Shanabarger became a pauper IS
also revealed to some extent in the va
rious legal entanglements into which the
man, now seventy-tWo years of age, has
been plunged, either by himself or some
member of his family. A strange &C.
Iigious infatuation on the part of his
wife accounts for it all.
Ephraim Shanabarger came early to
Wood county and took a large tract of
land. He was Industrious as was his
wife and four sons, and in a short time
they began to accumulate money and
more lands. Shanabarger seemed to be
possessed Of a magic touch and all things
which he handled seemed to turn to
money. They built for themselves a fine
home near Cygnet on one of their farms
in this county and there they were con-
tent to live and till the soil.
Some years ago oil was found beneath
their lands and in short time the
fluid was pouring forth by the hundred
barrels, at the same time turning hun
dreds of dollars into the Golfers of the
family. A strange religious sect sprung
up in the neighborhood and the wife and
he sons became affiliated with this sect.
With the coming of this religion to the
members of the family came trouble and
i'll fortune to Ephraim Shanabarger.
Business ventures proved unfruitful and
disaster followed disaster. Still the
wife hung to the strange religion which
had been discovered by a person con-
| sidered an adVenturer by all save be-
! levers. He claimed to have found the
! teachings advocated by him and believed
| by dozen or more, In a roll shown to
IN in a dream. The roll was found
in the hollow Of tree
WHAT ROLL REVEALED
This roI revealed i'm story of
the destruction of the world by fire, to-
| gether with all It's people, save a few,
who would be gathered upon a tract Of
members Of this singular sect were ridi-
culed by the people Of the neighborhood
who called them roll flyers"
Finally, after a long study Of the al
legged charts and rolls, one of the soci-
/ ETY. had pointed out to him the spot
where this piece Of land lay. 1t was
! in Texas, and thither the members of the
| society went. Finally, tract of land
about five miles from Livingstone was
!
! charter, and here they stopped Mrs.
Shanabarger accompanied them on this
pilgrimage, leaving her husband to fol-
| low the new prophet No other members
of the society had any money and the
support of the entire colon rested upon
| her shoulders. AS the religious ardor of
the roll flyers increased, the wealth of
| the Shanabargers decreased, though oil
in large quantities still gushed forth,
ever and anon a piece of land would
have to be disposed of to get funds with
which to keep alive the people in the
heaven" as they called it.
A church was hewn out of the logs
| found convenient, and a few huts were
erected by the angel inhabitants of the
| place This was the only sign CT i'm
provement about the country, as the land
is generally considered of no value what
ever for the raising of crops, or for
other money making purposes. Gradually
the old mans property continued to slip
away from his grasp and ready money
began to grow more scarce, at the same
time the demands of the heaven" in
| creased.
! THE HEAVEN WAS EXCLUSIVE.
Lawsuits were begun by the wife for
a partition of the property in order that
she might be able to get hold of more
| money with which to sustain the people
! Of the sacred spot. No one outside of
those who inhabited the strange place
were permitted to enter into it, and N.
R. Harrington, an attorney from this
place, who went there to get dispositions
in order that the wife might be able to
set up a claim for her share Of the
property, was the first outsider admit
ted. This was done in order that the
heaven" might be longer kept up. Mr..
Harrington found the rudely constructed
huts and church as above stated He
also found there fourteen people, all OF
whom believed they had definite knowl-
edge of the time of the destruction of the
world by fire. They never leave the
place except to get supplies for their
maintenance. These are purchased al
Livingstone, or some other town within
several miles
From that time lawsuit after lawsuit
followed in rapid succession and until
recently there were half dozen actions
in court at the same time concerning
different pieces of property and various
transactions. Finally the court decreed
that what of the property was left should
be sold and the wife's claims satisfied
Recently this was done a referee selling
it at public auction at the courthouse
door. The bidding for possession Of the
remnant of the at one time mammoth
estate was spirited and it brought sew.
last to be realized, was sent to the angels
in the Texas heaven" and Ephrian
Shanabarger was penniless
Yesterday in a petition for alimonl
from his wife he told his pitiful tale. HI
states that he is now an outcast; penni
less, with no home no friends, and moth
ing but the poorhouse between him an(
starvation. He says that he was once
rich and that he and his wife and chill
dren lived happily together till the wife
became imbued with certain strange re
lgious ideas, after which she deserted
him, leaving him, then old and infirm, tt
support her and their sons, and the plac,
they set up in Texas, as we'll as himself
He states that he believes there is We
some Of their wealth left in the hands
of some of the inmates of the heaven
and that ne is entitled to a portion of 1t
; He asks that he be granted REASONABLE,
: alimony pending the hearing of the cas-
at which time he prays for permanen
] alimony.
) A friend has been taking care of tn
t old man for some weeks and on the da,
! he fled his suit 1t is understood he walk
! ed several miles to town. He RENAME,
over night In town and had to call upol
! some OF the officials about the courteous
: to pay his hotel bill.
: The people of the heaven have re
I Gently made a further discovery in tn
3 mysterious roll. This is to the effect tina
| the destruction Of everything earthl
+ save themselves will take place abou
! Feb 20. 1901. They are laying in supple
to keep this long and for period longer
when new world as fruitful as the gar
; Gen OF Eden viii be theirs. The poor oil
; man is broken down in spirit and BODY
! ard it is not unlikely that he will con
clude hts last days as a county charge
while his wife remains queen of tn
heaven ard prospective mother of tn
Rev world. What will become of tn
"heaVen' when the last dollar q nd 10