The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-12-04

sibility for twenty years Or more. For
the last eight or ten years Of this rail-
road service he filled the position of
Road Master and had charge of the
Florence-Columbia division, one of the
most important on the system. After
his summary dismissal, of which no ex-
PLANTATION was ever made public, or as
far as known, ever vouchsafed by the
railroad officials, Capt. Freeland re-
mained in this city, waich he had made
his home for so many years and with
which he had become identified by
many ties of a business and social ma
ture, having married here, reared a
large family and acquired property.
At this time he had the confidence Of
the business men of the place and was
Il prominent figure in Masonic and 9TH
er secret orders.
Shortly after hisIdischarge by the rail-
road he eDl aged in business, first as a
member of the firm OF Freeland & Ro-
gan, dealers in china. and glassware,
and subsequently became a member Of
the Ducker s. Bultman Co., of which he
was for time the president. 1t was
at this time that the. eyes of the com
munity were first fully opened to the
real character of the man, although for
several years there had been whisper
ings and rumors in circulation that he
was not all that he should be in more
respects than one. 1t was while presi-
dent of the Ducker & Bultman Co.,
that he borrowed all the money that he
could induce the banks and personal
friends to advance on such collateral
that he offered and the endorsements of
friends, and left the city, deserting his
wife and family and leaving them, it
was reported at the time, but i'll pro-
vided for.
His movements and whereabouts
were unknown to anyone in Sumter for
at least wear, although dilligent efforts
were made by those who had suffered
financial loss through him, to locate
him. On several occasions he was re-
ported to have been seen in nelghbor-
ing states, but efforts to find him when
made, always failed. Finally he volun-
tarily opened communication with those
who had been forced tc pay his dishon-
ored notes, after having been induced
to endorse them by deceptive state.
ments, and in short time returned to
the city and made compromise set
tlement with those who had a claim
that could have been enforced in the
courts and thus had a hold over him
that he feared. He was arrested at the
instance Of one party whith whom he
refused 20 settle, but the evidence of
his responsibility was not sufficiently
strong and the case was dropped.
He again left Sumter and was seen
no more until he returned several
months later to attend the funeral Of
his wife who had died suddenly. He
spent few weeks here and when he
left took with him all the money he
could obtain by any means from his
children--money that they had earned
by their own efforts and saved by the
practice Of economy.
From then till the arrival of the New
York detective last week Sumter saw
nothing of A. n. Freeland and even his
name was seldom mentioned.
The detective came to investigate the
past life Of A. N. Freeland and from
him the story of his career since leav"
inc Sumter and an account of his latest
escapade was obtained by those with
whom he talked while seeking for in
formation of the past.
When he was last here he was suffer-
ing with rheumatism which had trans
formed him from a superb and robust
specimen Of physical manhood into a
prematurely broken and infrm old
man. He first went to Hot Springs,
Ark. but the treatment there failed to
benefit him and he then went to Eu-
rope where at one OF the German Spas
he was set free from the rheumatic's
chains and his health was fully re-
stored; he became again young man
for his years. He visited the Glasgow
Exposition and after stay in England
he took passage on one OF the trans