The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-26
HE strange case of James N.
Pendleton, bigamist and
mayor of Gentry, Mo-, is
puzzling the alienistS Of the

mayor of Gentry, Mo-, is
y puzzling the alieniStS of the
entire country.
Pendleton was the husband of the
| daughter of Judge Drey, of Worth
county, Mo-, whom he married fifteen
/ years ago, and by whom he had three
children.
I Arrived at middle age, and after a
creditable business career, he deserted
/ his home and went to Kansas leaving
| his wife in ignorance of his where
| abouts
| In Emporia, Kan, he met Miss Grace
A. Obey, fell in love with her and mar
| Coda S. Morris. She was younger than
the wife he had deserted, but she could
hold his affections.
| After month in her company he
/ tired of her. His love for his first wife
and children having revived he sought
| to rejoin them in order to do this he
assumed the name of John Cox" and
as such went to Oklahoma, and in a
country graveyard near Orlando bur-
| led Coda S. Norris"
/ Having rid himself of Morris he
was again James N. Pend1eton, and as
such he was overwhelmed with a food
! of affection for his wife and children
in Missouri
When Morris" was in the grave,
SOCK" bought a crate of peaches and
shipped them by express to Mrs. James
N. Pendleton, at Gentry, Mo.
i AS Pendleton he took the train to
| Gentry, and was soon in the bosom of
! his family, enjoying the peaches ne
had sent them. Had not his affection
| for his family at Gentry got the better
| of him he probably would not be IN
| Jail In Emporia, Kan.
But fate had followed him. When
hn oh
| express records bore the name of
! Cox
/, When the widow Of Morris desired
! to collect the insurance on his death,
| the wise insurance agents at Emporia
| demanded proofs.
The widow had been advised that
one "Cox'' a friend of her husband, had
| buried him near Orlando, o. T., and so
notified the insurance company.
| TIE insurance company, being a
Missouri institution, wanted ODE
Shown before paying the $4,000 which
| it had risked on the life of Coda S.
Morris, and sent an agent to the grave
! to eXhume the body.
! When the agent had dug up the cof-
| fin he found about ten pounds of ice
in place of the body Of Morris. +
! The relatives of the Emporia widow
| of Coda S. Morris were indignant at
| the imposition, and Instituted inquiries
| that resulted in the tracing of Cox"
| through the box of peaches to Nor
| ris'' in his grave and then to Pendleton
| in Gentry, where the gay deceiver was
| found eating peaches, having noncha-
| lantly put behind him both Cox and
Morris, and the widow of Morris.
| 1t is a curious feature of the story
/ that Pendleton had for some years
previous to his flight conducted a poul-
s
| of Coda S. Morris, which alias he ex-
cused as being the name of the man
who furnished the capital for the en-
! terprise. When it became necessary
for the town to organize government,
| Pendleton was so well thought of and
so progressive a citizen that he was
elected one of five councilmen, who
promptly made him chairman of their
| body, which practically made him
mayor of the borough.
With his family, consisting of his
wife and three children four
teen years of age; Calva,a eleven, and
| Margaret, seven years old-he occupied
| a comfortable home.
When Pendleton suddenly left Cen
| try last spring he said he was going
| to Kansas to buy some cattle.
| Pendleton went to MadiSon, Kan,
where he assumed his old business
name of Coda S. Morris and engaged
| in chicken buying. At intervals he
went back to Gentry, and in making
! trips about the country dropped into
/ Emporia insApril. In one of his. previ-
1 Gus business trips into Kansas he had
met Miss Obey, and had fallen in
love with her. When he left Gentry it
was no doubt. with the intention of
again meeting and marrying her.
Pendleton is not a fascinating man
] so far as appearances go. He is tall and
]Egaunt. His eyes are blue and his hair
lis streaked with gray. Although he
4 claims to be thirty-siX yearSNsold he
1 is forty at least.
But he told Miss Obey thatshe was
! rich and had high position in Gentry
i county. The-girl was fattered at be-
/ ing wooed by the mayor of a Missouri
! city and a rich man. He promised that
/ she should be an eold mans darling"
4 and she succumbed.
r. So they were married and he took
j her a wedding tour to Colorado.
/ She had been a working girl and
/ lived with her parents at Enporia,
/ but Pendleton- believed her to have a
| pot of money coming to her. There
is no doubt, however, that he was in
/ love with her-one of those wild in
/ fatuationS that sometimes possess mid
| dle-aged men who tire of their family
/ life
4 Soon, however, he grew tired of his
new love and longed to see his wife
and children in Missouri and be with
/ them again. To do this he had to de-
stroy Coda S. Morris, as he was known
to his new wife. To allay her sus-
| picions, perhaps, to requite her in a
measure for his falseness, he insured
| his life in her favor and paid the prem
ium on the policy with a note.
Then he started out on a business
trip, About Aug. 10 he arrived at
! Orlando, O. T., as John Cox, with a
/ coffin, which he unloaded from the
baggage car. He had bought it the
day before at Perry, o. r. He also
bought at Perry 200 pounds of ice
which he packed into the coffin.
He hired a livery team, and, accom-
1 panied by a driver, went west of Or
lando about six miles and turned back
He was getting the lay Of the land.
4 The next day he started out alone and
slsdrove to the farm of John Bocox, GUS
todian of a country cemetery, from
nWhom he bought a lot. To Bocox he