The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1902-01-18
THE KIDNAPPING CA&T, NII
LEASE OF McCREARY.

LEASE OF McCREARY.
That Truth is stranger than Fiction"
l" IN adagc strengthened by every days
vcritiCatinn. The case of TIE :;bductiu.,
of the negro girl, Rachel Parker. or Eli
Zahcth CrocuS, taken in all its nva;in..
and results, is strHngc--a mysterious
affair. To publish the dcta.,S of il dur
ing its protractcd continuance would
ovcrhurtirn the column. of IL mammoth
JOURNAL slight and hurried review is
as much as we have room to give
Armed with Il power of attorney from
Mr.. Schotield, of Baltimore. Thomas Nc
Creary goes Ito Chester county. ia. in
broad day light. near the middle OF the
day. arrests at the house of Joseph c.
Miller, Il negro girl, escaped from Scho-
field. Miller purSues him and shouts to
"A ncighhor. who was nearby, to stop the
kidnappcrs. McCrcary escapes from
them, hurlicS out of the State and car
RE" the negro to Baltimore This was
on the Both of December. He is follow
cd to that city by Miller and several of
his ncighhOrS, and on the oath of the
former, is arrested to answer the charge
of kidnapping. This was December 3lst.
On that night the parties from pcnnsyl-
vana, together with McCreary and
others from this place, took the ears for
Havrc de Grace. Miller was mt the depot
and was ut one time seen in the cars, but
whether he started in them or not. is not
distinctly proven. When his friends
reach tn" SuSquchanna. he was not
among them. The next day he was
found dead. hAn%in" to Il tree. near Stem
mcrS Run. the first stopping place on the
railroad this side of Baltimore An in
quest was held and Il verdict of suicide
rendered
The hearing of McCrcary ON the charge
Of kidnapping, was fixed for the 9th
inst, and occupied five days. During
the trial eight or a dozen men from Mil
er's n"ighborhoOd, SwOrc positively that
they knew the girl to be free: some of
them stating they had seen her almost
weekly since her infancy and knew her
father and mother to be free On the
other hand nearly as many SwOrr she was
the slave Of Schoiield; of which. how
ever, some of the Baltimore witnesses
had doubts.
Thus matters stood till the trial wa
about to be closed the weight of the
evidence being, in our opinion. in favor of
the freedom of tn" girl. when m"w wit
ness is introduced whose starting ana
remarkable testimony fixes Miller AZ ~
acc"lhpllr" OF Met rehry $, furnishes
-"N l" ms suicide, establishes the slavery
"i the glIl, ana acpu!t& Nctr"'rF on tn"
charge OF kidnapping, as he was Acpuit-
ted by the MagiStrate
ne aboV" Is IA very condensed sum.
mary OF the matter: now to some of the
p"fl'"iarS'
Ihr witness whose testimony was so
rrm"rkahlr was John Merritt, who at
the tlme OF the abduction of the girl, i'll
Whlch ne assisted resided III l'cnhSEi-
wanna nut mas SINCE tof course III con
Sldrratl"h OF personal Shfetyf removed
to Elkton. The following Is his teSti-
nohF' rs gwen III the Baltlmor" sun,
Whrl examined Ill chlel:-lS twenty
one Years OF age; lives III Cecil county,
-dhfFiahi' llad no particular acqualnt-
ahce WIN Joseph l. Miller; had seen
MN twice; once before the arrest OF the
girl ANA AGAIN at the time OF the arrest.
Witness met Miller one sunday after
n"oi' coming out OF the lane of his
mousse lnd not Know nm then, ana
asked nm where Miller hved. Miller re-
plled that ne was the man. This was
AFTER the arrest OF the girl Henrietta.
| Witness asked Miller If there was not
h"sr" girl hVlh% ut ms house. Miller
Salh lhere was, ana asked witness what
ne asked the question Tor. Witness re-
piled that some colorrd people had run
on from VII. Schoheld OF baltimore, ana