The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1903-09-05
Young Girl Found Praying
on Union Street Still in
Jail Unidentified.
HER SANITY TO BIZ TESTED TODAY
Belief That Shells Shamming
Grows-she Will Be De-
tanned TilY the Mys-
terry is Explained.

The young woman who gave her name
as Ada Barker, when found in Union
street praying shortly before daylight
Thursday morning is still in the Hudson
County Jail awaiting Identification. She
is mystery. If she is not the Ada
Barker who has figured on police and
hospital records in many of the big cities
of the United States since 1896 she is
bigger mystery than ever.
Strenuous efforts have beens made to
identify her. The metropolitan papers
have sent cut experts on fhe story, the
machinery of the police departments of
several cities, some of them thousands
of miles apart, have since her arrest
in this city Thursday merning been in
operation. Nothing tangible has been
cleaned
Today she was scheduled to undergo
an examination as to her sanity at the
hands of County Physician Converse.
There is prevalent belief that the young
woman is shamming, and that if she
wished she could clear up the mystery
surrounding her. 1t is announced that
she will not be allowed to go free until
she has been identified. 1t is believed
that the name Barker is assumed.
The woman is well dressed and shows
every evidence of having been reared in
a cultured social atmosphere. From
remarks let drop in reply-to close ques
tioning those who have her now in charge
: jumped to the conclusion that seme in
formation might be CLEANED from st.
Louis, Mo. Newspaper and police wires
were kept busy on this clew. The dis
patches led to the conclusion that she
was the same woman who was found
unconscious in street there on January
10 last and was placed under the care of
DR.. Runge, of the Iasane Asylum, near
St oL1is. nj that institution she sur
rounded herself with impenetrable mys-
terry. If this is the same woman, it was
in that institution she asked tosbe Known
as Ada Barker. She became a favor
ite, took the lead in athletic sports and
was the acknowledged basket ball cham
pion. An Eastern visitor to that insti-
tuition, however, recognized her as a girl
who had several years ago been en-
ployed as a trained nurse in Bellevue
Hospital, New York, and told the author
tiles of the St. Louis institution that she
was a graduate of Smith College for
Girls and that her home was in Brook
lyn.
She still declares that her home is in
who, have been working on the case,
have thus far failed to locate her rela-
tives.
-. Runge, of the st. Louis institution
/
said, allowed her to depart. believ-
6g that she. was in fit condition, and
himself secured transportation for hei
to New oYrk and placed her on the
train.
While in an apparently rational con.
dition of mind yesterday she said in re
sponse to a query as to where she would
go if liberated:
''If the Cortlandt street ferry is neal
here would take that to New York
There is bridge near the New Yorl
ferry, isn't there? / would cross th'
bridge and take a Court street car il
Brooklyn and get off near the churci
On tAe corner. wonia know wher,
MY i'nne was then. It is just hale !;
block from the street car"
But even after mali1gsan apparentl!
sincere effort TO concentrate her thought
she could not give the name of the churcl
Or of the street. For fully sixty seconds
twitshipg Of the hands denoting anima
tion. Beads of perspiration suffused he
brow. Herb ands fcG to her sides ant
as her rigid body relaxed she sait
wesrlly;
@oh, 1 can't tell. can s.sm 10 r.
member"
sho says she was born sn Kentucky
She speaks withsa Southern accent sh
is typical Southern girl, fve feet fv
inches IN height, with light bule eyes
regular features and dn abundance 0
dark brown hair. The body is plum
and well nourished. She wears on tn