The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-30
FAKE WIDOW CAUGHT
WOMAN WHO GOT LARGE PENSION
by CLAIMING TO BE
HER OWN BROTHERS. WIDOW.
JUMPED THROUGH WINDOW IN Eff
FORT TO ELUDE OFFICERS.

Was Caught in an Clubhouse by
ander-Had Been Fugitive from
Justice for Two MOnths-Admitted
Her Guilt When Caught Yester-
day-Her Accomplish Was Ar
rested in AuEust-HeRring Before
CommissiOner To-day.
Molue Melton. alias Clarissa Owens.
was arrested yesterday, after being a
fugitive from justice for sixty days,
during which time the efforts of the
officers to locate her have been UNI
availing. When the house in which
she was being harbOred was entered
from front and rear by officers she
jumped through a window and took
refuge in an Clubhouse, where she was
later captured and placed under ar
rest.
The arrest was effected by Special
Pension Examiner D. H. Alexander and
United States Deputy Marshal ]. Ben
Wilson, at $50 Olive street. Returning
TO the city yesterday, after tour of
the surrounding country, Mr.. Alexander
learned of the hiding place of the wom-
an. In company with the deputy mar
shall he went to the house on Olive
street. Just as Mr.. Alexander entered
he saw the end of a red skirt disappear
out of the window. Without waiting
to make further inquiry he vaulted the
window sill and reached the clubhouse
just as the woman slammed the door
in his face.
Admitted Her Guilt.
The woman admitted her guilt. She
was lodged in the county Jail in de-
fault of bond. 1t is probable that she
will be given commitment trial be-
fore the United States Commissioner
this morning. P. w. Bradford, who
was arrested two months ago for
completely in the scheme to defraud
the government, he having sworn to
the aff1davits made by the woman for
the pension, is now under bond for his
appearance at the next term of the
court.
The case is one of the most unusual
with which the pension examiners have
had to deal. 1t is one of the most
QdIlilk anu uIuSudI ptIlSlOD lIduuS
ever unearthed in Chatham county.
Special Agent Alexander says he never
before heard of one like it. BY claim
Ing to be the widow of her own broth
er, and successfully maintaining her
claim throughout a period of
years, the woman succeeding in de-
frauding the government out of large
sums and had not her game been de-
tected, would have drawn $4,000 more
fvas l.. -.
days.
How Ruse Was Worked.
In 1853 Isaiah Owens enlisted as a
private in a company in the Thirty
fourth United States Volunteer Infan-
try. He served two years and then re-
turned to his home on Whitmarsh Is
land, near Savannah, he being disabled.
He died shortly afterwards. Clarissa
Owens, wife of the soldier, died in 1879
When the law of 1890 went into effect.
and every widow of a Union soldier
became Hereunder entitled to a PEN
sion, the sister of Isaiah Owens, one
Mollie Melton, formerly Mollie Fraser,
nee Owens applied for pen
sion. Her claim was proven and allow
ed and she received 5000; and later she
received $500 more. At almost the
same time that she filed her application
under the law of $780, she filed an ap-
plication under the old law. in which
she claimed an allowance OF $12 a
month from the date of the death of
her husband lin reality her brother).
The amount which would be due simply
as first payment on this claim would
be $4,000.
In all of the claims Bradford swore
that the applicant was the identical
Clarissa Owens, the widow of Isaiah
Owens; that her husband was dead and
that she had not married since his
death. AS a matter of fact she had
married three times. These facts will
probably be presented to the commits
sioner at the hearing to-day