New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-09-07
q" JIMMIE THE BUM" DEAD.
SAID To Be Scapegrace Son of Err
Supreme Court Justice.

Two women OF refined appearance and gowned
n fashionable mourning garments. stood IN
rear room o. undertaking establishment IN
MulbeTry-st yesterday afternoon, and wept over
the body OF a well known Bowery character.
Both we're heavily vened. and after few mo-
ments OF silence the elder Of the two turned TO
her companion and said:
1T looks ike him"
Then. when an attendant ventured inquire
II they recognized the features Of one they
sought. they hurriedly left the room. dropping
two S. bills IN a battered soup plate. which was
overfowing with nckels and dimes left by the
dead mans friends to keep the body from burial
in the Potters Field. lying the coffin
The nsmeplate OF the coffin bore the name Of
James Murray. but It a strange one to the
denlzens OF the Bowery. Chinatown and Null
berry Bend to whom the dead man was known
as Jimmie the Bum" Friends say he was the
scapegrace son Of an ex-justice OF the Supreme
Court
Jimmy the Bum" in the years he hung about
the Bowery and the slums Of the East Side. was
nearly always well dressed. Only occasionally
was he known to work. and it was supposed that
he received an allowance. Joquacious on other
phases OF his life. he was reticent about the
source OF his income and his early history.
There were tines when his mysterious income
seemed to have been taken from him, and IN
complaining he would shovel coal. clean store
windows, or finally. his clothes pawned, would
panhandle" all his friends TO get money for
drink After a brief period he would appear in
all the glory Of new clothes, stop work and
begin again his life Of drink and idleness
II was after one Of these periods OF affiuence
that last Thursday night he was found by
Patrolman Miller. Of the Elizabeth-st. station.
lying unconscious from liquor in front Of a
saloon at No. 2 Mulberry-st. AT the station
Jimmie" became conscious. and gave his name
as James Murray, forty-fve years old, homeless.
Soon after being put in a cell he became IN
conscious. and when IT time to take pris-
oners to the Tombs court the doorman found
that he could not arouse Jimmie" An ambu-
lance was summoned from the Hudson Street
Hospital The surgeon pronounced the man
dead from nephritis
The undertaken IN whose establishment, at No.
26Iz AIulberry-st. "Jmmie's' body lay yester-
day heard Of the death. applied TO the Board OF
Health for a burial certificate and spread the
news Of his death through the Italian colony
/ soon contributions 20 pay for funeral for
Jimmie" began to flow in. and the undertaken
/ placed the body in modest coffin, and gave it
out that the body would lie lin state yesterday
| afternoon.
All day long procession Of friends OF the
/ dead man wended its way around the casket. 1t
/ was their funeral They took pride in it. and
/ hale resented the Intrusion Of a well dressed
woman who arrived in coupe during the after
noon An attendant led the woman. who seemed
sgitated. to the side Of the coffin, and the crowd
who had 'panfsan6lsl.'' .s-ailz 'giSk -sHS Sna
helped Jimmie the Bum" in the days Of his
hardships drew back and made room for the
woman. She glanced at once p the drink-worn
face and then drew back. To the attendant she
said she was Margaret O'Brien-
4 Will be hack again. she said as she entered
her carriage
That the mysterious some one who had paid
for "Jimmies" good clothes was going TO ma
terialize was ruuored along the Bend. and raj
led an Of nis friends 10 the little undertaking
shop.
and when the woman who had given her name
Margaret O Brlen returned IN the afternoon
With me second woman, "Jlmmie's' old friends
fel back sullenly before the carnage as IL drove
Up TO the door Of the shop, and resentfully made
way for its occupants 10 enter the place
Among the group CA the sidewalk was Viz
gInia Blanchi keeper Of a dlngy little saloon
across the street from the undertaking establish
nenL To those about him he vowed that Jim
mic" would be buried from Mulberry-st- If he
had 10 pay the bill himself The announcement
was greeted with undemonsuatlve satisfaction
by the group. and their satisfaction became
greater when it was reported that the women
had not made . demand that the body be re-
moved. but had inquired only when the funeral
would be held
In later was stated that the ceremony would
be AT = O'Clock tomorrow afternoon, and that
the burial would be in Mount Olivet Cemetery
BY some ~ his friends II said last night
that once or twice month woman would
CONF from Brooklyn and meet jimmie IN Null
berry Bend and there give him SD or SO. some
times considerably more. One man who would
not give his name, but said he had been clerk
Of elect ION last fan declared that then Jimmie
voted under the name Thomas Gilligan. but
said BE- knew his name 70 he other than that