The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-14
OLDEST LIYING SNOWMAN.
siamess Twins Made Judge ingalls,
His Fortune.

The Oldest living Snowman, Judge H.
p ingalls,, friend and boon conpanloh
of Barnum, EOrepaugh, Van AmburS
and Robinson. resides in this village,
says a Huntsville, Ala, correspondent
of the New York world. ingalls, reapec
fame and fortune with the SlameSe
twins, and made and lost half dozen
other fortunes.
The old man long ago retired from the
circus business, but the scent of the
sawdust and gasoline torches still has 4
fascination for this veteran Snowman
With his wife and family of four chill
dren he is spending his declining. years
in the management of the hotel III
Huntsville.
II supposed the boys had forgotten
me- said the veteran the other day l
was born March IS, 1896 near Merrinae,
n. H. and lived the life of a farmer
boy, although my earliest remembrance
is a longing for the life of a Snowman
When was "a years old l went to New
York city. Times were pretty tough
then, and I had difficulty in making
both ends meet. However, after hard
effort, got a position as street car con-
ducto-.
The free life of the circus seemed to
be calling me all the time, and finally I
responded I joined old Frank Carney 3
hippodrome and got my first taste oil
the life After year or two with THIS
aggregation I joined the Welsh & Lent
circus and remained with them for three
years. I had during this period rakeo
and scraped together a little money, and
I decided to start in business for my
self
1T was in 1854 that took charge of
the old Philadelphia Museum, in Phila-
delphia. There it was that I became ac-
quainted with Avery Smith, old man
Quick. Dick Sands. Dan Rice and others
of the old timers. I guess I am about
the only one now left Of them
Shortly before came into possession
of the Philadelphia Museum, Captain
Coffin, owner of a trading ship, arrived
in this country with the Siamese twins.
He had secured them by some trivial
contract with the king of Siam. The
twain were then IS years old. A man
named Zimmerman attempted to exhibit
them, but his effort was not a financial
success, and then I secured them and
showed them first of all in PHILADELPHIA
at my own museum, with great success.
1T was at this time that I became 50
well acquainted with p. T. Barnun. he
had heard of my initial successes with
the twins and one day he approached
me TO buy an interest in them-
THE bargain we struck has never
been made public, but I will tell you
now that Barnum got a fourth interest
in the twins in exchange FOR his long ex-
perience in the museum business. He
then toured the United States from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and exhibited to
big crowds, Then I took them to Eng
land, where, on Good Friday, we opened
at the Crystal Palace and cleared $500
in that one day.
"Barnum and I had the twins for
three years, but when they reached p
years they went into business for them
selves. They quickly made a fortune,
and settled in Kentucky, investing the
money they had made in the slave traf-
fic. They lost their fortunes during the
war, and then exhibited themselves over
the United States again. and died in the
'70s, in Surrey. county, North Carolina
When Barnum and I were together
I found him a man of wonderful mag
netism. He was a strictly temperate
man, and when inviting US down to his
country home in Connecticut to spend
Sunday he would say: Boys. come
down and spend Sunday with me; but
if you want anything to drink you had
better bring it along When Barnun
and I separated on the wharf at New
York, when I was first going to Eng
land, he said to me: ingalls,. believe
you are a temperate man: but if you
dring anything over in England, be very
careful They got me drunk over there
once, and I've never heard the last o.
it"