Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-12-17
The STORY Of SEGU|N
Defendants In Damage Suit
Claim to Have Inquired In
to His History
HIS CAREER c+'EckERgD ONE
He Is Said to Have Been Tried at
Cherokee For Attempted Murder
and Catholic Authorities Maintain
His Record In tho Church Was a
Bad one-some Incidents Related.
Special to Times R epubllcan

] Special to Times Republican
Grundy Center, Dec. 1.-THE evil
dence which the defense had prepared
in the case of the damage suit brought
by ex-Priest r. A. s5eguin, would have
shed some strong light on the check
cred career of the apostate clergyman
This evidence was sensational in the
extreme, and would have shown the
past record Of Seg,Iin up in an unsav-
ory light had 1t been introduced. This
evidence consisted largely of letters
which were written by Catholics and
others in response to inquiries made re-
garding the career Of Seguin when he
was Officiating in the priesthood at
Brainerd, Mimi, and also during So
journ at Pepih, WIS. In all of these he
is denounced as dlssolute, it being al
legged that ON one occasion when he was
holding mass he was so much intoxt-
Gated as to fall al the altar and cause
a public scandal. Seguin was tried at
Cherokee, Iowa, several years ago on
a charge Of assault with intent to COM
init murder and acquitted. He IS al
legged to have golle about the country
and even now to he doing so, collecting
money for home for ex-priests, which
he says, he has founded in Amboy,
while residents OF Amboy say that he
owns no property and resides IN four
room house which he rents and Is
barely large enough to accommodate
himself and family.
Seguin himself, denounces all the
stories which are told of him as false
and as a species Of persecution. He
likens himself to Martin Luther and
John Knox, and says that he expects
nothing in his work Of reform but SLAM
der and kicks ard cuffs which are un-
deserved He Is very bitter over the
turn taken in his case here, declaring
that his WITNESSES were all bribed to
forget and that the newspapers which
have handled the case are all gagged
4 He tells his own story of his life, either
denying the allegations made by 9TH
| ers, or emitting any reference to any
/ questionable acts in his past life.
| Born in Canada.
IT am q French Canadian" said ex-
Priest Seguin. Il was born ana raised
a Catholic in the city of Montreal, and
for thirteen years officiated as a priest.
| All st, Cloud Mimi, served under
j drunken bishoI one year. and then l
turned against the Catholic religion. |
went to Father Chiniquy in Illinois and
j was with him in his work of reform
fer three years. Then l went to New
York city to work as missionary
among the French people, after which
1 I made trip to Europe, spending a
few months there, visiting and preach
| ing.
II then went to Chicago where
spent year working independent OF
any church and then Joined the West
Side Christian church Of that city un-
der John Well Allen. joined that
church in 1885 and returned to Des
/ Moines and allied myself with the Uni
versity Place Christian church. My
membership is still there. While in
| Chicago / rar. religious publication
which I edited and published in both
French and English.
W,sds ex.Nun.
II was married in New York City
| twenty-four years ago Christmas day,
by DR.. Forest Deems, of the Church of
the Stranger, to Miss Sarah Mulhol-
land. an ex-n,ln, a New York City wo-
man who had been consecrated in her
youth and served as a nun In the Inn
1naculate Conception" in New York
City. have son Is years of age and
two little girls aged and respective
ly. I am God-fearing man and am
preaching reformed religion as see
1t and I am the victim Of persecution.
| delivered the same lecture to the
young men at Drake University that
was about to deliver at Dixie, Iowa,
| when I was set upon and robbed I
| delivered the same lecture in the Pres
byterian church in this city, and I was
| not molested. There Is nothing in 1t
that men should not listen to-"
In the same letter reference is made
to the organization which was formed
by Seguin for the promotion of home
build at Amboy. Several men were
associated with Seguin in the project.
They claimed to have considerable
money and twenty acres of land. Mr..
Axtell said that John Fisher. the treas
urer Of the corporation, resigned from
the project, stating that he had but
$8.75 In his possession as treasurer,
while Axtell declared Seguin had no
title to the land he claimed.
"Court" DeLatt Exposed.
Rev. D. Hughes, of Mankato, Mimi,
also wrote ONE time ago, stating that
there was no such home at Amboy, that
it could be shown that Seguin bought
a house ur,der false pretenses, never
paid anything for it, and was elected
from it by law. DR.. Hughes also stat
ed that Seguin lectured three times in
Mankato, and was ordered out Of
town the last time. With Seguin in
the project of founding home for ex-
priests was A. C. DeLatt, the young
foreigner who appeared in Des Moines
number of years ago, and announced
that he was q Belgian count. Pictures
OF his castle appeared in the newspa-
pers, together with stories containing
much hot air. Finally the count was
found to be fake and exposed.
r. E. Saunders In writing to the edi-
tor of the Northwestern Catholic from
Cherokee, Iowa, September %, 1897,
said: "After three days trial in
this town, Seguin was acquitted Of the
charge of assault with intent to COM
NIT murder Seguin shot into
crowd at Meriden. Iowa."
In the following extract from let
ter written by j. M. Axtell of Pepin,
Wis, January II, 1898, in reply to an
inquiry from the Catholic Citizen at
Milwaukee, can be seen the view which