The Washington times., 1905-11-16
MOTHER IDENTIFIES
LONG DEAD .lN
Piece of Cloth Leads to
Detection.
BURIED IN P0TTER'S FIELD
Body Exhumed and Carried to Last
Resting Place Near Fred
erick, Md.

One Of the most remarkable cases
that Morguemaster William Schoen-
berger has ever handled came under his
observation on last Monday. when the
body of Harry NJ Spalding. who was
killed at First street and Virginia ave-
nue southwest on November .. year
ago. was identified by his mother. Mrs
Harriet Spalding. who lives a SIS II
street northeast
The body was kept in the morgue for
forty-fve days during which every pos
sible effort was made by Morguemaster
Schoenberger and the police TO establish
the Identity of the dead man.
on December y, of last year. the body
was placed in the potters field. II
was never dreamed that the body would
afterward b. identified but this did
happen, and is due. to the fact that
Schoenberger always keeps portion OF
the clothing worn b. persons at the
time they meet with a fatal accident.
Police Side of Story.
Until Monday all the police. coroner,
and morguemaster knew Of the case
was that the mangled body of a rough
ly dressed man less than thirty years
old had been found at First street
and Virginia avenue. on November Of
last year. How the man came TO his
death was not known. and there was
nothing in his pockets TO give the
slightest inkling as to who or what he
was.
That is the police side of the story,
and as much as they knew until Mrs.
Spalding visited the morgue.
She said she was positive that the
body was that Of her son, for whom
she had been searching and writing all
over the United States for more than
Mrs Spalding was shown a piece OF
the dead mans coat. and she imned-
/ lately recognized II. She hastened to
the pOtter's field, where she had Grave
tender Ratherdale to exhume the body.
The remains We're shipped TO Spaid-
ing's native town, near Frederick, Nd.
yesterday afternoon, and Inferred there
in the family plot
Had PTemonition
On November !. 1904. young Spalding.
who had been employed by a local rail-
| road company, resigned his position to
go TO Alexandria. Va. TO work for an
other corporation. About O'Clock on
T, the morning OF November he kissed
his mother good-by and started out FOR
the Old Dominion city. His mother
begged MIN to be careful when he walk
ed along the railroad tracks. because
she had premonition Of a mishap
1 ACCOUNTS OF tEt dcCtuEOl E2TSL
street ana Virginia avenue northwest
were printed IN the local newspapers,
and later several stories regarding the
fact that the body had not been idcnti-
fed were also published
Stranger Gives Clue.
! One day last week a vacant house ad-
| Joining Mrs. Spalding's home was rent
ed BY woman who lived farther out In
| the northeast Washington. Mrs. Spald-
| ing, in addition to writing hundreds of
letters to persons IN cities in most OF
| the States OF the Union. made a practice
/ OF telling her story TO everyone with
whom she came in contact
On Sunday afternoon Mrs. Spalding
/ called on her new neighbOr. The con-
/ versatiOn finally drifted TO her lost boy
/ Mrs. Spalding told her neigfbor that
/ her boy had Tot been seen by anyone
since November OF last year. The
/ Eeighbor said she remembered reading
I In The Times an account OF an unknown
I man being killed by q train in south
west Washington on that very day and
suggested that Mrs. Spalding might do
well TO call at the morgue and make in
I curry.