Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-05
Van Gordon Gray Has Wife and
Three Children Living at
Indianapolis
STORY OF A PHOTOGRAPH
Gray Pleaded With Tears in His Eyes
For Photograph of Woman and
Child, Which Was Given Him Be-
fore He Left For Pen-known at
indianapolis as Fred Booth

1t was learned definitely today from
recently sentenced by Judge Burnham
to twenty years Imprisonment at Fort
Madison, OH charges of forgery, utter
ing a forged instrument, and cheating
by false pretenses, is a bgamist as
well as foreer, and has a wife and two
children living in that city. photo
graph of Gray, sent the chief at In
dianapolis by Sheriff Hutson, has been
identified as Fred Booth, of Indianap-
oils, editor and proprietor of weekly
magazine, who skipped out after pass
ing bogus checks on clothier and art
dealer in Indianapolis.
Sheriff Hutson had cause to believe
that Gray was not telling the truth
when he declared that he had never
been married before he was welded to
Miss TriXie Shapcott, of this city, at
Dubuque. Gray protested that such an
idea was absurd, but when he was so
anxious to secure the photograph OF a
woman and little child, which was on
his person, at the time of his arrest, the
sheriff thought that at some place IN
this country Gray had living wife ana
child Indianapolis was learned to
have been the home of Gray at one
time. and the sheriff wrote the chief
of police, telling him of his suspicious,
ana enclosing photograph of Gray.
The answer came this morning, and
the photograph has been positively
identified as a likeness of Fred Booth,
editor and proprietor of magazine
once published in Indianapolis. Both
the clothier and art dealer, whom Gray
victimized by bogus checks, identified
the photograph.
Wanted Photograph Badly.
When Gray was arrested and his eff
fects taken possession of by the s1er-
ifs officers, he made one request of
the sheriff that he be allowed to retain
a photograph bearing the likeness of a
nice looking woman and little child.
The picture, Gray said, was q likeness
Of his (Grays) sister and her little one.
The prisoner wept as he made the ret
quest, and Sheriff Hutson returned to
him the picture.
Being Known at uHQldlldpOllS as fFeQ
Booth would indicate that possible
Booth were Gray's correct name. At
any rate, it will be remembered. the
name of Fred Booth appeared on both
the mans linen and his cards.
Third Child But Three Days Old.
A telegram to the Times-Republican
from Indianapolis, received this after
noon, contains further particulars of
Gray's life there under the name of
Booth. The message is not without it's
pathetic side, and tells a story of des-
titution of lonely wife and her three
small children. Booths last child is
a babe only three days old. The dis
crepancy in the number of children, as
referred to by the chief of police in
Sheriff Illusions letter, comes from
the fact that Chief Metzger wrote his
letter on April 1, before the babe was
born. Sheriff Hutson being away
from home, did not receive the letter
until he returned this morning.
Editorial Writer on Seminal.
The telegram from Indianapolis is to
the effect that Fred Booth came to In
dianapolis three years ago, and for a
time was engaged as an editorial writ
err on the Seminal. Later he estab-
lished a magazine, called 1.-THE Graft
err" He left Indianapolis several
months ago, and his wife and children
are penniless