The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1906-08-16
NINE. DISS DEBAR
OUT OF PRISON
The Notorious SwindIer Under Ticket
of Leave.
The QUEEN OF OCCULT FRAUD.
Womsn Who. With Reputed Husband, Headed
an immoral Cult Called the "Theocratic
Unity"-Through SO-eaIIed Spirit-painted
Pictures and Other Dscepuons She Secured
the Portune Of Luther Marsh.

London, (By Cable). Ann O'Delia
Diss DeBar, who, under the name OF
Laura Jackson, was sentenced on De
cember 20, 1901, to seven years penal
servitude for connection with an im-
moral cult known as the "Theocratic
Unity" of which her reputed husband
Theodore Jackson, was the head, has
been liberated from Aylesbury prison
under ticket of leave, having obtained
the maximum reduction Of sentence By
good behavior.
Nine. Diss DeBar has been known TN
der many names in the United States
and Great Britain, but her greatest no
toriety was achieved as the perpetrator
of so-called spiritualistic deception by
which Luther R. Marsh, Of New York.
was in his old age stripped of his fortune
he had accumulated in the practice of
law. Though claiming to be the daugh-
OF King Louis /. of Bavaria and Lola
Montez, she was. in fact, the daughter
OF Prof. John {. +. Saloman, once OF
Washington and later of Kentucky
She became the wife of Gen Joseph
II. DiSs Debar in the seventies, and
later Travelled about the country repre-
senting herself as the personihcation Of
ocult powers and the revealer of hidden
truths, spiritualistic and other and in
this way, while living in Washington
Square, New York, she met Marsh, and,
by means OF alleged spirit materializa-
tioaS and spirit painted pictures so in
fatuated him that he gave her large sums
OF money and decided to her his home
i'll Madison Avenue.
About this time General Diss Dcbar
Lett the adventures, who went TO live
at the Marsh home, and also hired apart
ments. where she officiatcd rs a priest
eSS OF spiritualism and won greater no
toricty.
Suit was brought TO show her up As
an impostor. and she was charged with
conspiring 10 dcfraud Marsh. Her trial
resulted i'll her conviction and she was
sentenced 10 4 term of Imprisonment.
On her release she went to Europe, then
returned TO this country, and going to
the West got into more difficulties
through her representations of bogus
spiritualism. Under the name Of Vera
P. Ava she fell into the hands of the
Chicago police, who sent her TO the pen
itentiary at Joliet for two years. Re
leased from that institution. she married
William J. MCGOWAN i'll 1895 at Chicago.
Mr.. McGown, like Marsh. was a man Of
wealth. but this did not deter her from
the practice OF fraud. In 1900 she was
run out of New Orleans with Theodore
Jackson, whose wife she then said she
was.
A year later they turned up in Cape
Town, South Africa, while Mime. Diss
Debar called herself Helena and Jackson
called himself Horos. Occultism and
hypnotic performances were the order
there, and one of her South African
dupes, a wealthy contractor, gave his
money 10 the woman to establish a col
ony OF brotherly love. Soon afterwards
the pair went to London, where they
promoted the Theocratic Unity organiza-
ton. scandals In connection with which
led to their arrest i'll September, 1901.
The trial, which continued at intervals
through three months, developed facts
OF such 4 loathSome character that sev-
eral OF the London papers excluded from
their columns all reports of the proceed
ings III court
MIR. Justice Bigham summed up strong
ly against the prisoners, saying it was
difficult to conceive of more revolving
and abominablc conduct than that which
had been attributed to them The Jury
quickly returned 4 V-rdict of guilty,
whereupon the Justice sentenced Jack
son to IS years penal Servitude and his
reputed wife to i years penal servitude