Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-14
NINE. DIss DEBAR OUT OF PRISON
Notorious Woman Under Ticket of
Leave in London.

According to London cablegram last
night Ann O'Della Diss DeBar, who, under
the name of Laura Jackson, was sentenced
on December 20, 1901, to seven years penal
servitude for connection with an immoral
cult known as the "Theocratic Unity" of
which her reputed husband, Theodore Jack
son, 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 I'M
der many names in the United States and
Great Britain, but her greatest notoriety
was achieved as the perpetrator of a So
called spiritualistic deception by which
Luther r. Marsh of New York was, in his
old age. stripped Of his fortune he had ac-
cumulated In the practice of law. Though
claiming to be the daughter of King Louis
of Bavaria and Lola Montez, she was in
fact the daughter of Prof John c. F. Salo-
man, once of Washington and later of Ken
lucky.
She became the wife of Gen. Joseph H.
Dtss DeBar in the seventies and later tray-
eled about the country representing herself
as the personthcation of occult powers and
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 ma
terfalization and spirit painted pictures SO
infatuated him that he gave her large sums
OF money and decided to her his home in
Madison avenue.
About this time Gen. Diss DeBar left the
adventures, who went to live at the Marsh
home, and also hired apartments, where she
omciated as priestess of spiritualism and
won greater notoriety.
Suit was brought to show her up as an
impostor. and she was charged with con-
spring to defraud Marsh Her trial re-
suited IN her conviction and she was SEN
fenced to a 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 represen-
tatlons OF bogus spiritualism. Under the
name Of Vera p. Ava she fell into the
hands of the Chicago police who sent her to
the penitentiary at Joliet for two years
Released from that institution, she married
MIR. MCGOWAN. like Marsh, was a man of
wealth, but this did not deter her from the
practice of fraud. In 1899 she was run out
Of New Orleans with Theodore jackson,
whose wife she then said she was
A year later they turned up in Cane
Town, South Africa, where Nine Diss De-
Bar called herself Helena, and jackson
called himself Horos. Occultism and hyp-
and one Of her South African dupes. a
wealthy contractor, gave his money to the
woman to establish colony Of brotherly
love: Soon afterward the pair went to
London, where they promoted the Theo-
cratic Unity organization, scandals in con-
nection with which led to their arrest in
September. 1901. The trial. which contin-
ued at intervals through three months, de-
veloped facts of such a loathsome charac-
ter that several Of the London papers ex-
Guided from their columns all reports Of
the proceedings in court
Mr.. Justice Bigham summed up strong
ly against the prisoners, saying 1t was diff
hcuit to conceive of more revolving and
abominable conduct than that which had
been attributed to them. The jury quickly
returned verdict of guilty, whereupon the
justice sentenced jackson to fifteen years
penal servitude and his reputed wife to
seven years penal servitude