The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-10-18
mrs. CAADW|CKDIES IN PRISON
Woman Borrowed s24O, 600 and Wreck
ed Bank. vi,

Columbus, q. tSp0clalJ --MIS' Jas
sic Chadwick, whose amazing finan-
cial transactions eliminated in the
wrecking of an Oberlin co.. bank,
died in the woman's ward at the Ohio
penitentiary at 1915 o'clock T. M.
Mrs. Chadwick had been in a como
tose condition for some hours prev
ious to her death. The end came
peacefully. No friend or relative
waited at her bedside, only the prison
physician and hospital attendants be-
ing present. Her son, Emil Hoover,
had been summoned from Cleveland.
Mrs. Chadwick was brought to
trial March 6, 1905, and after near
ing which last two weeks. was found
guilty of conspiracy to defraud a ma
tional bank, and was sentenced TO
10 years in the penitentiary.
Her health, which was not good at
the time of the trial, failed steadily
after it's conclusion.
Mrs. Chadwick's father was a
farmer at Eastwood, crossroads
four miles east of Woodstock, Ont.
There she was born in 1857 on her
fathers farm, one of the eight chill
dren of Daniel Bigley. The SIX
daughters and two sons were school
ed and reared alike. In young wom-
anhood Elizabeth is said to have first
departed from the way of life she
had been taught.
Her brothers and sisters grew into
honest men and women, and SO COM
pletely did her way of life estrange
her from them that they not only
disowned her, but latterly denied any
knowledge of her relationship with
her.
Her talent for forgery developed
early. When she was Fl years old
she was arrested on an indictment
charging forgery. Her trial in 1879
was a sensation in the Canadian
town. Her lawyers did not even
claim that she had not committed
the crime. Her only defense was
that she was insane when she COM
mitted it..
On Monday morning, November
%, the Citizens National Bank OF
Oberlin, o., closed its doors. A ma
tional bank examiner was sent on
from Washington at the request of
the directors. 1t was announced
that President c. T. Beckwith and
Cashier A. B. Spear had made large
loans to Mrs. Chadwick. 1t later
developed that the bank had loaned
the woman $4,000, four times its
capital stock, and that she had Dor
rowed about 100000 from Beckwith
and Spear personally.
The bank did not open thereafter.
Beckwith and Spear were arrested
December 4 at Oberlin on warrants
sworn out by the federal authorities
on charges connected with the bank
failure. In the bank were found two
notes, one of $250,000 and the 9TH
er for 100000, signed Andrew Car
negie'' and drawn in favor of Mrs.
Chadwick. They were given to the
bank as security.
These arrests were followed De-
cember by the great arrest in New
York of Mrs. Chadwick on the charge
of aiding and abetting the officials of
the Oberlin Bank in the misappro-
priation of funds of the bank. She
was unable to give bail and was taken
to the Tombs prison.
Mrs. Chadwick spent a lively time
in New York prior to her arrest. She
had apartments at the best hotels and
was busy with many conferences with
her several lawyers. She made
sensational visit to Wall Street one
afternoon during her stay and on an
other made a sensational departure
from her hotel. In this latter trip
she was followed by detectives, secret
service men and reporters on a wild
drive on one of the busy thorough
fares. 1t was said her plan was to
evade her watchers and go to for
eign country. Several times she was
reported on the verge of break
down, and at the time of her arrest
was under the care of physician.
She returned to Cleveland December
10 in the custody of the federal Off
GERS of New York City and was sur
rendered to the government repre-
sentatives of the Ohio federal dis
trict.
When the use of his name in the
case was brought to the attention
of Andrew Carnegie in New York he
denied any relationship to the woman
and said that if his name was on any
of her financial papers it had been
forged. He made known his willing
ness to so testify in court.
The expose of the case brought
out the fact that one of the prominent
men with whom the woman had
financial dealings was ]. w. Friend,
a Pittsburg steel millionaire and
friend of Andrew Carnegie.
The Chadwick case was the direct
cause of the death of President Beck
with Of tho Ohar1in RauL