The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-22
Jennie Jones, Ready. 10 Die
Herself Wanted 10 Destroy
Her Whole Family
ROW Of HOUSES BURNED
BY CRAZY WOMAA'S PRANK
Husband Jumps From Window and
Children Crepe Their Way to the
Door Through Clouds
of Dense Smoke.

II tried to burn them up, but they
jumped out the window, were the words
with which Jennie Jones confessed to
having set fire to her house, while it
was occupied by her husband. four chill
dren and her sister-in-law.
My husband has been ill-treating me,
and beating me and abusing my little
boys until am almost crazy. He keeps
on talking about killing us all. and last
night fried to get him to kill us and
end it all, but he wouldn't do it. If
he had done what told him, wouldn't
have burned up the house, but I wanted
to kill him, and all the children" Almost
in Mysteries, the negro woman broke
down.
She was at the city Jail. where she
had been placed by Policeman Cole, on
the charge of arson. The arrest was
made after she had set fire to house
in Fifth alley, between Fourteenth and
Fifteenth street, which was burned to the
ground besides igniting five other cot
tages, and giving the fire department a
hard fight to suppress the flames at all.
Driven Crazy BY III Treatment.
From all appearances of the little
woman when she was making her con-
fession last night she has been driven
rank crazy by ill-treatment. Accord
ing to her story, she has been separated
from her husband number of times,
but recently she agreed to live with him,
and had taken the house, occupying one
end, while her sister-in-law and family
We're in the other.
Both women have two little boys, and
yesterday morning the children had
fight, which ended in the women fighting.
and Jennie getting the worst of it, Last
night Jennie was SO full of melancholy
that she begged her husband to carry
out his threat and kill the whole family,
but he only laughed at her.
Puts Goals In Closet
Finally she grew desperate, put the
children to bed, and while her husbands
back was turned carried some hot Goals
OFT OF the fire into the closet. She then
window, that they might all roast to-
gether in the flames but her husband
saw and intercepted her
Jennie then began crying and trying to
hold them in but, as the flames were
spreading over the whole room, he broke
loose and jumped out of the window. The
smoke was becoming sitting, and the lit
tie fellows in the bed managed to scram-
BILE out, whereupon Jennie herself fol-
lowed. oh l wish / had them all back
in there, and could burn them all upr"
ha vii uybI ol, eho
Throughout her whole conversation she
continued to wander back to the times
when her husband and sister had mis-
treated and abused herself and children.
She stated that at one time a doctor
had told her she was going crazy.
1t is her belief that her whole family
would be better in the lower world than
quarreling here. She spoke suspiciously
of having three children who are dead,
as if she had also been the cause of their
death.
Children Have Remarkable Escape.
The story as told by the family and
neighbors corroborates her confession.
They say they We're astonished to see her
clinging to her husband, trying to keep
MN DdCK III the SMOKING room. llle oS-
cape of the little children is considered
remarkable as the room was already filed
with smoke when they ran out.
Jennie has placed herself in Jail on one
of the most serious crimes, which could
result in hanging. Her craziness how
ever, will probably end in her being
placed in the asylum.
When the fire department arrived on the
scene the four-room house which these
negroes occupied was already enveloped
in flames, and their attention had to be
turned toward preventing a spread A
house on Fourteenth street. between Fifth
and Sixth avenues, with three rooms,
caught next, and was damaged to the
extent of about 800. 1t was occupied by
Charles Hudson, a negro.
Damage Is Not Heavy.
The house of Lucy Bowlin and Richard
Sutton on Fifth avenue had the roof
burned off, while that Of Annie Patllo
and Annie Cleveland, a four-room house.
was damaged about 1925. Those of George