The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-22
Wife Recognized His Signature
and Wrote to Him.
DENIED HIS IDENTITY,
Insisted That He Was A. H
Gresham.
Was Employed on San Diego
Chicken Ranch.

which says:
since January Harrison has been Ia
boring on a poultry ranch near San
Diego under the name of A. H.
Gresham. and made a name for HIM
self as an expert in poultry raising
evincing keen, intimate knowledge OF
the latest methods in the forced feed
ing OF fancy broilers that would seem
TO De obtainable only after years of
close study. And Harrison. until he
went to that ranch, had never spent a
day OF his life on a farm nor even
raised a chicken. Harrison is a son of
Thomas w. Harrison. former mayor of
Topeka, an Ann Arbor graduate.
thirty-second degree Mason, He has a
wife and two boys.
The search for Harrison since he
dropped out of sight in Kansas City has
been constant. But it remained for the
man, whose whole mental being had
been so completely transformed as if
ne mad in fact taken over the person.
atty of another. to become the unwit-
ting rescuer of himself
As Gresham Harrison believed he had
had business relations with a George
Harrison in st. Louis at the Worlds
| fair. To Gresham the personality of
Harrison was distinctly pleasing and
the thought that he still owed Harri-
son 1880 for souvenirs of the fair
| which he had undertaken to sell for
Harrison disturbed him. So it hap
pened one day about two weeks ago
Gresham wrote a letter to George
Harrison" at Topeka Three days later
Mrs. Harrison received it. She read:
About those World fair souvenirs
and cards 1 took on consignment from
you two years ago: 1 have not forgot
ten them, but it seems that have
been taking you at your word on using
all the time 1 need to work them off.
The Jap trays were no good and 1 had
to dump them, but all the stuff that
would stand advertising I had a mar
ket for last winter-but in Kansas
City l got strong arming down near
the Union depot that relieved me of
| my grip with this stuff and pretty much
all else l had, too. For a week 1
couldn't even recollect my own name.
through a welt on my head.
Il should have sent the money early
| this spring when / had it if 1 could
have thought of your name and ad-
| dress. 1 could remember that 1 owed
| 1t, but not to whom or how-in fact. the
southwest quarter of my cocoanut is
| still not Just what lit ought to be- as
| the fellow says sJlr
Mrs. Harrison had never heard of A.
H. Gresham, but she recognized in the
signature a strong resemblance to her
| husbands handwriting. She asked him
| to send her photograph of himself
| and description OF any marks by
which he might be identified. In an
| swer to his letter complying with her
| request Gresham" next received the
| following telegram from Topeka:
| You are my husband without a
doubt. Every Identification com
| plete. Am wiring money for your
journey to Topeka. Had better not
| travel alone"
| Meantime Gresham had begun to
| question his own identity. He rejected
| as out of the question the possibility
of his being married and a father
without knowing it. He went into
ployer to buy feed for the poultry.
| o. ID. White. a clerk in a feedstore.
| waited on the stranger.
A Clerk Recognized Harrison.
your name is Harrison, isn't it?''
asked the clerk pleasantly.
mo, partner the big. bronzed
ranchman replied. MY name is AL
| len Horton Gresham. Guess you've
made a mistake
But White was positive.
81 certainly ought to know you" he
persisted. you are the man who was
attacked by a gang of gamblers after
you had denounced them in your
newspaper in Garden City, and I sat
on the jury that convicted the ring
leader and helped to send him to Jail
You were the complaining witness and
l saw you on the stand for three days
l know you"
1t sounded emphatic enough, but
Gresham was not so readily to be
diverted from the personality he was
sure was his. He was directed tc
see DR.. Lawrence S. Chamberlain, q
San Diego specialist. formerly a prac.
ticing physician in Topeka. Gresham
maintained a polite interest in the
physicians story that he was moi
Gresham, but refused to be convinced
of his huge mistake at the conclusion
of the interview. Then DR.. Chamber
lain got on the wire to Topeka.
Reunited to Her Sister-in-Law.
Mrs. Harrison, already in receipt OF
the first letter from the stranger who
signed himself A H. Gresham. was
convinced of the correstness of her
surmise on receipt of DR.. Chamber
lain's telegram. She asked her sister
Mrs. w. B. Swan, who was in Los
Angeles, to see Gresham Before
Mrs. Swan could put the plan in effect
she received telegram from her
brother-in-law stating he was leaving
for San Diego and would reach Los
Angeles Saturday night. At the sta
ton Harrison walked straight by his
sister-in-law, who was awaiting his
recognition. AS she caught up with
him she threw her arms about him
and gave him a kiss, much to his ap-
parent embarrassment.
Don't you know me, George?" Mrs
Swan asked.
| He answered with a broad smile:
81 reckon it must be my sister-in.
law I can't imagine anyone else
would be likely to give me just thai
kind of a greeting.
Harrison spent today with his sister
in-law. He Will start for Topeka to-
morrow morning on the California
limited He declares he will bring hi
wife and children back to Southern
California on the first train.
Disappeared January 4.
On June s, 1907, Mr.. Harrison, ther
| editor of the Evening Telegram II
| Garden City. Kan. was assaulted b,
"Bfil- McArtor, a gambler of tina
| place. McArtor wounded HIM IN tn'
face by a blow from a bar OF iron
The Telegram had been making an eff
fort tn clean out a companY OF gam.