New-York tribune., 1909-12-14
STRONGSNEADCLEN
SIGN4TURE Terrified.
UM Be Com pared lr1th That
on the Suicide Note.


authentic signature OF Mrs. Ocey W NJ
snead, the victim of the East orange bath
tub mystery. This specimen. which Is re
garded by Prosecutor Mott as one Of the
most important documents in connection
with the mystery surrounding the death
of Mrs snesd. was found by Tribune
reporter AZ the home of an expressrlan IN
First avenue Its authenticity was Touched
for by three members OF the family. Who
were acquainted with Fletcher ". snead,
his wife and Miss wsrdlsw.
The dead womans name mad been signed
TO an affidavit on August =. 1905. and this
VIII be compared by William J. hinsley,
the handwriting expert. with letters, in
cluding those which are said 90 have heen
written by Miss Virginia o. wardlaw, the
dead womans aunt. who Is IN the Newark
Jail awaiting the action Of the grand 5ury.
A second document. bearing the name
'Ocey Snesd." signed TO receipt for $50.
was also found. bur its gsnuineness WIS
not established last night
Alfred ]. Hardin. chief detective Of the
Essex County prosecutors Office. accom-
panied by The Tribune reporter. examined
the signatures before they were taken 20
the handwriting expert whose report viii
be given 10 the grand jury. The signature
made by Mrs. Snesd in the presence OF the
expressman's family and under the most
favorabls circumstances will probably be
used as the standard for future compsri-
SONS
SIGNED AN AFFIDAVIT.
Mrs. snsed had lost telescope bag.
which contained clothing and toilet articles.
Following complaint 10 the express com
pany. she called AT the office and there
signed an affidavit naming the articles
which were missing Later she called az
the sxrressmsn's home. where she arranged
20 accept furniture in settlement Of the loss.
Accompanied hy her husband. the woman
selected chairs. beds and carpets. which
were sent 10 the house IN Flst5ush-
II was agreed 10 deliver the furniture 20
the house in Flatbush few days later.
A few minutes after the beds and car
pets had been unloaded the expressmsn
and his wife appeared az the FIatbush
house 70 get receipt for the furniture
They were met by woman VINO was de-
scribed Mrs. Martin. and who said that
she was the mother Of Mrs Snead This
woman said that Mr.. and Mrs. Snesd were
not at home. and that she would sign the
paper.
The refusal Of the expressman 70 allow
Mrs. Martin 20 sign the receipt led ~ a
quarrel. aud finally the furniture was rs-
turned 70 the warehouse The expressman
told Detective Hardin and The Tribune re-
porter that he vas sure the woman was
the missing Mrs. Martin.
Mrs. Ocey Snead did not call ct the ex-
pressmans home after the furniture Incl
dent in Flatbush. After several efforts 10
adjust the loss Of the vaIise Miss Wardlaw
called at the home Of the expressman on
August II. 1879 She carried a bal by, which
h
A woman who Is described as Mrs Mary
Snead. mother-fu-lsw Of the dead woman,
accompanied Miss Wardlaw. The women
had a receipt for $50 for the lost bag. They
said they wanted the money as il was
needed for the care Of Mrs. Ocey Snead.
who, they said. had been taken 70 a hos
pital
The -zpfe-smsn'S wife aEreed 20 nav the
moRe--, bur first insisted on a receipt bear
ing Mrs Snead'E name and witnessed bv
notary. Thereupon Miss wardlaw left the
house 20 get the signature. while the
woman said 70 be Mrs Mary Snead re-
matned at the house with the baby. Miss
Wsrdlsw is said 10 have been gone less
than tvo hours when she returned with
rhe paper bearing the name 81 oc4v Snesd
and Nestchester County notary.
VARIATIONS IN SIGNATURES
Miss wardlav wrote the name '-vvsrdler.
No. 25s West 18th street" on the back ~
the receipt She substituted .1er' for
law" on the last part Of the signature
The usms ''Oosy Snead'' was written IN
steady hand. which bears resemblance
to many letters in the possession OF the
police. The detectives expressed some
doubt as 10 the ability OF Miss wardlau
20 go 10 F'lstbush where Mrs Snesd *
supposed 70 have been IN bed at the time
the so was paid, obtain her signature in
the presencs ~ 4 notary and return 70
First avenue. New York. IN the time given
by the sxpres sman.
a comparison OF the two SIGNATURES .r5
those alresdy obtained but not regarded
as positive standards showed several dtf
re-enr formations IN the letters. The 90,
varied, and the a" IN The last part of
snsad' wss different A dfsiuterestsd
person who wrote "ocey W n sread"
showed the signaturs an easy one 20 re-
produce
While the evidence found BY The Tribune
reporter yesterday viii have great bearing
on the grand JURY examination. the East
Orange detectives said yesterday that an
important ciew which had not been dis
cussed IN detail was the position az Mrs
Snead's body in III. hathtub.
This evidence. II Hss said will be brought
out in connection with the theory that rhs
woman did not commit suicide The police
man who saw the body immediately after
the case was reported by Miss Wardlav
said that the dead woman had bar OF
soap in one hand and a towel in the other
They do not connect this with the settin~
~ a suicide plan. II is explained that Mrs
Snead would not have carried these arttclss
into the hathtub II she were planning her
death Tasy cannot explain wbr a woman
7 who had written suicide note should have.
made preparations 10 use a towel ana soan
in her efforts 20 end her life
The date fer the grand jury examination
has not yet been announced. Prosecutor
Mott investigated 3 report that Fletcher
". Snead and his wife lived In Newark
shortly before the womsns death An
ANONYMOUS letter gave This ciew Franklin
W Fort counsel for Miss Wsrdlsw an
peared confident that the jury will not in
diet the woman.
unpCr DID A nTTnAr rnUrn