Norwich bulletin., 1913-06-12
SPECTACULAR CAREER
 OF GRoTON MAN John Albert Fish, Eastern Connecticut Native, Led Checkered Life.

The New York Times. reviewing the story of refusal by insurance com panies to pay risk on burned yacht tells this breezy story of former 1 Groton boy:
 1 John Albert Fish was born In Gro ! ton Conn. in 1874. In 1S93-94 he 1 shipped before the mast with Capt. Robert Wilbour of Mystic. After his l return he enlisted in the Engineer l corps of the United States army as 1 a private at Willets Point. He had served two years and nine minths. l when he left before the expiration of 1 his enlistment After this he resided in New York city for about two years, during which period his occupation did not appear. In 1898 he went to South i Africa and was at Beira, Mozambique, l for six or eight months. There he l, shot a negro and left on the train the next day. going to Otelli, across the 1. border. He then entered the service ! of the South African company He was gold miner also.
 Enlisted for Boer War. As the next step in his adventurous career he enlisted in the Colonial cav airy for the Boer war. He was wound ed in that conflict and was invalded to England in 1902. On September 2, ! he was married to Alverta c. Sug- ] gert, at Edinburgh, Scotland. They lived for time at a hotel and then travelled through Ireland. She testi- i fled in a previous action that she paid 1 the expenses On October ? she came to the United States and lived at a, ] hotel with her maid. Fish did not live 1 with her at this time. On October 9 l she had testified, so Fish admitted in 1 his cross examination. she had return ! ed to London. and two or three nights l later he broke open her trunks and ] took her letters. She began proceed i ings in London to annul her maria ge, i but the proceedings were withdrawn. Mrs. Fish returned to New York alone before Christmas On February 9 1 Fish and his wife were remarried here and lived together for a few weeks. On July he was retired from the Colonial cavalry for wounds received in action. Up to that time he had re- i ceived full pay of $150 a month. He i derived $500 or s700 for his services i when he retired and had Received s1,800 blood money for his injuries. After Wife's Death
 :. Meanwhile. Mrs Fish had assigned to her husband all her jewelry and ! personal property. On March 30, 1904. oning at 521 West Eleventh street.
 New York. The coroner's inquest gave the cause of death as accidental poisoning, Three days afterward Fish placed a mortgage on some of her l property for 300.
 Assaulted Hugh o. Pentecost.
 On April 29 Fish was convicted of
 assault on Hugh O. Pentecost and 1 fined $50 in the court of special ses-
 sions, On June 3, a copy of a bill
 of sale of all of Mrs. F'ish's personal
 property was filed in New York coun-
 tN under date of August :, 1903. About
 six months later Fish met Catherine
 s. Barnes, from whom he later bor-
 rowed a good deal of money Mean
 time he had disposed of practically all
 of the property he had received from
 his wife
 During the summer of 1905 he ap-
 peared in the production known as
 the Boer War. at Brighton beach. In | November he became tracer for
 Wananaker's and was also employed
 there as aisle manager. In May he
 became floor walker at Saks' Dur
 ing parts of 1907 and 1908 he continued
 to be a floor walker and then, on May
 2, 1908, came the purchase of the first
 Senta.s
 ] This vessel had already been dam
 aged by fire, and Fish acquired her for
 $500. He had her repaired and insured
 her with Lloyds of London for $10, 900 The following summer this policy was
 had purchased automobile, paying
 for it with some pictures and bric-a 1 brac which remained from his wife's property.
 Burned Of Groton Long Point.
 Off Groton Long Point. Conn, or October the first Senta was destroy
 ed by fire under very similar cfrcum
 stances. according to his account. that
 surrounded the destruction of the sec
 ond Senta. which he bought unde,
 the name of Gevella on November 23 paying s1, 400 of the $1.50o purchase price out of the insurance collected or the other boat.
 At the time of the burning of the
 first yacht, Fish had a bank balance
 here of $4.55 and an English balance
 of 18s. Tod.
 Kept Auto at Noank. The automobile he registered in New Jersey on January 20. 1910, giving ar address at which he did not live. IT March he insured the machine fol $3,000 and within ten days increased the policy te s35oo He kept the au- 1 temobile in barn at Neank CenH. 1 belonging te his cousin. George Fish
 In August tl'" cousin got a permit from the insHn0Sas1ssnaua1aany to continue this