El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-07-01
CONVERSE IS DEAD;
OPERATION FAILURE;
FRACTURE Of SKULL
Former e. Paso Adventurer
Will Not Face Trial on
Bigamy Charge.

Lawrence Converse will never face a
jury on the bigamy charge pending
against him on the Los Angeles, Calf
court calendar. nor will he ever know
the final outcome Of the fight he
started to force Mexico TO pay him an
indemnity for imprisoning him in Jua-
rez. He died last Saturday night in Los
Angeles following an operation on his
The former Ell Pasoan, who married
Miss Amelia Spencer. Of this city, and
had figured in more sensations than
any other lad his age, so far as the
knowledge Of local people runs, was Op-
Grated on for the removal Of a piece
of bone, which physicians asserted was
pressing down on his BRAIN The injury
was sustained about year ago, while
he was diving in a Los Angeles swim
ming pool
The physicians declared that this IN
jury made him forget that he had a
wife and two babies when he recently
secured a license under an assumed
name and married beautiful Reatha
Watson in Los Angeles. It was TO re-
store his mind to its normal condition,
prior TO his trial on a charge OF biga-
my, that the operation was undertaken
The operation was performed and the
patient rallied, but a few hours later he
sank into Inconsistencies and soon
died.
Converse Is remembered by all FL
Paso as the lad who made himself con-
spicuOus as a messenger for Pascual
OrOzcO when the latter was besieging
JuareZ, in January, 1911; he came and
went between the Orozco army and FL
PasO dozens Of times with messages
and papers, regardless Of the fact that
the soldiers of POrfirio Diaz held
JuareZ-until he made one trip too
many and fell into the hands Of the
soldiers Of DiaZ at GuadaluTe. 80 miles
east Of Juarez, on the Rio Graude. With
Edwin Blatt, he was arrested and i'm
prisoned in Juarez for months, his re-
lease finally coming as a favor to his
father In the form OF a pardon from
president Diaz- Shortly thereafter Con-
verse married Miss Spencer while she
was visiting in California; he had met
her in FL Paso.
Then the young man appeared in the
limeliEht as a claimant for heavy dam
ages from Mexico for his imprisonment /
The United States military commission,
after hearing his evidence at FL PasO,
reported against his claim He then
went to Cuba with his wife and family.
Returning few months ago. he had TO
leave his wife in hospital in New Or
leans After placing his children with !
his mOtherInlaW, on Missouri street. in !
Fl PasO, he later kidnapped the smallest
child one evening and was arrested by ]
local police after several shots had {
been fired and considerable excitement /
had been created on the street
Patching up the affair, he left for /
California with the child. and his wife /
soon Joined him His mother aided him ]
TO open a garage IN Los Angeles and Z
he was operating It at the time of his !
marriage to the Watson girl. in May,
and his arrest on a biEamy charge pre-
ferred by his wife, who later hired a I
lawyer to defend him The defence Of I
the attorney was matrimonial aphasia."
and he asserted that Converse would be I
operated upon TO remove a piece Of 4
bone that was believed TO be causing /
the trouble The operation was fatal /
He was buried Monday.
Dr. ID. c Barber. one Of the sr1rgaan s
who operated on Converse, states that !
it was not definitely ascertained wheth- 4
er a hemorrhage in the brain or the t.
formation Of a blood cIot there had
been the immediate cause OF Converse's
sudden death after his removal from
the operating table