The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1919-08-15

! Mrs. Brown was hustled off to Sing
Sing to begin her sentence. So old
acquaintance would not be forgotten
she was given Mrs. Titles old cell.
Mary Ann Watts, an inveterate
shoplifter, made one Of the most SEN
sattOnal getaways from the female
prison. On the night of March 81,
1874, when the other inmates were
all slumbering she picked the lock of
her cell and got out into the CORR
dor while thNSgHard was busy else
where. Fastening q rope which she
4 had struggled into her cell under her
uniform skirt To the window sill she
climbed through and lowered her.
tself to the ground. Wheel tracks
found in the mud indicated that =. a.
conveyance or some sort carried her
away.
! While sought by. the prison authori-
ties she was rearrested aboard q
Fourth avenue car two years later by
Detective Titus for stealing merchan-
disc.
Jane Brooks, who had served five
years OF a life sentence for murder i'm
A Allegheny county, got away during
the night OF September 20, 1858. She
opened the door of her cell with
false key, took a matron's hat and
jacket and started homeward afoOt.
Warden Beardsley sent out guards on
horseback i'm pursuit. They over
took her at Matteawan and returned
her to her old quarters after she had
enjoyed 48 hours freedom.
Some veteran prison employees
still remember the exploits OF Kate
Connolly, shoplifter and chronic jail
breaker When only 16 she learned
the latter art by getting on to a
floating gate and padding her way
from BlackwelPs island across the
East river. She fashioned a dunn
my to fool the Sing Sing guards, left
it in her cell, got up on the roof and
slid down lightning rod on the
night of November 27, 1869 Warden
for her in vain. She got into trouble
again four years later and went back
to her old quarters. She saw a good
opening to escape again on May s.,
1875. The prison was short Of
guards. Warden Alfred Walker had
dispatched every available attendant
to try to catch five desperate con-
victs, led by Steve Boyle, who had
escaped the day before. They had
held up a train, forced Engineer Den
mis- Cassin off the locomotive, I'M
coupled and run away with it.
She had no trouble getting away
in the confusion. She pried up the
cell door sufficient to unhinge it and
gained the roof. This time she went
down rope. Jackson was detailed
to search for her and she was re-
turned i'm due time.
/ Sophie Lyons, serving five years
for stealing woman's pocketbook
in McCreery's store, also gave the
keepers and matrons the slip Her
husband, Robert lyons, alias Hap
good. fed the mems prison at Sing
Sing on December 4, 1872. He had
a fake telegram, summoning Warden
Nelson to Newa-1erk, %ssent to the
prison as a ruSe. When the warden
had gone the convict went too.
! a carriage carried him off. Fiji
teen days later the same carriage,
it developed afterward, drew UP to
the female prison after nightfalI
Mrs. Lyons, following her husbands
example, made her getaway in it.
The female escape records, obtain
ed by research as far back as 1857,
show but one ''double-header." Two
went the evening of September 49,,
1870, when Warden Russell ruled the
4ASI1LuL1OA. oUulLn dLU SARAH
Christian, firing of the monotony of
prison life, donned clothes they stole
from the matrons' lockers and walk
ed to Sing Sing village depot. There
they left unnoticed on a train for
New York.
During Warden Walkers regime
Mrs. Mary jackson was fatally in
jured October 10, 1874. She plunged
from a corridor on to the floor below,
fracturing her skull. She died two
days later.
Mrs. Emma Hickey, one of the
PRISONS eccentric characters, died
August 6, 1874, while a prisoner.
She had received a life sentence u
years before for poisoning her two
daughters at Ithaca.
Most of the mothers imprisoned i'm
Sing Sing prison were allowed to re-
tain small children, some of whom
were born there. Miss NJ. e. Johnson,
principal matron, terrified half
dozen mothers by issuing an order
March -, 1874, requiring all children
over 1 year to go to the poorhouse.
Warden HubbelI charitably inter-
vened and permitted the women to
keep their youngsters.