Evening star., 1924-11-09
ENLISTED AS BOY IN CIVIL war;.
SAYS WOMAN, SEEKING PENSION
Wants to Establish Claim to Get Herself and Husband
Out of Almshouse-Records Check to
Some Extent.


wanderlust and a desire to see the
world. Mary Ann Murphy enlisted
again. this time at Key West and In
the United States, Navy. For more
than five years she sailed the seas.
all the while Disgusting her sex
living the life of the sailor. eating
the food. swabbing decks and taking
her turn in the crows nest with the
best of them.
1t was during this period that she
saw England's Queen and remained
under her protection while the royal
procession passed by The vessel on
which l was landed at Quebec at the
time that the royal party of England
was to go aboard their own boat. ]
recall seeing the gangplank laid from
the boat to the royal palace coach
seeing the rich rugs thrown over the
heavy planking and everything made
ready for the party to- board. 1t was
against all order. but u managed to
go ashore even at that. l was little
and could slip away without at
tracing much attention.
Met Queen Victoria.
There was a beautiful old lady
seated all alone on bench. Beside
her was a big valse. There was
flunky near her, but ] rushed past
him and begged this old lady to tell
me how ] could escape from service
For the first time in years I told my
secret-that 1 was a woman and that
for five years and nine months l had
served as a male sailor. / did not
know who she was, but she told me
venv simply that she was Queen Vic
toria OF England and that her son,
the crown prince, was to be married
that night.
The Queen insisted that Mary Ann
Murphy remain with her until the royal
procession had passed, and then, writ
ing note, she handed it to a lackey.
This was the stepping stone toward a
new life. and within a short time the
girl was sent TO the Convent of st. Rock
in Quebec.
Mrs. Johnson's mind seems to be hazy
from this time on, and she mentions
WeStvale and Orange. Mass; South
Vernon, Vt, and a college called Mount
Vernon, in Bennington, VT, as well as
Montreal and Quebec. But always, no
matter where she was, it seems that
there was Peter johnson, a Dane, fol-
lowing her about.
How she met him and where is 4
story supplied by Peter himself. the
poor old man who lives under the same
roof with his wife and who has nothing
whatever to do but to smoke his pipe
and muse over the years that they two
spent together II had a little store
in Concord Junction, and 1t was there
that l met my wife, he supplies the in
formation. We went into Boston to-
gether and were married by a Methodist
preacher there. We came back to the
Junction and the little store, and We
kept it for good many years"
Kept Store Together.
Always the two lived in the vicinity
of Fftchburg, the old home OF Mrs
Johnson, and always were they able tc
maintain a home for themselves. even
though both worked in order to do it, II
was when a hard attack of rheumatism
threatened to make it impossible for
Peter to work any more and a far
down the stairs of home where Mrs.
Johnson was working also disabled her
that something had to be done to pro-
vide for the couple.
They were sent first to Tewksbury
but transferred later to the county in
stltution in worcester. Here they have
remained about two months, never su:
pecting that the Government had q
pension for people who had served thei,
country and had a law, too. that wou.t
not allow them to remain in a paupel
institution, such as a home farm.
Red Cross Interested.
While ia king with the executive sec.
retary of the Red Cross Mrs johnson
told her story. 1t was sufficient to SCI
the wheels of the State, county anC
civic machinery in action, and ever,
effort is being made to prove the stor,
and to estab ish some sort of an identi-
ficauon for the woman who tells tn,
tale.
The record Of Tom Hill already ha
been successfully traced and it's au
thenticity proven. That of Saul Hi
has not been found. However, the er
listment of Joseph Saul has been foune
and the fact that he enlisted from Ten
pleton-which is not far from Fitcr
burg-indicates that his record may az
cord with Mrs. Johnson's, and that he
lapse of memory has confused TT
names. His age, enlistment in Ne,
York and all the rest of it, agree witt
the story.
Mrs. Johnson has lost her records ar,
all the correspondence that she hao
but says that at some time in the pas,
a historical society wrote a book abou
| her. Efforts to trace the book and tC
| establish as facts the statements of tn
| woman are being made by the Re,
| Cross in order to- remove the wouat
and her husband from the home farm
| in the shortest possible time
A.