The Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester Telegram. — 1878-04-26 (Weymouth, Dorset, England)

SIX WIVES. One Job Cox ()ram. about 13 years ago left Bryanstone Farm, Blandford, where he had been living for 12 or 13 years with his father and mother, managing a dairy for Lord Portman, and came to live at Babcary, in Somerset, in a farm belonging to Mr. James Bartlett. South Barrow, and while there he married his landlord's daughter, with whom he lived about three years, when he decided to go to America; nor could the sincere love and affection of his wife, nor, as we should expect, his for his children. deter him from going accordingly. His wife, fearing for his comfort in a strange land, gave him letters of introduction to an uncle and cousins of hers in America, where he went and, being received with great kindness, stayed for the first year; but they, being of a steady, pious disposition, did not suit one so gay and wild as he was, so he left Mass, and went to Toledo, and while there married a woman from a brothel; but about a week after put her back again, thinking to give her the slip. However, she was so clever, as all of that sort are, and demanded his wages wherever he worked. So from there he went to Cleveland, married a woman of Michigan, and in July. 1876, went to Bryan, worked at an hotel, saw a young person there, married her, and left her the night after, telling her he was going to Cleveland to look for work and take some furnished lodgings, and would fetch her in a fortnight. As he did not return at the anpointed time his wife became anxious, and went to the Post-office to see if he had written: but, instead of a letter from him, there was one directed, to him, which she opened, and to her sorrow and disgust found it was from his English wife. Not knowing her directions, she tried for the next year to get them: but failed. While this was going on he had married his fth wife. One day about the middle of August, another letter arrived from his English wife to the landlord of an hotel in Byran enquiring if he knew of her husband's whereabouts, as she had not heard from him for so long, and she enclosed her full address for him to anwer her letter, little thinking to what it would lead. So the landlord, knowing that his sth wife wanted the address, at once carried it to her, when she opened a correspondence with the English wife, and told her what a scoundrel her husband was ; but before she received an answer her husband returned, and threatenced her life if she did not let him live with her. She, being a prudent woman and knowing that she had no right to call him husband, on the 27th October had him arrested on a charge of bigamy, and he remained in custody till he took his trial the first week in March. Having pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to one year in the penitentiary, wLich began on the 7th March. and now the father of the 6th Wile says that when his year is up he will put him back for another, and each wife in succession says the same, for his disgraceful conduct and deception, and, if so, that will give him time to consider the best way of supporting six wives and a doubtful number of children. He had better never show himself in Somersetshire again, or he will be roughly handled, for, his first wife being greatly liked and respected, her friends says they will exhibit him tarred and feathered for his neglect of his wife and children, whose hearts he has nearly broken, as well as his poor widowed mother's, for whom every sympathy ls felt. A worse wretch could not be found, for he is guilty of every crime except murder, and had he not been confined when he was he doubtless would have been guilty of that. So young ladies in future beware of marrying strangers, for he may be some one else's husband.