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Rochester, Monroe, NYWESTERN NEW YORK NEWS
SENECA
At a surprise party given Miss Kate COSAD, of Junius, she was presented a fine new piano by her parents.
Charles DAY died at his residence in Waterloo Tuesday evening. He was 65 years of age and was formerly a citizen
of Auburn. He was a native of Somersetshire, England, and leaves two sons and three daughters. The funeral will
be held Saturday.
The Junius Grange has elected the following officers: Henry Van DEMARK, master; George LANE, overseer; George SHEAR,
steward; Henry TERBUSH, assistant steward; Mrs. Oliver PHILLIPS, chaplain; Mrs. Henry Van DEMARK, lecturer; Mrs.
Etta THORN, secretary; William SHEAR, treasurer; Charles ODELL, gatekeeper; William PHILLIPS, doorkeeper; Schuyler
BUCK, purchasing agent; Miss Addie WEEKS, pomona; Miss Emma WESTFALL, ceres; Miss Phebe PHILLIPS, organist; Miss
Leila PARK, assistant.
One of the most prominent citizens of Seneca county, George COOK, died at his residence in Waterloo at 9 o'clock
Tuesday evening. He had been ill about a week with the grip, which became complicated with his old complaint, the
asthma. Mr. COOK was born in Wrington, England, in 1817 and came to America in 1835. His residence in Waterloo
dates from 1836. Mr. COOK was a miller by trade, and for many years conducted the brick flour mills. He afterwards
was associated in forwarding with the late A. L. SWEET, and in milling with W. L. SWEET and J. B. H. MONGIN. He
was one of the vestry of St. Paul's Church, and was chairman of the cemetery commission. He leaves a wife, three
sons and three daughters. The funeral will be held Saturday.
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WYOMING
There are 225 pupils registered at the Castile Union School for the winter term, of which eighteen are non- residents.
James H. AGEN, a former resident of Arcade, has been elected first vice-president of the new national bank at Superior,
Wis.
Dr. George C. BROWN, of Gainesville, left yesterday for his new home, Avoca, Pa., where he will continue the practice
of medicine.
Rev. Father TRANTLEIS, who has been in charge of the Catholic Church at Bennington for a year, has been transferred
to the Church of St. John at Elmira, at a more lucrative salary.
Serious charges are reported against Rev. Horace CARPENTER, of the Union Corners Free Methodist Church, and the
matter will receive an investigation before a church tribunal. Mr. CARPENTER has always borne an excellent character,
both as a citizen and as a pastor.
At the annual meeting of Warsaw lodge, F. and A. M., Tuesday evening, the following officers were elected: W. J.
SERVICE, W. M.; Frank CRIPPEN, S. W.; James E. BISHOP, J. W.; John HANIGAN, treasurer; Albert ANDREWS, secretary.
The installment will take place January 12th.
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GENESEE
Invitations are out announcing the coming marriage of Miss Nellie BROWN, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William F. BROWN
of Byron, to George SALISBURY, of Orleans county.
The annual meeting of the Byron Presbyterian Church will be held January 5th, to elect two trustees in place of
John S. FISK and A. H. GREEN.
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ONTARIO
Sentence of a Naples "Hop Soda" Dealer - Canandaigua News
On Tuesday the Masseth house at Canandaigua, was sold on a foreclosure of mortgage to the Mutual Life Insurance
Company of New York.
Mrs. Sabrina CORVILLE, is very low with ulceration of the bowels at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. E. S. NORTON,
at Victor, and her death is hourly expected.
The feature of the music to be rendered in St. John's Church, Canandaigua, Sunday morning, will be a vocal solo
by Mrs. E. M. MORSE, with a violin obligato accompaniment by Miss Alice GRAY LATHROP of Freeport, Ill.
Mrs. Albert B. COOLEY, of Canandaigua, died suddenly at her home at 4 o'clock yesterday morning. She was 74 years
of age, and leaves eight children, one of whom is A. Eugene COOLEY, of the hardware firm of A. S. and A. E. COOLEY,
of Canandaigua. The cause of her death was heart failure.
County Clerk-elect Leroy J. HARKNESS, of Canandaigua, has made the following appointments for the office: Deputy,
William G. LIGHTFOOTE; assistant deputy, Herbert SPENCER; recording clerks, Miss Clara ANTHONY, and Mrs. Lily R.
TORREY. His son has also been appointed one of his assistants.
In the court of sessions at Canandaigua in the case of Clark A. NICE, of Naples, indicted for violating the excise
law, the jury rendered a verdict of guilty, and he was sentenced to pay a fine of $200 and to stand committed until
paid. About two months ago NIECE was arrested charged with selling "hop soda" which it was alleged was
intoxicating. He was tried before a justice in Naples and sentenced to pay a fine of $50 and he imprisoned thirty
days in the county jail. He was subsequently released from jail on a technicality, but was indicted by the last
grand jury. At the conclusion of his trial on the indictment his counsel moved to have the judgment of the Naples
justice set aside. Judge METCALF denied the motion and affirmed the judgment of the court below. As NIECE has no
money with which to pay his fines, he will be obliged to remain in jail 280 days. Court adjourned Tuesday night
sine die(?).
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LIVINGSTON
Miss Cora MIDDLETON, of Livonia, and E. WELLING, of Bennington, Vt., were married yesterday afternoon at the home
of the bride's uncle, Rev. D. W. GATES, by whom the ceremony was performed.
Caledonia's fine new hotel, erected on the site of the old MOSS house, will be formally opened to the public to-
morrow. It has been named Hotel Keisler, for the proprietor. It is a handsome three-story brick building, heated
throughout by steam and with electric bells in every room.
At a special meeting of the York Lyceum Circle Tuesday evening, for the election of officers, the following were
chosen: President, Rev. A. K. DUFF; vice-presidents, Miss Ella McVEAN, Miss Della CRAIG, Robert ROOT; secretary,
Miss Bell HAWLEY; treasurer, F. A. TRIMBLE; corresponding secretary, Miss Mary A. COON.
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NIAGARA
A Lockport Man Drops Dead in His Store - Relyea Still Missing
Miss Anna MICHAEL, an old pioneer, aged 81 years, died at Lockport this week.
William DRAKE, aged 75, of Middleport, one of the oldest and most respected citizens of that village, was stricken
with apoplexy Tuesday. He cannot recover.
Alice M. SEDGWICK, of Parma, Mich., died at Kent, O., December 19th, from injuries received in a railroad accident
September 30th. She was born at Stayton Settlement, this county.
Daniel B. RELYEA, the missing partner of Matthew H. HOOVER, of the Lockport Daily Sun, has not turned up. Mr. RELYEA
has been much worried over business cares. He has friends in Rochester whom it is thought he went to visit, but
he has not been heard from.
The jury in the case of Hezekiah SEELEY, the Wilson farmer on trial at Lockport for fraudulently obtaining notes
on the sale of bonded seed, brought in a verdict of acquittal last evening. The case of the well known Lockport
broker. John O. JEFFERY, on the same charge, will be tried to-day.
Harvey G. WHITE, city editor of the Lockport Daily Union, was married Tuesday evening at Elmira to Miss Nellie
V. DAVIS, daughter of Mrs. Emily DAVIS. The ceremony took place in the Park Presbyterian Church and was performed
by the Rev. Thomas K. BEECHER, before a brilliant assemblage of invited guests.
George W. KITTENGER, a prominent piano and organ agent of this city, was found dead in his store this afternoon
between 5 and 6 o'clock, lying on the floor. He was carrying a lamp at the time he fell and the store was afire
when bystanders rushed in and put out the flames. Mr. KITTENGER was born at Canada in 1829. Heart disease is attributed
as the cause of death.
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STEUBEN
Scarlet Fever Prevalent at Hammondsport - Bath Briefs
Scarlet fever is quite prevalent at Hammondsport.
Clarence SUTTON, of Bath, a student at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, will fill the pulpit of the Methodist
Church at Bath during the holidays.
Mrs. ALLEN, an octagenarian, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary LYON, at Bloods, Tuesday. She had been
a sufferer for many years from cancer. Her funeral will be held to-day.
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MONROE
Mrs. Maggie VON KELTS, wife of Albert VON KEITS, of Scottsville, died yesterday afternoon. Funeral Saturday at
10 o'clock at the Catholic church.
The funeral of Mrs. Mary J. FRANKLIN will be held from her late residence in Brockport at 2 o'clock this afternoon.
She was 59 years of age and leaves a husband, two daughters and a son. The interment will take place at East Clarkson.
Rev. W. H. SQUIRES, A. M., who has been appointed instructor in metaphysics and Hebrew in Hamilton College, was
born in Churchville about twenty-eight years ago, and except the time he was in college, his life was spent on
his father's farm.
The new choir at the Catholic church in Brockport is composed of the following named: Sopranos, Misses Margaret
HARRISON, Margaret LESTER, Kittie HARRISON, Eva MORGAN; altos, Misses Kittie DOYLE, Beatrice MORGAN, Mrs. M. J.
GAHAN; tenor, W. S. DUNN; bases, Charles MATTHEWS, Edward SHEA; organist, Miss Kittie DOYLE; director, W. S. DUNN.
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YATES
On Tuesday evening a banquet was given to the Hon. Calvin J. HUSON, of Penn Yan, by a large number of his political
friends, in honor of his appointment as deputy controller of the state.
The funeral of Charles CURTIS, a well-known grape grower, residing a few miles from Penn Yan, on Lake Keuka, was
held Tuesday. For many years he had been a resident of that section, and in all his transactions he was regarded
as a man of the strictest integrity. He was about 50 years old and leaves a wife but no children.
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WAYNE
Leroy STEBBINS, a well-known young gentleman of Waterloo, has removed to Palmyra, where he has obtained a situation
with B. H. Davis & Co.
To-morrow afternoon, providing there is snow, the Sunday-school of the Clyde Presbyterian Church will enjoy a sleigh
ride and at 5 o'clock a Christmas supper will be served.
Tuesday afternoon a cap to one of the large iron steep tubs of the Smith Malting Company, at Clyde, burst, and
the tub, which contained 400 bushels of barley, fell through two floors to the lower malting floor, where but a
few moments before twelve men were at work shoveling malt. No one was injured, but the tub and building were damaged
to the extent of about $100.
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TOMPKINS
Caleb EARL, aged 80, died at Ithaca yesterday of dropsy. He resided in that place sixty-two years, being a prominent
contractor and builder. Among the public buildings constructed by him are the court house, county jail and Episcopal
Church. His funeral will be held Saturday afternoon.
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ALLEGANY
E. F. JOHNSON died at Eldred, Pa., Sunday evening, of pneumonia. The remains were brought to Oramel for interment
besides his wife, who was buried only eleven days before.
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MARRIED
WILLIAMS - WARD - On Tuesday, December 22, 1891, at the residence of the bride's mother, Mrs. Joseph B. WARD, No.
10 Arnold Park, by the Rev. A. J. HUTTON, Henry T. WILLIAMS, M. D., and Mary Frances WARD.
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DIED
STRANAHAN - In Irondequoit, N. Y., December 21, 1891, Mrs. Mary Ann STRANAHAN, aged 84 years and 2 months.
-Funeral from the W. C. T. U. Hall, Irondequoit, Thursday morning at 11 o'clock.
DAVIS - In Churchville, N. Y., December 22, 1891, of hemorrhage, Lewis E. DAVIS.
-Funeral from the residence of his mother, Mrs. Sarah L. DAVIS on the arrival of the 3 o'clock train from Rochester
this (Thursday) afternoon. Friends of the family are invited to attend.
SPRAGUE - In this city, in the evening, December 22, 1891, at his residence, No. 28 South Chatham street, of paralysis,
Foster SPRAGUE, aged 85 years.
-Funeral Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock.
JOHNSON - At Honeoye Falls, December 22, 1891, Mrs. Seth JOHNSON, aged 87 years.
-Funeral at the house this (Thursday) afternoon at 1 o'clock.
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DEATHS AND FUNERALS
Arthur THIERE, aged 2 years, died yesterday morning at the City Hospital.
Nancy B., wife of Silas J. WAGONER, died last evening at the family residence, No. 11 Briggs Place.
Julius GENDREAU, aged 86 years, died last night at the residence of his son Alexander, No. 124 Oak street.
Charles KEUTER died last Tuesday afternoon at his late residence, No. 98 Scrantom street, aged 65 years.
Maria Ann, wife of Charles GOLDREICH, died yesterday morning at the family residence, No. 157 Brown street, aged
25 years.
Alice Etta, only daughter of J. W. FEATHERS, died on Saturday last, aged 11 years, at the family residence, No.
73 Hawley street.
Katie KELLY, aged 9 years, died at No. 4 South York Place last evening. The deceased was the step-daughter of Thomas
KEHOE and daughter of his wife, Honora KEHOE.
John McKENNA, aged 61 years, died yesterday morning at his home, No. 48 Romeyn street. The deceased was a member
of Branch 12, C. M. B. A. His wife, one daughter and four sons survive him.
Almeron HOWARD who died last Tuesday at his home, No. 68 Atkinson street, was a native of Steventown, Rensselaer
county but at an early age, he removed to Geneseo. Old residents of that village will remember him as superintendent
of the poor in the county of Livingston. Under his administration were erected the county buildings for the poor
and insane at present in use with the exception of the large west wing where the insane are detained. Fifteen years
ago he removed to Irondequoit to engage in farming and about five years later he took up his residence in this
city where he has since lived. Two daughters and two sons survive him.
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OBITUARY
Washington, Dec. 23 - John S. CRESWELL, ex-postmaster, died to-day at Elkton, Md.
Johnstown, N. Y., - Dec. 23 - Lauren O. KENNEDY, a leading Democratic politician of Saratoga county died to- day
at his home at West Galway, aged 73 years. It is estimated that deceased leaves property worth $1,000,000. He fell
heir to half a million by the death of his brother, Harvey J. KENNEDY, the New York banker about a year ago. He
was for many years engaged in the lumber business. He leaves a widow and five grown-up children, one daughter and
four sons. One of the latter is Edward KENNEDY who has been judge of southern Dakota.
New Haven, Conn., Dec. 23 - Assistant Adjutant-General George M. WHITE died to-day.
Charleston, S. C., Dec. 23 - Dr. R. A. KINLOCH, the most eminent surgeon in the state died to-day, aged 65.
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MURDER AND SUICIDE
Fatal Result of a Divorce Following an Elopement
Wichita, Kan., Dec. 23 - Augusta, Butler county, was startled to-day by the fatal shooting of Mrs. William A. RHOADES,
and the suicide of her murderer, her divorced husband. The two had not met since last summer, when through the
machinations of his parents RHOADES secured a divorce from the girl he had married but a few months before. The
marriage was a hasty one, against the desires of the parents, and the young couple eloped.
Just after the divorce Mrs. RHOADES brought suit against her ex-husband's parents for alienating the boy's affections
and yesterday got a decree for $1,000 damages. RHOADES, it seems, thought he had better compromise by remarrying
the girl he had wronged, and this morning he turned up at Augusta and asked her to take him back again. The girl
refused and RHOADES then fired at her twice, one bullet entering her breast and shoulder passed through her neck.
He then killed himself by putting a bullet through his own head.
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DIED OF APOPLEXY
New York, Dec. 23 - The autopsy on the body of Lawyer William H. KING who was found dead in his room yesterday
at the Grand Central Hotel, showed that death resulted from apoplexy. The body will be shipped to- morrow to East
Chatham, the home of the deceased.
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WALT WHITMAN'S CONDITION
Camden, N. J., Dec. 23 - Dr. McALLISTER, Walt WHITMAN'S physician, sent out a bulletin to-night that the condition
of his of his patient was about the same as this morning, but that he was very weak and gradually sinking, and
that the prospects for him to live the night through were very slight
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JAIL OFFICIALS PUNISHED
Reading, Pa., Dec. 23 - In court here to-day Reuben COATES, night watchman in the Berks county jail, who pleaded
guilty to gross negligence resulting in the release of two prisoners, Beatrice COLLINS, a notorious counterfeiter,
and John MILLER, burglar, was sentenced to one year imprisonment and $500 fine, and Warden MENSCH, under whose
administration it was alleged the jail has been the scene of some gross irregularities in which the female prisoners
played a prominent part, was removed from office.
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THE TYRONE BANK FAILURE
Altoona, Pa., Dec. 23 - The Tyrone Bank failure is assuming larger proportions, the liabilities now reaching $80,000
with the almost positive assurance that not one cent will be paid on the dollar. The stockholders have either disappeared
or refuse to be seen, and the people of the town are astounded as to the state of affairs. There is even talk of
lynching GUYER, the cashier, if he is found. One suit has already been brought against the stockholders and arrests
are likely to follow.
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KILLED BY LIVER PILLS
Ithaca, Dec. 23 - The infant son of Rev. R. T. JONES aged 2 years, died suddenly this morning of convulsions. It
is supposed the child obtained a box of liver pills containing strychnine, death being caused by eating not less
than a dozen of them. The empty box was found on the floor where the little fellow had been playing.
****
TRAGEDY
Butchered While He Slept
Demico's Death
Looks Like Cold-Blooded Murder
Nursed Jealousy
Probably the Motive For The Crime
Threats By Wolfschlager
Suicide Theory Entirely Unsupported
A Christmas Crime
Mrs. Wolfschlager - Demico's Two Husbands - One Dead With His
Throat Cut - The Other Tells His Wife She Is a Widow.
Behind bars accused of foully murdering his own wife's second husband!
There is something paradoxical in these words, but they truly describe the situation in which Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER
finds himself on this glorious Yuletide that is supposed to bring good cheer to old and young, poor as well as
rich.
But there could have been no thought of Christmas in the mind of the prisoner as he lay on the iron cot in cell
No. 1 at the police headquarters last night and reflected upon the developments of the past few hours, for even
if he were innocent of the crime charged against him are not the very ghastliness of the crime and its attendant
circumstances horrible enough to make an innocent person under suspicion of guilt live a canto of Dante's "Inferno"?
For was not that blood which besmeared the man's shirt sleeves and very arm the blood of his supposed victim?
What about that little house at No. 232 Pinnacle avenue? Go through that hall way. Is not that human blood? Look
on those steps as you ascend to the second story whose few rooms made the home. If you are looking for the room
where the crime was enacted you can't miss it. Just follow the stains made by human blood. The stains get so thick
that it is almost a stream of blood before you reach the top of the stairs. At first you will wonder when the landing
is reached if after all you have not been misinformed, and if this is not a slaughter house. But keep right on.
They are no mere blood spots that are directing your steps. They have become a winding stream. There, that is the
room. But it will still require an effort to shake off the idea that it is after all a slaughter house. For do
not those pools of blood, formed by the veritable little creeks, which have at first found their rise from the
same source, but diverging, and then converging, suggest something apart from the taking of human life? There is
nothing suggestive of the struggle that usually precedes, or at least accompanies, the taking of human life. But
there is a bed and the marks made by a human form are only obliterated by the blood that has trickled from the
soaked bed clothing to the cold, bare and dirty floor.
What about that little house? Is there any thought of blessed Yule-tide within its doors? Open the door from the
hall on the first floor. What are those half dozen Italians talking about? They have heard the story of how nearly
nineteen hundred years ago a Savior was born, and how he died to save sinners; and how every year in every country
on the globe, the anniversary of that Christ birth is celebrated with the one motto: "Peace on earth, good
will to men." But they have no Christmas thought in their minds.
What are those three little orphaned children thinking of that you see sitting by themselves in one corner, crowding
together and clinging to each other as if they were in dread of something awful happening? Is there any thought
of Christmas, and Santa Clause, and laden stockings in their minds?
What is that woman, poorly clad, with tearful eyes, whom you see sitting beside the table, her arms supporting
her head, which turns and twitches with every rustle of the wind and every drop of water that is driven against
the window pane without - what do you suppose she is thinking about? Is there any thought in her mind of Christmas
tide and the joys it brings?
Yes, they are poor, all of these people whom you see in that humble home. The surroundings are not attractive,
and not one of the occupants of the house knows what the word luxury was ever coined for. And what if the woman
who is so thoughtful is a German-American, and her companions, all except the three little children to whom she
gave birth, are Italians? What if the blood which flowed from a human being and trickled on the bed until the clothing
could no longer absorb it and then ran down on the floor, and out into the hall and then down the stairs, forming
the clue which led to the little room above, what if that blood did flow from Italian veins? Was not that woman
once a happy girl, and did she not once plight her troth to the man who is closed in from the world by iron grating
and that, too, before the same minister of the Gospel who twelve years later pronounced her the lawfully wedded
wife of one Charles DEMICO? Is she not an object for sympathy in her present plight? Perhaps she thought the father
of her offspring dead when she promised to love, cherish and obey Charles DEMICO. She says she did. But he was
not dead. He will be some day, and perhaps the papers will be prevented from giving the details of his death.
But whether she did or did not believe that her first husband was dead when she married another, she is sure her
second husband is dead. And perhaps that is why she may be thinking very seriously of something else, when nearly
all the world is thinking about Christmas. Perhaps she is thinking that if she made sure of Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER'S
death before she plighted her troth to Italian Charles DEMICO, there would be no blood spots on those stairs at
No. 232 Pinnacle avenue, where she is trying so hard to comfort those three children, and assure them that there
is really nothing to be afraid of, when she is herself starting at every sound of the wind as it whistles outside.
Even if the blood on the stairs is only the blood of a suicide, perhaps she is thinking hat she might have prevented
it by being true to the man she first swore to love. If it was suicide it must have been equally in her power to
have prevented it. She was the woman in the case, and if it was suicide it was caused by jealousy on the part of
one man; if it was murder it was jealousy on the part of another man. She feels she is guilty whatever the quality
of the crime. Not an accessory to the crime, for even the police do not suspect her of any knowledge of the crime
before it was committed. On that score she is clear, and on the face of the first story she or anybody would have
been justified in passing the crime over as a suicide.
But go and look on the form of Charles DEMICO. It no longer lies at the foot of the stairs in the hall at No. 232
Pinnacle avenue, where the coroner found it weltering in blood. You will have to go to the morgue to see it. The
gas is dim, but it sheds enough light in the little back room where the body lies, to show you the gash which explains
the source of all that blood. The head has been slightly twisted by the attendants as they have lifted the form
into the plain deal box, but if you are not too timid pass round to the other side of the box where the light shines
brightest, but where the open eyes, still stare immovable, you can see the death gash. There was but one slash
of the razor, whether it was in the hand of Charles DEMICO, or of Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER, but the gash is so long and
so deep that your only wonder is not that the blood ran so profusely, but that all the veins and arteries were
not at once entirely emptied.
Ah, but you say, it's queer how any man could have inflicted that wound on his own throat?
That is what the coroner, and the detectives and the reporters said, as soon as they looked upon the lifeless form
long before it was removed to the morgue in the deal box.
If you think that is strange, just go back to the house at No. 232 Pinnacle avenue, and climb those stairs again.
You remember the way. Just follow the blood spots. That razor did not stop its journey when it had severed the
windpipe and jugular of Charles DEMICO. It kept right on and buried itself in the pillow on which he head of DEMICO
was resting. Perhaps it is that very gash in the pillow that Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER may have to hold responsible for
months of confinement and final conviction of as cold-blooded a murder as has ever been committed in the Flower
city and his death by the form of torture at present authorized by the statutes of the state of New York.
WOLFSCHLAGER TELLS THE TALE
Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER, or DEMICO, as she calls herself, according to her story, as related to a Democrat and Chronicle
reporter, when the excitement attending the tragedy had somewhat passed away, arose soon after 7 o'clock. DEMICO
was up before her and had breakfast prepared for her and the children when they were ready for it. Mrs. DEMICO
was due at Whipple's East Main street store in the Sibley block, where she was employed in sorting beans, at 7
o'clock, but she was a little later than usual in getting to work. When she was ready to leave the house DEMICO
said that it was rainy, and they would not be able to work, he would not report, had a headache anyway, and he
would lie down for a while and see is he did not feel better.
At 10 o'clock Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER called at the store where Mrs. DEMICO was employed. He sent word that he wanted
to speak to Mrs. DEMICO. He seems to have called her by that name, although he claimed her as his own wife.
"As soon as I came out where he was," said Mrs. DEMICO, in telling the story of the crime to a Democrat
and Chronicle reporter, "he said to me that my husband had committed suicide. When I asked him further about
how it happened he hesitated, and then he said that DEMICO had cut his throat with a razor."
This was at least an hour after the crime, whether suicide or murder had been committed, but it was some time later
before the public, or even the closest neighbors knew that a crime had been committed. It was 11 o'clock before
the news reached the coroner. Coroner KLEINDIENST, who was notified through the police station, reached the scene
before the body had been removed from the spot where it lay when death came. The body was lying on the floor in
the front hall, in a pool of blood. The gash told the story of the cause of death, to the coroner, as it did to
the reporters who were on hand but a few minutes after Mrs. DEMICO reached the house. The blood streaks, they were
more like pools, on the stairs, told that the struggle, if there had been a struggle, took place up stairs. When
the upper rooms were reached, however, there was an entire absence of anything indicating a struggle. But where
the death blow was struck it was easy to determine. The room in which the tragedy was enacted was the sleeping
room of the DEMICOs. It was the room in which DEMICO had retired after his wife had left the house for her work,
that he might get some sleep, and if possible get rid of his headache. The bed was in a corner of the room, its
direction being exactly with that of the avenue, which at this point runs northwest and southeast. The head of
the bed was toward the southeast, so that a person occupying the bed, would face the northwest.
The marks of DEMICO'S head remained fresh in the pillow, and plainly indicated that the blow which half- severed
his head from his body was struck in such a manner that the blade was drawn toward the outside of the bed. This
was not only indicated by the fact that the gash in the man's throat was cut deeper to the left side of the neck,
which was the side lying toward the outside of the bed, but by the further unmistakable fact, that the blade of
the razor did not stop with the neck. The force of the blow was so great that it carried it into the pillow.
The pillow itself was covered with blood, and there was a great pool of the fluid on the foot of the bed as well.
"He killed himself. He killed himself," cried WOLFSCHLAGER, all the while that the coroner was making
inquiries.
When he came to tell of how he killed himself, it was not so easy. "DEMICO asked me for my razor," said
he. "He said he wanted to shave. He knew that I had a sharp razor. I had it sharpened all up and he knew it.
I let him take it and then went out of the room. When I had been out a few minutes I heard a sort of gurgling sound.
Then I ran into where DEMICO was, and found him lying on the bed, with his throat cut, as you see it there. He
tried to cut me." That was the story told by WOLFSCHLAGER, with different variations. Mrs. DEMICO said at
once that she did not believe that her husband committed suicide. She did not believe WOLFSCHLAGER'S story about
the razor, for," she said, "he had a better razor than WOLFSCHLAGER'S, and besides he only shaved yesterday,
and he told me he would not shave again until Christmas day."
This part of Mrs. DEMICO'S story the police found to be true, for a razor, in much better condition than the one
used in cutting the throat of DEMICO, was found among DEMICO'S clothing.
THE CHILDREN'S STORY
A Democrat and Chronicle reporter who called at the little house where the tragedy was committed, after Mrs. DEMICO
had been taken off to police headquarters, found the three little children of Mrs. DEMICO at the house in charge
of a friend of the family.
The oldest of the three is a girl about 12 years old. The children go by the name of WOLFSCHLAGER. Even the oldest
was frightened into trembling by the excitement of the day.
"I don't hardly know," said she to a reporter, "what time it was when we went to school. We go to
No. 24 on Meigs street. I guess it was about 8:30 when we went away from the house. Our father was sitting by the
table in the kitchen when we went away. He was awfully cross to us and he hit me on the head real hard to get us
to go to school. He said we must go and not be late. DEMICO was in bed when we went away. I guess he was asleep,
but don't know for certain."
"Was your father drunk?" asked the reporter.
"Well, I don't know if he was drunk, but he had been drinking. He sent my little sister down to the saloon
to get 10 cents' worth of whisky. Afterwards he sent me for 5 cents' worth of whisky. He drank that all up before
we went to school."
The reporter made inquiries of the neighbors, but none of them had seen either WOLFSCHLAGER or DEMICO in the morning.
Evidently, from the story of the little girls, neither had left the house until after the crime had been committed,
when WOLFSCHLAGER started to tell Mrs. DEMICO of the fate of her husband.
The story if the children about the purchase of the whisky was corroborated by two persons in Eisenberg's saloon
a short distance from the scene of the crime, on Pinnacle avenue. A man and woman who were running the place when
the reporter called, said, that they knew the WOLFSCHLAGER children. They frequently came in for beer and whisky.
"Mother," said the young woman, sold 10 cents worth of whisky to one of the children early this morning.
Some time later, another one of the children, the largest girl, came in and bought 5 cents worth of whisky. I took
the money for it myself."
HE THREATENED DOMICO
Way down on Ontario street, at No. 76, lives Mrs. Emma SMITH. She has been a widow for eight months. For a number
of years she had known both WOLFSCHLAGER and DEMICO. She formerly "lived neighbors," with the WOLFSCHLAGER.
That was before WOLFSCHLAGER went West.
"Yes," said she, to a Democrat and Chronicle reporter who called upon her after learning that she was
one of the few people known to be acquainted with the family. "Yes, I knew Mrs. DEMICO and I knew her when
she was living with WOLFSCHLAGER. DEMICO used to board with them. That is the way he got acquainted with her. WOLFSCHLAGER
went away about two years ago. He went West somewhere, to St. Paul, I believe. Since that time he has been sending
home money, and I suppose he expected to return to his wife until the forepart of July, when Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER
was married to DEMICO. I don't know what could have led her to do it, for she knew her husband was living, as he
sent her money quite frequently.
"WOLFSCHLAGER came back from the West two weeks ago, though I did not know that he was back until last Saturday.
On that day he came to my house. He stayed a long time and talked about his wife's cruelty to him in marrying another
man when she knew he was living as well as could be. He said he had been to see Rev. Mr. COIT, a preacher on Hudson
street, who married them. He said that the preacher told him he was told by Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER that her husband
was dead. On this he married her to DEMICO. He was the same preacher who married her to WOLFSCHLAGER. That was
more than twelve years ago.
"When WOLFSCHLAGER was taking about his wife's marrying the Italian; he got very much excited and said that
he would not stand it. He said he would shoot DEMICO, and pay him for taking his wife from him. I knew he was very
mad, but I did not think that he meant to do any harm to DEMICO."
RELATION OF THE TRIO
The woman whose mixed relations with the German and the Italian undoubtedly led to the death of the latter has
led a life crowded with complications with men. She is a German, 35 or 36 years of age. Her name before she changed
it for that of her first husband was Mary KIMMERMAN. She had three husbands. The first one is dead and, it is thought,
was dead when she married WOLFSCHLAGER, who was her second choice. The dead man was her third husband. She is not
an attractive woman, but is big in body and rough and coarse in her actions and language. In spite of the fact
she was married to DEMICO she was known to her acquaintances by the name of WOLFSCHLAGER, and at the place where
she worked was known by the name of her second husband, as is shown by the fact that when a Democrat and Chronicle
reporter called at Whipple's yesterday afternoon and asked if it was there that Mrs. DEMICO worked, he was told
that no woman by that name was known by the firm. When the newspaper man spoke the name of WOLFSCHLAGER it was
immediately recognized as that by which the woman who had been called away from work in the morning was known.
Little is known about the woman at the store. She has been employed by Whipple at different times during the past
two years and was considered a good worker. She was known as "Black Mary" as well as by the name of WOLFSCHLAGER.
Yesterday morning she reached the store a few minutes later than 7 o'clock, the hour at which the employes are
supposed to begin work. Several women besides her were employed in picking over beans, but nearly all of them are
Russians and it is not thought that she ever talked over her affairs with any of them. It would seem that the woman
preferred the company of men to that of members of her own sex, and that all her time was passed in cultivating
the acquaintance of those with whom a matrimonial alliance was possible, or with whom relations warmer and closer
than the relations of mere friendship could be maintained.
The circumstances connected with Mary KIMMERMAN'S first marriage can be of no interest now. The woman's first husband
is out of the way, whether dead or alive, and is in no way connected with the tragedy of yesterday morning. But
with Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER, there is more to do now than with any other person affected by the death of Charley DEMICO.
He is the man who last saw the Italian alive and the man who saw him die. What part he played in the tragedy will
probably never be known from anything that he will say, but it is highly probable that when all the circumstances
of the case are laid before a jury of twelve just men, they will point so strongly to the conclusion that DEMICO
did not kill himself, but that he was murdered by the only man who was near him at the hour of the tragedy, that
Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER will be convicted of the crime of murder.
The German was nearly twice the age of his wife when he married her eight years ago. He is now 63 years old, but
is a vigorous man and looks younger, although his wits are not very sharp. He was born in Germany and although
he came to this country in 1865, almost twenty-seven years ago, he speaks English very brokenly and is not easily
understood by persons not familiar with the German language. Almost immediately on his arrival in this country
he came to Rochester, and he has resided here ever since, with the exception of a few months passed in Minnesota.
He has no trade, but is a common laborer and during his residence in this city has been employed on a thousand
and one jobs. He has gone about the city trimming trees and vines wherever he could get the work to do, and also
has worked with a pick and shovel. It has been thought that he was a peaceable fellow. Although he drank he seldom
became intoxicated in public places and has been mixed in few drunken broils.
It seems that the matrimonial relations of WOLFSCHLAGER have been as varied, almost as those of his wife. He had
a wife in the poor house and is the father of half a dozen children besides those he has had by the woman he married
eight years ago. He denies that he has two wives, but there is no doubt but that he was married twice. Indeed,
the woman who is now known by his name gives as an excuse for marrying DEMICO the knowledge that WOLFSCHLAGER has
another wife living.
It would seem that the first few years of the married life of WOLFSCHLAGER and his second wife were marked by no
more differences than are common in the domestic life of people of their class. In fact, no evidence exists that
the two had any serious trouble until Charley DEMICO made his appearance and captivated the fancy of Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER.
DEMICO was about 37 years old. He was born in Italy, but had been a residence of the United States for ten years
and was a naturalized citizen. He was a day laborer in the service of T. Oliver & Sons.
If improper relations were maintained by DEMICO and Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER previous to the middle of last winter, the
jealousy of the woman's husband was not excited, but in the spring of the year and during the early part of the
summer the intimacy of the Italian and the woman was so apparent that it could not be misunderstood, and WOLFSCHLAGER
became angry and jealous. At the time the German and his wife were living on Union street.
In June WOLFSCHLAGER went West, as far as St. Paul, intending to have his wife follow him and live with him in
the Minnesota city. He thought by doing this he could break up the associations that had caused him trouble in
Rochester. He secured work as soon as he reached St. Paul, and began sending money to his wife when he began receiving
wages. He sent her several small sums of money, and finally gave her $25 to pay the expenses of herself and children
to St. Paul, intending that they should all live together there. It seems that during the time that Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER
was in Rochester after husband left St. Paul, her affection for the Italian warmed and increased to such an extent
that she found it almost impossible to part with him. So the two were married, the woman representing to the minister
who performed the marriage ceremony that WOLFSCHLAGER had died in the West, and when Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER-DEMICO started
for St. Paul she was accompanied by the Italian. It was during the latter part of July that the couple and the
children left Rochester.
The two men and the woman lived together in St. Paul and their relations were of a decidedly complex nature. Naturally
WOLFSCHLAGER was not exactly satisfied with the turn of affairs, but he continued to work and contribute to the
support of the family. But peace under the circumstances was impossible and about ten weeks ago there was a dissolution
of the triple alliance. One Monday morning DEMICO started back to Rochester. The next morning the woman followed
him. WOLFSCHLAGER had not been apprised of the intentions of the couple and consequently their departure was a
surprise to him. But he remained in St. Paul for about six weeks after the man and the woman had left the city.
About four weeks ago the little German also came back to Rochester. He hunted about for his wife and found her
and DEMICO living together in the house on Pinnacle avenue in which the Italian was killed yesterday. He was not
surprised to find things as they were, but he was more than surprised to learn that his wife and DEMICO had been
married. He had not heard of the alliance until he returned to Rochester. He could not believe what he was told
until he was assured of the truth by the minister before whom the Italian and the woman had gone through the marriage
ceremony.
For four weeks, then, WOLFSCHLAGER has been brooding over this desertion of himself for another man by his wife
- an action that has caused men of all times and all countries to commit murder. He was given room in the house
on Pinnacle avenue, but not as the head of the family or as husband of the woman to whom he had been married eight
years ago. He saw the Italian and his wife maintaining the relations of husband and wife, while he was compelled
to cook his own food and sleep with one of the children. He did not go to work, feeling sick and downcast, but
passed all the long hours at his disposal in brooding over his troubles. Surely, he had plenty of food for thought.
There was no change in the relations of the trio as the days passed. The young man was the husband of the woman
and the head of the house, and the old man was crowded out. There was no room for him.
Tuesday night the unhappy family retired at an early hour, the Italian and the woman in one bed, the old man in
the other. This order of things had been maintained since WOLFSCHLAGER'S return from the West. As the woman must
go to her work at 7 o'clock it was necessary for her to arise at an early hour, and yesterday morning DEMICO got
up at 5:30 o'clock and prepared breakfast for her chatting with her and appearing cheerful enough. He had no employment
for the day and after the woman had eaten her breakfast he told her that he was going back to bed to get another
nap. This he did and the woman passed out of the house.
There are but three rooms on the second floor of the little house on Pinnacle avenue. Two bed rooms extend the
length of one side of the structure, and adjoining the rear room is a sort of kitchen in which there are a stove
and a table. The other corner of the house is taken up by a closet and a stairway. Ascending the stairs, one enters
the kitchen, which is connected with the rear bedroom by a door. There is also a door between the front bedroom
and the rear room. When Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER passed through the kitchen on her way down stairs her older husband was
seated by the table mentioned. That was the last she saw of him until he rushed into the place in which she was
working and told her that DEMICO had committed suicide.
The children left the house soon after 8 o'clock. All attended school, but before it was time for them to start
the old German sent one of the little girls to Eisenberg's saloon to get him some whisky. He gave her 10 cents
and when he had drunk the liquor she purchased with the money he sent the oldest girl out, this time for 5 cents
worth.
The children were all out of the house before 9 o'clock and WOLFSCHLAGER and DEMICO were the only persons left
in the rooms. DEMICO was asleep in the rear bedroom and WOLFSCHLAGER was sitting in the kitchen under the influence
of the liquor that he had drunk.
What followed?
Can there be any other plausible explanation of the death of DEMICO, which came within an hour, than that which
would name Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER as the cause of it? Imagine the circumstances. DEMICO was asleep and completely at
the mercy of the man whose wife he had stolen. WOLFSCHLAGER, of course, was thinking over his troubles. He had
not taken enough whisky to stupify himself. On the contrary what he had drunk was calculated to inflame his brain
rather than full it. What more natural than that he should think of revenge? What more natural than that when he
realized that DEMICO was at his mercy he should go and look at his enemy and, finding the man lying on his back
with his neck exposed and extended, should think how easy it would be for him to get revenge in one quick stroke
of his razor for all the wrongs that he had suffered? This must have been the way of it. There can be no other
explanation. WOLFSCHLAGER nerved himself to the deed. He took his razor from his trunk, felt its edge, instinctively,
as he walked back to the side of the bed on which his prostrate enemy lay, and then, after a moment's hesitation,
he made one quick thrust with the deadly blade.
It was a deep cut, severing the windpipe and a jugular vein of the Italian, but with his last breath the dying
man leaped from the bed. The blood was flowing in a steady stream from the cut and by the course it took on the
floor of the bedroom can be seen the movements that the Italian made. He staggered to the window of his room, then
to the door communicating with the front bedroom, then out into the kitchen and down the stairs. He managed to
reach the lower hall, but his foot was hardly off the last step of the flight, when he fell to the floor and died,
lying in a pool of his own blood.
The Italians occupying the first floor of the house heard the noise made by their murdered countryman as, fatally
wounded, he leaped off the bed. Later they heard the fall in the hall and they cautiously investigated into the
cause of the unusual sounds. They started to ascend to the second floor but got no farther than the foot of the
stairs. They almost stumbled over the body of DEMICO before they knew of its presence.
When they saw the blood and prostrate form they turned and fled, and one of them ran to the nearest house and summoned
William KARGES, the owner of the structure in which the murder had been committed.
Mr. KARGES hastened to where the form of the murdered man lay, and after taking a glance at the body started for
a doctor. But he was confused, and after having gone only a little way he returned to assure himself that the Italian
was dead. After making a hasty examination he concluded that the body was lifeless. Then he went to Bender &
Schauman's undertaking rooms and hastily told the story of the death of DEMICO, as far, as he knew it. The coroner
was immediately notified. What followed, how WOLFSCHLAGER hastened to his wife with the story of suicide on his
lips, how the police and the coroner were put in possession of the facts of the case is told in another place.
CLEANED THE RAZOR
Soon after the arrival of Coroner KLEINDIENST, that official noticed WOLFSCHLAGER lurking around and rather abruptly
he asked:
"What was this done with?"
"With a razor."
"Where is the razor?"
"In my trunk," replied WOLFSCHLAGER.
A little later WOLFSCHLAGER led the way to his trunk and opened it. Reaching down in the bottom, he pulled out
a razor, which he said had been used by DEMICO in committing suicide. The instrument showed no trace of the bloody
deed. When the coroner referred to this fact, WOLFSCHLAGER stated that after DEMICO was dead, and before he went
to notify the woman, whom both the men claimed as wife, he took the razor and washed and wiped it.
While WOLFSCHLAGER was explaining this, the coroner's eyes were gazing at an article of clothing that was partly
concealed in the trunk. It was a gauze shirt, and the sleeves were all covered with blood. When WOLFSCHLAGER had
done talking, the coroner reached down, and, pulling the shirt out, he held it up before the man and asked how
the blood came to be on it.
WOLFSCHLAGER answer was that he used it in trying to stop DEMICO'S bleeding. He said that he took it and wound
it around DEMICO'S neck, in an attempt to save the life of the would-be-suicide.
At the police station Detectives FURTHERER and SKUSE secured a change of linen and took it down for WOLFSCHLAGER.
When they handed it into the cell and told him to take off his shirt and put on those furnished, he meekly obeyed,
without uttering a word. The sleeves of the shirt that he removed were red with blood.
Coroner KLEINDIENST will summon a jury this morning and will begin the inquest at 10 o'clock.
WHAT WOLFSCHLAGER SAYS
The little old German who is the cause of all the trouble was seen in his cell by a Democrat and Chronicle reporter
last night. There is so much German mixed with his English that it is difficult to understand what he says, but
an tntelligible conversation was carried on slowly. WOLFSCHLAGER repeated the story of the borrowing of the razor
that he had told in the morning. Then was asked what he did when he heard the noise that made him think the Italian
was choking.
"I wend indo der bedroom," he replied, "unt Charley grabbed me by der collar. I god away and den
he wend down der stairs."
"Where did you go when you got away from Charley?" was asked.
The German sat down on the edge of his cot and refused to answer this question, saying that he had told where he
had gone. He worked his feet nervously while telling about his experience with "Charley" and gazed steadily
at one spot in the wall of his cell.
Then he was asked what had been done with the razor when it fell from the Italian's hands.
"I picked id up and washed id und put it away in my drunk," was the reply.
The old fellow told the reporter a great deal about his family relations, but as what he said has already been
told it is unnecessary to quote him. He showed a slight gash on his wrist, but when asked in what manner it was
received he said that he "didn't know."
WOLFSCHLAGER sat until long after midnight on the cot in his cell at the police station sullenly regarding the
attendant on his occasional visits. No further attempts were made to get any statements in regard to the crime
from him.
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