Brown children - 1897 - to orphan home
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal Friday 8 Jan 1897
Last Saturday proceedings were held before Justices W. S. Hanna and S. A. Stilwell, at the office of the latter, to commit to the Orphans’ Home three young children by the name of Brown. These children live with their step grandfather, Jim Williams, in the old Divine property on West Pike Street. Their lives have been subject to privation and exposure and their condition is said by those making complaint to be truly pitiable. After hearing the evidence of these witnesses the commitment to the home was made. Several of the persons most assiduous in stirring up the case failed to appear at its trial.
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal Friday 8 Jan 1897
Monday morning Marshal Grimes and Constable Hernley procured a cab and driving around to the old Divine property on Pike Street entered the house effected the capture of the three little Brown children, whose commitment to the Orphans’ Home was secured by members of the Humane Society last Saturday. The youngsters were bundled into the cab without ceremony and the whole thing was done so quickly that the old man Williams and wife, their grandparents, didn’t know what was going on until the cab was fairly out of sight. Then the old lady who is nearing dotage, set up a howl that raised the neighborhood. She whooped and cried and cavorted about until quite a crowd had assembled. Finally, however, one conversant with the circumstances quieted her down with promises and assurances.
The old couple, while not able to keep the children supplied with the barest necessities in the way of food and clothes, were bitterly opposed to letting them go to the Home. If they had been apprised of this morning’s program advance, it is likely the officers would have been obliged to break down a barricade to get the youngsters. The children are now safely lodged in the Home and are perfectly contented.
Source: Crawfordsville
Daily Journal Monday, 14 August 1893
Yesterday afternoon three young orphans, ranging in aged from
seven to ten years, ran away from the Orphans’ Home, on the corner of Jefferson
and Washington Street. The young gentlemen whose names are John Brown, Tom Brown,
and Harry Graham had planned their
flight for some time past and had it in mind to go west for the express purpose
of exterminating the pestiferous aborigines that cumber the frontier of
American civilization. They had provisions for three days and their Sunday
clothes stored up in the stable and at about two o’clock left the premises and
set out in the direction of the declining sun. John Brown wore false whiskers
strangely resembling those of his famous namesake while Tom and Harry had
decorated their upper lips with lamp black mustaches of the most fierce and
formidable description. All carried clubs and case knives and it was as gay a
looking coterie of juvenile scalawags as ever plodded along to glory and renown
through the dust of the Yountsville pike. In way of keeping their hand in for
the slaughter of savages they stoned a few chickens along the road and clubbed
an infant pig into a state of innocuous desuetude. It was 9 o’clock last night
when the young brigands hauled up at the Fishero House in Alamo
and swaggered down the marble courts of that stately edifice to the amazement
of the bejeweled clerk of the noted hostelry. After a supper served with seven
courses of old wine and oriental music, they were put to bed by the Ethiopian
attendants. When they awoke this morning they found themselves tied to the bed
posts with three of the most bewitching pieces of clothes line in the world.
The Alamo back brought word of the capture to
Crawfordsville and that cruel hearted monster, Charley Gregg, drove down and
brought the young heroes back like a kennel of young puppies.