LOVED NOT WISELY.
Body of Mrs. Swain Taken to New Rockford for Burial.
She Leaves a Happy Home and Elopes With the Hired Man.
Couple Found Dead in Each Others Arms—Their Last Word.
The body of Mrs. Swain of New Rockford, who with Frank Addison, committed suicide at Valley City Friday, by taking prussic acid, was taken home for burial Saturday. The bereaved husband, Sheriff Fay and C. J. Maddux accompanied the remains.
The story of the case is extremely sad and points to undoubted mental derangement on the part of Mrs. Swain for she had one of the finest homes in Eddy county, a kind and loving husband and was very pleasantly situated in many ways. Their home is four miles west of New Rockford where Mr. Swain is the possessor of large land holdings and is accounted one of the most prosperous and enterprising farmers. It seems that he was acquainted with the almost insane infatuation of his wife and did all he could to remove it. Frequently his wife had told him that she could not live with him and would die with Addison.
Frank Addison, said to be an unpreposessing character, was hired by A. C. Swain a year ago to care for his stock during his absence in the east. On. Mr. Swain's return he found that Addison had ingratiated himself in the affections of his wife, but the matter was hushed up. Mr. Swain said that Addison followed the woman around with a revolver in one pocket and a bottle of poison in the other and had her entirely under his control. He was a cook by profession and had made Eddy county his home for several years having cooked for Mr. Swain's threshing crew and in the hotel at New Rockford.
An attempt was made to prevent the elopement, but without avail, and the couple left Wednesday, took the train to this city and Valley City where they registered at the Kindred hotel as Thos. Owens and wife of New Rockford. They were assigned to room four and were not seen again until yesterday when their absence was noticed. The door of their room was forced open and they were found lying on the bed dressed and covered with a quilt. A note was found on the table saying: "Separated in life but united in death," and requesting that they be buried together.
Addison was 40 years of age and said to be generally worthless. He came from Baltimore, Md. The coroner's jury agreed that the couple came to their death from prussic acid administered by Addison. His body was buried in Valley City.
Mrs. Swain was 36 years old and the mother of four children, the oldest a daughter of 17 the youngest a boy of 7.
The Valley City Patriot gives further details of the tragic suicide of Mrs. Swain and Frank Addison of Eddy county. They were found locked in each others arms. On the wash stand lay the bottle of prussic acid and near by a pass book on a page of which is written the following brief statement:
To whom it may concern:
You will find sufficient funds in my pocket book to bury us. Our last request is to bury us together without any fuss, and do not try to find out whom we are. Parted in life but joined in death.
The couple were assigned to a room which had the glass broken in the transom over the door and on request of Addison, the hotel clerk placed a piece of muslin across the transom. The next morning they were duly summoned to breakfast, to which there was no response or appearance, and the assumption was, as is often the case, they were taking their meals out, and nothing more was thought of them until Friday morning, when their non-appearance excited suspicion. At about ten o'clock an examination was made, and the key was found to be inside the locked door. There being no response to a summons and a view through the transom showing some one on the bed the door was forced with the result of finding the bodies above described.
Investigation showed that the poison had been procured at Clark's drug store Wednesday evening where the man and woman had gone together, the man cooly asking for it and signing the registry book as "William Johnson."
Upon the body of the woman beneath the corset was found the photograph of the man and on the man beneath the undershirt was a picture of the woman.
Jamestown Weekly Alert, 11/26/1896
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LITTLE BOYS SAVE COMRADE
Kenneth Helferty, son of Mrs. Margaret Helverty, of Episcopal Hall, probably owes his life to the courageous efforts of his little playmates. Sunday afternoon, Kenneth, James Earley, Hamilton Englert and George Deen went out to skate and somewhere near the Chas. Rasmussen farm they were going onto the ice. Kenneth was the first one on the ice and he went thru as the ice broke and let him into the water. James Earley only had one skate on but the other two had theirs on and were going on the ice when Kenneth broke through. It was a bad situation but Kenneth kept his head and the little boys, between eight and ten years old displayed most remarkable courage in a crisis that ordinarily would have sent others into a panic. George Deen and Hamilton Englert got hold of a stick and pushed it out to Kenneth who grabbed hold of it and with the assistance of the lads was safely hauled ashore. It was a remarkable rescue for small boys and they ought to get a Carnegie medal for their presence of mind and bravery. Then the three little fellows took Kenneth home, and his mother not being at home, they undressed Kenneth, rubbed his body to get his blood circulating right, put him to bed and stuck on the job in fine shape. Kenneth is 13 years old, and was able in a way to direct the little lads in the rescue. He is not the worse for the experience but is not the worse for the experience but {sic} ferty you may be sure is the most grateful woman in the land today and her thanksgiving will be one of gratefulness that her boy was spared. We might add at this point that the playmates of Kenneth are due an extra cut of pie or a big supply of turkey at any time they drop around to see Kenneth at his home. They will always find a real welcome at the hands of Kenneth and his mother.
Valley City Times-Record, 11/27/1919
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Fatally Wounded Her Husband.
Butte, Mont., Special.—Mrs. James Baptiste shot and fatally wounded her husband, a telegraph operator at the M. & M. pool rooms, where he was employed. Baptiste recently left his wife and took up with a variety actress. Mrs. Baptiste brought suit for divorce, but was not satisfied to let the recreant husband off so easily. She walked into the pool rooms and, pointing the revolver through a window at her husband, blazed away. The ball passed through his body and struck the backbone. She was arrested.
Pembina Pioneer Express, 9/24/1897
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James Hyde, cashier of a
New Rockford bank, was seriously burned about the head and shoulders by the explosion of a gasoline lamp which exploded directly over him. Mrs. Hyde who was near was slightly burned. The couple were checking up money when the accident occurred. About $300 were burned and $700 damaged, but this will be
redeemed.
Ward County Independent, 11/1/1906
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GUNMEN HOLD UP 2 IN MINOT
Minot, N. D., Nov. 11—Two holdups were perpetrated by gunmen in Minot early last night.
John Scheuer, 67, Minot butcher, is in a local hospital today, suffering from severe wounds about the head and face, sustained when he grappled with his assailant, wrenching the gun out of his hand.
John Franzona, was arrested a short time later by a policeman when it was noticed his face bore evidence of fresh wounds. When authorities searched his room in a local hotel they found a revolver and bloody clothing.
Bismarck Tribune, 11/11/1922
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Ole Magnuson who resides north of
Wimbledon, was hooked in the head by a cow and it took fourteen stitches to draw the wound together.
Jamestown Weekly Alert, 12/5/1901
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