I had a sister, Jessie, three years and one month older than myself (Mary). She was born December 14th, 1861.

When I was five weeks old, my parents moved to a small town, Sunbury (in the same county), twelve miles east. There we lived four years. When I was eighteen months old, a brother was born, (First name?) Dean.

I started to school when I was less than four years old with my sister, Jessie, and also with my father's young sister, Ida. His parents died when she was five years old and my parents brought her home to take care of her. She was born in 1856. So she was at my home when I was born. She had a young brother, Ed, who lived with strangers who were not good to him (farmers). He worked very hard and his lunch which he took to school was such poor scraps he was ashamed to let his schoolmates see him eat it.

After living in the small town of Sunbury for four years we moved back to the county seat of Delaware, as my father had been elected sheriff of the county. He did not seek the office. Really did not want it and as he was a stone and marble cutter, was busy at his work when his friends came to him and told him he had been elected sheriff.

When we moved into the jail the preceding sheriff was moving out. Had moved their own furniture out but some stoves, a clock and a few things belonged to the jail. There were no chairs, and as we all stood around I was sorry for the people who were moving out, as I (?) that the furniture which was there was all they had had to keep house with.

The next morning after we moved into the jail my father took me in his arms and my sister by the hand and took us into the jail to see the prisoners. They all were glad to see us and talk with us.

Father was four years in office for himself and stayed six months for his successor who was ill when fathers second term expired. Terms were 2 years.

When we moved into the jail there were several prisoners there, one being a murderer. He was on his way to be married. Was passing a colored grocery (he being a very light colored man himself.) was playing a juice harp, another young darkey picked on him, and angered him. He walked several blocks and got a gun and went back to where the young darkey was and shot him. He at that time was twenty-one years old.

He was in the jail near two years after we moved into the jail. His first trial ended with sentence to be hung. As the law at that time was such as compelled the sheriff to hang in the county jail, my father said he could not take the life of any one and under no circumstances would he be induced to do so. It happened the prisoner was granted a second trial and was sentenced to the penitentiary for life.

He was a very exemplary prisoner. Very pleasant and likeable. I cut out pictures and gave them to him and he pasted them on the wall of his cell which was rough, heavy stone. Once I gave him one of my colored picture books and a small pair of scissors (which he should not have had) and he cut up my book and pasted the pictures on his wall. My book was "The Naughty Little Suck-a-Thumb", which my father gave me because I sucked my thumb. Which I kept on 'till ten years old. My parents tried to break me of the habit and once father was blackening his shoes and put some on my thumb. Almost broke my heart. Seventy-seven years ago this Christmas he gave me a little white and gold cup and saucer, which I still have. That was 1870, 75 years ago.

Once when the jail door was unlocked to let a visitor in, a couple prisoners pushed the door open and rushed out. The jailer's wife cried "Oh! John T. is out" (the murderer), he said "No madam here I am. I shall not try to get away".

When I was about six years old my father took him to Ohio to the penitentiary for life. As he passed through the hall of the jail, we bid him good bye and really were sorry to think he must spend his life in prison.

After he had been in the penitentiary for thirty-five years as I was passing through the city one day with my little daughter and also with my sister-in-law and her little son I decided we might visit the prison and ask permission to see John T.

When I inquired at information if we might see John T. I was asked why I wanted to see him. Was told he was the oldest prisoner (in point of time, not age) of the thousands in prison.

I told them my father had taken him there from the jail in the county seat.

After telling him where the crime was committed and that he was taken to prison about 1870 he looked up the records and knew what I was talking about. So he called a guard and told him to let me see John T. He also told me no one had asked to see him or enquired about him in fifteen years.

The guard who took us to see T. asked me questions. Was much interested in my story. Took my name and home at that time. After I returned to my own home all the information I had given at the prison was first published in the prison papers, then copied all over the country. I received copies from Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus, Ohio and finally was copied in my own town paper.

He had been pardoned and could have gone free but refused as he thought no one knew him and would be a new world to him. After thirty five years when I told him I was sheriff Brown's little girl he remembered there were two of us and asked me which one. I told him the little one, who cut out pictures for him. He said then you are Mary. I said, "Yes, do you remember me?" He said, "Yes, you was a good little girl". Then he said, "Where is your father?" I said, "My father died a long time ago". He said, "Oh! He was too good to die. And where is your mother?" I told him she was living. Not so many miles from where he was.

A few years later he received a call from another darkey barber who had known him when both were young. This man persuaded him to accept his pardon and go back to the old town and into the barbershop with him as T. was a barber and had been the prison barber. The man had lost his family and was lonely.

He was discharged from prison after having been a model prisoner for about forty years. It was such an event the city officials took him all over the city of Columbus in an auto. "The first one he ever rode in." He saw so many changes, such as electric streetcars, when he went into prison they were horse drawn. Then they drove to the place where he was to make his home.

As they were not quite ready to receive him till the next day, he was taken to an institution to spend the night and the next day to go to his new home to be with his friend. He wanted T. not only to work with him but to share his home with him, as he too was alone.

When the officials reached his old hometown, Dover, he tried with their help to find someone he had known (beside his friend he was to live with). The nearest was the son of the judge who sentenced him to prison. The judge had died. This son was in my classes in high school.

From some unknown cause or accident the building in which he was sleeping caught on fire and he burned to death.

Mother saw the account of his burning in the paper. If they had known about her she had handed in many meals to him in the jail.

The jail proper was on first floor in back of living rooms. There were two large rooms up stairs built for women and used a great deal for crazy people. The entrance was through main hall in the home and also the stairway to rooms above. One man who was crazy was put upstairs in front room. Great heavy doors and iron bared windows. He broke out all the window glass with his hands and threw it below in the front yard and screamed and talked all the time. Told us to save all the pieces as the world was coming to an end and there was nothing to hold onto.

One evening my father and mother went to an entertainment to see Tom Thumb and General Lettlefinger and when they came home several police were sitting around in our living room holding a rope with which a murderer was tied, they did not know where to put him as the jail was full.

We had four murders in the jail in the five years. Also many crazy ones.

And so many drunk and a few women. Not the type who drink now. It was very unpopular for women to drink then.

Mother joined the Temperance Crusade at that time. That was before the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized which really sprang from the Temperance Crusade. I believe the Temperance Crusade was started about 1870 or 1871. I was five or six years old at the time. My sister Jennie (who was three years and one month older than I) and I used to go and sit on a college campus fence and watch the crusade ladies pray and sing on the steps of a large brewery, and the wife of the brewer would ring and ring a large bell to try to drown their voices and discourage them.

The new county court house was being built at that time. The "Goddess of Justice" which was a beautiful large ornamental woman, supposed to be blind-folded, holding the scales of Justice, was received and cared for by my father until the tower was ready, and the Goddess to be mounted. The Goddess of Justice was shipped in a very large box, while being kept in basement of court house for few weeks while court house was being finished, the top of the box was taken off and a canvas spread over her face. We children would go in every day and lift up the canvas and look at her face and missed her when she was taken away.

There was a very large old silver-leaf tree in the front jail yard. About ten feet high three large limbs spread out. In the branches some one had put up a large board about twelve inches wide and about five or six feet long. We six children spent a great deal of time in the tree, and ate many lunches in the tree. We three and father's sister who was nine years older than myself with our three neighbor children.

We had a cat that had four little kittens. We each claimed one. My Aunt Ida (which we never called Aunt as she was one of us.), my sister, brother and myself. I remember one evening at twilight we each had a broom and were sweeping the walk in back yard and had our kittens following us and were singing "Sweeping through the gates to the New Jerusalem".

There was a rather steep hill in the front yard of the jail down near it front fence. Was about eight feet high. We had a board about ten inches wide and three feet long. We used it to slide down hill on. The board and hill were both as slick as glass from constant use.

We seemed to be free to have lots of fun and so much space and room to have fun in.

We slid down the banisters in the jail and also in the courthouse when there was few people around.

The court house janitor was named Charlie Miller. He liked children and helped us to have a good time.

Before the new courthouse was built, the old one reached from one street to the other. An entire block. Was an old frame building built right next to the sidewalk. Was a sort of porch built across entire front of building. With steps at both ends. Doors side by side the entire length of building. A door for each office. When the offices were closed we ran up and down the old porch and slid down banisters until the railing were so smooth.

The Courthouse and jail were located in the center of a block of the county seat. The entire block was inclosed with a beautiful iron fence. My sister, brother and I were not permitted to go outside of the fence to play. Our neighbor's children, two girls and a boy played with we three children constantly every day. Also father's young sister. Sometimes when there was a cell vacant we used to coax father to lock us up for a while. We thought it so much fun to be locked in a real jail cell.

Across the street lived a family who had two girls the age my sister Annette and Min, myself and a boy the age of my brother Hal. They played in the block with we children every day.

Before we moved from the jail I had a brother born there, Will. We have always called him the "Jail Bird".