Show xII FORTY YEARS AGO strange history of a renn pennsylvania sylvanin man now claiming millions edwin churchel Church 11 ll druce of scranton toh pa sailed to england recently inhofe in hope ot of establishing his claim to the estate of the late baron churchill of lancashire the estate is worth and druco druce says he Is the son of the baron and was about forty years ago ills his story la Is this thomas druce and frederick hill young men of mosley osley li lancashire were arrested forty eight years ago at the instance of baron churchill who charged them with stealing cattle from him they were transported to australla australia druce tor for twelve years and hill tor for twenty years druce always said he was innocent and revenge was the only thins thing he thought of during ills his banishment when at the end of ton ten years lie he rc returned to mosley he learned that the baron had married and had a boy 2 years old the former convict determined to strike at the father through the child ile he persuaded cd tv two 0 women to assist him and one lay day while the boy was playing in his fathers park the women led him away and gave him to druce who hid bid him until the hue arid and cry raised over ins its disappearance had in ili a measure subsided then young churchill was taken to tile the home of james druce tom toms 4 brother some distance away in the village age of troy and was thereafter I 1 alsed like the other children of the neighborhood bo baron churchill and his wife were unremitting in their efforts to find their child but failing to discover any clue of him became convinced that lie he was dead soon after the heartbroken mother died before edwin had reached the age of 15 he was sent to the druce and when lie he reached his majority james druce told him he wanted him to marry one ol of two girls he had always looked looked on as his sisters just at this time a 1 letter r arrived for which contained information as to his birth it had been sent by some one acquainted with the he facts and who desired to see justice done to the young man the letter was intercepted by james druce but the girl the father Intend intended edthe the young man mail to marry learned that it contained facts concerning her adopted brath brothers er S bertli 1 TI 11 and acquainted him with thi the a information crifo in her possession edwin demanded to know the names 0 of his parents but james drue druce c declared I 1 e that he was his son and edwin left the druce homestead obtained employment as a mail carrier afterward went to canada and moved to scranton 14 five years ago he had been in in scranton Sc ranion only a short time when james druce arrived A truce was patched up and edwin and the man he once thought was chis father lived together james druce became very ill two years ago and told edwin that the latter had been stolen when a youth and gave a partial description of 0 the estate estate his father owned in Brig england and the family coat of arms then lie he suddah stopped and nothing could andu induce e him to continue the story presently he recovered but never disclosed the secret be cret to edwin with the assistance of george hicks a friend edwin got some money and sailed for his native land A letter from edwin was received rece lyrd by hicks recently which described the progress of his search tor for information ile he is now boarding with mrs render pender of sunny lane mosley in his letter he said he was in possession of the story of his life one ond of the women who assisted lit in his had died while he was in america but had confessed her part lit in the transaction edwins object now Is to find thomas druce cincinnati enquirer |