Page 1 Advertisements Column 5

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2006, 15 February 1907, Page 1

THF. “BOSS” BIGAMIST. MORE THAN A HUNDRED VICTIMS. One of the best pieces of news the Christinas cables from America liavo given us is the report of the arrest of that blackguardly bigamist, Dr. I Witzhoff, at Buffalo. Witzhoff’s victims are numbored by the score—indeed, it is said that at the very least he has led 100 women to the altar and the registry office in various parts of the world. Whatever tlio real number of this arch bigamist’s “wives,” it is tolerably certain that everyone of them has had cause to bitterly regret their brief association with him. Witzhoff was always “out for money,” and anything feminine with money, little or much, came as fish to his not. Only one woman seems to have really touched (ho heart of this creature, and that was an English girl, Alice Roll, whom he appears to have married for love. Maybe, however, ho took her to wife simply because the marriage habit had mnsteiod him, or because ho felt he must keep up his wedding average somehow. Of course, he Resorted her in the end, but only after he had lived with her for quite a long time, and when our police commenced to make matters warm for him.

Witzlioff is a native', of Switzerland, and is now about 'ls years old. He is described as v Va,' presentable, plausible man, with “strange hypnotic oyos.” He went to America about 20 years ago. He whs a skilled dentist. and earned a good salary as the employee of various dental firms. It was while working in this capacity that Witzlioff met the majority of tlie women whom ho afterward; married and deserted. Many of them were widows or divorced women, who possessed some property. One of Witzl * off’s first known victims was Miss Parkliill, who married him in 1003. Immediately after the wedding Witzinff borrowed £630 from the bride's father and disappeared, and soon afterwaids married Miss Etna Randall at Boston. Miss Randall gave him £4OO. and before tim honeymoon was over Witch off left her in search of n wealthier bride. Thereafter marriage became a habit. He wooed and won brides in nearly every State. A Miss Chapman, of Chicago, netted him £IOOO. Miss Marie Obonnoyer, of Minnesota, gave him £IOOO, with which he disappeared an hour after the wedding ceremony; and Miss Mary Tlicipe, of Brooklyn, had a dowry of £2OOO, which Witzlioff secured. Then the r,iell-bigamist turned his attention to widows. Mme. Maniowitz, a Polish widow, was robbed of £6O. Mrs. Dor.'F, Mrs. Kezinsky, Mrs. Rosonfeld, and Mrs. Freedman were a few of the wealthy widows living in the Jewish quarter in the East , side of New York, who were married and deserted quickly. Miss Jennie Thurston, a member of a prominent Indiana family, was the next victim. A week after tlicir marriage she gave Witzlioff £4OO with which to pcifect ail alleged motor car patent. He went to New York for that purpose, but he married Miss Gcldbaum instead. In the majority of cases quoted Witzlioff gave his mme as either Muller, Schotze, lticder, or Rteinitz. After his mariiage with Miss Goldbaum, however, he married half a dozen Brooklyn widows, in the names of Wit gar, Horowitz, G 1 ticker, Schwartz, Cohen, and Stein respectively. The six netted Witzlioff si.ms ranging from £SO) to £3OO each.

In England Witzhoff, posing as “Dr. Weston,” only seems to have married Alice Bell, ivitli whom he got little qr nothing. He, however, remained here well over the year, running dental businesses in London and Manchester, and possibly there v.ere other victims, who, finding ho r they had been duped, prefc-ried to hear their shame in silence. Witzhoff denied out of England leaving Alice Bell and her baby penniless and a heap of creditors lamenting. In the autumn of 1905 Witzhoff was again contracting bigamous marriages in New York and Boston, and at last the police organised a general search for him, which foreect Wilzhoff to abandon his love-making and go into hiding Mrs. Wagar, the “wife ’ who is reported to-have caused his arrest, declared last yea' that she would spend every penny she possessed to bring Witzhoff to justice, and several other victims, who still possessed a little money, joined together and employed private detectives to mn him to earth. Many of his victims were of Ger-man-Jewish origin and 'a bogus “marriage-broker” is said to have figured in his adventures ns an assistant to Witzhoff. The president of tlie Women’s International Rescue League asserted that Witzhoff was but' no in the principals ill A Traffic o‘> Robbery . carried on all ov< r tin* United States, »here at least 50,000 women married by such professional bigamists have been robbed and deserted. The fact that the girls amongst the foreign immigrants have usually saved money for a dowiy makes them the prey of Witzhoff and his like. His si ceess in courtship were marvellous. Two days was enough in one cose, and the number of his wives married during two years only has boon estimated at from 62 to 98. Tall, and dark, with refined, features' olid a purled pioistache, lus winning manner aiid Unfailing Courtesy

impressed lijss victims more than his good looks. That a man for whom so many wore searching should so long escape detection says much for AYitzhoff’s skill in disguises. ' How the Nefarious Traffic Began. I r. i uOn, Yv it/.hoff, sent «hat purported to he Mis life story to Alien Bell, a young New Cross girl whom he had deceived and cieserted. “if all the girls and women 1 promised marriage and got on short pretence money from would be put up, it would not then amount to 100, but I herewith give the real facts of all my wrongdoings, and have only 32 (women married) wives.! 1 ' ' , . Ho was born in 1864, lie wrote, in NeuFchatel, Switzerland of lespeetallo parents, his father being a snroodii with a. filed practice, who died

gin led to America. In Philadelphia young Wltzlmff became an appxentice to a dental surgeon, and had what ip I\ l s - own spelling becomes a ' 'hreo years -curse in dentistry.'' , After passing an examination, ue returned to Switzerland for five years, when America called to him again, and he boasts that at the ago of 27 he was earning "splendid income” in Chicago. , . „ . While in Chicago he notes lus first downward steps, for there lie met ‘a falcons surgeon engaged in malprac tines.” 'fhev practised, of lnalpruetised, together until 1896, v hen the law put out its hand towai ds the collar of Or. Witzlioff, who, forfeit ipg liis bail, “Skipped Away to Ctiada,” end began a prentice as “I)r. Colby in Montltal. , . , , , “One morning at o o’clock a knock came to my door. 1 opened the door, nod there stood my friend Badclillo, the fiicncl who had put up bail lor nun. . . , , But BadiU) was in reasonable hu-ni-mr, proposing that Ins fugitive ftiend should recoup him by marrying a rich widow named Hi spell. A marriage and a lionejmoon at NTianara Falls were followed by AVitzhefffs flight with £BOO, out of which Signor Badillo had his share New York was his next field, and here, after a two weeks' courtship, he married another widow at the City Hall. But this disappointing woman “had all her money loaned away, so I was compelled to seek another one.” The other one was found, a Miss Locker, of Philadelphia “1 got 800 dollars from her I paid Badillo 500 dollars and left for Spiingfield Mass.” At Springfield he began for the fiist time to avail himself of the convenience of advertisement. Here ‘S his first effort : A professional gentleman, of nice appearance, 32. desires the acquaintance of a sincere, affectionate lady, with some means; object matrimony; trulers ignored. Address particulars in first letter. Address, “Busy Bee,” ibo Journal. Twelve sincere and affectionate ladies answered him, and ten davs •.(;<iwards a boardniuhou.e mistress believed herself to be the.wife of Dr. Westfield, " c ” of nice herself to be the.wife of Dr. d, “a professional gentleman appearance,” to wl cm she

Entrusted £IOO of Her Savings. “As she was a vulgar woman, I left her two days after.” By this time ‘-Vitzhoff was in business as a bigamist, professed dentistry was a uipro .subsidiary accomat u i ni en.t_L-._i