The Disappearance of Nellie Carlaw
Printed in the Confederate Newspaper, Mount Forest, Ontario on Tuesday, September 4, 1877.....
WAS IT A MURDER?
---------SOMETHING ABOUT THAT SKELETON STORY.
---------Is Rev. Mr. White Guilty of a Huge Crime.
---------MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF A YOUNG LADY SOME YEARS AGO.
---------INTERVIEW WITH MR. CARLOW.
---------On the outskirts of the village (of Arthur, Ontario), and back a short distance from the main road leading to Mount Forest stands a small, frame building owned by Mr. Robert Mitchell, Magistrate, of this place. During the past few days a strange story has been in circulation concerning this dwelling, which as it travelled assumed startling shapes. Now you would hear that a pile of human bones were lately found in an old cupboard, and again you would hear that the whole skeleton of a human being had been found in the well.
In order to ascertain the truth of these rumours, we sent our reporter to investigate the case. He first visited the home, near which lives Mr. James Hayes, one of the gentlemen engaged in repairing the building in question. Mr. Hayes kindly consented to accompany him to the house, where, though it was past nine o'clock p.m., a quantity of bones were found. In reply to questions Mr. Hayes informed our reporter that the bones had been discovered while cleaning out the cellar, and that the discovery had produced so much excitement was on account of
A SUSPICION
that had been entertained some years ago that a young lady had met with foul play at the hands of Mr. White, a Scotch minister, who tenanted this house. Mr. Hayes further stated that the young lady's name was Carlow and that her brother and father lived in the village (of Arthur).
Mr. Carlow, Jnr. was found at his residence, but stated to our reporter that he had forgotten a great deal about the affair and referred him to Mr. Carlow, Snr. (James Carlaw 1808-1898), who was also found at his residence. After the usual saintations our reporter said:
"Mr. Carlow, I have called upon you for the purpose of asking you a few questions in regard to the disappearance of your daughter (Nellie Carlaw). You are at liberty to answer or not answer these questions at your option and I would caution you to say nothing which would be objectionable to you in print.
Mr. Carlow intimated his readiness to answer the questions.
Reporter -- Have you seen your daughter since her mysterious disappearance?
Mr. Carlow -- No.
R. -- At the time of her disappearance she was employed by
A MR. WHITE,
a Scottish Minister, as housekeeper, was she not?
Mr. C. -- Yes.
R. -- Do you know whether she was last seen in his company?
Mr. C. -- As far as I could ascertain she was.
R. -- How many years have elapsed since her disappearance?
Mr. C. -- She disappeared on the thirteenth day of June, 1865.
R. -- Had you any reason to connect the Rev. Mr. White with her disappearance?
Mr. C. -- I had every reason to suspect him.
R. -- You say that she was last seen in the company of Mr. White; what proof have you for this?
Mr. C. -- I asked him what he had done with my daughter and he told me that he had left her at the Wellington Hotel, Guelph. I went to Guelph, and, aided by a policeman, named Kelly, discovered that Mr. White and she had left the Wellington Hotel in company.
R. -- Did you then move in the matter, legally?
Mr. C. -- I went to a lawyer in Hamilton, who said I could do nothing without further proof.
R. -- Did you not entertain an idea of having Mr. White arrested on suspicion?
Mr. C. -- No.
R. -- After your interview with the Hamilton lawyer did you let the matter drop?
Mr. C. -- No; I again went to Mr. White and beseeched him to tell me where my daughter was. He again told me that she was in Guelph, that she had gone there for the purpose of obtaining a situation where she would receive higher wages than he gave her.
R. -- I presume you then related to him what you discovered in Guelph?
Mr. C. -- Yes, and he then flew into an excited passion, telling me that I might go and find her.
R. -- Did you again attempt legal proceedings at this juncture?
Mr. C. -- No. I threatened Mr White with the law, but he only sent me insulting replies to my letters, so believing what the lawyer in Hamilton told me, I have not moved further in the matter.
R. -- Did the affair cause much excitement in the village?
Mr. C. -- A good deal.
R. -- Was there any reason to believe that Mr. White was too familiar with your daughter?
Mr. C. -- A good many people seemed to think so, and latterly, I have entertained the same belief.
R. -- How long did Mr. White stay in this village after this affair?
Mr. C. -- He stayed over three years.
R. -- And no attempt was made by the village authorities to investigate the mysterious affair?
Mr. C. -- No attempt, excepting our own private exertions.
R. -- From the date you have given me I see that your daughter has been missing some twelve years, have you ever heard from her during this time?
Mr. C. -- I have received two letters, purporting to be from her, but I believe them to be fictitious.
R. -- Did you not recognize her handwriting?
Mr. C. -- It resembled her writing a little, but I do not think 'twas hers.
R. -- What was said in the first letter?
Mr. C. -- The first letter said she had got a place in Guelph, at a Mr. Alexander's. I went once more to Guelph, and called on every Alexander and again searched the town but no trace of her could be found.
R. -- Was the letter dated?
Mr. C. -- Yes; merely Guelph.
R. -- What was in the other letter?
Mr. C. -- The other letter was dated the same as the first, and said for us not to blame Mr. White for the way people talked, as he was innocent.
R. -- Do you know where Mr. White is at the present time?
Mr. C. -- Yes; he is pastor of a church at South Queen's Ferry, Edinborough Scotland.
After asking some further minor questions our reporter took his leave.
If we are to believe Mr. Carlow's replies, and they were delivered in a frank, open way, which left little room for doubt, it would appear that the suspicion of a great crime still clings to the skirts of one who has the boldness to preach the Word of God in a distant land. Mr. White's mis-statement in regard to the young girl's disappearance, his absolute refusal to throw any light on the affair afterward and the fact of him being the last one seen in the girl's company, weave around him a chain of circumstantial evidence which it is impossible to ignore. If Mr. White is innocent of any knowledge of the girl's disappearance, why did he not aid the parents in the search for their missing daughter. It is quite evident that the letters from Guelph were forgeries, sent for the purpose of blinding the eyes of justice, inasmuch as setting aside the fact that the first one was a falsehood, it is not the way a lost daughter would write to the ones who gave her birth. What the township authorities were doing at the time of the girl's disappearance, it is impossible to suggest, but we think the mystery which clouded the affair would have warranted some action on their part which would have been instrumental in clearing up the case. We are fully aware that time is a great defeater of justice, yet, even at this late day, we call upon the authorities at South Queen's Ferry to take the matter into their hands. --- Arthur Enterprise.
An Arthur Sensation
On our first page will be found some facts copied from the Arthur Enterprise relative to the disappearance of a Miss Carlow from that village. The Guelph Mercury gives the following anent the matter: -- "The Arthur Enterprise of last week revives a sensation which excited the people of Arthur and the County some fourteen years ago, but it fails to throw any more light on the subject. This sensation was the disappearance of a young woman name Carlow, who had been for some time housekeeper to a Mr. White, who for some time officiated as Minister in the Scottish church in that _____. The affair was fully ventilated in the ____ papers at that time, and it was proved beyond a doubt that Miss Carlow was last seen at the American Hotel, in this town. Where she went to afterwards was never known, though that matter was put into the hands of the detectives, but the Enterprise's story about the bones being lately found in the house near Arthur, and any attempt to connect them with Miss Carlow's disappearance seems to us extremely improbable. We well recollect the whole facts bearing on the case, and though the Enterprise has succeeded in getting up a good sensation, yet remembering all these facts, we have not hesitation in coming to the conclusion that it has got on the wrong trail, and that Miss Carlow after her appearance in Guelph, never returned to Arthur. The evidence on that point at the time was conclusive, and any story to the contrary is entirely without foundation."
[Query. -- If the Mercury comes to the conclusion that Miss Carlow was last seen at the American Hotel, Guelph, why may she not have gone to Arthur as well as any where else. The latter part of the Mercury's supposition won't hold water. ED. CON.]