William H. Saunders, Affidavit

Accession Number

KYR-0001-020-1063

Document Genre

Legal/Financial

Repository

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Collection

Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862

Item Location

MG20-157 to MG20-158

Date of Creation

14 May 1861

Dates Mentioned

1848

1853

1857

1861-05-14

To all persons to whom these presents shall come;
Greeting;

This is to certify that I, W. H. Saunders of Louisville Ky: (late of Adair Co. Ky:) have known James T. White, son of D^r James B: White of Danville Boyle Co. Ky from his Infancy; — said Ja^s. T. White boarded with me & came to school to me in Adair Co Ky from 1848 to 1853 (5 years) before he came to me I knew him to be guilty of pilfering, but thought I could reform him, during his stay with me, but notwithstanding the watchfulness of his Brother, & myself & Family he would frequently steal articles, some of which would be of no value or use to him: — I tried, argument, persuasion, entreaty & punishment of various kinds, but all to no purpose; (although he would deny it for a time,) his manner being that of a monomaniac would condemn him: — he seemed to take to it by spells, at all other times, he would be well behaved, courteous, truthful & obliging; — he would always promise most solemnly that he would never take what did not belong to him again I told his Father, who was very much distressed about it, & who I knew had whipped him many times for the like offence, that I thought he could not possibly help it, that I believe he tried, but that he seemed to me to be a perfect monomaniac upon that one thing, that he might possibly outgrow it, & get ashamed of it as he advanced in years; — I hoped so, but I doubted it; — In 1857 he came & boarded with me 4 Months, reviewing some studies, (his intellect not being ^in^ any way so bright as his Brothers & Sister) he had pocket money, & did not want for any thing, as his Father had written me to get him what he needed, but still his old natural propensity of stealing clung to him, he took several things, altho' of use to my Family they were none whatever to him, & the whole not worth $5,, — he did not seem to steal from any desire of gain or of appropriating
it to his own use for he would frequently hide things about the yard it seemed to be a morbid uncontrolable disposition in him & he could not help it, — I told his Father that I did not thingk he would ever quit it, that he was to be pitied rather than punished, for I considered he was a monomaniac upon that subject.

Given under my hand this 14^th. day of May 1861.

W^m H. Saunders Dep U S.
Marshal for Ky Dist & Census Clk for Tho^s R Dohoney
U. S. M. for Ky Dist

Louisville Ky:

Certificate from W^m H. Saunders

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