A precious babe in swaddling clothing is being cared for temporarily at the Concord Hospital while local officials endeavor to trace its parents and locate a home for it.
The baby, a boy about three weeks or a month old, was left at the home of Dr. J. S. Lafferty some time during the night, its cries arousing the household at 4 o’clock this morning. Upon being awakened Mrs. Lafferty listened for a few minutes to the cries of the youngster, being unable to realize that he was inside her home.
When the cries continued Mrs. Lafferty went into the living room and found the babe resting comfortably on a davenport. To ensure his safety, the person who left him there had propped pillows about him, leaving nearby a bottle of milk and a bundle of clothing.
It is through the clothing that officers hope to trace the parents. Several baby dresses, all showing signs of having been worn and laundered several times, bear the laundry mark, “J. N. H.” and the clothing was wrapped in the heavy craft paper almost universally used by laundries.
Mrs. Lafferty notified the police of her find and officers on duty carried the babe to the Concord Hospital, where already he has won his way into the hearts of the nurses. He has been given a basket in the baby’s ward and this morning was quietly enjoying the benefits found at his new home. The nurses at the hospital insist that his name is “Jackie,” and they use that name in addressing him.
The management of the Concord Steam Laundry stated this morning that none of their regular customers has the mark “J. N. H.” Several years ago a man at Harrisburg had the mark, but he has been dead several years, it was stated, and all of the laundry he sent in was apparel for men.
Officers here, it is understood, have notified police officers in other cities of the case and have asked that inquiries be made in their cities to ascertain if anyone thee has the mark found on the babe’s clothing.
So far as the officers can learn no one saw the person or persons who left the baby at the Lafferty home. It may be that the youngster stayed in the home some time before crying out, so it is impossible for the officers to know the hour the home was entered. Officers also are unable to know whether the babe was left at the Lafferty home on purpose or whether the person who deserted it entered the first door found open.
Due to the fact that many boarders stay at the Lafferty home the front door is never locked and it was easy for entrance to be made there. Police are inclined to the opinion that the person who left the baby knew the Lafferty home is a boarding house and that the front door is always open. One opinion expressed by officers is that the babe was left by someone who had stayed for a day or so at the Lafferty home and knew the kindly disposition of Mrs. Lafferty.
In the bundle of clothes left with the boy are various sorts and sizes of garments. At the hospital this morning the youngster was wearing a lightweight flannel shirt, diaper and petticoat that boasted of pink ribbons across the top and a bow on one shoulder. He had been dressed in clean clothing after reaching the hospital and it was stated that he was wearing a dress as well as the other garments when found.
All of the dresses had the mark “J. N. H.,” but the other clothes were not marked. There was one apron-dress in the package, several petticoats and about two dozen diapers. Some of the dresses are large enough for a two-year-old child and all show that they have been worn and washed many times. The clothing is not torn, and everything in the package undoubtedly had just been returned from a laundry somewhere. Nurses who examined the clothing expressed the opinion that only one of the garments was hand-made.
The baby shows no outward sign of mistreatment. He is plenty plump, his skin is fair and his eyes grey or blue. When police officers went into the ward to examine his clothing, he uttered not a sound when he was picked up and carried to a window where the marks could be more easily read. When he was placed back in his basket and covered with a blanket he seemed entirely happy with the world. He had been fed after reaching the hospital although the manner in which he held his fist to his mout indicated that he might have been hungry again.
Until officers have had time to make their investigation, the baby will be left at the hospital. If they fail in their efforts to locate his parents, it is probable that they will try to get some couple here to adopt the boy.
The case has aroused unusual interest here, many persons expressing horror that anyone would be mean enough to desert a helpless babe. “Dumb animals won’t desert their offspring,” one man stated in expressing the hope that the persons responsible fo the fate of the child can be found and convicted under the law.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Aug. 26, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1926-08-26/ed-1/seq-1/
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