Father, Son Reunited After Fifty Years

1913

FINDS SON AFTER FIFTY YEARS SEARCHING

Centralia, Ill., Nov. 11 — John Waters of Summit, N. J., was to-day reunited to his son, for whom he had been searching for fifty years.

After the Civil War broke out Waters entered the navy under Admiral Farragut, serving five years. He placed his year-old son in the care of a Mrs. Fitzpatrick, his wife having died. The boy later was placed in an orphanage in Orange county, N. Y., and at the age of three was brought West in a carload of orphans to be distributed among pioneer families.

The child was adopted under the name of James Fitzpatrick into the home of Charles Jennings. He is today a well-to-do farmer. He had placed frequent advertisements in Eastern newspapers, seeking to get some trace of his relatives. Last week his father saw one of these advertisements in a New York paper. He came to Centralia and visited the house of Fitzpatrick.

"James, put your hat back from your forehead so I can see your face," he said. Fitzpatrick obeyed. Then the father threw his arms around the son's neck. The father is 76 and the son 54.

—Orange County Times-Press, Middletown, New York, November 14, 1913, page 3.