“The Immortal J.N.” addressing a crowd. Photo from Richlandsource.com

Editor’s note: The following is information from an article, of unknown date, about a man named Jacob Newman Free, known as “The Immortal J.N.” The article is from the files of the Kosciusko County Historical Society.

WARSAW — Old-timers in Warsaw and Kosciusko county, to a large number will recall “The Immortal J.N.,” who, in the1870s and early1880s, made perennial visits to this section of the midwest. 

His name was Jacob Newman Free. With his long, flowing, gray hair, at first glance he gave one the resemblance of “Buffalo Bill,” although not so neat in his appearance. Frequently, he would gather a crowd on the street corner and make a fairly good address on various topics. 

He rode on railroad trains, he stopped at hotels — and he never paid a cent. In fact, he never carried money. Being a “little shy in the upper story,” old acquaintances frequently took pity upon the aimless wanderer and fed and lodged him for a short spell. It was said that if a conductor asked his fare, he would proffer a handful of pebbles from his pocket. After being put off the train, he would simply flag the next one. Railroads grew so weary of having their schedules disrupted by J.N. that most of them gave him free passes.

The Immortal J. N., however, never lingered long in one place. A supper, a lodging, a breakfast — and away he would go.

“Letters,” a publication sponsored by Time magazine, contains this communication from D. M. Hoover of Elkhart, Ind., concerning J.N.

“During the period of 1898-1902, I was a teacher in the schools of Elkhart County, Indiana. Several times in this period “The Immortal J.N.” appeared at our county teachers’ meetings. He was a large man of striking appearance, kind of a cross between Buffalo Bill and a southern colonel. 

“He would enter some session of our meetings and would sit quietly and austerely, expecting to be called upon for an address. In this, he was never disappointed. He would talk for some five or six minutes in a rambling but forceful and eloquent manner. There was very little point or sense to his remarks.

The legend concerning him was that he had been an able lawyer in an eastern metropolis; that he had been employed to defend a man who was accused of murder; that he believed his client to be innocent, his sympathies were aroused, he took a great personal interest in the case and devoted himself and all his talent unreservedly to his client’s cause, and that his argument to the jury was sublime. 

He won his client’s acquittal. That the accused thereafter thanked him for his masterful defense and wanted to pay him his fee, but he also revealed the fact that he was actually guilty of the crime. That J.N. then refused to take pay for his services; that something “snapped” in his head; that he brooded, lost all interest in his profession and gradually developed into the strange and irresponsible character that we knew, and was described in Letters.”

“The Immortal J.N.”
Photo from Richlandsource.com

Another letter, from Francis W. Shepardson, of Granville, Ohio, states,

“J. N. Free, a familiar character in the central states 50 years ago, was from New Lexington, Ohio, where his brother, Major Free lived, the latter an officer in the Union army during the Civil War. J.N. had a head injury as a youth — which modern surgery might have helped — so that an unusually bright intellect was wrecked.

 J.N was tall, dignified in appearance and in deportment, wore long hair. He was well-informed on all questions of the day and could make a better than ordinary speech upon them, his rounded sentences often, however, being punctuated by references to `this eternal pressure.’ He was a frequent visitor at our printing office in Granville, Ohio, seeking copies of our ‘esteemed contemporaries.’ His pockets always were stuffed with newspapers. He never paid railroad fare. The following 50-50 story was told in every community with an individual setting. The Granville setting was:

Mr. Buxton (proprietor of the local hotel): “J.N. you have been here at the hotel for a week now, and you have entertained my guests with your stories and your conversation. So I am going to throw off half the bill for the week.”

J.N.: “Thank you, Major. That is very generous. As I will not allow any man to outdo me in generosity, I’ll throw off the other half and call it square.”

“An incident comes to memory. There was a great soldiers’ reunion in Columbus half a century ago, when Charles Foster was Governor of Ohio. Only a few could get admission to the Opera House where the distinguished guests were to speak. J.N. took up his position on the west steps of the State House — half a block from the Opera House — and began to speak. He was holding the attention of a crowd of several thousand with an interesting address (I was close to him and heard it) when, from the Opera House across the block, there came a sound of cheering. J.N. stopped short in his address and said:  ‘Listen to that cheer! They are cheering Charlie Foster. He and I were in the same regiment during the Civil War. We were both captains in the Stay-At-Home Guards.’”

The Immortal J.N. died near Sandusky, Ohio, and is buried in McCutchenville, Ohio, where his father was a minister.

– Compiled by InkFreeNews reporter Lasca Randels