Ohio, executions recorded in city and county histories, 1878-1985, Undated

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CITY OF CANTON

POLICE DEPARTMENT
221 - 3rd STREET S.W. — CANTON, OHIO 44702

STANLEY A. CMICH FRANK J. BURNOSKY THOMAS W. WYATT

MAYOR SAFETY DIRECTOR ee ’ CHIEF OF POLICE
May 2, 1983

Ronald C. Van Raalte

Zone Security Manager —

Great Lake Zone

Avis Rent A Car System, Inc.

O'Hare International Airport P.0. Box 66466 - ie
Chicago, Illinois 60666 :

Dear Sir:

In reply to your letter dated April 21, 1983, addressed to Officer Thomas

: & ' Kell, Detective Guy Mack, black-male-dob 3-23-21, was shot and killed
July 22, 1972. He had joined the Canton Police Department November 18,
1949. At the time of his death he was off duty, shopping at the A&P
Store at 1800 E. Tuscarawas Street, with his wife, when three (3) black-
male subjects entered the store and proceeded to rob same. Detective Mack
did grab one of the Subjects as he was passing through the checkout counter
and during the ensuing struggle he was shot twice with a 38 Cal. Revolver,
One shot entering his left side and one in the forehead. The weapon used
did not belong to Det. Mack.

Due to the circumstances, even though Det. G. Mack was technically off

duty, he was considered to be on duty at the time of his death. After
considerable investigation: by members of this Department, three black males
Out of the Cleveland, Ohio, area were arrested and brought to trial. All

were convicted and sent to prison. However, one of the subjects is presently
Out On appeals. He is presently charged by the Cleveland Police with Several —
counts of armed robbery and rape. : :

In addition to Det. Guy Mack over the years we have had five other officers
killed in the line of duty. They are as follows:

Pe: R Pt}. Alvah A. Miller - Killed, March 29, 1919. , He
BR Det. Anthony Skotnicky - Shot, Nov. 29, 1919, after arresting a fugitive. Yia/37

Suspect electrocuted 1920, 3]
Ret. Joseph Lauer - Shot June 14, 1928. Suspect sentenced to Life.in 1928.

Funston was tried and convicted of Ist degree murder. The day before his
execution he confessed to the crime.

RACE & AGE
20 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
December 28, 1825.

METHOD OF EXECUTION ; ks
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Coshocton County, W. Beer & Co. (1895).

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER(S) EXECUTED
Frank Ept.

Ept killed the son of Issac Wertheimer a wealthy clothing merchant. Ept
Was a young journeyman tailor who worked for Wertheimer. Ept was suspected
after he disappeared. Later he was captured. He gained access to the store
by pretending to be sick. Once inside the store he killed and robbed young
Wertheimer. His defense was insanity “homicidal mania".

RACE & AGE
34 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
September 29, 1876.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Coshocton County, W. Beer & Co., (1895).

CRAWFORD COUNTY

No information on executions available.

CUYAHOGO COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
O°Mic

The first execution in Cuyahoga County was the hanging of O“Mic. O°Mic
was tried and convicted of murdering two white trappers and stealing their
furs.

AGE & RACE.
Age unknown, Indian.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 1812.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
James Park. 3

Park was hanged for the murder of his friend.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 1, 1830.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
John Hughes.

Hughes was hanged for the murder of his girlfriend. Hughes was a local
surgeon.

AGE & RACE
43 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
February 10, 1866.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Alexander McConnell.

McConnell was hanged for the murder of his wife and stepdaughter.
McConnell was a local farmer.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
August 10, 1866

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

DATE OF EXECUTION
February 13, 1869.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
All of the information on Cuyahogo County was gathered from -
Cleveland, The Making of a City, by William Ganson Rose (1950).

DARKE COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Monroe Robertson.

The first execution in Darke County. Robertson was convicted for the
murder of his wife”s brother, Wiley Coulter. Robertson was a local sawmill
operator.

AGE & RACE &
47 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
August 20, 1880.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Darke County, Volume I, by Frazer E. Wilson, (1914).

DEFIANCE COUNTY

No information on executions available.

. DELAWARE COUNTY

No information on executions available.

ERIE COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED

James Evans.

The only execution within the bound of Erie County. Evans, a crippled
tailor, was sentenced to death for the willful murder of John Ritter.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
John Cooper.

Cooper was hanged for the murder of James Swing.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, black.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 15, 1868.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
William Hood.

Hood was hanged for killing his 14 year old adopted son.

AGE & RACE
30 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
April 29, 1870.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
William Adin.

Adin was hanged for the murder of his wife, stepdaughter, and family
friend.

AGE & RACE
57 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 22, 1876.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Lewis Davis.

Davis was hanged for murder and robbery. Davis was a blacksmith.

AGE & RACE
28 years old, white.

Wis
™ \

a e *
Mei Rote Py
ve

on a a

HM ae

an Co, Mord

te Se eee oe

e hospital through ‘ilinens.

ald be weighed, Congress did
and poke. Bag

vard Swope am -
Furged,-and itis apparent that
governmental thesis would
ose on_industry a cooperative
1 voluntary <if-
igation to
Tin thé drive for an equitable:
it &mong executives, share-
ders, labor and the public—the
4s. Of course, representing con-
rer interest, reflected in prices.
‘be eastern_post-mortem peer
it is confusingly fn- |
1 the“overlapping of Yiew
tls, as if the decks had |
PWldont of tented aoe:
gq ho - of rugged: individ-
sm in big business and ru
ation, too, that politicians
ud presume to pry into its af-
3 ie Tegitimate question is
ed as’ to. what incentive for
erful bralnsand effort the
ernreent - will substitufe if it
Is.up to hostile judgment’ the”
earnings of businexs—jeaders,
t majority-of the arms
orting—guaranteed - not —on
d-salaries but bonuses in baat.
iy and it wax by the latter that
f--presumably -commeanded the
-e es. which — carried
5 a
1 Nees, the of execu-
ilioivs-onit baker: is xmall

]

‘| years have demonstrated time and

= ee

ern

arrangements for suitahly clothing

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a

PS ES Ss ¥
ECTTOCUTER

. LIMA, 0. March 3.—The elec.
tric chair at the Ohio penitentiary

ence of an. Allen co-—merderer,
Although Lima and Allen co. dur-
Ing the past 50 years have been
shocked .yepeatedly by" atrocious |
slayings,< urtesdown through the

again that-they conaidered life im-
prisonment sufficient punishment
|for even the most fiendish types
of killings, _s

A.large number of eltizens now

are .asking themrelven whethe- |
there will be ‘a departute from 3

to Hic the—eanen - of
“Harry Plerpont, Charles Makeley
and Russell Clark; alleged John
Dillinger gangsterrk who are now
under heavy guard in the barri-
caded county jail here awaiting
trial for .the murder of Sheriff

Jease I. Sarber during a fail raid
Oct. 12, last, - J as

Official -records diaclone that
Fonly one murderer waa ever exe-
cuted in Allen co. That one wan

Iroportion to the “annual_iurn-
te~-In- rs, and particularly
‘@ ‘She -start of ‘the—depression,
‘ex ‘totaly weighed “heavily |
inst= thé-altotments -for “wages
-dividends.” : sens

qbor has not; been heard ikon:
‘te thin week's publication was |

metic, the Issue has been warm-

—up— : ix, as]
enced by the flood of publicity
hing~this.-and hundreds of.

r editorial desks,—in-which:
sh:forth -that th
the limit for the right. kind:
‘wecutive-— The’ maif. argument
hata great business leader
“tr “up a facade of ex-

\mpressive living in

ain’ the prestige of |

ling Jn a world of
competition. - There

*
ably, “the

rettera have done for America,
‘the contention that they can't

kJ they. are hamstrung by a,

4g government,

AN IS SHOT a

Poa We oll oh fa hi W Pat 41a

ie A

‘sky-bught-ta trons _wan removed in 193},.

' tay -~mere-+
story of what real

Andrew. Brenttinger. At-the ace

vest-old wife on Oct. 24,

1871,
For his

crime Brentlinger__was.
pril 7, 1872, from a acaf-.
fold erected in the--county jail
where——- Pierpont,---Makeley and”
Clark now are held without bond,

For 40. years the ro i€ Noore that |
Pentircted the Rad aa eon pa
hung inthe boned jail—as a

| -A*search through musty records
in the office of Clerk of Courts
J. H. Ruhlen today showed that
among first degree

Clinton Hawk and Benjamin Sim-

mona

not compulsory
nits books an books Wt hagcrever—enttedt tha nioPtal@xiate ere

tried

in 1897,
d life terms,
‘In 1909 a life nentence

Roth men |

wns

meted out to John W. Ream, con-
murder of Entella

victed of

the
Itz,

Shortiy after Beam was

taken to the Ohio peniventiery Oe | ing subject.” ,

hanged himself in his cell there.

Lima a
when th

nd vicinity were horrified
ree hobos the night of

April 14,-1915, stumbled upon the
y of -Misz Susie Coleman. The
young girl had been beaten to
death and the body partly econ-
cealed along a railroad right of
way. For that crime Dorrance 8S.

Riddle was arreste
victed—but the

mercy

° =} =
Imprisonment,
In 1918 Thomas

d, tried and con-.
Jury recommended

King Albert was invited to in-
rpect the children in Paris, and
{here Capt. Purvis met him. The
royal visitor had heard of the St.
Eugenie-incident and the Dayton-
ian says that_“he nearly wrung
my hand off when I was intro-
duced aa being from Len Baines,
for then he recalled that had ar-
rranged the last fayor-for-his dy-

At the elose of the war Capt.
Purvis was recalled to Paris to ar-

the smaller hospitals and the dis-
position of hundreds of patients,
including refugees and - repatri-
ates. “He was appointed to the in-
apector general’s, ataf{-and as in-
Rpector, he supervised the closing

There she and Capt. Purvis made.

the Belgian refugee children scat-_
tered through France, and bring>
ing. them—to—Paria

Se ee ee

range for the closing of many of | :

of a number of American hospitals

S. - McKenna

thot and killed’ Harry H. Bowyer
and Patrolman Philip Droesch.” A
jury “adjudred “McKenna

ut recommended mercy, and he
received a life sentence.
~-Carl Hollenbacher wan‘ convicted
by a jury, in November, 3919, of
murdering hia ex-wife, but again
the jury recommende

murder, life

_age | Hollenbacher was-ae
of 50 he stabbed-to death his 27- | imprisonment. bar

The records reveal {
tion-of otherfirat_deg
caren ns

utty—_of

slaughter: ~~ Goorge

1913 dngictment Gre ped; H. H..
anuary, 3924, adjudged
committed -T.

Mohle
inxane;7~

Siddi,

guilty,

d mercy and
he disposi. |
ree murder
follows: -Samuel -Fer-
kuson, June, 1910, found
second- degree murder
tonio—“Vittorioro, -

ilty of
| ite: An--
March, — 1910,
— necond—deg ree ste —Protection - Cerificate —wit hout mi d=

; Nick Lopa, October,
1918,..found guilty of second de-.
ree murder, life; Mike Potesek,
uly, 1913, found guilty of man-

May,

o’Lima State

sms
LIFE-PROTECTION

Evert If You Are Past 55
The National Security Life Axsn.,
| 204.S.-Hamilton—Dr., -Dept,- F-20,
Beverly Hills, Cal., the largest an-

and subject to examination of the
Insurance. Department, is offeriny
to men, women and children, be-J
tween the ages of 10 and 75, a new

cal examination for 81, which Pere up ta

$1000 For Death Prom Any Canne;: $2000
ta 81000 for aocidental death. &hNI) NU
MONKEY, ust your mame. ege, name of

beneficiary, and a Life Certificate,
Made oul.in your name, will be sent to

fully

youfor 19 Days’ Free Inapection—-wo-
AQENT -Wttde-CALL. If you decide %
keep it, send nmly’ 3) to put your protec-
tlon in force for at least 45 days then

ahout de a-day. J nat, yeu owe notbin
OFFER LIMITED, Bo write ‘today, “No
odligation—Adw cs

see
4

‘MA

murder eaverHorpital for the Criminal Inzane.

Kotlation” of {ts kind in this State A

men .

co:
strongty b
night.

LIV]

2 and 3-pie
Rayons—V
values,

Up to $&
Up to $1
Up to $1
Up to’$1
Upto $1
Up to $1
Up to $1

.3-4-5-piece §
solid maple
Up.-to $6
Up to $8
Up to $8
-|Up‘to $9
Up to $1
Up to $1
Up to-$1
Up to $1

~ Dini
“Our complet.
8_and 9-plec
are many
advertised,

'p to $140.0
Up to $120.0

my
4

Silk Handkerchiefs, in a Magnificent Stock of new

142 ALLEN COUNTY DIRECTORY.

swered firmly, ‘‘I have nothing to say.” — Then from the seafiold
Fa ihren cained? out and sang the prisoner’s peyote! Wynn
by request, (seven long verses), while the dying wretch stoo wath
difficulty in his fetters, leaning against the Sheriff's shoulder. :

Then came a committal of the man’s soul to ‘God; and then the
Sheriff, who had stood close to the prisoner, half supporting Ae
grasped the latter’s hand and said, in a voice whose suppressed feeling

showed that while he would do his duty ‘‘like a man,” he must also. .

‘feel it like a man: ‘‘Andy, good bye; God bless you,” and scan
ing hastily from the scaffold, the prisoner staggered slightly as ge eft
him,.seemingly from.the cramped position of his feet. Then ase
faces turned sickly, and warm hearts grew cold,” and Sheriff Colbath,
looking at his watch, exclaimed: ‘‘It is twenty minutes past ese
your time is up!” pulled the releasing rope, the drop falling apea Ys
and the rope straightening out with a heavy thud as of a stone thrown
into ¢ relly
se ee there was no quiver, only the usual swaying.’ At
twenty seconds a very slight convulsive movement of the legs and
escape of wind. Then the hands which had remained ae y
clasped as during the prayer, relaxed and began to yan gently ae
ward, and while the attendant physicians, Drs. C. J. Neff oe os
Baxter, approached. to watch the phases of the fast ebbing a pe
Sheriff pulled down the black cap which had become partially dis-
laced. In five minutes the wrist-pulse was strong In eight minutes
from the fall the wrist had ceased to throb, and in exactly mine min-
utes the heart was still, life was pronounced extinct, the dread ee
of the law had been vindicated. After eleven minutes more 0 aie
swaying, at ten minutes of eleven o’clock the body was cut down an
i in walnut coffin.
ee ia ee universal verdict of all present that Sheriff Colbath
had well and nobly performed his whole duty in the matter of aya
hanging in Allen county. The day of the execution ae i
thronged with people from the country for many miles round, while

5. 3 ” Ste, ] Vv rfs”’
shows of ‘‘living skeletons,” ‘‘fat women,” and ‘wonderful dwa .

iving business.
i Orie Gin of the Court proceedings of Allen county show ae
something of the humorous. In 1857 a new Sheriff was meu
into office. He was a practical joker, and plumed himself on his
success in that line. Judge Robb, who habitually takes everything in
good humor, and had been in several instances his victim, devised the

following retaliatory scheme: - He informed the new official that very

few Sheriffs really understood the true form of opening cout “ Noe
said Robb, ‘while our.Democrats may not like the English oe
ment altogether it must, nevertheless, be admitted that be a in :
ted to our British ancestors for the fundamental princip - ) a 1
mirable system of jurisprudence. “The more closely we adhere to their

New Styles of Collars and Cuffs, at Bowlby & Co’s.

. a .
*
—, i =

Colors and Designs, at Bowlby & Co., the One Price Clothiers’,

ALLEN COUNTY DIRECTORY. 143

venerated forms, the more imposing and sublime appears the adminis-
tration of justice.” The Sheriff concurred in this view, and the Judge
then proceeded to drill the ‘officer as to the true method of opening
Court. He learned ‘‘ his piece” well, and next morning Judge Met-
calf, the bar, and the spectators were electrified to hear the new Sher-
iff, on being ordered to open Court next morning, proclaim, in sten-
torian voice, as follows: ‘Oh yes! oh yes! oh yes! All manner of
persons having anything to do with this Court of nist prius held in this
County of Allen, will draw near and give attention. God save the
Queen.” Lawyers and Judges were jolly fellows in those days when
legal business was scarce. An old citizen says: ‘ Our jail was a small
log hut, with only two rooms, one above the other, but scarcely ever
had an inmate. , Our court hardly ever lasted more than two days.” —
The first that went from this county. to the Penitentiary was Alexander
Hofman, for horse stealing. Robert Bowers, who remembers_ from
1834, furnishes the following: ‘The early settlers suffered much from
milk sickness, and other malarial diseases of the country. We started

a grave-yard at an early date, without the necessity of killing a man to

accomplish this end—the State gave us-one.- The first burying place
has long since been vacated, and all but a few of the bodies have been
removed to what was called the “‘ new cemetery,” further out of town,
and the old one has been grossly neglected ; but still there is an old,
leaning slab-stone there that marks the spot where Mr. Elijah Stites
was buried on the 6th of January, 1843, his age being 85 years. He
was.a Revolutionary soldier, and a color bearer at the surrender of
Cornwallis, and afterwards a Baptist minister, I was Orderly Sargeant
of a company called the ‘‘ Tigers” here, at the time of his death, and
helped to bury him with the honors of war, Gen, Blackburn, whose
remains are now lying in the then new Cemetery, was out in full uni-
form.” vk

The progress of Allen county has been steady yet rapid, until
now it ranks as the wealthiest and most prosperous of. the north-west-
ern group. In 1830 the population was 578; in 1840, -9,079; in 1850,
12,109; in 1860, 19,185; in 1870, 23,623, while the census of 1880
will show nearly 40,600. The surface is rolling in the eastern’ por-
tions and level in the west. A curious formation is the’ ** Deyil’s
Backbone,” a ridge of pure gravel, extending for some distance be-
tween Westminster and West Newton. It was undoubtedly thrown
up by the wash of some great inland sea, and is in curlous contrast to

_ the surrounding soil. Near this used to be many large ‘‘sloughs” or

mud pits, seemingly without bottom, but they have nearly all disap-
peared. : ee
Too much stress cannot be laid on the magnificent school system
of the entire county. Prof. G. W. Walker, the Superintendent of the
schools in Lima, who has filled the position for many years, is a man

All Kinds of Heating and Cooking Stoves, at Derwort’s, Delphos,

1878-9.

:
~<a
<op-

ILLUSTRATED.

With views of Prominent Blocks and Public Buildings. With
Directories of Lima, Delphos, Bluffton, West Cairo, Beaver
Dam, Lafayette, Gomer, Spencerville, West Minster,

Elida and West Newton. |

‘

A Complete List of Taxpayers, with their Post Office Addresses.

here it EOS Sethe :

dette orm sha youll ane eric feng ost 4 | HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY

‘> |
ed

From the first settlement to the present.

A Historical Sketch of Lima, Political, Social and
Commercial,

And much useful information to citizens and strangers.

’
.
‘

LIMA, OHIO:’
. STANLEY & KEATOR, PUBLISHERS,

1878.

Printcd by O, B. Selfridge, Jr., & Co., Union Block, Lima, Ohio.
I

\ eer

Boys’ & Childrens’ Clothing at Bowlby & Co,’s.

aes -* ALLEN COUNTY DIRECTORY.

: yes : ES
fi n, 6 years;:William Downing, 6 years; Jo
tiae, sea AY R. Littlefield, i year; S.J. Brower, 6 year LD,
a ete Teduce Those whovhave occupied places since aaa
tion of the office under tbe constitution of 1851, ee ae
ively W. S. Rose, Michael ee me M. Robb,
d G..W. Overmyer. :
Dera tie dcccscar John Kellar, Alexander Bens pies
H Williams, Hiram Stotts, Mathias Ridenour, pen eee ee
vel Buckmaster, Samuel Collins, Isaac Baily, J. - fo) ane no
d John Franks. ‘To Sheriff Colbath fell the unp oe
ataeeing at the first execution in the county, which we take sp
3 u
to ice fe the visiting of the mst ot i oe wean ae
i is wife, on Good Friday, bi, :
ran Shee Gee rendinge. who had resided in an
it for thirty-six years, without being thoyght other hea es
Sen killed his wife with great cruelty. Hé was a man ; ou fy
yee ala: she was his second wife, twenty-seven years of age ie
ety The cause given was jealousy, a Shue
i y with: nel ing farmers, (
flee Fear etal ne pe wes Hee with a pen knife, but ie
Nowe ton “arcall "he made his little daughter bring him a dagger
pk a den er iving her the key to unlock it. Receiving the weapon
an tl paws een child, he drove it five times in her seen
wiped th ee knife on the saddle cloth, mounted his horse and
ris a rode as one pursued by fiends. But first pee one
ot his een sons to bury the corpse in the potato patc 1p on S
i oo round and harrow it over as if sown with ee sae
5 ithe a hbors that he and his wife had gone away. : he
th feller, children, nearly dead with fright, went an wh se
a dfather and a messenger was dispatched for Sheriff 2 a nea
The se was found in a grave fifty-five feet from the eee nes
apes d had been plowed and harrowed over as if wheat . .
fe 5 The murderer was found cowering in the garret un me
afer of self-administered poison. Immediate medical assis a i
eats life, and he was committed ie bee ore poe
Lima, in the month of Sneed jet Peake ene ae
fe aga ogee detacger eel 2 was stolid and indifferent on
oe eth death sentence. The date first fixed for the ‘eeaurcn
ee ae ry 2oth, but Governor Hayes granted a reprieve fate
ny ery . it to April 7th. The Wednesday before the a ie
ee ne elaien of the condemned called to bid him ee so :
ie ae least affected of all. Neither his aged father or bro
ck him to the last. On Thursday evening his counsel,
e

For Inks that Freezing Does not Damage, go to Marmon’s,

Brentlinger responded simply ‘‘Farewell,”

elbows—leaving him free to clasp his hands, whicl

New Goods of the latest Styles Come Every day to Jake Wise’s,

ALLEN COUNTY DIRECTORY, 141

Hon. Isaiah Pillars and Judge C. M. Hughes, bid him farewell. Hon.
T. E. Cunningham, who assisted the Prosecution, called with mem-
bers of the press, after which the condemned man retired for his last
earthly sleep. He had abandoned all hope. The iron gauntlet of
the law was being closed upon him. The sounds of hammer and saw
came faintly to his ear through the barred door of the cell, from the
corridor where the scaffold was fast approaching completion. There
had been talk of a mob, but at eight o’clock, and within the walls of
the strongest jail in Ohio, there silently gathered a guard of fifty men,
the light of whose lanterns revealed the glitter of musket barrels. On
the morning of the fatal day, the prisoner rose early and ate a hearty
breakfast.

At 9:52 P. M., Columbus time, the prisoner, Mr. Bartholomew,
the Sheriff, and his friend, mounted the scaffold-steps,
lookers from the iron platform previously mentioned,
east end of the hall, uncovered and stood in the aw
even men accustomed to sights of human agony,
ence of coming death.

With a firm step, and calm air, Andrew Brentlinger mounted the
fatal steps and sat down upon a chair provided, crossed his legs,
leaned over and spit, subsequently moving his jaws slightly as if chew-
ing tobacco, which he used
clothes, white shirt, without collar or cravat, of course; white socks,
and coarse, well-blackened brogans. A white handkerchief showed
from his left breast pocket, and altogether he was the picture of neat-
ness, and quite a comely old man, looking little like what one would
imagine the butcher of Sarah Brentlinger. :

After a reading of Scripture, a written prayer was read, during
which the prisoner stood erect, with piously clasped hands, and when
the ‘Our Father” was solemnly said, he followed the prayer ina firm
voice. Mr. Bartholomew then delivered benediction according to the
formula of his Church, shook the prisoner. by the hand, and said
‘‘Farewell, and may God Almighty have mercy on, and save you.”

and the reverend gentle-

and from the
ed silence, which
assume in the pres-

man descended from the scaffold,

Sheriff Colbath sat down by the prisoner, and with a voi
moved, read the death warrant, During this painful ceremony
which lasted nearly eight minutes, the condemned sat, and seemed to.
listen with respectful attention, When it was over the Sheriff rose
and proceeded to tie the arms of the doomed man to his side, at the
1 he immediately

did—and his legs at the knees, using strong bridle ribbon for the pur-_
pose.

Then the noose was carefully adjusted and the black cap fixed so as

ce deeply

to be easily pulled over the face, and the Sheriff said firmly: ‘‘An-

drew Brentlinger have you anything to say?” and Andrew Brentling- |

"Stoves and House Furnishing Goods, at Jos, Derwort’s, Delphos,
28

while the on--

- He was dressed in a suit of neat black ©

ERIE COUNTY, OHIO

September 30, 197)

Dear Mr. Espy,dr.,

The three men on Kelleys Island were killed for money. One man had a
bullet wound but his neck was also cut - the other two were killed with
a knife or stiletto.

George M. Sexton was a black man who worked for the Brown Industries of Et 6

Sandusky, a foundry. Hoffman was the night watchman. Sexton robbed WU 3O/ LE
Hoffman and then opened the safe and robbed it also. Before he was :

executed he willed his eyes to a medical institution. Sexton killed /? 2/

Hoffman with a mold pin - he bashed his head in and fractured his skull,
one-lefced stabbed

Evans, a gxxkp tailor, mkak the store keeper, Ritter, in the door

of his store, Evans worked in a shop next to the store and came into

the store demanding a drink of liquor. When Ritter refused to sell him

a drink, Evans stabbed him. (The first account I found said he shot him

but later I found he stabbed him.)

I hope this is all the ‘ dferantion you need as I cannot give more time
to this. Thank you for the stamped envelope,

Yours ae

Hele
FC lege Jif. acy

September 16, 197k

Mr. Watt Espy, Jre
P. O. Box 2h7,
Headland, Alabama 36345

Dear Mr. Espy:

Your letter of Seetnalbs lth addressed to the Sandusky Public Library
has been referred to me for answering.

In the Sandusky Regkster of Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1912 on pages 1 and h,

is an account on the coming execution of Rocco Klawetch and Dominick
Selvaggio. Notice the difference in spelling = you have it Rocco Elsweth.
These were two Italian men who murdered three quarry workers on Kelley's
Island in Lake Erie on September 19, 1911. Eleven days later their bodies
were found in the lake. The murdered men were also Italian: Antonio and
James Imlerline and Antonio Vescario.

The complate story is in an article in the November 22 issue of the Sandusky
Register, page 5. ;

Copies of these pages can be secured from the Micro Photo Division,
Bell and Howell, Wooster, Ohio, 4691. I believe the cost is $5 a page so
perhaps the Nov. 22, page 5; would be the best,

The Jan. 31, 1948 Register Star News, Pages 1 and 10, tells of George
McKinley Sexton, 21, who murdered Otto Hoffman during a robbery on Dec. 22,1916.

“On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 1840, Sandusky's only legal hanging took place.
Edward Evans, a one-legged tailor, murdered a store-keeper, John C. Ritter
and after a speedy trial was hung.

I hope this information will be of help to you.

Yours ay

Bel “eA | Jf he Wanaem

MRS. WILLIAM N. HANSEN
814 SECOND STREET
SANDUSKY, OHIO 44870

ae a

Fal RFI ELD COUNTY, OHIO

CHARLES R. GOSLIN
414 BALDWIN DR.
LANCASTER, OHIO 43130

Mr. Watt Espy, Jr
Box 67
Headland, Ala. 3635

Dear Mr. Espy Jr:

Since my historical research has not been
prying into the personal lives of early Fair-
field countaians, my records contain no infor-
mation as to hangings and murder court actions.

There is a bill in the Ohio Legislature to
prevent this type of research, so we must
be careful what information we gather from
the court records.

I have no record in my many notes that will
verify a hanging in Fairfield County, in. the
November 1831 records of the Court of Common
Pleas of Fairfield County there is a record

of James Turner being indited for the murder

of his brother Samuel Turner, The jury verdict
was First Degree Murder. What happened to
James Turner is not. recorded in my notes.

On page 5 of E. S. Cilborn's History of Perry
County published in 1883 there is a reference
to the hanging of David Work who was indicted and found guilty
for murder on September 16, 1836, and hanged on

the 1th of October of that year

There occured in the town of Logan Ohio the
county seat of Hocking County the legal hanging
of Elias Primmer on November 26, 1856. This was
for the murder of John Fox. Primmer is buried
n an unmarked grave.

This is all the information I have in my records
concerning murders and hangings. There is so much
good information conceringx the good people of Fair-
field County, that I have never entered this kind

of Investigation.

Sorry I cannot be of more help,

Sincerely, @ f [oll

Chas. R. Goslin

‘¢

357 Ne Sandusky Street
Delaware, Ohio 43015
April 28, 1977

Mr. Watt Egpy, Jr.
Box 67
Headland, Alabama 36345

Dear Mr. Espy:

I can find no evidence that anyone was ever executed for crime in
Delaware County. In fact, it has always been a source of pride
with most citizens that this is so. I called our sheriff, Mr.
William Lavery, and he also told me that there was no evidence
that a person had been executed prior to 1885. I called Mr. Ray

Buckingham who has recently published a history of Delaware County,
and he also verified this.

Very truly yours,

erence V Moczt
herman P. Moist

oer Oy

TSR:

bet

a Ut ‘Hanging as a way of executing’ .
_ Montgomery County. ended 109 yes aga today,.

JIM BLAND

Daily News Staff Writer 5 i

Rg 4

but the gallows is still around. “ee %

Ea -
Le. «
wash as“

’ chants hawked thelr wares to the curious.

é Plaza.

. abe \gings usually were conductéd: it public
¥, tdany of them where lunchtime loafers and
Carts now provide a fa atnio

ees Phe | last. 46 die on the scaffolding nds Harry

execution' was carried out not in

ly reporters as witnesses.

” Usually, the hangings were in public. Some
were conducted in a holiday atmosphere. Crowds

"gathered around the: ‘eeatfolding and atreet mer-

ahd
bie view'but on the third floor of the county

a yall with «

+ Barly newspaper stertes tell of an irishmah
who’ was led.to the gallows In August 1876. The
crowd asked him -to do an Trish jig, so the tale

Be tes and he obliged with a couple of minutes of
.to the crowd’s delight. :

* The first recorded hanging here das: Nar. 18,.

an When John McAfee was strung up from the

Third’ St. bridge for poisoning and strangling his, |
_ Mite “a eae her fits. " “ae

| tore one of the birth
if eounty ait, where it wed fo d: ake
foritgomery County. Histocteal Society prentive p 2 Taide] 9608, woenk war tab te Caroa Park
‘Pirector John Kerwood. : etif
he Attar the diicovery, ‘thie? ‘pane ‘was recon-

‘Ate . ts a Union mY ia on
ed through the trap door in 1877 tb)
pati te death 'a veteran at the National
‘Home, the; legislature enacted’ sda w™
‘J ah executions. They were re-

a Obie Reytiatary

sphere

ge bs

. Bee cue eae psn ‘sti pase ie pe e : of #4; 0%
A od meio PS ¥ oe
Y MS o:

| here it still {s, stored iq the:

Néwcom Tavern, Dayton’a oldest building ,

belongs to the historical society.

jsptucted | in ie ace uae between the old and
a ae “ bg * a
, i ‘ ae ~ Jew EDT }
oy tees a prt oy

ES ss MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO,

Fe tet 356 Y BRIDGE CITY [1930

fidence was returning. Private industry emplvyed more workers.
ee The plant of the American Encaustic Tilmg Company, which
cee ata closed in 1935, was reopened by the Shawnee Pottery in 1937,
| mentee ADORNS? csesipiiet ae a A year later the Line Material Company signd a contract with _ epee a see ee
rs Basar et cs the Industrial Foundation of the Chamber of Commerce to locate
: P| in the old Pierce, Butler, and Pierce plant on Pershing Road.
ag During this period the operation and production of the Mus-
kingum Coal Company were greatly expanded and later trans-
ferred to the vicinity of Misco in Perry County. The coal com-
5 | ary pany’ss president, Earl J. Jones, started the Zanesville News in
set 1939.
eat O Soon after President Roosevelt set the New Deal in opera-
Bae ey tion, he asked Congress to make beer legal. Later the “dry”
amendment to the Constitution was repealed, and the state
opened a liquor store on South Fifth Street in 1934. The legal-
izing of liquor did not stop bootlegging. On January 19, 1935,
fifty federal officers raided the Baltic Feed Company in the
old J. B. Owens factory. Feed bags at the entrance concealed a
Sets $70,000 plant for the manufacture of 5,000 gallons of illicit alco-
(tah ete arate aches hol a day. In spite of careful preparation for the raid, several
Bee Ra es | leaders escaped by secret doors and a 150-yard tunnel to a nearby
ti Ee a house. Eleven men were captured.
ere Ue On June 22, 1935, Russell Swiger was electrocuted for the
. a, _ hold-up murder of Harold Fleming. He was one of two men
NHR OSG a sentenced from Muskingum County to be executed in Columbus. G
coer amaeerteitl William George was hanged on May 17, 1888, for the murder af
James Scott in Meigs Township.
In the late 1980’s there were signs that the nation was re- en
covering from the depression. During the slow convalescence eee
Th Muskingum County people swallowed their share of panaceas.
They invited Dr. Francis E. Townsend to come and explain his
plan to pay $200 a month to each citizen on reaching the age
| of sixty. Hundreds of people had money to risk on getting rich
ee by mailing chain letters. Others began to play the numbers.
Government building projects gave employment to all people
able to work, and orders from European nations at war with Hit-
ler’s Germany aided the recovery of private industry.

~~? *

‘==

= ||

Muskingum County, Ohio.

THE JOHN
McINTIRE
PUBLIC SERVING ALL, CLEAR TO THE COUNTY LINE

N. FIFTH STREET AT ELBERON AVENUE e TELEPHONE: (AREA 614) 453-0391 « ZANESVILLE, OHIO 43701

Watt Espy, Jr.
P O Box 27
Headland, Alabama 3635

Dear Sir,

I am very sorry for the unavoidabie delay in answering your letter
of September Uyth regarding the executions in Muskingum County. A
thorough search of our county historical records revealed only a small
amount of material on the Swiger and George executions. I am enclosing
a xerox copy of Page 356 from the "Y Bridge City” written by Norris
Schneider, Copyright 1951, for your inspection.

In the course of this search I unexpectedly found a newspaper report
of the only execution to take place within this County a January 15,18).
I have xeroxed the entire account for youe The source is written in ink
at the top of the first page.

The only other sources of information that I might possibly suggest would
be the Ohio Historical Society and the Zanesville Times Recorder. The
latter has microfilm dating back to the early 1800's. However , I beleive
the require a personal search.

I hope these xeroxed copies will be of some value. If you wish you
may send us $.60 to cover the cost of these pages.

Sincerely,
Patricia Stasikelis |

(Mrs. George L.)
Reference Librarian

Noble County, ieee 4.

Rao. De #5
Caldwell, Yhio 45724
April 50, 1975

‘Mr. Watt Espy, Jr.
Box 247
Headland, Alabama 56845

Dear Sir:

Your letter was given to me by the Librarian of the Caldwell
Public Library to answer.

I am a member of the Noble County Historical Society and so
have a little knowledge of the County History and early
events. Noble, was the last county in the state of Ohio to
be formed, which was in 1851, and by that time the area
was pretty well settled by good and law-abiding folk.

I and the Clerk of Yourts went through the Criminal Records
and found no crimes that resulted in hanging. Most were
indictments for misdemeanors. There was one case in which

a man was convicted of' poisoning his wife, and his sentende
was elght years of hard labor in the pentitentiary. (?) That
was in 1876.

I also checked with the Pronate Judge and the Sherirf's
Office. We people here in Noble County may not have much of
this world's goods, but it looks li'-s6 we are well-behaved,

Sincerely,
Se Go

Mrs. Lots Blake

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Nes att Fo

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de aren 8 NE =<? ape! Satta» ae
ais trina ded X via treks i Ri SoS wr

PORTAGE COUNTY, OHIO.

Portage Hertage

A history of Portage County, Ohio; its towns and
townships and the men and women who have
developed them; its life, institutions and
biographies, facts and lore.

Published by The Portage County Historical Society
JAMEs B. Howm, Editor

LUCILLE DUDLEY, Assistant Editor
Lad

ILLUSTRATED

SESQUI-CENTENNIAL EDITION, 1957

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gh Peay ier etinind wheats nme

860 HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

He refused to allow the Shoriff to enter his coll for the purpose of putting
irons on his hands and feet, and exhibiting a knife which he had in some
unknown manner secured, swore he would kill any man who would attempt to.
do so. Scionce now came to the rescue, and a physician was called in who
with asyringe drenched Cooper with chloroform until he lay upon the floor
ip a senseless condition. He was then heavily ironed, and so remained until
his execution, April 27, 1866, on a gallows erected in the southeast corner of
the Jail.

A few months passed by, and the dark crime of murder gnce more stained
the record of Portage County. On Monday, November 26, 1866, a young
man named Wilson S. Roof entered the house of William A. Musson, at Mog-
adore, Suffield Township, and shot to death his wife, Mrs. Harriet Musson,
while she was engaged in her daily labors. The murderer fled, and a reward
of $550 was offered for his arrest, which was effected on Thanksgiving morn-
ing, November 29, in Stark Congty, about a mile and a half from Lima Sta-
tion, on the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad. The culprit was captured by
James Roath, a farmer of that vicinity, to whom he confessed that he was the
murderer of Mrs. Musson. Roath and William Wiles took the prisoner ina
buggy to Lima Station, thence by train to Ravenna, where they arrived a lit-
tle after noon, and delivered him to the Sheriff. The following Saturday
Roof was examined before Justice Androw Jackson. Prosecuting Attorney
H. H. Willard and J. J. Hall, of Akron, appeared for the State, and Alphonso
Hart and C. A. Reed for the defense. The prisoner pleaded not guilty to the
charge of murder, and upon a thorough examination was remanded to Jail to
await the action of the Court of Common Pleas.

Soon afterward the case took a new turn, and suspicion began to center
on Milton Moore, a wealthy married man of Mogadore, doing business in
Akron, as an accomplice in the murder of Mrs. Musson. In March, 1867, he
was indicted for prompting and procuring Roof to commit the deed. It was
rumored around Mogadore that Moore was a trifle too intimate with Roof’s
sister, Hattie, and the scandal soon became common gossip. During the
absence of Mrs. Moore from home, Mrs. Musson (who was her cousin) it is
said, wrote her regarding the talk that was going the rounds, and upon Mrs.
Moore’s return she parted temporarily from her husband. This it was claimed
led up to the commission of the tragedy. Moore gave bail in $50,000 security,
and the case came to trial May 27, 1867, before Hon. George M. Tuttle and
the following jury: T. G. Austin, R. P. Cannon, C. O. Foot, E. W. Grey, A.
B. Griffin, Clark Norton, Isaac Brown, Charles Dudley, Ira Gardner, John
Gillis, C. A. Mason and Joseph Preston. The attorneys for the State were H.
H. Willard, A. J. Dyer, George Bliss, John McSweeney and Michael Stuart; and
for the defense Ezra B. Taylor, S. W. McClure and J. J. Hall. The trial
lasted five days, and though Roof swore positively to Moore’s connection with
tho crime, the latter was acquitted on Friday, May 31. On the following day
Roof pleaded guilty to the charge of murder in the second degree, and was
sent to the penitentiary for life.

On the 20th of September, 1867, Charles E. Harris deliberately shot his
son, Alfred L., a young business man of Kent. At the November term of
the Court of Common Pleas he pleaded guilty to the indictment of “ shooting
with intent to kill,” and was sentenced to the penitentiary for ten years.
The father’s intemperate habits was the cause of the deed, and though the son
apparently recovered at the time, he bas since died, it is claimed from the
effects of the shot.

HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. 861

Frank M. Kelso, of Kent, was indicted at the January ierm, 1870, for
murder in the second degree, James Montague, who died on or soon after
November 18, 1869, being the victim. The trouble occurred through Kelso
accusing Montague of stealing whisky from his (Kelso’s) saloon, which the
latter denied, A fight ensued, and it was claimed by the State that from
injuries then received Montague subsequently died, his body Leing found
November 28, in a cornfield some distance from the scene of the fight. The
trial came off before Hon. P. B. Conant in the fall term of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas, 1870. Kelso’s attorneys were Ezra B. Taylor and D. L. Rock-
well, and the State was represented by Prosecuting Attorney C. A. Reed and
Alphonso Hart. The accused was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced
tothe penitentiary for one year. There was no premeditation in this affair,
and such an unfortunate event as the death of Montague might result from
one blow struck in passion during any ordinary quarrel. Upon the expiration
of his term, Kelso returned to Kent, a reformed man, claiming that he could
now sce the evil results of liquor selling, and said that his imprisonment was
the best thing for him that could have happened. He engaged in railroading,
and soon came to be regarded by his employers as one of the most peaceable
and trustworthy men on the road.

The shooting of E. M. Newell by Orlando H. Roberts at Mantua, on Sun-
day, October 19, 1884, is the last killing that has occurred in this county.
The shot was fired while the two were engaged in a controversy over some
chestonts, and Newell died about a week afterward. Roberts gave himself up
on the day of the shooting, and was placed in the county Jail at Ravenna, but
subsequently he had a hearing before Justice Smith, who discharged him.
Another trial took place before Justice Holeomb, who placed him under bonds
of $1,000 to appear before the Court of Common Pleas at the January term.
The grand jury indicted him for murder in the second degree, and the trial
began before Hon. George F. Arrel on Monday, February 2, 1885. The attor-
neys for the State were Prosecutor I. T. Siddall and J. H. Nichols; and Hon.
Luther Day and W. B. Thomas for the defendant. The defense labored to
establish a case of self-defense, claiming that Newell was the aggressor. The
jury retired on Thursday afternoon, and on Friday afternoon returned a ver-
dict of guilty of assault and battery. A verdict of acquittal would have
created much less surprise throughout the county, and the general opinion is
that Roberts escaped with a very light sentence. On Saturday morning, Feb-
ruary 7, Judge Arrel sentenced the defendant to three months in the county
jail, and to pay a fine of $100 and costs.

eves.

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256 PORTAGE HERITAGE

costs are paid.” Costs assessed amount-
ed to $5.00.

The first civil case to appear on the
clerk’s records was that of Samuel
Wilkinson vs. Wm. Chard and John
McManus. There was an amicable set-
tlement. The amount of the debt was
stated and settled at $30.00. The court
entry shows that the defendants
should be extended mercy and by con-
sent of the parties it was ordered by
the court that execution be stayed un-
til July 15, 1809.

HANGED For MURDER

The first murder case tried in Port-
age County in which the defendant
was found guilty was that of Henry
Aunghst. He was charged with the
murder of Epaphras Mathews on Aug.
20, 1814. The killing occurred east of
Ravenna at the corner of Charlestown
and Edinburg roads. Aunghst was
tried in June, 1816, by Judges Ethan
Allen Brain of Cincinnati, and Jessup
N. Couch of Chillicothe. The jury
found Aunghst guilty of murder in
the first degree and sentenced to be
hanged.

The scaffold was erected in the
center of Sycamore St. at Spruce St.,
Ravenna, and the execution was Car-
ried out Nov. 30, 1816, before a crowd
of 1800 people.

The Commom Pleas Court con-
tinued to operate under the circuit
court plan jointly with Trumbull and
Mahoning counties until 1852.

In 1851 the Ohio constitution was
substantially changed. The major
change in the courts provided that
the judges be elected by the people.
At least one judge was elected in each
county. The judges elected in the dis-
trict held court in any of the counties
of the district. Portage county judges
spent considerable time in Trumbull
and Mahoning.

Luther Day was the first elected
judge from Portage County. His first
term began Jan. 1, 1852.

In 1912 the constitution was again
changed. As before, this brought
changes in Common Pleas court.
These courts no longer served a dis-
trict of more than one county. Each
county established its own court and
elected its own judge or judges. Port-
age county judges then served in other
counties only on assignment by the
state’s Supreme Court chief justice.

George F. Robinson, who = had
served the district as judge since
1888, was Portage County’s first elect-
ed judge. In addition to his local du-
ties he was regularly assigned to the
Mahoning county as long as he re-
mained judge.

PowErRs OF COURTS

The probate courts of Ohio were
established by the 1851 revision ot
the state constitution, Luther a
Brown became the first Probate
Judge of Portage County, bey:inning
Jan. 1, 1852. The probate court now
has taken over many duties previous
ly handled by the Common Pleas
courts, some through various constt:
tutional changes and some by action
of the General Assembly. Today the
probate court administers probation
of estates, appoints administrator.
guardians of minors and incompeten!
persons, and trustees of estates. It ale
has power to construe wills, issue mar
riage licenses and record births and
deaths, as well as to determine 1
sanity and commit persons ‘ mental
institutions. In Portage county the
probate judge presides over both per
bate and juvenile matters.

The office of justice of the peas
which came to this country tron
England in colonial times. was estat:

lished in Ohio by the Ordinance vit

tees nate ne ena at tans (FA

1787, and |
constituti
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PORTAGE HERITAGE

439

— a

About 1830, Ravenna began to be
the Ohio center of the strange Anti-
Masonic movement that sprang into
existence. One of the early newspap-
ers, The Ohio Star, was started mainly
in support of the movement. Darius
Lyman, lawyer and politician, was a
leader. As a consequence of the feel-
ing stirred up, Unity Lodge, F. &
AM., “went underground” in 1832.
The books and other property of the
lodge were removed and stored, and
not until 1852 was its work resumed.
Darius Lyman was Whig candidate
for governor of Ohio in 1832, and
though he carried Portage County,
was defeated in the state. For a time
Ravenna was considered the head-
quarters of the Ohio Anti-Mason
movement.

HANGINGS ARE PUBLIC

Because of conditions then exist-
ing, and the public nature of punish-

ment, all murders and executions *

were subjects of great excitement.
Condemned murderers were hanged
lucally for all to see.

One of the first murder victims in
the county’s history was a peddler
samed Epaphras Matthews in 1816.

tman transient named Henry
Aungst was charged with the crime
std found guilry on Nov. 30, 1816,
was hanged on a scaffold erected at
Sycamore and Spruce streets. A crowd
# abour 1800 saw it, including wo-
#en and children. Another case of
~aotiety was the hanging of David

NcKisson, charged with the murder
bis sister-in-law. The crime occurr-
*d in 1836 and McKisson was hanged

9, 1837, before several thousand
Pectators,

: crt hanging occurred April 26,
“™). The victim was Jack Cooper,

—Y«ted of slaying John Roden-
*wogh near Pippin Lake the previous

Where the White Hospital Started @ 1804

Original White Hospital, East Main St.,
Ravenna

year. This event, too, attracted an
enormous crowd.

Public hangings were made a pub-
lic holiday and sometimes bands play-
ed. Often children were permitted to
watch on the theory that such spec-
tacles were deterrent to transgressions
later.

BLINKY MorGAN CASE

Probably the most important crim-
inal event in Portage County in many
respects was the “Blinky Morgan”
case of 1887-88. It was of interest not
only here, but in several other states
as well. Leading up to the case was a
large fur robbery, the victim being a
Cleveland store, the work of an or-
ganized band of thieves. One mem-
ber of the gang, McMunn, was ar-
rested in Pittsburgh and was being
brought to Cleveland by Detective
Hulligan and Capt. Hoehn of the
Cleveland police, coming on the C &
P night train. When the train stopped
at Ravenna, three members of the
gang, including Morgan, got on and
freed McMunn. Hulligan was beaten
to death with a coupling pin. Capt.
Hoehn was shot, but survived. All the
gang escaped but Morgan and others
were later arrested at Alpena, Mich.,

BROWN COUNTY

No information on executions available.

oS,

BUTLER COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
John Griffin - the only execution in Butler County.

John Griffin was accused of killing Uzile Prickett, a wrestler. On the
day of the murder, Griffin entered a local saloon with blood on his clothing
saying hed had a fight with Prickett and was afraid he had killed him.
There was no evidence that Griffin had more than struck Prickett. One
witness had a disreputable character, and the other witness was unwilling to
testify against Griffin. However, Griffin was tried and convicted of murder
in the lst degree. Griffin made an attempt to escape, but was captured. It
was later felt that Griffin was unjustly hung. Local authorities believed
that Prickett had been dead in his chair an hour before Griffin hit him. The
local authorities also believed that someone else in the saloon fired a gun
to make it appear that Prickett had just been shot. Prickett had won a lot
of money that day from the saloon patrons and they were not happy about
that. Griffin maintained his innocence until the day of his execution.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
July 29, 1869.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Butler County, by Anthony Wayne (1882).

CARROLL COUNTY

No information on executions available.

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Andren Hellman (Alias Adam Henn).

Hellman was a farmer with a violent temper. He frequently beat his wife
and children.In September 1839 he was tried and convicted for the murder of
his wife. He also poisoned all except one of his children in April 1839.

ov]

During Hellman’s trial it was discovered that he had also murdered his first
wife in Pennsylvania. He had immigrated to the U.S. in 1826 from Germany.
Before his execution Hellman confessed to all the above crimes.

RACE & AGE ,
Age unknown, white. es

DATE OF EXECUTION
January 12, 1843.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Champaign and Logan Counties, Ohio, by Joshua Antrim (1872).

CLARK COUNTY

No information on executions available.

CLINTON COUNTY

No information on executions available.

CLERMONT COUNTY

No information on executions available.

COLUMBIANA COUNTY

No information on executions available.

COSHOCTON COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
John Funston.

Funston was a farmer and resident of Coshocton. He shot and killed a
young mail carrier. It was believed that Funston had mistaken the boy on his
horse for John Smeltzer. John Smeltzer was a trader who owned a large herd
of horses. A. Johnson, an area resident, was the first to discover the body.
Johnson was arrested, but he identified Funston as the man he had seen at
the scene of the crime. Funston was then arrested. It was found that
Funston’s footprints matched the ones found at the murder scene, and a
$10.00 note which had been taken from the mailbag was traced to Funston.

ATE OF EXECUTION
January 30, 1852.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A History of Ashland County, Knapp (1863).

ASHTABULA COUNTY

No information on executions available.

ATHENS COUNTY

No information on executions available.

AUGLAIZE COUNTY

No information on executions available.

BELMONT COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Thomas D. Carr - The first and only execution in Belmont County.

Thomas D. Carr was a coal miner in Belmont County. Under the employ of
Alexander Hunter, Carr became infatuated with a 14 year old girl named
Louisa Fox. When she refused to marry him, he murdered her. Before his
execution Carr tried to kill himself, first by cutting his throat and then
by shooting himself. Both times he was unsuccessful. Carr was executed in
Kirkwood township on March 24, 1870.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
March 24, 1870.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Centennial History of Belmont County Ohio and Representative Citizens,
edited and compiled by Hon. A.T. McKelsey,1903.

ADAMS COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED

David Becket - The first homicide of Adams County and the only legal
execution within its boundaries. Becket was a fur trader on the Ohio River.
Becket killed John Lightfoot, his business partner, for possession of their
boat and its cargo. After the murder he sold all the articles to a local
trader. The body of Lightfoot was discovered and the local trader led the
authorities to Becket. Becket plead not guilty to an indictment for murder.
The trial however, was delayed for one year because of a court battle over
jurisdiction. The question of jurisdiction centered on whether the court had
jurisdiction over the area where the crime was committed, the Ohio River. It
was decided that since the boat had been fastened to a tree on the banks of
Adams County, the court had jurisdiction. Becket was tried and convicted of
murder in the first degree. Becket confessed to the murder before his
execution in a speech 3 hours long in the town of West Union.

AGE & RACE
25 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
December 10, 1808.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A history of Adams County, by Nelson W. Evans & Emmons B. Stitter

(1900).

ALLEN COUNTY

No information on executions available.

ASHLAND COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED

Charles Steingraner - the first murder trial in Ashland County.

Steingraner raped and killed a ten year old blind girl while her
parents were away from home on July 4, 1851. Public outrage was tremendous
and Steingraner was hanged on January 30, 1852.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
20th Century History of Sandusky County, by Basil Meek (1909).

SCIOTO COUNTY

No information on executions available.

SENECA COUNTY

No information on executions available.

SHELBY COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Alfred Artis.

The only legal execution held in Shelby County. Artis was brought to
the U.S. from Africa. He was a resident of Cynthian County. Artis was
convicted of murder in the first degree on November 16, 1864. Artis was
taken from his cell fighting and struggling to the gallows. He was
convicted for the murder of his daughter Emma. Artis forced Emma to live in
a small room in their home. Her food was rationed and she was forced to sell
corn at night in the village. Artis kept his daughter locked in a room for 3
months after she attempted to escape. Emma died February 17, 1854 from
exposure and malnutrition. Artis burned Emma’s body 4 1/2 miles west of
Rumly.

AGE & RACE

Age unknown, black (African).

DATE OF EXECUTION
February 23, 1855.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Shelby County Onio, by A.A.B. Hitchcock, (i913).

STARK COUNTY

No information on executions available.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Henry Hunter/John Henry Hunter.

Robert Gargett was born in Yorkshire, England in the year 1800. He came
to America at the age of eighteen. In April of 1820 he married and moved to
Ohio in 1834. They had several children some of whom moved to Michigan. The
youngest daughter Chloe, age 24, remained at home. The Cargett family was
very wealthy.

John Henry Hunter was born in Manchester, England in 1839. He came to
the U.S. at age 15. He had been employed at various times as a trader,
bookkeeper, clerk, carpenter, lumberjack, and teacher. During the summer of
1870 Hunter met the oldest Gargett daughter in Michigan. She showed him a
photo of her younger siser Chloe. Hunter solicited correspondence with
Chloe. The correspondence was granted and continued until October 1870,
ending in an engagement. Hunter misrepresented himself as a man of great
wealth. Upon arrival in Michigan, Chloe found that Hunter misrepresented
himself. She also found that Hunter had been bragging about how wealthy her
family was. He had said that he would receive a considerable dowry for his
marriage to Chloe. Chloe broke off the engagement. Hunter accused Chloe of
breaking their engagement because of his poverty. Hunter threatened revenge
on the Gargett family. Hunter returned to Ohio. Upon arrival he met the
youngest Gargett son in town. Hunter stated that he had come to"patch things
up with Chloe". They proceeded to the Gargett home. Hunter approached Mr.
Gargett outside and asked to see Chloe. Mr. Gragett replied the Chloe did
not want to see him. Hunter pulled a revolver and shot Mr. Gargett. Mrs.
Gargett ran out of the house and was also shot by Hunter. Chloe looked out
the window and saw both her parents dead. She escaped out a back window and
ran to a neighbors home. The neighbor, a Mrs. Poole engaged Hunter in a
conversation until the sheriff arrived. An indictment was brought down for
murder in the first degree on May 28, 1871. The defense entered a plea of
insanity, even though Hunter had told the neighbor Mrs. Poole that he knew
perfectly well what he was doing. The defense asserted that Hunter had been
driven insane after the engagement was broken off. It was contended by the
jury and those present at the trial that his insanity defense was contrived.
For instance, while the trial was in progress, Hunter would have fits of
immoderate laughter, and he would indulge in appalling facial contortions
and violent gestures.

AGE & RACE
32 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
November 21, 18/71.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
50 Years and Over of Akron and Summit County, by ex-sheriff Samuel A.
Lane (1892).

TRUMBULL COUNTY

No information on executions available.

SUMMIT COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONERS EXECUTED
Henry Kerst (Kasch).

Kerst and his wife were both natives of Germany. The Kerst family
immigrated to the U.S. in the 1850%s and settled in Ohio. Kerst was a stone
cutter by trade. He sought to increase his income by selling liquor. His
wife sold liquor from their home. However, Kerst proved to be his own best
customer and frequently attacked his wife and family while intoxicated. Mrs.
Kerst ultimately sickened and died. For a period of time Kerst controlled
his drinking habit and married a Marian Wiman. The marriage progressed well
for a period of time, but eventually Kerst began to drink again. He also
began criticizing his wife. Kerst felt Marian was not as efficient as his
first wife. He became very violent and abusive, often threatening to kill
Marian. Marian filed charges of assault and battery with intent to kill. At
this point, Kerst began to show signs of reforming, so Marian withdraw the
charges. Around the first of May 1861 Kerst again became abusive. Marian
instituted divorce proceedings on the grounds of extreme cruelty. The court
granted her a writ of injunction restraining Kerst from disposing of any
property. Marian had hoped to sue for alimony. On May 14, 1861 Kerst went to
the village to consult with Miss Wiman’s attorneys. There Kerst encountered
Marian Wiman. Kerst was staggering about the village with a gun. Upon
leaving the attorney’s office Miss Wiman and Mrs. Boise, a friend, started
for home. The two woman were followed by Kerst, and he threatened their
lives. Kerst then left for the direction of his home. The two woman waited
and started for home some time later. When they were halfway home, opposite
the home of a Mr. Lawson Waterman, Kerst appeared. Kerst raised himself from
behind the fence, he rested his gun on the fence, and fired. His wife was
shot in the wrist and breastbone. Both women ran toward the village
screaming for help. Miss Wiman then collapsed and died. Kerst was found
hiding in the woods and arrested. Kerst was housed in a county jail 14 miles
away. He was indicted and he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of
insanity. The trial lasted two weeks, and seventy witnesses and several
experts were examined. All the testimony on the part of the defense was to
prove the insanity of Kerst. The killing, the time, and the place were all
admitted by the defense. The defendants daughter testified that about
twelve years before Kerst had suffered sunstroke in Germany, and that five
or six years later, after coming to the U.S., he had a similar attack. Five
or six witnesses testified that Kerst acted in a strange and unusual manner.
However, the defendant was found guilty of murder in the first degree. Many
people did believe that Kerst was insane. Minutes before his execution,
Kerst committed suicide. The prison beds at that time were composed of
strips of canvas. The canvas was fastened by strong cords to hooks on the
wall. Kerst made loops in the cords and hung himself.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
April 25, 1662.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Was scheduled to be hanged, but he committed suicide April 25, 1862.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

50 Years and Over of Akron and Summit County, by ex-sheriff Samuel A.
Lane (1892).

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
James Parker (alias James Dickerson).

Parker spent seven years in England and immigrated from England to
America. He first lived in Rhode Island and then Philadelphia. Parker was a
confederate and a robber. He was imprisoned for grave robbing. While
awaiting treal he procured a pair of pistols from a poltical prioner who had
not been searched. He intimidated the guard and escaped. Parker was
recaptured and tried on both charges. He was sentenced to two years in
prison. After release from prison he was an accomplice in a highway robbery
case. He was arrested and convict but he escaped. Parker participated in
several robberies in Philadelphia. The robbery of the house of a wealthy
manufacturer resulted in his capture. He was imprisoned for four years in
Moyamonsing penitentiary. After his release Parker visited many places on
the East Coast under various aliases. He arrived in Cleveland in 1851. He
opened a saloon that attracted the attention of local authorities. In 1852,
Parker returned to England and maried his cousin, Betsy Dickenson. Betsy
Dickenson and her brothers John and George, sailed to America with Parker.
During the voyage Parker met another Englishman, a trader named William
Bentson. Bentson was traveling to Buffalo. One month later Bentson traveled
to Pittsburgh and Cleveland. There he met Parker, who was very attentive.
Parker showed Bentson around the town and gave him a good time. Bentson was
a gambler and he displayed large amounts of money. Parker volunteered to
accompany Bentson back to Buffalo. Parker deliberately put Bentson on the
wrong train. They were put off at the next depot. Parker insisted they could
walk back to town. In the morning a young boy by the name of Henry Waters
found blood on the ground. The trail indicated a body had been dragged to
the river. A headless body was found. After the alarm had been sounded. it
was assumed that the body belonged to the drunken Englishman seen at the
depot the night before. A warrant was issued for Parker who was eventually
found in Buffalo. Parker was indicted June 14, 1853. He asserted that he had
accompanied Bentson on the journey to town, but on the way they walked on a
railroad tressle. Bentson slipped and fell between the ties and was
decapitated. Parker was afraid that with his past record, he would be
accused of the murder, therefore he fled. Parker made several attempts at
Suicide, but was unsuccessful. He maintained that the death had been an
accident.

AGE & RACE
25 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 1, 1855.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
50 Years and Over of Akron and Summit County, by ex-sheriff Samuel A.
Lane (1892).

WOOD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

BOWLING GREEN, OHIO
301 Sand ltidge Hd,

vi taf | June 13, 1977

MUSEUM.

Matt Espy, dr.
P,U,Box 247
Headland, Ala. 36345

‘Dear Mr. Espy:

in reply to your inquiry of May 8, on persons hanged
in the U, S,, let me say you have started on quite a job, but I wish ©
you success. in regard to Wood County here is the record.

George Porter was the first man to be hung in Wood county.

He was hanged on Friday, November 5, 1830 on the west sldpe of a ravine
that runs along tne soutn side of Ft. Meigs, which is situated just up
stream from Perrysburg, on the Maumee river. Jt withstood two sieges
in the second war with Great britain. Yorter was a poor devil wnao did
odd jobs for people in the hamlets then existing along the river, and
had done several jobs for lsaac Kichardson, wnose name adorns the pages
of our Common Pleas court journals of that day. lkichardson had moved
to the soutn side of the river from rray"s Falls, now Waterville, which
was tnen a part of Wood county. Richardson was sitting taling to a
neighbor, and holding his granddaugater on his lap. Yorter slipped up
from behind as the two men sat in a dogtrot between two sections of
Richardson's cabin and killed him instantly, without hurting the child,
but scaring the pants off the neighbor. frorter gave himself up three
days later. Kichardson had refused to pay Porter for the several jobs
and Porter brooded over the injustice until he took the law in his own
nands. srersonally, 4 would have favored, giving Yorter a prize for
eliminating a wortiless 5UB, The sheriff who hanged him was John Webb.

Uarl Bach was a'farmer living soutn of Weston in the west
part of our county. se and his wife-both natives of Germany-could not
agree on their finances, and after several reverses, she ordered him
out of the house. “e slept in the barn until autumn, when he wanted
to move into a back’ porch of their house that had been enclosed. Jhe
would not clear her items out of tne room, and he used a corn knife,
which we exhibit in our Macawber room, to hack her to death. de too,
gave himself up and was tried twice, both trials ending in convictions
of first degree murder. He was nanged under an oak tree, no longer
standing, on tne east side of tne court house in Bowling Green on Uct.
12, 1883 by Sheriff George wiurray Brown, the maternal grandfather of a
close friend of mine, The murder was comnitted on Uctober 10, 1881.

Page 133.

yh | TISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OITO.

MURDER TRIAL ©

The first trial for a capital crimo resulted in the conviction. of Daniel
McGraw, who was exccuted. The murder occurred at the grocery of a

man named Golliver, near the present town site of Delphos, who with his
wife and son were the principal witnesses for the State. Ina drunken
fight which occurred at this store s man named reccived injuries
which proved fatal about three days later. Daniel McGraw, a young
- Irishman, apparently about twenty-five years of age, of pleasant. appear:
ance and auburn hair, was at once arrested and held for trial. He

entered the plea of self-defence, but pending trial he was taken to Lima °

and incarcerated, as the jail at Van Wert was not considered safe. <At
the time of his arrest he bore terrible marks of violence, his jaw being
broken and his head bearing fearful wounds, telling of an assailant who
inflicted almost mortal blows. When the time came for trial McGraw
was brought from Lima and was held i in charge by Sheriff Thomas R.

Kear. Judge Goode presided during the trial, and after: the case was
called the prisoner entered a plea of salbdefetioe. After hearing the
‘case the jury retired, and after deliberating all night brought in a ver-
dict of guilty of murder in the first degree. This fell as a shock on the
commuhity, as none had dared believe the prisoner would suffer greater
punishment than a short term of imprisonment. The death sentence
was passed by Judge Goode and the prisoner remanded to jail to await
execution. Here he remained about six months, during which time he
- became much attached to Sheriff Kear and his family. Mrs. Kear, to
whom the tragedy proved almost a deathblow, remembers the prisoner

well and speaks of him as becoming so familiar, kind, and cheerful, as.’ .

to “appear like one of the family.” ‘During the whole period of his
confinement he exhibited a fortitude and composure which left a favor-

able and sympathetic impression with all who saw him. Resigning him- .

self to his fate, he only consoled himself by the thought, oft expressed,
that “The Lord will avenge his own.” The night previous to-his exe-
_ cution the inclosure erected by the sheriff was torn down and carried
off by crowds who had congregated during the day from ‘distant parts
of the country in order to be present at the exccution, . . ‘
The scaffold was therefore openly exposed, as neither time nor mate:
rial were at command to construct 4 new inclosure at the side of the sinall
log jail. When the condemned man took his leave of Mrs, Kear, the
wife of the sheriff and other members of the family, he still nrekorved
‘his cheerful expression, spoke kindly to Mrs. Kear, and observed it had
been his intention to speak from the scaffold, but he was then so con-

vinced of the prejudice ofthe public against btm that he had concluded

it useless to say anything, and so abandoned his original intention. He
._was attended by a minister of the M. E. Church, who spoke and prayed

from the scaffold. “To the lasts he denied any deeper guilt than that of
acting in self-defence. Wher death ensued his body was taken in charge
and buried by the county, but fate held in store for his corpse the very
thing he dreaded and the very thing he-had asked might be prevented,

for the very same night his body was taken up and found its way to the

dissecting-table, although-he had declared he would not have that occur -

for ten thousand worlds. Indeed, this appeared the only thing he
dreaded, and it affected him to daay emotion, when death itself seemed:
to have lost all its terrors. This was.the first and last execution in the

county, and was'looked upon at the time by many as a tragedy, which - |

- foreboded evil to the whole ‘community.

WOLVES,

The early pioneers had to contend with the annnavannacg and lnnenn

Dee. 1837. Senlps $17 00" Keb, t
I'eb, to Dee. 1838. “107 15) Feb t
Jan. to Oct. 1839. “124 300 ~Mayt
Jan. to Dec, 1810. 72 25 dan. t
Jan. to Dee. 1841. «91 00 Ap’l.t
Jan, to Dec, 1842. “107 50 Mart
Jan. to Nov. 1843. 6 77:00 Jan. ti
Jan, to Dec..1844. * 93 50 Apl. te
Jan. to Sep. 1845. 71 50) Feb. ts
Jan. to Dec. 1846. ~~ 81 25° Jan. te
May to Dec. 1847. “ 88 25 Jan. ti
Jun. to Nov. 1848... * 46 75 In Oc
Feb. to Oct. 1859. i 4625

Average umount paid for each scalp $
eighteen were killed.

TAXES.

—_—

The tanks ‘célldoted for school: purposes
Amount paid into State treasury on Stat
drew from the State for school purposes $1

In 1840 the taxable land amounted to 11,)
there were 312 horses and 663 head of cattle
a total valuation of taxable property of $73,

$1102.65 or fifteen mills on the dollar.

VOTERS IN 1839

The whole number of ballots cast in 1
township votes were as follows: Willshire, 8
Jennings, 54; and Pleasant, 36.

EARLY PROCEEDINGS OF TIE COl

Willshire, Van Wert County, Ohio. Ata
missioners for the county of Van Wert, at t
twenty-ninth day of April, A. D. 1835, we
and Joshua Goodwin, Commissioners; an
being examined, the Board organized for
There being no auditor prosent, the Boar
special clerk for the present session.

It appearing to the satisfaction of the Cor
who was elected assessor of this county, is
that said office is vacant; and thereupon

. Keith assessor, to serve until the next annu

that said Keith, on executing his bond in t
dollars, to be approved by any one of the
and being sworn, proceed to execute the dut
And the Board adjourned without day.
| | Signed,

At a session of the Comimissioners hold

day of June, 1837: present, Jesse Atkinson

missioners, Daniel D. Cross appearing, pres
tion as auditor, with an endorsement there

into oMce and ‘rorthwith exccuted his bon

board in the penalty of two thousand doll

a. ewree

Le J

VAN WERT COUNTY,, OHIO.

‘ Walter A. and Helen L.. Gehres WALTER A. AND HELEN L. GEHRES

Genealogy Research | Sock Ge
1026 Elm Street 1026 ELM STREET
Van Wert, Ohio 4589]

VAN WERT, OHIO 45891

31 December 1981

Watt Espy

Capital Punishment Research Project
Law Library ~ Box 6205

University, AL 35486

Your Inquiry to our Van Wert County, Ohio Historical Society for
Information of the Hanging Execution of Daniel McGraw in Van

Wert County, Ohio was forwarded to us as we are Genealogists and
Research Genealogy, Historical, Biblical, and for Van Wert County,
Ohio.

Sheriff Thomas R. Kear was Sheriff of Van Wert County, Ohio during
the Years 1839 to 1841 and the Execution would have taken place
during Sheriff Kears Administration 1839 to 1841.

Sheriff Kear's wife was Catherine Frysinger and she was a Sister
to Peter Frysinger, a Pioneer of Van Wert County, Ohio; who is
the 2nd Great Grandfather of Mrs. Helen lL. Gehres, Genealogist.

Enclosed are copies for you to keep from Re. Sutton and Company
Printed 1882 in Wapakoneta, Ohio "History of Van Wert and Mercer
Counties, Ohio" Page 133 of the incident.

The Court Records were impossible to find a few years back and were
Scattered all over the Court House, misfiled, some destroyed and
etc. Then they took Microfilm of what they could salvage that

are on File at Bowling Green University; but the original Records
were all destroyed.

Yours truly,

Gy ‘ 7 j C j
VUakten @. Gnd Web CY hr,
WALTER A. AND HELEN L. GEHRES
GENEALOGISTS
GENEALOGY RESEARCH

Encl. 2

VINTON. COUNTY, OHIO.

HERBERT WESCOAT MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Serving Vinton County

McARTHUR, OHIO 45651

he, o, S975

Wty RY Mepey bam 5 ak let tA:
SS fare Checked wrth our’

Moff ant tt hier, Local hestbrcace

Ai iia cit Ke EE ig Fi oaiiig ; en
‘ i | mo ‘ F ge t vbw

lh EPR SE RR ARENT RH

eS.

the first murderer fron this county to be hanged at Lolnmbus was
Arthur Jd, “rover, wio0 went to the gallows for the murder of Granville
G, Loomis cirea may 1, 1865. Loomis! body was found sone days later
and the exact date was not determined, ‘he murder occurred near the
Kmpire louse, a tavern at etony hidge, wnich is stil] standing on the
Western Reserve road. both men were transients from eastern Uhio on

their way to CUnicago and points west. oneriff Gein, Brown went to Fall

t Creek, Wisc. to bring Grover back. te was hanged at VColumbus on way 1d,

F 1886.

. hang in there wr, Espy, 1 suspect you have a long way to go,
Yours truly, - } f:

“Lyle R, Fletcher, Arcnivist

—
CORAL BACH WAS 57 enw Oot 7°) /64). |

NEWAS BoRn iY 16D.

ALIN. GROVER WASBORN Ou DEC

¢ PD. | 1456 |
: | |
fsa id dod SOW Ys
ISD Wot Ware ERATE sro,

d) oA Cacdin Wee

$ 4

S\RY Ree Pt]. James L. Lindesmith - Victim.of auto- pedestrian accident.
Driver released by Coroner.

Rodet. Albert Bush - Shot April 17, 1934. Suspect apprehended and
sentenced.

Details on the above deaths are not readily available at this time.

I trust the above information will be of assistance to you in your project.

Sincerely,

Thomas W. Wyatt
Chief of Police

TWW/im

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Buaw pan ™ fe. +. eeaaead
the reom and he wow es TF uel
. thtag nee “4 wanted to knew. accerd-/ sin weeke agn . io nabs 7 see ;
te bye version of the) He took with him 6245 Belonging, wat Beir) Rare nee ne metenee
mel “he ™ ito the treasury of Iacal No. mS aT poate abet
as ver stepped tate the ener + pexicad and Bue Drivers, according even W. Milter
tor pulled an automatic pistol ar ‘te Arthur Hill, present secretary on4 4 Rayth Tagice %
“wee bie ‘eit aad ordered Skot- treasurer of the union. ,
ané Bush. whose guns were te ~} was to swear ovt 8 werrnnt , srunstipdece
ers, te ne on the ‘for Miler today,’ Hut salt. “after % CONTEST JUDGES
$ ¢ ef we found out through Getertives
pen directed ome of the girle inet ne hed heen in on @ robbery Mies Edae K. Wooley
come wire to bind the two job and prepebly would not moke of The Clewcland Nereus

Denes err Mie. Men B. Coot

Mite? had been the union treme-
As the giri started from the ee the «abmen orgaawed _ 0f The Clevetend Pree
; Miller opened fre. Hie Arst bull . Mr. Joba A. Crawford
' Aecording te other cab drivers of The Plame Dealer
| Milter had told them ef once having y
bien a midshipman in the Unaed *
/ States Naval Acagemy at Annapolia : Py
and of haviag dismissed. He The May Ce.
| alee hed been in the savy. they

ae ee eek a

Altheugh 3
Miller wriggteé hie way te the foot
of the bed while Skatnicky wes fev-
evteniy releeding hie gun,

proees4
the muazie of hte eutamatic against '
Bkotaickys head ead pulled the trig ‘
ger The gun was empty: ft
j eM%b

Suctawky veed hie gua a@ 8
aad knocked Miller upropsctous.
5 ptatemente made te police, tn ;
: Prneecetae Grorge Greham end te
Coroner T. C McQuete wy the twa
girte were te the effect that they
nad fied from Akroe with Mitler tant -
Fewruary after he had absrconéed

with the money of the taxicab men's

mplon E : 2-AcT
They @rove to Californie, where : °

they lived by staging robbertes, ame & v com ’

; of which netted them much it was i A grewp eof Ave
| pAG0e4 «They etarted bert home two @ artere ot give

| weeks age arriving im Akron Gun. | Best on the ship at Tourist Class fares | an gw yer

dey morning
thet fou Gl o9

They visited the Akrnm. home of pghiaiceee coun
« ae

: ‘ame of the girte aunts oa Waterion Bit
' pred end then went ta the Stein aia ce 5

rere) Qrug store) near by. heid up the; eae
: f owl OuR TYTN

proyriete ani & woman. toot $213)
ant therm Gry ve to Canton. i

ine. ; Trey arove arquna the city watil. E: whole ship is yours ot low Tourst
° Chass fares when you sail on one of these e

‘Flash Poisons From four large, comfortable Red Sear may You gg se Many OF

P the best seteroome, derks and .
Widneys and Step) Sor ass A PHIZ

renms, .
eh eee Grass wae | ey % vee

Getting Se Wig ts chp. Regular sailings to Southampeen. evre $5. PENMLAND.

and Anreerp Mimmum fares - Tenrwt
Claes $117.50 Ome Way, $212 Round Trp; 4. % WESTERNLANO

Thurs! ¢ lace GAs! be Was § 7 Bixitnd Inp 41 ome oe

‘er get fur a4 igtrce 8
a feet? ar
’

im
rahe

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Hamilton County information was gathered from - History of Cincinnati

and Hamilton County, S.B. Nelson & Co., J.M. Runk (1894).

HANCOCK COUNTY

No one ever convicted to be hanged in Hancock County.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

History of Hancock County, D.B. Beardsley (1881).

information

HARDIN COUNTY

executions available.

HENRY COUNTY

executions available.

JACKSON COUNTY

executions available.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

executions available.

KNOX COUNTY

executions available.

LICKING COUNTY

No one ever executed in Licking County.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Centenial History of Licking County, E.M.P. Brister, Votsmesd) (1709)

MERCER COUNTY

No information on executions available.

MIAMI COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
George Mitchell.

The only legal execution in Miami County. Mitchell was a blacksmith.
Mitchell killed his wife, claiming she had been unfaithful to him. He left

town, but was apparently apprehended later. He was convicted of murder in
the lst degree.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, black.

DATE OF EXECUTION
September 17, 1880.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Centennial History of Troy, Piqua and Miami County, Thomas C. Harbaugh
(1909).

MONROE COUNTY

No information on executions available.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

No information on executions available.

MORGAN COUNTY

No information on executions available.

MORROW COUNTY

No information on executions available.

MUSKINGUM COUNTY

No information on executions available.

NOBLE COUNTY

No information on executions available.
OTTAWA COUNTY

No information on executions available.
PAULDING COUNTY

No information on executions available.

PERRY COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
David Work.

First and only execution in Perry County. Work was indicted for the
murder of Christopher Hocker. The crime was committed in Fairfield County.
Work was a resident of Fairfield County. A change of venue was ordered due
to public excitement and the impossibility of an impartial trial. Work was
sentenced to be hanged in Perry County. The evidence against Work was purely
circumstantial. Work asserted his innocence to the last.

RACE & AGE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
October 14, 1836.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Fairfield and Perry County, A.A. Graham (1884).

PICKAWAY COUNTY

No information on executions available.

Susi ©

LOGAN COUNTY

No one ever executed in Logan County.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

History of Logan, O.L. Baskin Co., Historical Publishers
LORAIN COUNTY
as information on executions available.
LUCAS COUNTY
No information on executions available.
MADISON COUNTY
No information on executions available.
MAHONING COUNTY
No information on executions available.
MARION COUNTY

No one ever executed in Marion County.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

History of Marion County, Ohio, J. Wilbur Jacoby (1976).

MEDINA COUNTY

No information on executions available.

MEIGS COUNTY

No information on executions available.

(1880).

HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY Peo

“his head a little to the right. A moment before he was precipitated from the . a

scaffold, the sheriff, approaching him, pressed the. question, ‘‘Steingraver, are

you innocent of the crime of murder as charged. against you?’’ with apparent ~~
~ earnestness he replied, ‘‘Sheriff, I am innocent.’’ It was now just fifteen min- rR eB
utes past one o’clock. A moment, and his guilty or guiltless soul was thrust ~ RRS No
into another world to meet its Creator; a few spasmodic shrugs of his body and a

limbs and all was over. He hung suspended by his neck about an hour; was

then pronounced dead by the medical men present; his body taken down and —

placed in a coffin and in something over half an hour it was transferred to an ob-
-scure place in the Ashland cemetery, and there interred. as

During these proceedings the people behaved with decorum, the best of order
prevailing throughout, except when the body was precipitated from the seaffold
and for a short time became invisible to the crowd. — Order, however, was soon
restored, and the people quietly dispersed.

THE THORNTON POOL CASE.

The second murder trial in Ashland county was that of Thornton Pool, ‘
srgved with the killing of Noah Mock, at the town of Orange, on December 17,

~The tragedy had its origin in the matter of seven cents that had been
| at a raffle. The money belonged to Mock but had been appropriated by
sol and in the controversy growing out of the affair, Pool stabbed Mock fa-
‘sily, The ease was tried at the March term of court, 1854. Alexander Porter
the prosecuting attorney, and Fulton, McCombs and Given were the attor-

ror the defense. .
a. trial resulted in a verdict of murder in the second degree, and the

sentence of the court was, that Thornton Pool he taken heriee by the sheriff to ~~

Gwe cinty jath and from there thence within sixty days from the rising of the
conrt be taken by the sheriff to the Ohio penitentiary, there to remain in con-
finement and to he kept at hard labor’ for a period of ten years. —

THE GRIBBEN—HORN MURDER CASE.

One of Ashland county’s most atrocious murders was that of Harry Williams

which oceurred at Polk at about three o’clock on the morning of March 25, 1883,

and for which William H. Gribben and George A. Horn were executed upon z

the scaffold... The murder was the result of a quarrel and was committed when
the parties were in a state of intoxication. There had been bad feeling between
the parties for some time and meeting at West Salem, Saturday evening, March

24, taunting words passed between the parties and the murder resulted after .

they had reached their home town of Polk. We quote from Judge Jabez Dick-
ey’s charge to the jury at the close of the trial.

“The indictment charges in substance, that William Henry Gribben, on
the twenty-fifth day of March, 1883, at the county of Ashland and State of
Ohio, unlawfully, willfully, purposely and feloniously, and of deliberate and
premeditated malice did make an assault on one Henry Williams, by striking

eee

122 HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY

him in the head with a certain stone and a certain axe, with the intent then

and there, him the said Henry Williams, unlawfully, willfi

uly, purposely and

feloniously and of deliberate and premeditated malice to kill and murder.

And by reason of the blows so struck, with the stone and
wounds were inflicted in and upon the head of him the sai

axe, certain mortal
d Henry Williams,

and of which mortal wounds he, then and there, instantly died. And that the
said William Henry Gribben, by the means and in.the manner aforesaid, un-
lawfully, wilfully and feloniously and of deliberate and premeditated malice,

him, the said Henry Williams, did kill and murder,

‘“The indictment will be before you and you will look to it for a more par-

ticular statement of the charge. While the indictment cl

arges the prisoner

jointly with one George Andrew Horn, you will treat it as though it was a-

gainst the defendant, William Henry Gribben, alone: exe
entitled to a separate trial.’’

h defendant. being

On Thursday, February 7, 1884, Gribben and Horn were sentenced by the

court to be hanged on Friday, May 16.
On the day of the exeeution a crowd of about eight th

sembled in and around the courthouse grounds. A milttia

present to preserve order.

ousand persons as-

company was

There was much fear that the enclosure would be torn down which was

not at all lessened by the three or four shots which were fire
of suspense and horror to those inside the enclosure. They
was going on outside and had to depend on their ears for

‘cd... It was a time
could not see what
information.

There were plenty of men who would have followed a leader right against

the militia. The crowd was massed at the south end of the e

murtvard, and made

most of their demonstration on that side. As the time vf the execution ap-
proached the crowd grew bolder, and several attempts were made to tear down

the fence, but the soldiers stood firm. The police were utte
trol the crowd. Several times they attempted to make

‘rly unable to con-
arrests, but their

prisoners were taken from them before they could hardly move. During the
attacks on the fence a stone was thrown by some one in the crowd which struck

one of the militia men on the head.
Some one took one of the bayonets from the rifle of one
threw it back towards the soldiers. It struck one man and

of the militia and
disabled him from

active service. Had the execution been an hour later there would have been

bloodshed for each moment the crowd grew bolder. The
on this side and was doubly guarded; as those who had. tiel
execution were admitted loud and derisive cries went up from

entrance gate was
sets to witness the
the enraged crowd

and loud and deep were the curses heaped upon the sheriff for admitting so

many, vet calling out the military to keep the execution from
The crowd was led by a tall farmer to whom the euns
no terror. Tle and several others turned their attention to t

being private.
of the militia had
he woodhouse, and

part of the side was soon torn off, but the gap was filled with four soldiers.

The former, nothing daunted, grabbed the vuns by the bavone
the rear struck one of the guard with a stone.

An extra company was brought from the south side to re

ts and some one in

inforce the guards

_ ASHLAND) ouves, ohte re

eb Sia

2 = © : oe _ HISTORY OF * ASHLAND. ‘couny, ,
the various neighborhoods pike the land pirates had on
vand thefts... Each member of the Black. Cane company.

The canes. were made of erab-apple or black haw woo he bar reeled ee
off and the canes burned black, after: whieh they were. oiled polished t giv ae
them a glossy appearance. By vigorous’ and: vigilant’ work the company: suc: >
ceeded in clearing the country of the land pirates and peace and security re igned

until about 1833 when similar : services were eases in need to lear the countiy of
a band of counterfeiters. ee eee fie. 2

and two sib. Siciaererest was in she employ of Mr. ‘Vantilbur Pa tk
hand, and.on the 4th of July, 1851, the Vantilburg. family went to: Perr uw
“Ashland county, to attend a Sunday school celebration, leaving: Steingray 1 : D
the blind girl at home. It was alleged that the killing was done atte
is commit a rape. — Steingraver, however, elaimed his i innocence to
At the September term of court, 1851, the grand. jury: found a .
the seventh and eighth counts charged the accused : with. murder - in’ the first
degres, by averring that he killed the deceased purposely ‘and: of deliber id
“ y remerdi sa: maliee. The trial attracted a great deal of attention: ai d aroused
‘he qv orto vuriosity of the people to an unusual extent, ete ;
W Kelloyg, the prosecuting attorney, was assisted. in the ease by. the.
bP side J. Allen, whe afterwards attained’ distinction &s a journalist and:
diperitas “The -acensed was defended by John 8, Fulton, of: ‘Ashland, ‘and
Jie fetve tet of Mansfield? © Mr: -Brinkerhoff, as a member. ‘Of, congress:
fron th district, was the author of: the Wilmot Proviso and later nerved: a8
dec of the sapreme. court of Ohio. ae He was a first, cousin ef General: RE
> Brinker 4 Marstio! RNa eS . :
The ores co the said case were Foka MeCormick, ‘Ephraim. G Marka
‘uicl Viste Henry Demit, | Tsage Hatch, Jacob’ Johnson, “Jacob Bucher
af ‘osha liu ras teorge Stott, Samuel Harman, James L. Drake, John Haiman,
caw.twing simdy {uspaneled and severally sworn. to well” and truly. try and ‘trud:
debecerance make between the state of Ohio and the ‘paid’ “Charles. Steingraver
ste @ true verdict give according to the evidence, having heard: the: ‘evidence
svfmeeuk the arguments of counsel and the charge of the court}, upon their oaths
afupawend lid find that Charles oe was: dd of Tmitder. in ‘the: first.
degree, mx —— in. the indictment. Z

made a myrtion for a new: trial, which was over-ruled,. Srontines the ‘court.
rtenced Steingraver to be hanged on: Friday; the 30th day ‘of January, 1862, .
tetiween the hours of twelve o’clock meridian, and two o’clock post-meridian;.
| wal that i in case the sheriff of the county, by reason of his absence or inability,
im the execution, then for the coroner to. area me noid Steinigraver to.

4 oe ee - -* rs
teen > ee Ye Ne ir ee $a m, telah i coe “ORO Sa Ue

120 HISTORY. OF ASHLAND COUNTY

the place appointed by law and execute him by hanging him by the neck
he was dead. ‘ . .

The court decreed that in the meantime between the date of. sentence
the time of execution that said Steingraver be confined in the jail of
county in charge of the sheriff. 3

EXECUTION OF CHARLES STEINGRAVER.
From the Ohio Union, Feb. 4, 1852.

The execution of Charles Steingraver took place on Friday, the 30th da:
of January, 1852, as ordered and directed by the court. Early in the morning
immense numbers of the people were collecting from every section of the country
some from a great distance, and directing their course to the execution. ground
which was guarded by the military, who were called out for the purpose of
suppressing any disturbance which might occur to mar the proceedings, or hin-
der the law from being peaceably enforced. — By cleven o’¢lock A. M. there had
congregated, it is supposed, from eight to twelve thousand persous: and we are
sorry to state, that many of this immense assemblage gave evident signs of in-
toxication. It might therefore be submitted Whether executing the extreme
penalty of the law in this manner brings about the desired reform, viz., of
suppressing the awful crime of murder.

Steingraver was led from his cel] precisely at twelve o’elock, ‘accompanied
by the sheriff and five ministers. [le marched from his place of confinement to
the gallows under the solemn and impressive notes of the “Dead March”? which
were calculated to soften the most obdurate and hardened, and impress suitable
reflections for the solemnities of death. Ile shed not a tear--he moved along
with a firm and unfaltering step—ascended the scaffold with as little apparent
regard for his hard fate as the ox for the slaughter, : :

His long white robe was calculated to rouse solemn reflections about. the
destiny of man and his long home, when he returns to his mother earth, and lies
mouldering in the dust, wrapped in the slumbers of death—dreamless and quiet.

While religious exercises were taking place on the scaffold, his. bearing was
firm and unmoved. IIe knelt and listened to several appropriate and powerful
prayers both in German and English, and not until the last prayer was being
offered was he seen to shed a tear. He then wept—-was much affected; but
again braced up, rose with a firmness il] befitting his situation, and requested
the sheriff to announce, as his dying words, that he was not cuilty of the crime
imputed to him. He then requested that the people be exhorted, in German
and English, to avoid sins that were calculated to lead them into viee and event-
ually to ruin.

He then took his parting leave of the officers and ministers present on the
scaffold~-submitted calmly to have his arms and feet pinioned—the cap drawn
over his head and face—the rope placed around his neck, and drawn up in
order to launch him into eternity. The sheriff called out, nineteen minutes till
the time expires—ten minutes—five minutes—one minute, during which
announcements, he stood like a statue—unshuddering—unmoved, save to incline

pe ur oe

PRP TE Ee ey Ee Pe eT

ere
be
Ry
be
F

vie
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, theo 123

at this side. If there had been fifty men like the one who tore down the wood-
house they would have made an entrance to the yard.

The sheriff hurried Gribben on to the trap doors and the ropes were quickly
adjusted by Sheriff Brown around Horn’s neck and by Ex-Sheriff Gay of Mans-
field around Gribbens.

There was a delay of a few seconds and then the voice of the minister. was
heard in prayer. He had uttered but a few words when Sheriff Gates sprung
the trap and the bodies were precipitated downwards to death. Both men were
killed vustanthy; there was a few spasmodic jerks of the muscles and all was over. »

The trap fell precisely at ten thirty a.m. The bodies were both pro-
ponmneed dead im twenty muniates Both their necks were broken by the fall.

Ty was a perfeet execution and there was not one nustake made unless
howe of the excited, yelling crowd there was some dittle hurry in’ the final
preparation ef the men.

The scene on the seatfold was one of confusion and disorder made so by the
crowds who would listen to no reason or argument. It was almost impossible
to make out what Gribben said so loud was the noise.

Ilorn was perfeetly calm and cool, Tle spoke to but few and was as calm
and cool apparently as ever in his life.

Roth men walked up the narrow stairs leading from the jail unsupported
and also out of the window to the scaffold.

There were less than one hundred and fifty spectators inside the enclosure.

One man lit a paper and attempted to set fire to the woodhouse on the
north side.

he Polk company was placed at one of the most exposed points, but every
inant stood to his post. Theirs was a most trying position because they were
personally acquainted with a large number of those who were trying to get in.
Several of them were struck with stones and elubs, but fortunately none serious-
ly hurt. They will make good witnesses before the grand jury.

THE STEIN-PORTER TRAGEDY.

The most importnt case investigated by the grand jury of Ashland county
at the October (1908) term of common pleas court, was the Stein-Porter tragedy
at Loudonville, which oceurred Friday afternoon, August 14, 1908. The
following is taken from one of the local papers:

‘AX wave of horror passed over Ashland county when the awful news was
told and it became known that Miss Hester Porter, a highly respected lady of
that town had been mysteriously shot twice in the back of the head and instantly
killed and that Morris B. Stein, a prominent young business man of Des Moines,
Iowa, had also been shot and killed. at Miss Porter’s home in Loudonville.
Since that terrible event there has been a great deal said and printed in the
newspapers over the state. also at Des Moines, Iowa, where voung Stein resided.
Many were of the firm belief that it was a case of double murder; while others
were inclined to the belief that it was a case of murder and snicide-—that either
Stein shot Miss Porter and then himself or vice versa. At all events, the

on
. Le

ree ee

<r { LY
PARR Tawa

— ———____—_——

DELAWARE COUNTY DISTRICT LIBRARY

101 NORTH SANDUSKY STREET
DELAWARE, OHIO 43015

name. If you wanted to trace hangings that way y
to gothrough the death certifica
for us to do, but not an impossible task.
to Delaware may be necessary for you.

ou would have
tes one by one. This is too much

I think a visit

Good luck in your research.

Sincerely,

Cisely T. Judd (Ms) | .
‘Librarian

—=- COLUMBIANAK COUNTY, OHIO.

Tae Sandy - Beaver Antique Shop

Mr. and Mrs. R. Max Gard
R“Drde Box 5; .

Telephone Lisbon doa?

U. S. 30 - 5 Miles
West of | Lisbon
A. P. S. No. 22964

CANAL BOAT MARY ANN APPROACHING THE BIG
TUNNEL 1 MILE EAST OF HANOVER JULY STH, 1851,

_ SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL Zz z ware & 5 5 2 Zo

Lisbon, Ohio “7% 7

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—

DELAWARE COUNTY DISTRICT LIBRARY

101 NORTH SANDUSKY STREET
DELAWARE, OHIO 43015

March 27th, 197°

Watt Espy, Jr.
P. O. Box #2h7
Headland, Alabama 363)¢

Dear Mr. Espy:

In reply to your letter concerning capital punishment in Delaware
County, Ohio, I can give you some leads but no information.

There are two written histories of Delaware County, one by Perrin
and Battle, written in 1880, and one by Lytle, written in 1910.

I checked them briefly and found no information. However, since
they are indexed only by name, a more careful reading might reveal
some information. Your state library might have copies of these
histories.

are available on microfilm into the 1860s. However, they are

newspapers page by page. From the 1860s to 188° the local newspaper
is available only through the morgue of the Delaware Gazette,

which is still published. No library in town has a complete file of
the newspaper., '

I called the reference department of the Ohio Wesleyan University |

. library, and they are checking for federal statistical recomnds.

of federal documents, but doubt if they will find statistics of this
nature. They will inform you if they do.

I called our local courthouse asking for such records and they had

no knowledge of then. However, the sheriff's office (which is in the
jail behind the courthouse) said there were many old records,
unsorted, in the attic of the courthouse. TIT have heard this from
others. However, there is’ some doubt that court house officials
would permit anyone to g0 through these records. You could write

to the Delaware County Court House and ask.

Our local historical society is called the Delaware County Historical
Society and is located at 1°7 Bast William Street, Delaware, Ohio.

A Mrs. Walter Pabst, whom:I believe is a member of the society, is a

local historian who might be able to help you. Her home address igs

1k Elizabeth Street, Delaware, Ohio. Tf know of no one in the Ohio 4
Wesleyan history department who specializes in local history, but

a letter to the department in general might bear some fruit.

FAYETTE COUNTY, OHIO.

- Garurgie Public Library

Washington Court House
Ohia

Sept. 22, 197)

Dear Mr. Espy: !
The information you inquired about could not be xeroxed,
most of it being on microfilm.

First and only execution in Fayette County was G. W. Smith
in 1867 for murder of John Gray. Smith was hung in jail yard.

Leo Halterman sentenced to death for killing of his half
brother Charles Halterman, bec. 23,°1926. Mrs. Charles Halterman
was also slain, but he was tried only for the brother. Confessed
he killed because of riff between he and his wife Which was caused
by Uzvsé Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walterman. Buried at Beaver Ohio.

Everett Jones, killed pool room owner Robert Lindsey on July

kth, 1937, during robbery attempt. Companion in crime Walter Barnes

sentenced to life in prison, later released, now leading model life.
Everett Jones had served nineteen of his thirty three years in
prison. He confessed to the murder on the witness stand. After
electrocution he was buried at the penitentiary. No one ever
Claimed the body.

James Collett-Murdered Mr. and Mrs. £lmer McCoy and daughter
Mildred, Nov. 22, 1943. Collett a farmer from Wilmington, Chio
was a brother in law to Mr. McCoy. His wife and Mr, McCoy were
brother and sister. Motive-money and land. His wife was next in
line to inherit. Electrocuted April 20, 1945.6

The above facts were gathered from the Washinzton C. H. Record
Herald newspaper.

We hope we have been some help to you. If you should need
any more information please write to us

Yours very truly
Kusnmes C.Cumsisn nis

Librarian C

KA? jc

" Carnegie Public Library

Washington Court House
Ohta

Octe 8, 197):
Dear Mr, Egspy:

Ne xeroxed the G, W. Smith information out of the Dili's
History of Fayette Co, The charfe will be olO¢.

With respect to Leo “alterman he shot Charles Salterman
with a gun, and then used the bore of the gun to Leat Irs,
Halterman to death. Leo lialterman worked for his brother on
the farm.

James Collett used a gun to kill Mr. and “rs. McCoy and
their daughter i4ldred. ir. Collett was a farmer, also Mr,
NeCoy.

If there is any other information we can help you with
please let us know,

Very truly yours,

Librarian C\
KA ss

Jo-u~ Gh |
four ae ee

JULY 13, 1984

Oho : :

2 NORWALK REFLECTOR, FRI.,

Just like old times

”

One of the ar of Serta: ‘County’ s judicial history
was the hanging of two Indians in Norwalk on July 1, 1819 — 165
years ago. The two Ottawa Indians had been arrested for
murdering two trappers — John Wood and George Bishop —
near what is now Oak Harbor on the Portage River northwest
of Fremont.

* . Negosheek and Negoneba were the guilty parties. A boy,
Negossum, was with them but did participate in the crimes. He
was more than happy to tell his story even though it convicted

_his fellow tribesmen. They had made him touch the bodies
after the murders so that he would consider himself a part of
crime.

After a successful escape from a makeshift jail in Daniel
G. Raitt’s log cabin near the corner of Hester and West
Monroe, Negosheek and Negoneba were re-captured and
healed of their wounds incurred in escaping. All was well by
the time of the scheduled execution on July 1, 1819, except the

’ pair wanted to be shot rather than “‘weighed”’ as they called
hanging. They compared the gallows to the old-fashioned
steelyard scales.

A gallows was erected on West Main Street and the Indians
were hanged in a public ceremony attended by most of the
population of the county. There is some dispute as to the site of
the gallows, but the likely site seems to be on the west side of
the Episcopal Cemetery and toward the rear of the cemetery
‘on the bluff of Norwalk Creek. For years it was said that they
were hanged from the limb of an elm tree in the west yard of
the house at 107 West Main St., but it is a known fact that
gallows were built, and that they stood near the Episcopal

_ Cemetery.

; - Hugh Welch of Seneca County was an eyewitness to this

: execution and in his last years wrote his memoirs of the event.
. At the time of the execution in 1819, the Welch family lived in

" Huron County and Hugh and his brothers had participated in.

‘the manhunt when the Indians had escaped. They formed a

line at sunset close enough together so that no one could pass

through without someone knowing it, but the Indians did avoid
’ immediate capture. cae ;

By HENRY TIMMAN
Huron County Historian

Welch also wrote that Negossum was aged about 17, and
sat on the floor of the courtroom in the first courthouse, during
the trial. When informed by the interpreter that he was
acquitted and free to leave, he sprang to his feet with’a loud
yell of rejoicing. pe

There were rumors of a rescue attempt the day of the
execution and Captain Henry Burt of Monroeville organized
his little company of Ohio Militia (including Hugh Welch) as a
crowd control unit. The militiamen marched alongside the
wagon which conveyed the condemned Indians from the Raitt
cabin to the gallows and about halfway there the two Indians
gave a savage yell which was ——— a — for the
rescue, but there was none.

Instead of liquor to fortify eee the ‘intone were
only given water but refused to drink it. The trapdoor in the
gallow was sprung by the sheriff, Lyman Farwell, knocking
away a block with an adze. Both Indians fell so their feet were
about four feet from the ground, and when death was ascer-
tained they were cut down and buried on the spot. Afterward
the Indians who were present got drunk and fought among
themselves. Several of the local women who were present
fainted when the trap was sprung, but they soon recovered and

took part ina cata service and dinner at Enos Gilbert’ s Inn

downtown. ©

Hugh Welch was ‘a son of Felix and Margaret Barnes
“Welch, and came from Pennsylvania to Huron County with his

[
|

Indians were hanged; ‘women. fainted .

oy aot

panty 4 in 1816. His ‘bither: Sibi had come first to Srcaais

township and was the first real settler in that township but the
family is brushed aside as being ‘‘squatters’’ since they didn’t
buy land and stay here, but moved in 1819 to Seneca County.

The Welch family settled west of the creek which crosses
Ridge Road north of Hasbrock Road, and opposite the old
Martin Kellogg Place. Felix Welch was a veteran of the

Revoluntionary War, and eventually died while visiting in .

Wyandot County. He had a large family including sons Martin
and Thomas, all of whom were the first settlers in Eden
Township of Seneca County. Hugh Welch was once an
Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court in Crawford
County, and spend his last years at Green Springs, Ohio.

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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

deed.” When David first caught sight of Robert he extended hi
cried out, : Oh, my wronged brother, my poor wronged brother hy Somat
be righted.” David seemed much distressed and said to Robert ““T jittl
tis the words we had in the lane would put me in irons, did you? ” Par.
ee David McKisson never admitted his guilt, but ‘asserted
oe po t) e end, and upon the scaffold said “these hands never did
At the September term of the Court of Common Pleas, 1837 ;
reek President Judge, Charles Sumner, Ira Selby wast Foetk boas
ssociates—the grand jury indicted both Samuel and David MeKiseon f ,
—“—e Sep see cpt and were allowed separate tri gis ia
e triul of Samuel McKisson commenced on the
ee ee tag Brown, Edward Sunener.cMivew Collins tee .
sett, Uria Jase, David Collins, William N. Merwin,
oe Moses Eggleston, Harvey Baldwin and Jouthen Matealf Seon
vier hanes ier Sg eiligeg the fact that the accused had a quarrel
a 8 wife about a cow, and the evening before th i
peony ‘ nee basaert a spring oP their premises ‘had Siterad 2 treat to
‘ ¢ ughing at the time, and the old i —*s
on! your laughing will soon be turned to trouble sad oorioee “The Beapeces
gg ee oe and rie Sarid on behalf of the State, and by D.
< yllis Silliman for the defense. The jury short
time und returned the verdict of not guilty, and res deg seen
‘ ave trial of David McKisson was commenced on the 6th of October falar
pea tet ph _— sere: Peter Mason, Silas Comstock Ashbel Bost
» William Coolman, Jr., A. K. Hubbard, Miner Merrick H h Jud ;
Jonathan Foster, John N. Whittlesey, Alva Day ‘el ‘Trowbridge
This trial was conducted with spirit a ability. WL V7, Biers and Bien
Newton on the part of the State, and by R. P. Spalding, David Tod and N.
M. Humphrey for the accused. It was proven by a witness on this trial th: t
in May previous to the murder, David had said to his sisters Ma and M -
garet, at Cleveland— “I will kill Robert's wife, By G—dI will; and the “it
Lucinda has a mind to have me she may, or she may go to hell » The jur
found the prisoner guilty of murder in the first degree, and the sentence f the
Court was pronounced that he should be hung upon the 9th day of Petras :
1838. The gallows was erected between what is now Prospect and W Inut
Streets, immediately east of the Disciples’ Church, in Ravenna ae
From the Ohio Star of February 15, 1838, the following account of the
execution is taken: ‘On Friday afternoon, the 9th inst., David McKi
was executed for the murder of his brother's wife. From the day of his pare
viction to the last moment of his existence he declared hinsealf-Inmaceait of the
ra Foca oar ea 2s arte agree seems more indicative of great deprav-
; ence. ntil the day previous to hi i
uniformly spoke of bis situation in the most ‘adtthated annie mi ear.
ously banished from his mind all thoughts of his condition. On that da ‘
seemed tebe somewhat affected at the near approach of death, and a ae
morning of the execution he requested the presence of Elder Stevens To the
Elder, who visited him in his cell and accompanied him to the gallows he
ees that he had asked for and obtained mercy, and declared that he could
ie ip peace. On his way to the place of execution McKisson appeared sol-
emn and thoughtful, and when he first arrived in sight of the gallows he was
evidently overcome by the spectacle and swooned away, but recovered himself
and sat firm and erect on his seat. He then handed to the Rev. Mr. Graham
° 7

HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. 853

who also accompanied him, his farewell address which he had prepared,
remarking that he intended to read it upon the gallows, but that he should
not be able to do it. On arriving at the gallows he got out of the carriage with-
out assistance. requested Elder Stevens and Mr. Graham to accompany him
upon the scaffold, and then firmly and unhesitatingly ascended the same with
the Sheriff. He then addressed the spectators in a speech of nearly a half
hour’s length, consisting partly of admonition to the wicked and vicious, and
partly of an examination of the testimony upon which he was convicted, and
concluded by declaring his innocence and his preparation for death. He
then requested prayers, and he appeared to respord to the petition which was
offered.
‘The rope was then adjusted, his arms pinioned, and the cap drawn down
over his face by the Sheriff, who then descended from the scaffold; as he
reached the bottom he trod upon the spring which supported the platform,
and McKisson suddenly dropped about seven feet. Once or twice he shrugged
his shoulders, and four or five times he drew up his legs, probably in conse-
quence of the contraction of the muscles, and all was over. After hanging
until he was dead, his body was taken down and delivered to his brother Rob-
ert, who took it to Northtield for interment. An immense concourse of peo-

le attended to witness the execution. The number is variously estimated at
from 1,500 to 3,000, of which, we aresorry to say, at least one-eighth part were
femules. What there can be in such a spectacle calculated to excite the curi-
osity and attract the presence of woman, delicate and sensitive woman, we are
utterly at a loss to determine.”

Sylvester Heatbman was tried and convicted of manslaughter at the Febru-
ary term of the Court of Common Pleas in 1838. It appears from the evidence
that on the day when the dirastrous occurrence took place, the defendant, with.
his two brothers, John and Elisha, had been absent from home until] nearly
night. How they were employed was not apparent, but about supper time John
Heathman (the deceased) returned to the house of his widowed mother much
intoxicated, and was seated at the table eating his supper when the defendant
(Sylvester) entered the room. John immediately addressed Sylvester with the
inquiry, ‘‘ Where is Elisbu?” ‘‘He bas gone up North.” “ You are a d—d
liar!” replied Jobn, “ and the truth is not in you;’’ and upon uttering these
words he caught up his fork and threw it at the head of his brother, and
inflicted something of a wound upon his nose. This violence on the part of
John was followed with a threat that if Sylvester came up stairs that night
“he would be the death of him” About this time, said the witness, Mary
Heathman (a sister, and the only person in the room at the time), there was
heard a noise resembling the rattling of knives and forks near the placo where
John had been seated. At this instant Sylvester seized a chair and with it struck
John a severe blow on his side. The young woman then ‘left the room for
the purpose of calling her mother. Upon their entering the room after the
space of a minute John exclaimed, ‘‘ Mother, I am going to fall,” and imme-
diately fell to the floor. At this time blood was discovered running from his
shoes, and the odor of whisky pervaded the room. Sylvester advanced to the
prostrate body of his brother and exclaimed, “John, brother John!” ‘‘ You
may call him now,” said the poor mother, “ but he cannot hear you, for you
have killed him.” Sylvester then endeavored to procure the attendance of a
physician, but none arrived before the death of John, which took place about
thirty minutes after the blow was inflicted.

Upon examination it was ascertained that the deceased had, in his right
pantaloons pocket, at the time of the Llow, a junk bottle filled with whisky;

se ty ated) ae

ek et ee

che nd Mas Bs

HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. 357

manslaughter. The Court imposed a sentence upon the prisoner of one year
in the penitentiary from the 19th day of September, 1865. ‘Lhe case was con-
ducted by H. H. Willard and Alphonso Hart for the State, and P. B. Conant
and E. L. Webber on behalf of the accused.

John Rhodenbaugh, a citizen of Franklin Township, residing upon his farm
about three miles from the village of Kent, in that township, and about the
same distance from Ravenna, was foully murdered between 7 and 8 o’clock on
the night of October 24, 1865, while returning home from Kent, and within 8
little more than a mile from his home. The spot chosen for the scene of
the murder was upon the road leading from Ravenna to Hudson, passing
between Lakes Brady and Pippin, at a point where the road runs parallel] with
the C. & P. R. R., and within a few rods of the crossing of the latter with the
carriage road leading to Kent, within sight of the lakes and the farmhouse
of Joseph Heighton. Mr. Rhodenbaugh had resided in Franklin Township
over thirteen years, and was well known in this and adjoining counties as a
public auctioneer. He was fifty-six years of age on the 19th of September,
1865, and left a family consisting of a wife, four sons anda daughter, all of
whom were present at the trial. He was fond of compuny and the social glass,
and at times drank freely, and was, under such circumstances, apt to discourse
largely upon his pecuniary means.

On the afternoon of the day of the murder, commencing at about 3 o’clock,
wo find him at Kent in the company of Cooper, Beery and others, playing
cards, drinking and the like. Leaving Kelso’s billiard and drinking saloon at
or near 7 o’clock on that evening, soon after drinking with Cooper and Beery,
he set out for home. Having proceoded two-thirds of the distance alone in an
open wagon, he was assaulted and dealt two blows upon the head (caus-
ing instant deatb) with a heavy club, cut near the scene of the murder. His
person was robbed of a watch and the money he had with him, supposed to be
nearly $200. The murder was discovered shortly after its committal by George
Dewey, a resident of the neighborhood. A Coroner’s inquest was held on the
25th before Justice D. L. Rockwell. Suspicion at once attached to Jack Cooper
and Joel Beery as the perpetrators of the awful crime. Before 9 o’clock of the
25th they were arrested near Ravenna by officers R. W. Buck and S. L. Jen-
nings, and at once incarcerated in Jail. An affidavit was made before Justice
Coolman against these men, and an examination held upon Saturday, October
28, occupying from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M., the result of which was that the accused
were committed to Jail for trial at the next term of the Court of Common Pleas.

The grand jury at the January term, 1866, H. M. Lewis, foreman, found
indictments against Cooper and Beery, alleging the facts previously narrated.
Being arraigned upon Thursday, February 1, both the accused plead not
guilty thereto, and separate triuls were ordered them. Being unable to pay
counsel, the Court assigned Messrs. E. B. Taylor, J. D. Horton and P. B.
Conant as counsel for the defense. On the part of the State H. H. Willard,
Prosecuting Attorney, assisted by Alphonso Hart, condncted the prosecution.

The trial of Jack Cooper was commenced on Monday afternoon, February
5, 1866, before Hon. Charles E. Glidden. The first proceeding in the case
was the impanneling of the following jury: Franklin H. Snow, Windham;
E. F. Jagger, Windham; M. P. Higley, Windham; H. S. Johnson, Nelson;
R. H. Miller, Garrettsville; Charles Goodsell, Nelson; Isaac Stowell, Gar-
rettsville; Jason Rider, Hiram; Benjamin Waters, Hiram; I. J. Rhodes, Man-
tua; Edwin Sanford, Mantua; William L. Coe, Edinburg. As soon as the
jury were sworn, Mr. Willard, on the part of the State, made an elaborate
statement of the case to the jury, detailing the items of proof it was intended

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304 HISTORY OF PQRTAGE COUNTY.

that the chair had been hurled with so much force as to break the bottle into
small pieces, one of which had been driven into the groin so as to cut the
artery, by means of which the deceased bled to death. The cause was argued
to the jury by Messrs. Bierce and Spalding for the State, and Messrs. Carter
and Newton for the defendant. A verdict of guilty was returned by the jury,
and the culprit was sent to the penitentiary for one year.

The murder of Alanson Baldwin, of Aurora, took place November 8, 1859,
and was perpetrated by Lemuel W. Price, also a resident of Aurora, and the
nephew of his victim. Price was aman about sixty, a hard drinker and at
times uncontrollably passionate. On the morning of the 8th of November he
became offended with Mr. Baldwin, though causelessly so, and watching his
opportunity stabbed him with a shoe knife upon the Jeft side of the abdomen,
the wound going through to the abdominal cavity. Mr. Baldwin died the next
day after being stabbed. Price was indicted at the December term, 1859.
The case began before Judge Benjamin F, Hoffman, February 28, 1860, on
an indictment for murder in the second degree, to which the accused pleaded
not guilty. The following persons were the jurors in thecase: James Hudson,
Ravenna; C. O. Brainerd, Randolph; O. B. Highley, Windham; C. M. Taylor,
Hiram; Silas Clark, Nelson; A. B. Bristol, Edinburg; Alden Bissell, Roots-
town; Nathan Sanford, Edinburg; H. B. Fenton, Randolph; E. Hawley and 'T.
Stewart, Paris; D. C. Davis, Palmyra. The theory of the defense consisted of
two points: insanity, and death from other causes. During the trial Price
manifested a listless indifference, and received his sentence without emotion.
The jury were out but forty-five minutes, and returned a verdict of guilty of
murder in the second degree. The Court sentenced Price on the 25th to the
penitentiary for life. The case was conducted by P. B. Conant and E. B.
Taylor for the State. Price being withont counsel, the Court assigned him
Alphonso Hart and O. P. Brown.

To keep unbroken the chain‘of this narrative, brief allusion is made to the
murderous assault made upon J. C. Prentiss, in the store of D. M. Clewell, in
Ravenna, upon the morning of December 17, 1864, by W. W. Flower, for the
purpose of effecting a robbery of the safe in the store. The case was tried
before Judge Charles E. Glidden, at the January term, 1865, of the Court of
Common Pleas. The jury were in deliberation but ten minutes and returned
a verdict of guilty of assuult with intent to murder. The Court sentenced
Flower to the penitentiary for seven years, the severest penalty prescribed for
the crime by the statutes of Ohiv. H. H. Willard and Alphonso Hart con-
ducted the case for the State; Luther Day and P. B. Conant for the accused.

Upon the 17th of March, 1865, a young woman named Harriet Shorts was
shot in her mother’s house, and died of the wound, by a man who was reported
to be her husband. This individual, Joseph N. Boor, alias Charles Wilson,
was arrested for murder, but set up the defense of accidental shooting, The
accused in the cese was indicted at the May term. Trial was not had until the
September term, when the case was heard before Judge Glidden and the fol-
lowing jury: G. B. Purdy, William Stedman, R..F. Gardner, W. J. Gardner,
H. E. Brush, A. J. Shuman, Reuben Brobst, Smith Sanford, A. Chittenden,
A. H. Barlow, Arvin Olin and H. J. Cannon. The indictment charged that the
accused, “on the 17th of March, 1865, made an assault upon Harriet, Shorts
with a shot-gun, inflicting upon the middle of her back one mortal wound of
the length of one-half of one inch, and the depth of-ten inches, of which mor-
tal wound she immediately died. This did Joseph N. Boor, alias Wilson, with
premeditated malice to kill and murder the said Harriet Shorts.” After hear-
ing the testimony and arguments of counsel,- the jury returned a verdict of

rere ia hi ae RE al sal

p> japan tnt iatgarilicheha erence

358 HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

to present. Mr. Taylor, on behalf of the defense, made a general denial of
the allegations of the State, meeting them all with the simple plea, not guilty.
For three days the trial progressed with unfagging interest. Thirty-six wit-
nesses were examined, and elaborate arguments made by both prosecution and
defense, On the evening of the third day the attorneys’ pleas were finished,
and Judge Glidden delivered his charge to the jury, which retired at 6
o'clock. Near the hour of midnight the jury returned to the court-room with
a verdict of murder in the first degree. For a moment Cooper buried his face
in his hands, and then as if accepting the death-knell of his doom asked to
speak to some of the jurors. A short time was devoted to this, and the doomed
man, encircled by stalwart guards, was returned to his prison cell, there to
meditate and prepare as best he could for the cousummation of the dread
penalty of that law he so mercilessly violated.

The trial of Joel Beery as aider and abettor of Jack Cooper in the murder
of John Rhodenbaugh, the next scene in this drama of crime, was commenced
before Judge Glidden, on Thureday morning, February 8, 1866. The case was
conducted by H. H. Willard and Alphonso Hart for the State, and Ezra B.
Taylor, J. D. Horton and P. B. Conant for the defense. Tho prisoner, as he
gat within the bar, was attended by his mother, and his brother, H. L. Beery.
The pressure of attendance during the trial was unabated, and the court-room

was crowded to its very utmost capacity during the entire progress of the case. .

Becry belonged to Portage County, and bad many relatives and friends living
here, while Cooper was a comparative stranger and but little known in this
section. The following jury was impaneled and sat upon the case: John
Webber, Deertield; Caleb Steele, Deerfield; J. V. Mell, Deertield; George
Webber, Deerfield; Stephen Frazer, Deerfield; John H. Hoffman, Deerfield;
J. M. Fry, Deerfield; T. H. Whittemore, Deerfield; John Mansfield, Atwater,
Curtiss Goddard, Edinburg; George Brigden, Edinburg; Cornelius - ifott,
Deertield. After the selecting of the jurors was completed, the trial wus
opened by a full statervent of the case to the jury by Mr. Hart, on behalf of
the prosecution, of the State vs. Joel Beery, for aiding and abetting Jack
Cooper, on the 24th ‘of October, 1865, in murdering John Rhodenbaugh
The theory uf the defense was then ably presented to the jury by Ezra B.
Taylor. Nearly fifty witness were examined on this trial, which also lasted
three days, and untiring efforts were put forth by Beery’s counsel to clear him.
The jury was charged by Judge Glidden on Saturday forenoon, February 10,
and retired at half past 12 o’clock. For more than twelve hours the jury wres-
tled with the evidence before reacbing a unanimous conclusion. At aquarter
past 1 o’clock on Sunday morning they filed into the court-room with a verdict
of murder in the second degree. The verdict .was received by -the people
with great surprise, as it was the general opinion that Beery was equally
guilty with Cooper, and should have received the extreme penalty of the law;
and the jury was, at the time, considerably criticised and blamed for letting
him off so easily.

On Monday morning, February 12, the convicted murderers, Cooper and
Beery, were brought before the bar to receive sentence. The latter was the
first to appear in Court, and after being asked if he had anything to say in his
own behalf, and answering that he had not, was sentenced to hard labor in the
penitentiary for life, where he was soon afterward taken. The sentence was
received with but little or no emotion by the prisoner, and as no effort was
made by his counsel to get a new trial, we can readily infer that both they and
Beery were satisfied with the lenient justice of the verdict. Upon receiving
sentence, Beery was returned to his cell, and- Cooper brought into Court. A

es ha WN RE DORE Rey REL moe

HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

motion for a now trial was made by Cooper’s counsel and pron-ptly overruled
by Judge Glidden. Before pronouncing sentence the Court asked the prisoner
if he had anything to say why the penalty of the law should not be pronounced
upon him. Thereupon, Cooper arose and answered that he had little to say
about his innocence, but he could hardly feel as if he had been fairly dealt
with, or he would not have been convicted of murder. He said le was nota
smart, or an educated man, and could not speak very well, but did not think
on the evidence against him, he ought tobe hung. The prisoner then resumed
his seat, and Judge Glidden, after an able and exhaustive samming up of the
evidence upon which he was convicted, and showing beyond a reasonable doubt
that he was guilty of the crime charged, sentenced him to be hanged on the
6th of April, 1866.

The verdict and sentence in the Cooper case gave universal satisfaction. It
was the third in which the death penalty was pronounced upon a criminal in
Portage County; and a full, thorough, unbiased review of the testimony can
leave no shadow of doubt of the equal justice and propriety of the verdict,
inflicting, as it did, upon the culprit, the direst penalty of the law. The ter-
rible deed was deliberately planned and cruelly executed.

In the management of the Cooper and Beery trials, Judge Glidden
exhibited an impartiality and clearness upon legal questions that commended
him in a high degree to the bar, and the many hundreds of citizens who
watched their progress. The attorneys for the State, Messrs. Willard and
Hart, performed their duties with a fitting sense of the responsibility resting
upon them, and with a zealous care that through no default of theirs should
the interests of the people be allowed to suffer. Of the defense made for the
prisoners by Messrs. Taylor, Horton and Conant, it can truly be said, that no
man could have been defended with greater ability, pertinacity or zeal. Had
the culprits been members of the most influential or wealthy families, instead
of having to depend upon the county for their defense, greater efforts could
not have been made in their behalf. The State thus throws her mantle of
protection around the accused, guaranteeing him every chance for a fair and
impartial trial.

After Cooper’s conviction, he gave a history of his career. His real name
was Samuel Wittum, and he was born in Elk Creek Township, Erie Co., Penn.,
a few miles east of the Ohio line, October 22, 1837. His father, Artemus
Wittum, had previously resided in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and also in Indi-
ana. Both his parents died when Samuel was about six years old, and he
then went to live with a farmer named James Bird or Baird. This man
treated him badly, and one of his sisters learning the facts came and took him
away. He began life for himself on the Beaver & Erie Canal, and henceforth
followed a wild, roving career. He was twice married, and is said to have
been a gambler, counterfeiter, horse thief and murderer, and to have served 8
term in the Missouri penitentiary, ere committing the deed for which he finally

_ suffered death. Wittum, or Cooper, as he is best known to our readers, was

respited by the Governor from the 6th until the 27th of April, for the purpose
of giving a sister living in the East an opportunity to visit him. Though at
first professing repentance for his crime, he tried to break Jail three times, the
last being a desperate attempt. He fiercely attacked Sheriff Jennings, secured
a fastening bar used on one of the doors, and calling on some other prisoners
for assistance, which they, however, refused, made a superhuman effort to
gain his freedom. The alarm was given and the Jail soon surrounded by a
crowd of excited citizens, and Cooper, seeing that escape was now impossible,
threw down the bar and retired to his cell cursing and swearing like a maniao.

4
°

tli il toc Sen teh hath tig Jah bali tos

PP REN ee eee ee

Fy Nandusky County, Ohio County seat— lremont kxecutions
t JOSEPH SPERRY

(Catherine)
Farmer ;lived near Green Springs; of English birth ; wifenand
two young children; hard working and prosperous.

9 April 1f4e -- during quarrel with wife over rumors of
“criminal intercourse" between wife and young
carpenter who was building a new house for the
Sperrys, Joseph struck wife with flat Lron,

ote

inflicting a 2" wound near her temple. She died
immediately.
10 April, 1842-- Coroner convened jury for induest. Sperry was
indicted for murder in the first degree. He
was granted bail *6@£ $2000. .
20 September 1842 -- After trial of five days, a verdict of
"Guilty in the first degree" was returned. |
Judge Bowen sentenced him to be hung on
2 November 1842,
40 September 1842-~ Sperry was visited by his young children in

Jail. He broke off blade of son's penknife
and that night cut open a main artery and died.
Defense lawyers: Homer Everett and N.B. Eddy. Defense was
accidental death by a fall from a ladder in the
house wnt wit'e hitting head on the stone fireplace.

|
e . * 1 a “ y . * =
Prosecuting Attory-- W.W. Culver with Coover K. Watson Assisting |
|

Judges-- Bowen, McIntyre, Knapp and Overmeyer

Trial by jury

Englishman; employed in Exchange Hotel of Bellevue,Ohio; had been

Victim was Catherine Hamler, age 18, Pennsylvania German ,also
employed by Exchange Hotel. She had repeatedly refused lhompson's
proposals of marriage.

|
|
GEORGE THOMPSON
40 May 184¢-- Thompson took gun to hotel and shot the girl

O
F3
2)
Md

A week later, Thompson escaped but was returned

* to jail. Shortly after Sperry's Suicide,
Thompson escaped again.

Fall, 1843, Thompson found in Ottawa, Illinois
. March, 1844-- returned to Fremont jail.

T20ofune 1844-- Trial began . Jury brought verdict UL ey

le July 1844 --hanged at 11:45 AM by Sheriff John Strohl

Defense lawyers-- Brice J Bartlett and Cooper Watson

Prosecuting Attorney--L.B.Otis

Judges same as for Sperry trial

Defense was temporary insanity and could not know right from

TO becaus 2e had suffered extreme sunstroke while a Sailor
FRO RE oO FER 5488 Qh :

TIE LT Re RTE. ST ee Te ae a eae aE ae OLE Tee SR a

72 His

/JOF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COU.

)
_4A OHIO.

bedroom, and ran to the nearest neighbors to give the

alarm. Meanwhile, Bowsher, having finished eating, re-

S$)
turned into the sleeping apartments and set fire to the
bedding and some clothing which was hanging on an
open door, and left the premises without having been
seen by anybody who could identify him as the author
of these terrible crimes. The fire he had started was
extinguished by the neighbors, who soon arrived, without
having made much progress.

From the scene we have described, Bowsher went, un-
observed in the darkness by any one, to his old haunts
in Hocking county; where, having exhibited the stolen
bonds to a half brother by the name of Baldwin (who
was afterward a willing witness for the State for the sake
of obtaining the one thousand dollars reward which had
been offered for the detection and apprehension of the
murderer), and a woman of his acquaintance, he was
suspected, arrested, and brought to jail. He was indicted
on the twenty-first of December for murder in the first
degree in each case, and on the nineteenth of February,
1878, was put upon his trial for the murder of Ann Mc-
Vey. Judge Thaddeus A. Minshall was upon the bench,:
and ruled upon the manifold questions raised in the pro-
gress of the case with such fairness to the prisoner and
accurate knoweledge of the law, that no exception of
value to the defense could be taken. to

The prosecutor, Albert Douglas, jr., was assisted by
Judge W. H. Safford, and Hon. Archibald Mayo, and
Colonel William E. Gilmore, under appointment by the
court, defended the accused man. The trial lasted two
weeks, and excited the greatest interest ever manifested
by this community in a similar affair. The very large
court room was densely packed with auditors from the
first day to the last, anda large portion of them were
ladies.

The prosecuting attorney had, with great skill and dili-
gence, hunted up every item of .evidence against the
prisoner that was vossible of ascertainment, and the train
of circumstances developed made it impossible to doubt
that Perry Bowsher had fired the fatal shots.
for the prisoner early recognized this truth, and bent all
their energies and abilities to making out the defence of
insanity. While they succeeded in greatly dividing pub-
lic opinion upon that point, unfortunately for Bowsher,
the jury were unanimous in the belief that at the time

the acts for which he was on trial were committed he was”

sane enough to distinguish between right and wrong, and
krew that he was violating the laws of God and the coun-
try. They returned a verdict of murder in the first de-
gree, and Judge Minshall sentenced him to be hung on
the twenty-first day of June, 1878.
* He was accordingly executed at about 10:30 A. M. Of
that day by Sheriff Thomas IL. Mackey, in the space be-
tween the new jail and the court house. Bowsher, bye-
the-bye, was the first prisoner who occupied that jail.
[The Ress County Register, of the dates covering the
time of the murder, trial and execution of Bowsher, will
be found singularly full and accurate in well-written de-
scriptions of those events.

brief. |

Our account is necessarily

Counsel :

The president judges of common pleas, under the first
constitution of Ohio, were:

Wyllys Silliman, 1803 to 1804; Levin Belt, 1804 to
1805; Robert F. Slaughter, 1805 to 1807; Levin Belt,
1807 to 1810; John Thompson, 1810 to 1824; Gustavus
Swan, 1824 to 1830; Frederick Grimke, 1830 to 1836;
John H. Keith, 1836, BSS; Henry C. Whitman, 1850
to 185

The Gendie judges for the same period were:

Reuben Abrams, 1804 to 1810; Isaac Cook, 1804 to
1824; John Hutt, 1804 to 1805; James Armstrong, 1805
to 1824; Thomas Hicks, 1805 to 1817; Joseph Gardner,
1817 to 1825; Presley Morris, 1824 to 1831; James Mc-
Clintick, 1824 to 1845; J. Bailhache, 1825 to 1830; Sam-
uel Swearingen, 1830 to 1833; Presley Morris, 1831, May
to July; Isaac Cook, 1831 to 1838; Isaac McCracken,
1833 to 1840; Jacob Bouser, 1838 to 1845; T. Ritten-
house, 1840 to 1847; Owen T. Reeves, 1845 to 1852;
Thomas Orr, 1845 to 1852; Joseph Blacker, 1847 to
1850; John Foster, 1850 to 1851; Joshua Robinson,
1851 to 1852,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF Ross COUNTY
LAWYERS.

~ JoHN S. WILL was born in Virginia, in 1773, and admitted to the
bar in 1794. He attended the first territorial common pleas court for
Ross county, in 1798, in which year he came from Cincinnati here, to
reside.

His name appears of record as attorney in a considerable number of
In 1809, hers re-
From

cases—but mostly of small consequence—up to 1808.
moved to Franklinton, then the county seat of Franklin county.
the fact that, in the latter years of his residence here, he was quite fre-
quently sued for his own debts, and sometimes for moneys collected for
clients, and retained by him, we infer that his practice was not a lucra-
tive one, He prosecuted for the State in 1807 and 1808.

The only personal peculiarity we have heard of him is, that he was
greatly interested in the experiments then being made with electricity.
The Voltaic pile had been invented in 1800, and occasioned a renewed
interest in the investigation of the nature and qualities of the ‘subtle
and mysterious fluid. From the motion imparted by electric currents
to dead bodies, Mr. Will deduced a firm conviction that science would,
in a little while, be able, through its agency, to restore the dead to life
and health, and he greatly deplored that his own birth had not been
delayed until this anticipated grand triumph of human learning had
been fully developed and established. .

It is also a tradition that Mrs. Will was a lady of unusually attractive
charms; and it was slanderously circulated, and nearly credited, that
General W. H. Harrison, for weeks, delayed marching with the army
he had concentrated at Franklinton, in 1812, to meet the British and

r ‘Indian enemy upon the threatened frontier, solely because he was loath
“-to part from Mrs. Will.

Mr. Will died April 27, 1829.

Levin. BELT was also in practice, as a lawyer, at the organization of
the territorial court. He was born in England, but the date of his birth
we have not been able to ascertain, though many of our old citizens
kuew him personally and well.

Mr. Belt was first prosecutor for the State, within this county, when
‘prosecuting attorneys were appointed by the court, and paid, by order
of the court, for each term's work, in sums ranging from fifteen to fifty
dollars; which, we believe, were the minimum and maximum compen-
sations for a term's labor, for a period of more than fifteen years.

= to June, 1804, he succeeded Wyllys Silliman in the office of Presi-

dent judge of common pleas. [n the following March he was super-
ceded by Robert F. Sliughter; but was again installed as such in April,
1807, and continued to hold the place until the close of the year 1809.
While it appears that Belt: was a reasonably good and satisfactory
judge of common pleas, it seems that he failed as a pr actilioner at the

70 . HISTOK = ROSS

AND HIGHLAND COUNTIL Ze

as Tord Coke said of the “&c.
they “fare pregnant of meaning.

It will not be unwelcome to the reader to notice here
the humor with which the old time lawyers christened
the mythical “lessors” and “casual ejectors” in the arti-
ficial forms of the conimon law action of ejectment—
forms now obsolete forever and everywhere. We copy
One notice from the casual ejector to his tenant in pos-
session. The case is styled “Joseph Saveall, on the
demise of Joseph Tiffin, versus Stesiiejon Spendall,
Elias Langham, tenant in possession,” and is as follows:

” and “etc.” of Littleton,

”

‘FOURTH OF DECEMBER, 1802.
“Mk. Evtras LANGHAM, DEAR Stk:—-[ am informed that you are
in possession of and claim title to the premises mentioned in this dec-
laration in ejectment; and I being sued therein as casual ejector, and
claiming no title to the same, I give you notice to appear before the
justices of the court of common pleas, at their next term for Ross
county, and then, by a rule of the court, cause yourself to be made de-
fendant in my stead, and make your defences. Otherwise, I shall suf-
fer judgment to be had against me by default, and you will be turned

out of possession. So much from your loving friend,
“SIMPLETON SPENDALL.”

Ve also find notices in the records from “Peter No-
title,” “John Bankrupt,” etc., but generally John Doe
and Richard Roe maintain their eminence as litigators
of the titles to real estate.

We are sorry to.notice in the records of 1804, 1805
and 1806 that Jeremiah McLene, our first sheriff, and
his sureties, aré sued for large sums, by the auditor of
Ross county for the use of the State of Ohio, being
moneys collected by him as taxes and not paid over.
But he must have made ultimate settlement, or he would
hardly have been elected secretary of State as he subse-
quently was.

Simon. Kenton, the famous Indian fighter, figures as
defendant in a suit for debt in 1805. oa

Imprisonment for debt was very usual. Indeed, most
suits upon contract demands for money were commenced
by the issue of capiases. Women were not-exempt from
this hardship. The journal for 1804 recites, for instance,
that “Hetty McCann, a poor person imprisoned for
debt in the jail of the county, is ordered to be admitted
to the benefit of the’ insolvent act, she having ‘taken the
oath prescribed by law,” etc.. And again, we notice that
“ Mary Mealhouse”’ was the subject of a similar order.

The stocks and pillory erected in 1798, had not been
built in vain. Sentences, to be publicly whipped, were
ordinarily only dealt out to negroes convicted of mis-
demeanors, and white people convicted of theft. The
reader will notice the difference made in the matter of
punishments between the two races.

We give a single specimen of a “Sentence to the
Post,” as it was commonly called. One John Cummins
had been duly convicted of horse-stealing at the No-
vember term, 1808. The sentence (by Judge Levin Belt)
was “that said John Cummins. receive fifty lashes well
laid on his bare back, pay a fine of one hundred dollars
to the State of Ohio, restore to Israel Jennings the pro-,
petty stolen, and also eighty dollars the value thereof;
be confined in the common jail twenty-five days, and
pay the costs of prosecution. And it was further ordered
that said John Cummins stand committed until this or-

_very many other cases,

-one Asa Mounts.
seventh of December, 1803, in a fit of anger,

“Black Betty, a negro woman,”

der be fully carried out.”
was also whipped to the extent of ten lashes, also to be
“well laid on her bare back,” on conviction for petty
larcency; and so far as we have noticed this is the only
instance, in which the common pleas sentenced a woman
to the post. But the reader must remember that justices
of the peace had also power to sentence to the whipping
post for petty offences, over which they had final juris-
diction, and no doubt, many such penalties were imposed
by them upon both males and females—if ‘negroes.”
It would be cruel in the last degree to some families yet
resident in this county, if we should detail all the sen-
tences to the whipping-post, which have attracted our
attention while examining these old records. Let the
above suffice.

In many instances, when convicted criminals were ©

unable to pay the fines and costs assessed against them,
they were, by order of the court, “bound out to labor
for not exceeding seven years,” and the money bid for
their labor was applied tothe payment of such fines and
costs—costs first, of course. Branding with red hot
irons, too, was occasionally resorted to. In 1804 one
John Brandy was tried for murder, but the jury found
him guilty of manslaughter only. He was sentenced
“to be burned in the palm of the left hand, with a hot
iron, so that the letters MS shall be plainly marked
thereon, and pay the costs of prosecution.” There are
both civil and criminal, in
these old records, the recital of which would interest the
present generation of readers. But the limits assigned_

this chapter will not admit of one going farther in that
direction, than to notice briefly the three criminal trials

which have resulted in the infliction of the death penalty

in this county. And it_is worthy of notice here, that.
up to this ttme no human life has ever been taken in

Ross county by ‘ Lynch Taw.”

At a term of the supreme court, holden for this county
on Monday; May 14, 1804, at which Return Jonathan
Meigs, jr., chief justice of the State, presided, and Sam-
uel Huntington and William Sprigg, judges, were pres-
ent," a grand jury was sworn and charged, and upon
the same day returned into court with an indictment,
which charged one, ‘‘ Edward Stolcupp, laborer, of Pee
Pee township,” (now Pike county), with the murder of
The accused man had, on the twenty-
born of

jealousy, shot his victim dead, with a rifle. On the next

; day, after finding the indictment, to-wit: Tuesday the

15th, the prisoner was put upon his trial, and upon the
following day the jury found a verdict in these words:
“We, the jury, find the criminal guilty. Isaac Brink, .

foreman.” On Wednesday, the twenty-third of May, he

T was sentenced, by: Judge Meigs, to be hung by the neck

until dead, on Friday, the third day of August, 1804, be-
tween the hours of nine o'clock in the morning and
twelve at noon--and he was executed accordingly.
Traditions differ, somewhat, in revard to the spot where
the gallows was erected’ Dr. McAdow, generally “most
reliable authority in matters of local history, asserts that
he was hung to the sign-post of a tavern on Main street.

eee

ae . : Kt ~ Sy P ;
ee the ke Ucar a a IN KD. Pee), Se

It is hardly probable that a :
death penalty of the law in that a... The late ven-
erable Mrs. Nancy Waddle often told of having seen
people looking at the execution from the windows of
General Finley’s house, which stood ai the southeastern
of Second and Paint streets,
drug store now is. The execution would, most probably,
be upon the, then, spacious public grounds around the
court house, and in that day there was nothing to ob-
struct the view of all the front of those grounds from the
Finley mansion. Upon the margin of the supreme court
record of the trial, there is a memorandum in the hand-

corner where Lansing’s

writing of the late Louis Fullerton, made many years ago,
in these words: ‘ He was hung close to the old pump—so
says Richard Snyder.” Snyder, whom all our middle-
aged citizens will remember, was living here, a young
man, at the time of the hanging, and was one who would
have been sure to see such a spectacle. There was an
old pump just north of the old stone court house, and
the north wall of our present court house is directly over
the well-hole, and is cracked at the point because of it.

We have no doubt, therefore, that that was the locality:

where Stolcupp was hanged.

Levin Belt prosecuted the case for the State, and
Michael Baldwin and William Creighton, jr.,. defended
the pr:soner. After the conviction, Baldwin made earnest,
but ineffectual, appeal to Governor ‘Tiffin for commuta-
tion of punishment, and after the execution he procured
the dead body, to be buried on a lot directly in the rear
of the governor’s residence, swearing he would keep
Tiffin in mind of Stclcupp, anyhow.

The indictment was unskilfully drawn, and is not a
yood presentment of the crime of murder in the first
degree. Nor, so far as we can now judge of it, did the
facts make a case which warranted the infliction of the
death penalty. But, perhaps, “an example was wanted.”

Forty years elapsed before the recurrence of such an
event in Ross county.

On the night of November 19, 1844, Frederick Ed-
wards--an old, well known, and much liked merchant of
this county—was murderea in a store-room, in the village
of Bourneville, by burglars, after an evidently desperate
struggle for self-preservation. His body.exhibited no
less than nineteen stabs, and of these wounds twelve
were of such character that, in the opinion of surgeons
who examined them, either one would have been, of
itself, mortal. :

Soon afterwards Leroy J. Maxon was arrested at Mc-
Connellsville, Ohio, and Henry’Thomas (a/ias Thomas
Dean), at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and committed for
the crime. At the April term, 1845, they were indicted
for murder in the first degree, and elected—under the
law as it then was—to be tried by. the supreme court.
In the following May, Maxon succeeded in escaping from
the jail; and, although many reports of his having been
seen at different places were circulated at intervals, no
reliable information was ever obtained, in regard to him,
afterwards. i

On the twenty-fourth day of Deceniber, 1845, the
supreme court began a term for Ross county, with Na-

-into the front room, begying for mercy.
‘plied, “it is too late now!” and fired the second and
third bullets into her body, and she sank lifeless into a

oe re ee, ew dee 8 ‘ha ae

\ $$ - ai dacpi'ph sewn ntl
pe execute the | thaniel Reed ana L dipsiock judges, presiding ;
€

and the trial of ‘Thomas Was the first business of the term.
The prosecuting attorney, Joseph Miller, was assisted by
Hon. Thomas Ewing and John L. Green, and the de-
fence was conducted by Henry Stanberry and Hocking
H. Hunter. The trial of the case occupied two days.
The evidence was conclusive against the prisoner, and
the jury promptly returned a verdict of guilty of murder
in the first degree. On the twenty-eighth, Judge Reed
sentenced Henry Thomas to death, by hanging, and des-
ignated Friday, the sixth of March, 1846, as the day
upon which the execution should take place. A few
days before the time so fixed for the execution, Thomas
endeavored to commit suicide by cutting his throat with
a pen-knife, which he had contrived to obtain or conceal.
The sentence of the law was duly carried out, at the
proper time, by Charles Martin, the sheriff. ‘The gal-
lows was erected in front of the old stone court house,
at a spot that is very nearly under the inner door of the
present city hall room of the court house. We have as-
certained that his real name was Goodhue Marvin.

The next and only other execution upon the gallows
in Ross county, up to this date, was that of Perry
Bowsher, in June, 1878. On the night of Friday, Oc-
tober 26, 1877, Bowsher, with some accomplice, whose
name has never transpired, burglarized and robbed the
toll-gate house, on the Columbus turnpike road, about
six miles north of Chillicothe. The resident gatekeepers
were Edmund McVey and Ann, his wife; a venerable
couple who had lived in this city and vicinity for more
than fifty years, and were well and favorably known to
almost the entire community. It appeared, upon the
trial, that Bowsher alone had entered the house through
a kitchen door, passed through the bedroom of the sleep-
ing old couple, and was searching for money in the room
which fronted on the turnpike road (which was also a
grocery store, in a small way), when the noise made’in
prying open a desk aroused Mr. McVey, who, being a
fearless old man, rushed at once upon the robber. Bow-

sher instantly fired at him with a thirty-two calibre re-:

The wife then ran
Bowsher re-

volver, and the first shot killed him.

large arm-chair. A young girl, by the name of Alice
Dean, was at the time in bed in a room adjoining the
Aroused and fright-

ened beyond measure by the exclamations and pistol

sleeping apartment of the McV eys.

reports, Alice hastily crept under her bed, and remained
there unobserved, while Bowsher searched the drawers of
the bureau in herroom. ‘The murderer coolly completed
the search of the house, after committing these murders,
and obtained four United States bonds, aggregating eight

_ hundred dollars, and some thirty dollars in money, ‘but

failing to find about three hundred dollars, which was
After all
into the

hidden in various places about the premises.
this, Bowsher was deliberate enough to go
kitchen with a lighted candle, and eat a hearty lunch of
such food as he could find there. While he was so en-
gaged, Alice Dean escaped through the window of her

moe

Office of the Ohio Public Defender

8 East Long Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215 ‘
(614) 466-5394

RANDALL M. DANA
State Public Defender

April 24, 1985

Watt Espy

c/o Law Library
University of Alabama
P. O. Box 6205
University, AL 35486

Dear Watt:

Enclosed you will find the delayed list of executions that occurred in
Ohio”~s counties. This of course is prior to 1887 when all executions were
moved to the state penitentiary in Columbus. This information was gathered
from records that are available at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus
and I am sure it is nowhere near complete. In any event I hope it will be
helpful to you in your research. If you have any comments please do not
hesitate to give me a call.

Sincerely,

Liege

Randall M. Dana
Ohio Public Defender

RMD/ bam

Enclosure

ven Rapid eabea ant T1121) 11s eee b

<M os

‘F
ees a REPOSITORY “STABLISHED 1813.

SE sow" saomcay reens

fl
ba * x h é z fi ms
aN t Pierces Detective’s Side—Second

; , °

ie. att avenue NW, early Saturday evenirig. :

wild, then fled and escaped in the darkness. ‘

= 7/4 CROOK WHO FRE SHOT’ |
@ OFFICER'S WIFE IS WITNESS?

e's
Operators
« Return

74 Anthony Skotnicky, 32, city: detective, is in Mercy hospital
&

Skotnicky was shot by an alleged safe blower who made
his.murderous attack after ‘the officer had given him supper in

While on the operating table TWICE REWARDED

hurried, Skotnicky told Detec-
tve James Herdlicka he had/ vig
been shot by Dick Howell, who,! ; [ee
police say, is wanted for safe| B,
cracking at Steubenville.

Chief of Police C. N..Riblet| A
immediately after ‘the shooting | |
wottied a dozen surrounding:
owns of the crime and an-;
nounced that a warrant would!

a es issued Sunda morning for'|
‘es a mee!!, alias Wiliam Perry }.

auger Wil Riblet said che ce
Be 4 Placed agzinit the accused

A short time after. tee bhhhyde 18
me Offleer Ritchey awk De SD idkiti
“cag ‘eetive Herdlicka arrested. a .Can-
} ton man on a charge of suspicion.

duty, met Howell about 6 o'clock in
the west end and Placed him under |

at Mercy hospital, where he was FOR WAR SERVICE

aod ° : tow Co: ef
Dimas ‘in: the a iting wey: fA :
We farther fr =-+
titles were
conlemalated while state apd lacai
Offictaly handled the situation sat.
wrance that th
wokld me tolerate
| destroy trade

H was indtchteq~
steps 7 national autho

Week.

GARFIELD WILy, |
~ . PROTECT UNIONS
Production At Mines
", proaches 50 Per

Of Normal

‘Washingtor,, Nov. 18 jne the
ess. )—Developments
im the government's effort to insure’
82 adequate fue] sUuDDTy for the
Night the out-
soft coal opera-

week, at the beginning of the sec-
y = month of the strike, which
ly wag called off Nov. ‘11.
Oparators here expected Monday
: many of the miners, espe-
n Outlying districts, not An
a! COM petitive territory.

‘wark.

Who. {
oe res:

aIC

Expect Many To
To Jobs This -

Cent:

Se advance sug-

Administrator
the mines
F ® Thanks-
holiday. Resumption

> STORE:
Will Serve 3,000 Mc
_—Store To Be O;

rectors Named E

' To hetp its employes cothb:
the. high cost of living and {
rovide warm meals at cost, th
nited Alloy Steet Corporatio
has appropriated $100,000 wit
which to erect and equip at onc
a new plant store and restan
rant, it was announced Saturda:
by officials of the company.

he plant restaurant will bk

large enough to serye abou
3,000 meals and will be open 24
hours each day, it was said
Work on the new building is to
Started at once and it will be
rushed to completion: “ip

SERVE AT Cost.

The company fs now operating a
small plant restaurant, jrecently
taken over from Private control,
but ft ts not large enough to accom-
modate the thousands of employes
of the corporation. It is expected |
that the new restaurant will do
away, ina large me

asure, with the

. + tle vat Pmetg gis
rg, Stand Frm 680505
ding firm on their announe-{
» aH 9 spare neither opera. | :
atert.

Kansag City, [Mo.. Noy. 29.
Fifteen hundred
Men of. the Ka
‘nd railroads enterin

@- governmert
any attempt to

DNinne ae the -n9 ,

. Walkout.

met-and train-} w

City Terminal | £)

@ tha vite wane! .

BOYS CONFERENCE sss s,s

on ll Se aman

‘

had little in lores his
picture in the rogues’ gallery fol-

| Skotnicky was off duty at the}

trouble

time he placed Ilowell under ar
‘rest and was on his way home to

‘supper. It is believed that he made

“Will Hold Farewell Session:

DELEGATES WILL

: Rhodes Scholarship Man,

: Christian church bezinning
‘ o'clock with a sou service, which

no address by Albert E. Roberts,
Now York c.ty, international as-

. gity. 4
i. be of ‘a

a> he mar

r get bigher ideals a

TO CLOSE SUNDAY

At Church In After-
'. moon.

ATTEND CHURCHES

Talks At Sessions |
Saturday. —

Funday ‘afternoon, the alxterath
gnnual Obie Older Bova’ conference |
of the Young Men's Christian asso- |
clation Will be brought to a close!
after holding sessions = in Canton
ainea Friday afternoon. The final
session will be held in the’ First
at 3

WIL be followed at 3:30 o'clock by

jation secretary in charge * of
county work, who spoke at the Sat-
curday morn.pg se sion. ea
- Qn Sunday afternoon Noberts
‘wijl epeak on “Making Ourselves
Fit for the Job." Fullowins Rob-
erta’ address, W. G. Cartlich, state
boys’ wocretary, will conduct the
furowell session of the conference,

ua wat which the final {business of the

guthering will be transacted,
* Sunday morving the conference

“* ‘delegates will bhuid @ devotional ' ter jump

gervice jn the south gymnasium of
,the association building at:
‘o'clock. Hoberts will be the speak-
a, 1m Following this service the
boys will divide into gronps anid
aftend the various churches of the
All of Sunday's incetings will
devotional nature.
Wants High Ideals,

The meetings Saturday afternocn
“and evening wero addressed by
David W. Porter, of New York city,
efnternational ap:ocialion Becrotary
fn charge gf studeng work. Porter
da a
attended Gaford university, whero
ty an exceptional record both
athletics an? a holastte work.

At the afternoon session Porter
- spoko on “What Aro We Golng to
- Do With the Job at Home.” In this
> address ho urged the dolegates to
nd standards In
"all of their activities and to help in
the bringing about of an adoption
lat a‘policy of absolute huvesty in
. a, ee Oe eee TE Se

.
«
.
.
°

*4n

Lake juaction and
distance away. -

prisoner, Skotniclfy is said to have
informed his wife that the stranger

Itngpdes scholarship mao und |

he arrest somewhere between
his home a short
‘As be entered his home with the

had been looking

was as party he
bad just arrested

for and that be
him. aie j
The’ detective and his prisoner
sat down to the supper table after,
the prisoner had been ‘searchea for
concealed weapans, according to
Mrs. Skotnicky, The prisoner, Mra.
Sxotnicky sald, appeared nervous
and &te only a small piece of meat
and a small piece of bread. “Tm
not very hungry,” the prisoner !s
quoted as Fayilk.
Prisoner.

Watched
| prisoner while In the house. Mrs. |
' Skotnicky was asked to fix the fur-:
nace and she sald her husband |
and hia prisoner were then talking
‘in a low voice, Later when
‘end her son were ready to go to the
+theater, Skotnicky took his prison-
ad to the garage and they entered
ithe automobile and started for the
i house where they were tome joined

i by the detective's wife and son.
i In leaving the garage it was nec-
‘essary for. the officer to; drive
\ around several houses and as the
'machige was severa] doors north
‘of the detect{ve’s home, the pris-
loner in sumo manner obtained a Te-
i volver and fired, shooting again af-

tng trom the auto, | }

Can't Draw Gua. !
| Without his hat, which was later
{found in the automobile, the man
“Yeaped from the machine and ran
down an alley towards the Brown

lural company’s greenhouses.
Skotnicky stepped from the car
utd staggered towards. his wife and
‘gun who were standing fn front of
his house waiting for him to drive
up, “I've been shot,’ he told his
wife. He attempted to draw bis}
own rovolver but {failed and theo
‘toppled over on the lawn.
Mrs. Skotnicky placed -her three-
year-old son on tho ground and
started running after the floctng
{man but after running & short dis;
‘tance she returned to her husband
ead il, wounded officer was rushed
‘to Mercy hospital in an automobile
driven by Vincent Zattier, a ne!gh;
‘hor. He was operated upon by Dr
iH. M. Shuffell and Nr. L. D. Stoner
| Tho bullet pierced the intestines in

Skotnicky remained closo to hts,

detitutes @

she}

IREMEN 1O WAU AWE ALUN
IN AN ENDEAVOR TO SECURE
DOUBLE PLATOON SYSTEM HERE

The members of the city fire de-
should in any event be increased by

which now numbers only 60 men

LANE
THREE

rtment Sunday will launch a cam-
ign to interest pablic sentiment,
ty officials and members of the
ity council tm the movement start-

a by them to secure the double
lat system for the fire depart-
ent. '

‘The firemen plan to have com:
ittees- visit every member of the
ouncil Sunday at their homes and
resent to the ¢ity fathers thelr rea-
ons for desirtng the double platoon
ystem They will follow up this by
hrging that council take some action,
lon the proposition before January
1

‘duty all the time while the 40 men

18 or 20 men while the addition of
this number would enable the dou-
ble platoon system to be put into ef-
fect. Under the present arrange
ments there are every day approx
mately 15 men off duty and. 12
hours out of each 34 hours there
are from 10 to 12 men absent from
their stations for meals.
Many Cities Adopt Plas.

“Under the system proposed

there would be about 40 men on

off duty would be available aa a re
sesve in case of a conflagration.

By increasing the fire force a low-j it

Under the present plan in effect
in the depa ent the firemen are,
on duty for 72\hours and then have
24 houre off Auty. The firemen
Point out thaf in Opto 48 hours con-
eek's work for all state
and municipal employes excepting
police and firemen.
“The fire department of Canton
to be up to the standard of modern
departments should have one fire-
man for every 1,000 inhabitants,’”
said a committee of the firemen Sat-
urday night. ‘A conservative esti-
mate of Canton’s present population

ering of the fire insurance rates
would be invited.

Among the Ohio cities now us
ing the double platoon system are
Akron, Columbus, Alliance, Elyria,
Dayton, Warren, Marion, Lorain,
Zanesville, Hamilton, Conneaut,
Lima and East Liverpool, while
Cleveland and Tolede have the
three platoon system with one day
off in every seven making & 48-
hour. week. The system has been
endorsed by the Jast'convention of
chiefs at the International conven-
tion of fire engineers held in Kan-

fs 87,000 so that the departnient

sas City, in June of this year.

Lew Dockstader, {0 his most
palmy days, had little advantage on
the Timken Roller Bearing troupe
which gave an old-fashioned min-
strel show Saturday night before
an audience that filled the Audito-
rium nearly to capacity. Indeed
the older generation in the audl-
ence was enthusiastically reminded
of the days when a minstrel show
was the highest form of entertain-
ment for them, and when the pres-
gut day method of presenting a
Show that more closely resembles
a yaudeville entertainment, was uD-
known. :

The Timkenites were fully
worthy of the success which they
won Saturday night and the big
erowd which laughed at their jokes
and applauded their songs and
dancos, did not stint in its appre-
ciation of thelr efforts. The per-
formers and singers were called

; 10 places.

back repeatedly for encores and the

- eS ee Po

TIMKEN PLANT EMPLOYES STAGE
BIG MINSTREL IN AUDITORIUM
BEFORE CAPACITY AUDIENCE!

\‘Jand.

Throughout the scene the end men
kept up a barrage of new jokes,
mostly on fellow employes and of-
ficers of the Timken plant which
were much appreciated by the au-
dience,

Olio Makes Hit.

The ollo consisted of qccentric
dancing Ed. C. Brutto and graceful
presentation of classic dances by
Miss Dorothea Schwingel, of Cleve-
The show closed with dark-
face act by a company headed by
William Oldacre. The olio was
much liked by the audience, the
dancing mbers being especially
well appreciated. 3

The entire production was care-
fully and effectively staged. It was
directed by Lawrence A. Cover,
musical director of tha Y. M. C. A.
The big orchestra which furnished
music fully measured up to the
work of the rest of the entertainers.

a ene

Piece

Options

county
county cor
inary step
a new site

three farm

short distz
way, will, ’
the comm:

per acre !
land. upor
‘has optior
the comm
pay, and t

value of t
that a de:
any of tt
been offer

Neve, ‘the
land to &

rik

Rang:
$<

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ha

land

was sak

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Pricea r

price !

The res
indicat

r abovi

Cantinued From Page 1.”

6
_

rv@ll high school atniccics, «ueteer Mas ivecuru. fi ae

Sa metivities and class room work. | ye was at first reported that th Dr LeeAe sere Lar ime pee weutmmag telecwes a si

“s A lo a @venlug Portve apoko on | prisoner had done the shooting! rmance did ‘not grow cna ahhh PLATE GLASS Is
“Our Vart In the W orld’s Job. lle} with the detective’s "gut, but 4! i-esome, as the audience appeared BROKEN IN STORK
« told the delegates that ‘the examination showed that no bullet9| , enthusiestte at the end as at the | o'clock

i Z changed concinuns, brought about! pad boon fired from Skotnicky’¥'r ‘sianatie > tha aha s& cu The ad brought down th
tarculy, by, Wie: WEF hhd placed be-| volver whith was tn bis poceet}| The show was In two parts, hay- the ena sae Gace

‘fory tBem a situation, the like of Mrs. §
ale never before been hl fleas cape an Oe en ing the regulation minstrel setting ‘ also brought down near Navarr
by a generution of young men., Howell's Bertillon fecord whic sd ir first and longest half, fol-: but little delay resulted. .The !
Calling attention to the (roman: | Roties have gives the follewin lowed by the glo in which vartety | O. T. carg between Canton and: A’
“dous cost of the war in men and! description: entertainment was offered. Theiron were averaging 20 minyt —
money, be guid thut the boys at-| Age.38, height 5 feet 8% inches a Sheps ia splendidly | late all evening because of |
tending tho conference add other | weighs 148 pounds, slender built peta thie a men, all from storm. ?
boys ke them must. suply the hazel chestnut eyes, medium falf the Timken plant, were assembled; The wind came fn flerce gusts a:
feaderslip for the world in a few | complexion, barber by trade@ on the stage. This number mnelace | brauches were blown off trees <
‘yours and” urged them to make|’ News of tha shooting spread rap; 9 the ie soloists and (over the city. A part of the nort
‘every preparation for the respon- | idly throughout the city Saturday . ce k ° og er made a fit-| west section of thé city was in dar
sibilities which they will have to/ night and hundreds of telephond whe ackground for thg singers.|ness for a time early Saturday ¢
shoulder. | {calls were received at police station | PRS costumes were faultless. ening. Trouble was had with t
Need-Loaders. \¢rom’ friends tnquiring about his . Dancing Picases. - high tension wires between Cant
Porter told tho delegates that the | condifion. ' rhe the opening, which was {and Akron and several power po!
young men ot) the world must! Skotnicky has been a member 0 he e > of a numiber of songs by| were set on fire near Waco, wh
“eurry on tho war”? and by their ,the pelice force for nine years ang | ‘ne “ re company, the program jthe line was hit by the storm. .
‘work bring about thosa things for the last five years has been hy pil with a smoothness 2
to dich the Allied nations fought. f ret a dash that doea not often Répository classified ads adverti
i= “The need for men 1s Just 28 argent | ig known ‘as a clever operator an ic aracterize amateur performances, -
jhas arrested many _ natlonall especially on their first appearance

ae 3 ey ere =

’

e6@ fee

: Ser 6
qeae ee eo

«. ”

, Stand Just as real pow as ever,” Por s ynown erodks, before the public. Clifford Atkin- 5
‘ peter wali, ne pride pepe aes ; Ife is a son -of Mr. and -Mrd. | 80n, blackface, was the first soloist, Put Your Savings
c tots mien to act as vadors a os abe ‘John Skotnicky, 1413 Henry av singing “There's a Lot of Blue-Eyed ‘ e
- tie pitshinent of the great tasks, ‘hue SW and bas e ‘wife “ Marys Down in Maryland,” and was T W k

1 sae beheld ye h are | Thomas, aged three, He also’ bh followed by Adam Weick, singing 0 or
eS The world 80 i Man | three” brothers, 3. W. Skotnicky, | “When You Look in the Heart of a

a 38 equipped and wha have t ‘ v oy Steven Skotnicky and Leon Skof- Rose.” Frank Zember, end man, and some day t iaie will net hav
~ g. to render definite service to their nicky, all of Canton and a sistef, | 84ve “T Used to Call Her Baby” and er ys gh ao Seo

_ | Jaeob Roth, “The Magic of Your Pade person towards learnin
usiness ways and acquiring bus

b:. ‘¢ fellows. Meo aro needed to carry Mrs. Elizabeth Beaze! of Massiljo
| Eyes.” Archie Wilson, with his iness habits.: We es ectally tn

- eZ on the great Christian enterprises | y1ig brother J. W. Skothicky*is
—# in the lands across the sea.’ MeD| nomber of the police force. i} | aleve dancing while sifiging, “Give vite the young people to star

“3 : are noeded fur the home field: The : Bquads of police despatched 'Me the Sultan's Harem,” scored their accounts w th us
One dollar starts an socoun

-t2 men who will successfully per OFM | automobiles scoured the coun with the audience. He was fol-

OSS theae rreat tasks will be men *wHO | tate saturday night and’ early Su -j;lowed by Andrew Barclay, who de tars Sk Bh ggeeht compounde

ft 4 have a,vision of service, high ideals day morning in‘an .etfort to locafe | sang “‘Lct the Rest of the World a Me :

-* end profound convictions.’ Howell. Massillon, East Cantap,|Go “By.” James Gourley, black- Commercial &
¥ e

a Porteg, during the course of his | North Canton and the brick ; Wasy’

he, ot ‘y, C yards | face, then sang “Siow and Easy’’

I = mildress, told of the work whick jin the south section of the city wete | and Lawrence A. Wortman closed Savin 8 Bank:

* » the association Is carrying om 10 |q11 searched in an effort to locate | the solo work with “You're Still an 4 Bldg.

“7 = foreign lands and of ‘many of thei nim. Police will continue the scares Old Sweetheart of Mine.” <—~ 3 heya ope ree .

hae various activities of the organiza-|Sunday. —~ x . The closing overtufe then was : TU CANTON, O- eee
r ‘ s

tion in this country, =f : - .
Following the afternogn session Continued From Page L

Saturday the various delegations
held short mevtings. ‘Tha devo- | U. S. WATCHES 4
it 2 tionals at the afternoon und ee RETURN OF ME
= jing ecsslona Were conducted y :
: David W. Teachout, of Clevelatd, by Dr. Gardeld, before leaving
: his home at Williamstown, Mass.,
chairman of the state association.
boys’ work conuittee. eacv) where he will spend the week end.
5 is et 2 Any effort on the past of -
‘| ployers to take advantage of
Continued From Page 1. . | present situation to destroy
ee ey ' unions ‘will be regented by
tar TONY SKOTNICKEY public and opposed by me,”
"SHOT BY PRISONER] Administrator Garfield declared |tn
5 - |@ statement, tonight , :
bag arrest and then took him to his}: “Report has come to me that
‘se, Dome and, gave him bis supper. Be-! present crisis {n the coal ind
: - %- fore being operated upou at the! will be used to break down the
“we hospital Skoimicky sald he had | bor unious," Dr, Garfeld sald. (“I
Es Ae searched his prisoner after rbach-| wish to say that I am as much op-
“ing home, Howeil ts believed to! posed to an attempt to destroy the
ba ~ pave had the gun concealed in bis principle of collestive: barsaining
ges overcoat pocket as hia coat aud a!and the anion of workingmen ag I
{f wow’: Rolater for & $2 callyre automatic! am to the effort of labor leaders to
i wm platol were found by Patrolman) koup labor satisfied by a constant
‘John Skotnicky pear the scene Of! boosting of wares, “yegardjesa {of
as *

Spe tee whooting, the public interest or to the ef gyal» Luaaioninatle sages MOE eee
ee EES RA The Frmeral Home

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morning. Ward then went to Lucas County and remarried. His first wife had
gone insane. Authorities traced Ward to Lucas and he was indicted in
Richland County. Ward was sentenced to be hanged. Before his execution Ward
confessed. He said he had murdered Hall for $800.00. He buried the money and
used it as he needed it. He also admitted killing Lovejoy for money.

AGE & RACE
40 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 12, 1857.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Richland County 1807 - 1880, by A.A. Graham (1885).

ROSS COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Edmund Stolcupp.

Stolcupp was a laborer from Pee Pee township (now Pike County). He was
convicted for the murder of Asa Pound. On December 27, 1803 Stollcupp shot
Pound in a fit of anger.

AGE & RACE -
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
August 3, 1804.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Thomas Dean (alias Henry Thomas).

On November 19, 1844, Fredrick Edward, a well known and well liked
merchant, was murdered in his store room. His store room had been ransacked
by burglars. Leroy J. Maxon was arrested in McConnellsville. Henry
Thomas/Thomas Dean, was arrested in Lancaster. Maxon escaped from jail, but
Dean was tried and convicted. Dean tried to commit suicide in his cell, but
he was unsuccessful.

AGE & RACE
31 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
March 6, 1846.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Jack Cooper (alias Samuel Wittum).

Joel Beery and Jack Cooper were convicted for the murder of John
Rodenbaugh a local auctioneer. Rhodenbaugh was a well respected citizen of
Portage County. The motive for the murder was robbery. Beery was a resident
of Portage County, but Cooper was a stranger to the area. Rhodenbaugh had
been seen in the men’s company before his death. Beery received a conviction
for murder in the second degree, but Cooper was sentenced to be hanged.
Since neither of the two men could pay for council, not much effort was put
forth on their defense. Cooper made three attempts to escape. He was born in
Elkcreek, Pennsylvania. He was said to be a gambler and a horse thief.
Cooper had served time in the Missouri Penitentiary.

AGE & RACE
29 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
April 27, 1866.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Portage County, Warner Beers & Co. (1885).

PREEBLE COUNTY
No information on executions available.
PUTNAM COUNTY
Fire destroyed most of the early court records.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Putnam County, George P. Kinder (1915).

RICHLAND COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Return J.M. Ward.

Ward was the proprietor of a boarding house in 1847. One of his
boarders, a Mr. Hall, was preparing to go to N.Y. While getting ready, he
collected money for purchases for his spring trade. Hall was later found
murdered in his room. Ward accused two men of the murder, but they were
acquitted. During the trial Ward proved to be such an overzealous witness.
that he brought suspicion upon himself. Sometime later a pack pedler named
Lovejoy disappeared. Ward told authorities Lovejoy had left early that

PIKE COUNTY

No information on executions available.

PORTAGE COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Henry Aunghst.

Aunghst was sentenced to be hanged for the murder of Epaphras Matthews,
his traveling companion. Matthews was a traveling salesman. Aunghst had
taken the journey with Matthews for the sole. purpose of murdering and
robbing him.Matthews had evidently acquired a lot of money from selling his
merchandise. Aunghst was 6°7" tall, very strong, and of German or
Pennsylvania Dutch origin.

RACE & AGE
Age 25-36 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
November 30, 1816.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
David McKisson.

McKisson was convicted for the murder of his brother’s wife. It seems
that David had fallen in love with Lucinda, the step-daughter of his
brother. Mary McKisson, Lucinda’s mother, disapproved of the liason. Upon
entering the McKisson home, David proceeded to the bedrooms, and hit Lucinda
with an axe. Before she slipped into unconsciousness, she saw David McKisson
kill her mother. Immediately after the murder, Samuel McKisson, the
Grandfather, was accused of the murder. Samuel McKisson was seventy years
old and arthritic. David was indicted for the murder even though Lucinda
identified Samuel McKisson as the killer. Both Samuel and David McKisson
shared a deep hatred for the McKisson woman. Samuel McKisson was acquitted
and David McKisson was convicted of first degree murder.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
February 9, 1838.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

*+te

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Perry Bowsher.

The next and last execution in Perry County. Bowsher, with an accomplis
who was never discovered, robbed a gatehouse. The gatehouse was located on
the Columbus turnpike, 6 miles north of Chillicothe. Bowsher murdered the
resident gatekeepers, Edmund McVey and his wife Anna. Alice Dean, another
resident of the gatehouse, escaped unharmed. Bowsher stole $800.00 dollars
in U.S. bonds. Bowsher set fire to the gatehouse. From there he went to his
half brothers home on the morning of October 26, 1877. There, he exhibited
the bonds he had stolen. His half brother and a female acquaintance reported
Bowsher to the sheriff. Bowsher was indicted on December 21 and tried on
February 19, 1878. The insanity defense was used, but Bowsher was convicted
of murder in the first degree.

AGE & RACE
28 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
June 21, 1878.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A standard history of Ross County Ohio, Lyle S. Elans, Volume I (1917).

SANDUSKY COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED

John Radford.

Radford was tried and convicted for the murder of his wife Anna.
Radford admitted the killing, but he claimed the killing had occurred while
he was stunned from a blow on the head. The blow had been inflicted by his
mother-in-law. Radford was a violent tempered man, and he had been abusive
towards his wife. His wife had commenced proceedings for alimony in the
Common Pleas Court the day before. Radford had come to his mother-in-iaw’s
home where he quarreled with his wife and the killing occurred.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
October 12, 1883.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

a eeenneeneeeaianendimemtaainarininiataie shi unieeacminiee bias semua rer aeeouebtaidiainiiacti ca : dineaidiniia ink
on aca Sc RA SC a WOR DR AORIR HERC DR I PERRTT T E n in

‘JACKSON. COUNTY, OHIO

Jackson County Genealogical Sociéty
PO, Box 897 |
Jackson, Ohio 45640

Watt Espy

Law Library

Box 6205

University, Al. 35486

Dear Mr. Espy,

I have checked all the sources I could find for executions prior
to 1885 in Jackson County. There doesn't seem to be any that
you don't already have, namely; John Ww, Jackson, hanged May ll,
1883; Luke and William Jones, brothers, both hanged on Feb. 29,
1884; Laban Stevens, hanged on May 23, 1884,

If there is anything else I can check for you, I'll try to do so.

Sincerely,

Tits ye te

Mrs, Alice Lauderback
Secretary

Mrs Alice Lauderbac*
Kt.. 1. Box “271A

Beaver Ohio 45613
Aug. -25, 198

Watt Espy

Law Library

Box 6205

University, Al. 35486

Dear Mr, Espy,

I located the death records on William Jones, Luke Jones, and
John W. Jackson. This is the information I got from them,
William Jones, age 25,; occupation, miner; born Jackson Co.,
lived in Coalton, Jackson Co,, Ohio; hanged for the murder of _
Anderson Lackey,

Luke Jones, age 23; occupation, miner; born in Jackson Co.,; lived
in Coalton, Jackson Co., Ohio; hanged for the murder of Anderson

Lackey. '

Both of tthese deaths were recorded as naving, taken place on
Feb, 29, 1884, They were both white men.

John W., Jackson, age 22; born Jackson Co.,; occupation, peddler;.
lived Jackson Co.; race, white. Record didn't state the crime.

I couldn't find anything on Laban Stevens.

We recently acquired some old newspapers covering the 1930/s,
From June 4 (when Ray Freeman and Herbert Thacker committed their
crime) till Nov. 2 ¢ when the 2 men were executed) the newspapers
were full of articles covering the trial, ‘eter,

From these articles , I have tried to extract the infromation you
want, gu,

Ray Freeman and Herbert Thacker on June 4, 1934 brutally beat the
allegedly wealthy Stephen Huntley, age 74, to death with shotgun
stocks in the backyard of his farm in Milton township. Two days
later they were arrested and confessed to Sheriff W., P, Turner,
The clothing Thacker wore when the crime was committed was the
chief clue leading to the arrest. All Freeman and Thacker got

from Huntley was $23.

They were tried in July and Thacker was guickly convicted but it
was necessary to give Freeman two trials before he was sentenced

to the chair.

The execution of Thacker and Freeman marked the first time that
persons were ever sentenced to the chair from Jackson County.
Their deaths also marked the first death sentence of any kind
that had been imposed by local courts since 51 years ago when
the Jones boys were hanged,

One of Rreeman's brothers and his father were inmate§ of the
insane asglum in Athens. His mother died 11 years before. His
parents were divorced in 1916 ( Ray was 7 at the time). There
al 5 bhildren in the family. He was employed last winter on the
CWAL

Ray Freeman had some relatives waiting outside at the execution.
They were Mrs, Maggie Napper, sister; Wilfred Freeman, brother;
G. A, Napper, eousin and William Napper, brother- in-law.

None of Thackers relatives were present.

Both bodies were taken to Hawk's station by Undertaker Strong and
a @ouble funeral was held Saturday Nov, 24, 1934, They were
executed Nov. 22, 1934,

I hope this will be of some help to you. If there is anything
further I aan check, let um me know.

Sincerely,

Plo lle ee So

Mrs, Alice Lauderback -

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‘The Steubenville (chio) Herald-ste|

‘Sunday, Aug. 17, 1975

The Coun ty Beat
Y 4 { ’ i if
“On th 5th day ‘of February, E. Stanton Pearce was still
mas AD 1910, I caused the Said prosecutor and two of the best
prisoner, John Kilpatrick, to be lawyers in the business, S. C.

electrocuted by causing to pass'Kerr and Arthur L. Hooper,
through his body a current of later joined by Thomas Rock

Ring Re Te
Soseeee

‘
“

wen ital sdast eae crs a

Wa electricity. of sufficient intensity | fought a brilliant uphill battle hate ears

to cause death, and the ap-|to save Caparra who wanted all >
plication of such current being/along to plead guilty and ask
' continued until he was dead.” ifor mercy, Aen
That was the first of four such | As the prosecutor was making

grim Messages sent to Judges his closing statement, — he
...of Jefferson County Common! pointed his finger at Caparra
Pleas Court by wardens of Ohio ‘and Shouted into his face:

Penitentiary, [Vincenzo Caparra, you know

how many shots you ‘fired that}

con: cpa (some nit How many did you fire?”}
cared fim Kirkpatrick) was a Caparra, brought to his feet!
young black man who CAME tO! ne. the prosecutor’s verbal at-
Steubenville from Virginia and } 3 aK shouted “Three shots”.
x | Those were the only words
he spoke during the whole trialf
(he needed an interpreter) but
they stunned everyone in the

Steele of Beall and Steele “Goodbye everybody,” he

Wholesale Drug Co. murmered as he was strapped

Kilpatrick one Sunday night/in the chair, pct aly
broké a church date with al The Caparra trial had four
young’ woman and broke into}women on the jury and marked ;
A Steele’s house instead, He hid/the first time in the history of
in the dim basement’ until the | Jefferson County that women
old man went down and bent|jurors served in a case where
to shake the furnace, Kilpatrick! a first-degree murder verdict
it him over the head and/was returned without a

- Steele died the next day. ‘recommendation for mercy.

They | caught Kilpatrick % : -
because he spent a lot of money} THOMAS B. WILLIAMS, al -
and pawned Steele’s gold watch} black man who performed odd
in Wheeling. A crowd at the Jobs at times at the B’nai Israel] -
Steubenville city building Synagogue on S. 5th Street in} 2
wanted to lynch him. Steubenville was ‘convicted of eg
Prosecutor Jay Paisley, murdering the synagogue’s el-| ~
assisted by A. C. Lewis, got | derly caretaker, Reuben L.,.

which defense attorneys John|room in 1937,
McKee and J. Carl Bigger Mirvis reportedly was beaten
couldn't get reversed. Judge repeatedly over the head with
Rees G. Richards pronounced 4 poker and robbed of $10:
-the death sentence, Williams _escaned . susnivian

eet a Oe ee ee L--Ata i.

By courtroom and made Judge} be
ji : Smith pronounce the death fess
it sentence again.
He was calm during his
oyce : ;
J y prison stay but broke down
when he said goodbye to his
Wife and three of ‘his four
warren worked around the house and| Year old) the night before his)" "")
eS as stable boy for Charles H.|€Xecution. .

‘ RNS uses er es
4, NG, fos SoM ge ee ae
So NR ght ears i cian, ar aid eat ee
ete ae Ss, ely A a eS
Na ok > Ip ‘

children (the youngest was one Pon aaa gA seh ale Wiel nliee atl aes

a first-degree murder conviction Mirvis, in the Sunday School : “ae bie rs te hase cies ese Sct a eae

pe Oe for five months but re
condemned man told: aj? reportedly,
newspaper reporter he ha qi Was linked with the murder by
nothing against Steele—he just |? relative. He admitted the
wanted to knock him out/Uracr and wrote his own
because he knew he carried a|CMfession.

lot of money. and a gold watch. |. Later he said he didn’t do
“T feel my death hardly pays |!t—that the relative lied and the

for the sin T committe-,” Kirk-/Confession was beaten out of
patrick was quoted as saying. | him.

The little black man, one of) Prosecutor Hugo Alexander
the smallest ever electrocuted @md_ his assistant C. J.
at Columbus, showed no fear Borkowski got a first-degree}
on death row, ‘murder conviction. Williams

He died at . 12:08 on ai Was defended by attorneys C.}
Saturday morning. The Herald- L- Williams and Fred Stone,
Star said the body gave a/Arthur Hooper, then judge,
forward movement, pressing | Passed sentence.
hard against the straps, as the| This | 1S.a mean old world! §
Current shot through him. Thenjto live in and try to stay until:
it relaxed. Gear, frvelyou die,” Williams chanted and|°

John Kilparick” was—only 27,Sang for 25 minutes in a flat

q é ) ,
months and 24 days old wher Waritone voice until the prison

he paid the supreme penalty. guards threw the — switch.
Warden J. C. Woodward said

WALTER (WALLACE ) Ls condemned man ever talked f®

WRIGHT was 28 when he went/and sang so long. :
to the chair March 1, 1922. A new automatic Voltage °F
Wright, a Wellsville resident, Control was used for. the first {-
went on a demonstration ride time to electrocute Williams. It Ue
with Harry (Hicks) Cummins, /held voltage at 1,950 for 19/M

a young Steubenville automobile | seconds, lowered it to 500 volts
dealer. for 40 seconds, increased it to
On Permar’s Run Road /1,950 volts for 10 more seconds, }
(Sinclair Avenue), Wright shot|then automatically turned off.
Cummins to death and stole al The chair had just been/®
second-hand Ford and a smali/moved from the first to the?
amount of money. fourth floor. Current previously
He admitted it in court and/had been controlled manually.
a jury found him guilty of first They took the chair with them
degree murder. Judge Carllwhen they moved from
Smith sentenced him to death. [Columbus to the new peniten-;
was a_ double elec-jtiary in Lucasville in 1971 even Tt
trocution—with Wright following|though a pending Supreme |™)
closely a 28-year-old Pomeroy;Court case was to end capital iL
murderer. Wright, wearing twojpunishment for a time. The {Noa
red roses in his coat lapel, said/same electric chair had served |i U
he had no malice and would|the Ohio prison population since )uH!
‘die happy, having accepted the early 1900s, (ee
Christ- - A new Ohio law which took18n\
Wright, prosecuted by E. effect in January of 19742110)
Sfanton Pearce and A. W. jtestored capital punishment ing: 94
Moreland, was the first white/certain cases of “aggravated Ie
man from Jefferson County to/murder”. fag
die in the electric chair at! Se ven circumstances _ of [eo
Columbus. murder in which the death LUT]
penalty can be applied are fasat
VINCENZO (BOOTS ) assassination of a high govern-lapu;
CAPARRA, a 34-year-old Mingo ment official, murder by hired ajo
Junction whisky runner, was'killers and prisoners, and)qiy
being taken to the Mingo! murder of a law enforcement
Junction police station on aj Officer, plus a catch-all category’
charge of illegal possession of/covering murder while com-
a satchel of liquor when he | mitting, attempting to commit.
pulled a gun and shot to death or fleeing immediately after
Patrolman William Snyder June | committing or attempting to
25, 1923. commit kidnaping, rape, arson,
He escaped but was Caught aggravated robbery or.
that October in Buffalo. ‘aggravated burglary.

MADINA COUNTY, OHio

franklin Syluester dibrary
210 SOUTH BROADWAY
MEDINA, OHIO 44256

9-19-7h

Mr. Watt Espy, Jr.
P.O. Box 247
Headland, Ala, 36345

Dear Sir:

Note enclosed of the nang oe from a tree of Fred Streeter by local citizens
in 1863. All the local histories are all rehashes of the same.

Concerning Max Amerman(n) electrocuted 11-1951, two men were convicted,
and he was electrocuted. Max was a loner, raised by his grandmother
according to the wife of William Bafchelder, jr. of the Professional
Building, Medina, He has all the files and was the prosecuting attorney
at the time. His wife said he'd be glad to write to you. This was a
crime of passion, involving a war bride. Jerry Killinger a young teenager
was ‘convicted and served time and released according to newspapers and

Mrs. Batchelder. Claimed errors in trial.

Judge W. E. Kellogg held the first trial and is soon to retire.
Case was taken to ‘higher: court.

Write Bill Batchelder first.. He's full of the information, and newspapers

do report in a strange manner sometimes,

Sincerely,
| ye
Ann Matthewa y
AM: cw ;
encl, = first copy free, or \

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THE TWO signs read:

“ame “Wanted Hotel Clerk” and

SA MANETTE

r “Wanted Bell Hop.”
paper reporters clustered
about them and a photographer’s flash
bulb brightened ‘the scene blindingly for
a brief moment. Perhaps such signs
might have rated publicity in the '30’s,
but surely “help wanted” notices are not
scarce enough in a war industry center
like Youngstown, Ohio, during this era
of labor shortages to justify the news-
men’s interest?

But these particular signs hanging in
the Mahoning County Jail did merit
publicity. They were a dramatic protest
by Sheriff Ralph E. Elser against what he
considered to be an unfortunate situa-
tion. ‘ De

The trouble all began when a Federal
cleanup resulted in the arrest of the top
numbers or “bug” racketeers in the
Youngstown area. ‘The nine racket lead-

“ers were incarcerated ‘in the Mahoning

County Jail early in the winter and the
jail staff has since grown less and less
happy about their sojourn. Viewed from
any angle, the newcomers have con-
tributed less than nothing to the better-
ment of the institution’s morale, Sheriff's
deputies have been kept busy on visiting
days escorting the numerous friends of

[ROE

News- .

DeleaT

MAY, ¢ G44

the racketeers. Quantities of rich food,

brought to the jail from swanky. res-

taurants, have been carried to the “bug”
men by the weary staff, while other pris-

-oners looked on.

The last straw was heaped on the
backs of the long-suffering jail personnel
and jealous fellow inmates when an out-

_of-town, special judge ordered two of

the ringleadérs, Donald “Moosey”. Ca-
puto and Frank Cassano, released dur-

- ing both the Thanksgiving and Yule

holidays. As bitter complaints poured in
from prisoners not similarly favored, the
Sheriff referred to his jail as a hotel and
erected the “help wanted” signs that
quickly attracted the attention of
Youngstown Vindicator reporters. ;

After considering the situation care-
fully, listening to the growing chorus of
complaints from .the prisoners, and
watching. jail morale fall, the husky
Sheriff reached a unique solution. He
announced to his deputies that, although
he could not release all the other pris-

- oners so that they might enjoy holiday

meals at home like the bigshot “bug”
men, he could and would. give permis-
sion for the other prisoners’ families to
bring in their Christmas dinners and eat
with them at the jail.

. The idea seemed too good to be true,

suspect’s p
main of ar
been reco
imposing |
two depa
strict adi
methods.
But it i
been sore
confrontec
For while
liceman b
fessional
A han
early fort
fessional
Even whi

and the skeptical prisoners asked, “Is
the Sheriff serious about our families
eating with us?” Learning of their
doubts, Elser hastened to reassure them
personally. ‘ :

Immediately and without any prompt-
ing from their jailers, the men instituted
a cleanup that left the jail shining. An
improvement in personal appearance
was also noticed among the inmates.

Well pleased, the genial Sheriff then
announced that he would provide a
Christmas tree and hold a Christmas
carol sing. When newspaper men asked
if he weren’t spoiling the prisoners, his
answer was in the negative. He pointed
out that the singing of Christmas carols
had been an old jail tradition until it was
discontinued a few years ago. Explain-
ing that the prisoners enjoyed. the sing,
Elser added, “It improves morale.”

Sheriff Elser’s protest and- unusual
remedy for the unjust situation have
earned him the title of Ohio’s fairest,
squarest Sheriff and the police official
with a sense of humor. Though law en-
forcement is the chief concern, he is also
interested in the welfare of the in-
dividual prisoner and in his rehabilita-
tion. Justice for all, is his motto.

The unknown donor of the food shown
with Sheriff Elser in the accompanying
photograph may be sure that his Christ-
mas gift—down to the last apple—
réached the unfortunate men for whom
it was intended, the tenants of what the
Vindicator has dubbed the Hotel de
County Jail

¥°

VE MVIA C42, the Ex

LOGA N COUNTY, OHIO.

Logan County District Library
140 NORTH MAIN STREET
BELLEFONTAINE, OHIO 43311

September 18, 1974
Watt Espy, Jr.
P. O. Box 247
Headland, Ala. 36345
Dear Sir:
I am sorry that I am unable to be of much help to you in the history
you are writing. All of our old newspapers are in the Logan County

Historical Museum, You may want to write to:

Rev. Guy Furbay
Zanesfield, Ohio 43360

Hesis in charge of the museum, and has been for some time.
You might also write to the two local newspapers in the County,

The Bellefontaine Examiner, East Court Street, Bellefontaine, Ohio
43311, and The Belle Center Herald Voice, Belle Center, Ohio 43310,

I examined our local history boaks of the 1800's, especially in the
murder sections and found no one who had been legally hanged,

Am sending back your letter, as you might want to forward it to
Rev. Furbay.

Sincerely,

Wand hort

Norma L., Shoots, Ass't Librarian

ne aan at Mind:
f S NSS

850 HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

old log-building in which Aunghst was confined from the time of capture
until his execution, was the first Jail erected in the county. ‘he prisoner was
a German, or a “ Pennsylvania Dutchman,” and Howard Carter says that
though he feigned bis inability to speak or understand English during the
trial, could subsequently converse glibly enough with the school children who
would stand upon a barrel and talk through the iron grating covering the win-
dow of his cell.

When the day of execution arrived, November 30, 1816, Asa K. Burroughs
was Sheriff of the county, and William Coolman, William Frazer ard Almon
Bubcock his deputies. A militia force was called out, under command of Col.
Solomon Day, of Deerfield, as special) guard op the occasion. ‘ The gallows
was erected in the center of what is now Sycamore Street, near the corner of
Spruce, and about 1,800 people witnessed the execution. Upon the gallows

-Aungbst made a purtial confession, the substance of which the writer has given

in the foregoing account. The neck of the wretched man was dislocated, but
not broken by the drop, and after being pronounced dead, the body was cut
down and buried near the foot of the scaffold.

The night after the execution the body was dug up by some parties, who
doubtless desired it for anatomical purposes. They were discovered soon after
the body was out of the coffin, and attempted to flee with it. Hot pursuit was
made, aud they were forced to drop their prize, and left it on what is now the
corner of Oak and Meridian Streets. The body was carried to the Court House
und guarded that night. The next day a party of German residents of the
town took the body with the intention of sinking it in ‘‘ Mother Ward’s Pond,”
to ‘keep it from the doctors.’? William Tappan, an erratic Justice of the
Peace, pursued this party, and commanded them, in the name of the State of
Ohio, to return the body. This they did with fear and trembling, and again
the body lay in state at the Court House, surrounded by the Sheriff's posse.
It was finally re-interred in the original grave, the coffin being filled with
lime, and the largest log pussible placed upon it. It was rumored that the
doctors got the body after all, but Homer Frazer says: ‘“‘I was present when
the grave was opened many years afterward, and the skeleton was found in a
fair state of preservation.”

The next murder trial on record is that of Abner S. Barris for the murder
of Nathan Cummings, December 9, 1832. This murder was committed on the
canal: north of the village of Akron, which was then included in Portage
County, and the victim was a lad who Grove the horses for the canal-boat.
Barris, it seems, had had a quarrel with the helmsman of the boat, and in
order to have his revenge had secreted himself at the side of the tow-path, with
a gun, intending to shoot the helmsman. As.the boat came up, putting him
in range of his adversary, Barris took aim and fired, missing his intended
mark, the shot taking effect upon the left side of the neck of the lad, Natban
Cummings, causing almost instant death. Suspicion at once attached to Barris,
and with but little delay he was arrested and lodged in jail at Ravenna. At
the session of the March term of the Court of Common Pleas, whereof Matthew
Birchard was President Judge, and Elkanah Richardson, Elias Harmon and
George B. De Peyster were Associate Judges, an indictment for murder was
found against Barris by the grand jury, of which Jonathan Metcalf, of Hud-
son, was foreman.

The prisoner, electing to be tried in the Supreme Court, was tried at the
September term of that court, 1833. Hon. Ebenezer Lane, of Norwalk, pre-
sided at this term, and Lucius V. Bierce was Prosecuting Attorney. The fol-
lowing persons constituted the jury before whom the trial took place, having

eee teas iat meee deeded

treew

HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. 351

be _lected from a panel of thirty-six men: Elisha Garrett, Garrettsville;
William N. Merwin, Palmyra: Daniel Everett, Nelson; George Y. Wallace,
Northfield; Lyman Hine, Shalersville; Enoch Drake, Freedom; Caleb
Atwater and John A. Whittlesey, Atwater; Jonab Hine, Randolph; Abel
Sabin, Randolph; Merrick Ely, Deerfield; Joseph Lewis, Palmyra. The trial
was not protracted, and scarcely any witnesses were examined save the hands
upon the canal-boat. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the
second degree. The Court sentenced Barris to the penitentiary for life.

Barris never, according to the writer’s information, denied the commission
of the murder, and a remark he made when brought to Ravenna will show his
own conviction on the subject. When first brought to town he was taken to
the Globe Tavern, kept by William Coolman, Esq. Mr. Coolman recognizing
Barris, said to him that he was told he was charged with a desperate crime.
Barris looked at him a moment, drew himself up, and then replied, “It was
not Abner Barris that did it, it was whisky.” Barris was a day laborer, &
rather passionate man, and about forty years of age. He worked in Ravenna
by the month about a year, not long previous to this occurrence. It is under-
stood thet Barris died a number of years ago in the penitentiary.

The McKisson murder was committed in the township of Northtield in what
is now Summit County, on Monday, July 24, 1837. The victim of this mur-
der was Mrs. Catherine McKisson, the wife of Robert McKisson, 4 stout,
robust woman about thirty-five years of age, and weighed 175 pounds. The
murder was committed about 11 o’clock at night. Robert McKisson, the hus-
band, was absent from home at the time, and the family consisted of Mrs.
McKisson and her daughter (by a former marriage), Lucinda Croninger, and
a man named Jubn Johnson. The two women slept in the same room jn dif-
ferent beds and Johnson up stairs. That night Johnson went to bed about
dark, the two women between 9 and 10 o’clock. The murderer entered Mrs.
McKisson’s room and in doing so aroused Lucinda, who was rendered tempor-
arily senseless by a blow on the head, but recovered enough to see the last blow
that was struck her mother. The murderous weapon used was an axe, with which
the blows were given Mrs. McKisson, one on her back, one on the top of her
head and one on the side of her head. The mortal wound was upon the right
side of the head, about two inches deep, four incbes long and balf an inch
wide. Mrs. McKisson lived until the next day—July 25—and declared the
murderer to be Samuel McKisson, the father of her husband. Lucinda, the
daughter (aged about eighteen), was also positive that Samuel McKisson was
the murderer.. Samuel McKisson was arrested the next day by Col. Arthur.
He was a man about seventy-two years old, and was somewbat crippled in his
hand. He manifested no trepidation and even went to his son’s house and
kissed the corpse.

Suspicion was attached to David McKisson, son of Samuel and brother of
Robert. He was seen in the neighborhood the evening of the murder, and it

waa well known that in the March previous he had a bitter quarrel with his.

brother, and entertained ill will toward his wife. Col. Arthur set out in pur-
suit of David, and, the Saturday after the murder, arrested bim on Turtle Island,
in Maumee Bay. When found by Col. Arthur be was on a pile driver, and
was told he must go with the Colonel. He did so without demur, said guod-
bye tosome of the workmen, saying, “ I shall never see you again,” or “I never
expect to see you again.” This was before he was told why Col. Arthur wanted
him. After being brought back he bad an interview with his brother Robert,
who said to him, ‘‘ What have you brought us to, David?” ‘What have I
brought you to, Robert?” was the reply. “No, these hands never did that

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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. 347

Ae CHAPTER XI.

THE Most Norep CRIMINAL EVENTS IN THE HIsToRY or YORTAGE County—

CUMMINGS BY BARRIS—THE MURDER OF CATHERINE McKisson py HER
BROTHER-IN-LAW, Davip McKisson—THE HEATHMAN MANSLAUGHTER CASE
—ALANSON BALDWIN STABBED To ‘DEATH BY His NEPHEW, LEMUETI, W.
PRICE—ATTEMPTED KILLING OF PRENTISS BY FLOWER—ToE SHORTs-WIL-
son SHOOTING—THE MURDER OF JoHN RHODENBAUGH By JACK COOPER

SHOOTING OF ALFRED L. HaRRIs By His FATHER—THE KELSO-MonTAGUE.

CASE—THE } EWELL-ROBERTS AFFAIR.

. A uh organized communities, it matters not what may be their geographical
4.1. location or their @eneral moral and religious status, have criminal rec-

others are not quite so bad. There are many facts of a criminal character of
such importance belonging to the legitimate history of Portage County, that

that have been committed in this county, but only those where life was taken,
or where the culprit was tried for murder or intent to commit that crime,

The first murder trial that occurred in Portage County took place at the
October term of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1 13, whereof Hon. Benjamin
Ruggles was President J: udge, and Aaron Norton, Amzi Atwater and Samuel

blade and one of the ribs upon the right side, making a wound eight inches
long and six inches wide, and that he als kicked her. The injuries were in-
~ flicted on the 12th of May, 1813, and the woman died upon the 27th of the

case was tried: Gipson McDaniels, Jr., Palmyra; Isaac Osmun, Boston; Paul
Williams, Portage; James McCormick, Springfield; Asher Gurley, Rootstown;
William Sprague, Tallmadge; Theophilus Anthony, Atwater; George Walker,
Hudson; Jonathan Foster, Mantua; Robert Taylor and David Way, Suffield;
William Price, Ravenna, The case was conducted by Peter Hitchcock as

Woman died of child-bed fever, the accused was acquitted of the charge of
murder, and discharged. McMaons ig described as a quarrelsome man, who
was perpetually in trouble, and indicted for assault and battery several times.

The first premeditated murder in this county was the killing of Epaphras

Mathews by Henry Aunghst, August 20, 1814. Capt. Waller, of Palmyra

Serta (atari he ars

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848 HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.

Township, while on his way to Ravenna, discovered the body of a man lying
bebind a log, in the woods, near the schoolhouse now standing on the corners
of the Charlestown and Edinburg roads, a mile and a quarter east of Ra-
venna. The body proved to be that of Epaphras Mathews, a peddler, of
Pittsburgb, Penn. An investigation proved that Muthews was last seen at the
tavern at Campbellsport, on the 20th of August, and on the same day by a
party grinding scythes in front of the present residenceof Richard J. Thomp-
son. It was noticed that a man was traveling with him, and to this man sus-
picion attached asthe murderer. On the night of Augnst 19, Mathews and the
strange man, who afterward proved to be Henry Aunghst, stayed at the tavern
of Jabez Gilbert, in Palmyra. Taking these facts as a starting point, Robert
Eaton and Lewis Ely started in pursuit of the murderer, whom they followed
about a month, and arrested in a blacksmith shop in Center County, Penn.
They were paid by the county $222.87 for their services and damages inflicted
upon their horses in apprehending and bringing the culprit back to Ravenna.
Mr. Ely was also paid the $100 reward which had been offered for the capture
of Aunghst, and Abraham Reed was paid $28.50 for eight days spent in hunt-
ing for the murderer. The meshes of the inevitable fatality surrounding a
murderer seemed woven about Aunghst, and without any of the modern resources
for tracing a great criminal, his pursuers at once struck his trail, and steadily
followed him until their pursuit culminated in his capture.

Some weeks prior to the murder, Mathews and Aunghst left Pittsburgh in
company, and traveled together until the hour of the murder. What pretext
Aunghst gave to his victim is unknown, but upon bis confession he stated that
his purpose was to effect a robbery of his friend and companion. At first his
plan was to seize and bind Mathews to a tree in the woods, rob him and flee,
but chance, or destiny, frustrated the purpose in each instance. Once, when
in the woods near Poland, when a suitable moment seemed to have arrived,
Deacon Sacket, of Tallmadge, traveling with his wife, came upon them. The
Deacon knew Mathews well, and the meeting was an agreeable one between
the two friends, and formed an important link in the chain of evidence against
the murderer, as Deacon Sacket afterward visited Aunghst in jail and recog-
nized him as the man he saw with Mathews in the woods near Poland. At
times on their travels, when going into a village, Aunghst would take some
goods and visit a few of the houses making sales, giving the money up to
Mathews. The idea of murdering Mathews, Aunghst stated, first occurred to
him about the time they reached Campbellsport. So many times had various
plans of robbery been frustrated, that, grown desperate, when this suggested
itself he acted upon it at the first opportunity. The murder was committed
with a blue beech fence stake or club, which the murderer purloined from the
premises of Gen. John Campbell, at the ‘‘Port.” Coming to the spot where
the murder was committed, he dealt his victim a vigorous blow with the club.
Seeing at once he had given his victim a death-blow, he seized the body, threw
it over a log and the club after it; next unharnessed the horse and turned it
loose in the woods, dropping the harness on the thills, rifled the wagon and
walked off. The money obtained consisted of $270 or thereabouts, in coin,
which the murderer tied up in a pocket handkerchief. Coming to Ravenna,
Aunghst stopped at Greer’s Tavern, got a drink of whisky and enquired the
road to Pittsburgh. While at the tavern.he placed his handkerchief of coin
on the bar. He was next seen atDaniel Collins’, in Rootstown, and in the
afternoon of the same day in Randolph, and the next day in Deerfield, enquir-
ing, from point to point, the road to Pittsburgh. Next we hear of him at
Canfield, whero he bought a horse, paying forit in silver. Next at Petersburg,

HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY. 349

where he fell in with Gen. Simon Perkins and Judge Calvin Austin. With
Gen. Perkins he exchanged the greater portion of his silver for paper money,
stating that he had made it boating on the river, and, intending to buy some
land near Wooster, had brought the silver, supposing he could do better with
it than with paper money. Not liking the country as well as he expected, he
was going back, and had got tired of ‘lugging the coin” So the General

. gave him all the paper money he had with him for coin. So from point to

point he was traced on his route to Pittsburgh, and from that city to the forge
in Center County, where he was arrested.

At the January term of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1815, the grand
jury, of which Wiley Hamilton was foreman, found an indictment against
Aunghst. He was arraigned and plead not guilty, and the case continued. At
the October term, 1815, Hon. George Tod, Presiding Judge, his counsel, John
C. Wright, moved his discharge in consequénce of some error in the indict-
ment. The Court overruled the motion. The grand jury, however, of which
Erastus Carter was foreman, found a new indictment, which was certitied to
the Supreme Court, the prisoner electing to be tried by that court.

At the June term, 1816, he was again indicted, Lewis Day being foreman
of the grand jury, and Darius Lyman Prosecuting Attorney. These proceed-
ings were certified to the Supreme Court. This last indictment proved to be
sound, and at the September term, 1816, of the Supreme Court, Hon. Ethan
Allen Brown, of Cincinnati, and Hon. Jessup N. Couch, of Chillicothe, upon
the bench, the trial was had. Darius Lyman and Benjamin Tappan were the
attorneys for the State, and John C. Wright for the defense. A motion for
change of venue to Columbiana County was made, it being alleged that the
prisoner could not have an impartial trial in this county. The motion was
overruled, and the trial proceeded.

The following persons out of a panel of thirty-six were chosen as the jury
to try the case: Daniel Collins, Rootstown; Simeon Crane, Lyman Hine, Asa
K. Burroughs, and David Hine, of Shalersville; David Thompson, Ravenna;
Benoni Thompson, Shalersville; Joseph Lewis, Palmyra; Daniel Burroughs,
Shalersville; Elijah Burroughs, Shalersville; Frederick Willard, Franklin; J.
F. Wells, of Ravenna. The trial terminated in finding the accused guilty
of murder in the first degree; whereupon the following sentence was pro-
nounced:

It is considered, by the Court, that the said Henry Aunghst be taken from hence to the
Jail of the County of Portage, from whence he came, there to remain until the last Satur-
day of November next, being the 380th day of November, on which day he be taken to the
place of execution, between the hours of 12 o’clock at noon and 2 o'clock in the after-
noon, and there to be hanged by the neck until he be dead.

Aunghst was from twenty-five to thirty years of age, and was six feet,

_seven inches high. He was a man of powerful muscular organization and

great strength. He was a foundry-man, or iron-worker, by trade, but natur-
ally sluggish in his motions and movements. It was told of him that when at
work in Pittsburgh he would pick up a trip-hammer, weighing 500 pounds, and
lift it into an old-fashioned Pennsylvania wagon. He was a man of easy dis.
position. The Jail in which he was contined,was a log one, and the Jailer was
in the habit of storing some of his household effects in the prison portion of
the Jail. One day the Jailer’s wife-—Mrs. Mason—went into the prison to
deposit a spinning-wheel. Aunghst pushed her aside at the door and ran out.
Mrs. Mason gave the alarm, and immediate pursuit was made. After running
a short distance Aunghst gave out and turned back to his pursuers, laughing,
and gave up the race, and, puffing and blowing, came back to the Jail. This

OTTA WA COUNTY, OHIO

Watt Espy, Jr.
Pe Oo Box 67
Headland, Ala, 3635

February 4, 1977

The Clerk of the Ottawa County Court,
The Ottawa County Court House,
Port Clinton, Ohio 13,52.

Dear sir or madam:

I am currently engaged in research on Capital Punishment in the United States which hopefully will
culminate with the publication of a work which will contain a brief biographical sketch of each
person to have been legally executed in our Country as well as a brief account of the crimes for
which each was put to death,

According to records that I have received, no person sentenced from Ottawa County has been execu-
ted since Ohio began executing its condemned felons at the State Prison in 1885. However, prior
to 1885, persons sentenced to die in your State were hanged locally by the Sheriffs in the Counties
of their convictions and no State Departments or Agencies maintain a listing of those earlier,
local executions. If you have any record of any legal hangings in Port Clinton or Ottawa County,
then I shall certainly appreciate it if you will provide me with the names and the dates of exe-
cutions as a basis for further research,

If there has never been a legal hanging in Ottawa County and you can confirm this fact for me,
please do so. A notation to this effect on the botton of this latter, returned to me, would be
sufficient notification,

If you can't help me, please provide me with the names and addresses of your local Historical So
ciety or Museum, a local Historian or someone well-versed in local History, your newspaper, or
Some other organization or individual who might be of service,

Enclosed is a prepaid addressed envelope for your reply and you will, of course, be given credit
in the work itself for your assistance,

Thanking you for your cooperation, I am,

Respectfully yours,

I have talked to several old
ex-sheriffs who spent many years
in different offices in our Court
House and they say no one was
ever executed in our county,

Ottawa County Historical Museum
City Hall, E,. 2nd ana Adams Sts,
Port Clinton, Ohio 43452

ay abe Canna

Curator

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440 PORTAGE HERITAGE

and brought here for trial.

The Cleveland Police Department
threw all its power into the prosecu-
tion and Morgan was represented by
a famous criminal lawyer. The trial
at Ravenna attracted widespread at-
tention but Morgan was finally con-
victed of the murder of Hulligan af-
ter a bitter contest. Portage county
police feared the “gang” would try
to rescue its leader and the jail was
heavily guarded at all times. Morgan
was sentenced to be hanged and was
taken to Columbus for execution. He
was hanged there in 1888.

Other members of the gang were

also tried. Two were convicted, but
got new trials. Another went free.
McMunn was not caught. Morgan was
well educated and was supposed to be
the “black sheep” of a well-to-do
family. Prosecution of the case cost
the county $30,000.00 for a crime in
which it had no direct interest in the
first place. E. W. Maxson was prose-
cuting attorney then, but he was given
special assistance. The murder, the
trial, the execution and the events
connected with the case were subjects
of talk and speculation for many
years after they Mad passed into his-
tory.
The county first saw a local news-
paper in 1825, when J. B. Butler
came to Ravenna and issued the
Western Courier and Western Public
Advertiser. It later went out of busi-
ness. Before it died, another“ paper
had starter, The Ohio Star, published
by Lewis Rice. Since that time the
paper has been published regularly,
under different names and owners
and is today the Evening Record.

HALL IMPORTANT PUBLISHER

Lyman Hall was long an important
man in journalism here. He owned
the Star and in 1843, started the

Western Cabinet & Family Visitor.
Other early papers issued were the
Independent Press, the Hickory Flail
and Fusion Thresher and the Portage
County Republican.

There were also the Portage County
Whig (1848) and the Portage County
Democrat, the Signal, and the Port-
age County Sentinel, which later be-
came the Democratic Press. It was
long directed by Samuel D. Harris.

About 1885, the Republican and
Democratic Press occupied the field
together with the exception of the
Courier which was printed for a time
as a daily newspaper. With this ex-
ception all newspapers had been
weekly issues. About 1912, the Re-
publican became a semi-weekly and
later a tri-weekly. It became a daily
in 1927, as the Record. The Portage
County Democrat was absorbed by the
Evening Record in 1928, which re-
mains today the only newspaper in
Ravenna.

The earliest newspaper supporting
the Democratic party was the Watch-
man, first issued in 1835, soon fol.
lowed by the Buckeye Democratn
and Plain Dealer.

A more detailed account of the
newspapers appears in = another
chapter.

Religious services were held in Ra
venna first in what today would be
considered an informal manner. Or
casionally people met to worship by
themselves and at other times mc"
like Shadrach Bostwick, Rev. Henre
Shewell, Rev. Caleb Pitkin, Timoths
Bigalow, or Nathan Darrow would
preach in homes or in the court how
The noted Rev. Joseph Badger. ue
sionary, appeared in Ravenna at %*
ious times. In 1816, Dr. Is.tatc
and Daniel Dawley began conduc
services, using the Episcop.}ta “

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.
HISTOR‘ Piss AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES,

James Denny, Joseph Moffit, George W. Weight, Isaac
Fleming, Jesse Spencer, Samuel Smith, Willian Hoddy,
Joseph Kerr, Walter Craige, Nathaniel Massie, Benja-
min Hough, Allison C. Looker, Abner Kearns, Alexan-
der Bourne, David Collins, John G. Macan, John Will-
iams, John Evans, John Barr, Jervis Cutler, John Mc-
Donald, White Brown, Elias Langham, Moses McClean,
John Millican, Jesse Wiley, John P. Neal, John A. and
William Fulton, John Gray, David Kinnear, John Rus-
sell, Samuel Lutz, Charles McKea, and Robert John-
ston; 1871, James B. Mabury, surveyor, resigned, and
Alexander McCoy was appointed. He served a second
term, being re-elected, and Lorenzo Wesson was his suc-
cessor, and is the present incumbent.

CHAPTER XI.

COURT, BENCH AND BAR OF ROSS COUNTY.*

The Perishable Nature of a Lawyer's Fame.—Samuel Smith Chosen
Justice of the Peace in 1797.—The First Court.—The First Licensed
Attorneys. —The First Cause and the First Jury.—The First Common
Pleas Court for Ross County.—Quaint Form and Language of Early
Law Proceedings.—Supreme Court Proceedings in 1804.—Execution
of Edward Stolcupp.—The Trial, Conviction, and Execution of
Henry Thomas, aé/as Goodhue Marvin, Forty Years Later.—Execu-
tion of Perry Bowsher, in 1878.—Early President and Associate
Judges.—Biographical Sketches:—John S. Will.—Levin Bolt.—
William Creighton.—Robert F. Slaughter.—Michael Baldwin.—
Thomas Scott.--WyHtys Silliman.—Henry Brush.—John Thomp-
son. Jessup M. Couch.—Richard Douglas.—William Key Bond.—
Joseph Sill.- -Edward King. —William Sumpter Murphy.—Benjamin
Greene Leonard.- Samuel Atkinson.—Jonathan F. Woodside.—
James McDowall.- -Frederick Grimke.—Allen Lathain.—Allison C.
Luoker. -Henry Massi@.—Gustavus Scott.—William Allen. —George
R. Fitzgerald. -Robert Bethel.—James D. Caldwell.--John L. Tay-
lor. John L. Grear. ~Allen G. Thurman.—John H. Keith.---Theo-
dore Sherer. Joseph Miller.—Edward Lewis.—Alexander St. Clair
Boys. —Samuel Logan Wallace, Charles Ward Gilmore.—Samuel M.
Penn. --Alfred Yaple. —William Renick Madeira.—Thomas Beach. —
Charles E. Brown, —Brief Sketches of Lawyers Still Living.

ORDINARILY, the average lawyer reads, writes, studies,
wrangles, and argues, through, perhaps, a long life; dies,
and is forgotten afterene or two generations have passed
away, as surely and as utterly as his contemporary
merchant and farmer are forgotten; and more certainly
than his contémporary architect, master mechanic, sur-
vevor, and civil engineer are; for the works of these are,
ordinarily, monuments to their memories, at least so long
as their works remain ether remarkable or useful. ;

All the records of himself which a practicing lawyer
leaves gt his decease, are as vague, wierd and impersonal
as are the, mythical characters “John Doe” and “Rich-
ard Roe,” of the gld common law forms of real actions.
His name appears, it is true, in‘perhips a thousand in-
stinces inf the journals and ‘complete records of-the
courts, subscribed to narratives of the contracts of his
clients made or Graken, torts dope ‘or suffered, rights to

eT,
By Col. William E. Gilmore, of Chilli. athe. #

'
!
|
i

be asserted or wrongs to be redressed; but the only
discriptio persone of the lawyer himself is contained in
these words: “By A*** B* * *, his Att’y,” and his
personal appearance, his learning, intellectual capacity,
habits, moral character, and all else about him are com-
mitted to the fast-fading memories of thése who knew
him and have survived him. ae

True, if he has succeeded in reaching supreme judi-
cial honors, he has then and thereby acquired the right
to have his utterances in the form of ‘opinions by the
court” go into printed reports; and his name, and, more
or less accurately, the portraiture of his intellectual con-
stitution is preserved, at least within the guild of lawyers.

Sometimes we get glimpses of the dead and gone law-
yer’s character and habits of life, by reason of his having
brought suits for himself, or his having been sued for kis
own debts and misconduct. Generally, however, the
personal history of the lawyer is only preserved, when he
has turned from the practice of his profession and
achieved political distinction.

Before the organization of any territorial court for
Ross county, the people, in a mass meeting, called for
the purpose, decided to select one of their own number
to act as a justice of the peace, and agreed to sustain
him in all his judgments and orders. Samuel Smith
was chosen for this unique office, early in 1797, and, tra-
dition asserts, that notwithstanding he held no commis-
sion from the governor, or any other officer, he exercised
the power so conferred upon him by the people, freely,
promptly, sternly, and well. Disorderly conduct and
crimes were promptly punished, and the peace and good
order of society maintained.

The first court held in this county convened at the

town of Chillicothe on the fourth Tuesday of December
1798. It was called the court of common pleas for the
U. S. territory northwest of the Ohio river, and was
presided over by “gentleman justices” commissioned by
Gov. Arthur St. Clair. Thomas Worthington (afterwards
governor of the State), James Scott, Samuel Finley, Win.
Patton, Elias Langham, James Ferguson, John Guthrey,
James Dunlap, Robert Gregg, Isaac Davis and Reuben
Abrams were so appointed justices by commissions which
bore the date of October 11, 1798. Of these, James
Scott, Samuel Finley and James Ferguson soon resigned.
The others served ‘until the judiciary was reorganized
under the State constitution, and even after that event
Patton and Abrams, together with Felix Renick, Isaac
Cook and others, served the State long and well as asso-
ciate judges of common pleas. 7

At the opening of the first term of this court there
were present of these justices, Worthington, Scott, Fin-
ley, Patton-and Langham. Edward ‘Tiffin, afterwards
first governor, was the prothonotary, or clerk, and Jere-
miah McLéne; afterwards secretary of state, was sheriff.
So far as we can ascertain, the only licensed attorneys
present at this first court, were John S. Will and Levin
BeJt. The licenses to practice law issued by this terri-
torial court were as follows: Robert F. Slaughter in
March, 1799, William Creighton and James Montgom-
ery in June, 1799, Michael Baldwin in November, 1799,

SO AIR NR EE eA NM, gO A, BH A at:

ROSS COUNTY. OHIO. ‘ ne

gi aes Or oa = a.
4 ies | ) cae

PRAM IEPA
“_
— . e

eeeeeten omy

mney

HISTO \ROSS

first cause dock-
Damages thirty

and ‘Thomas Scott in June, 1801. -
eted was: “ Blair as. Blair. In case.
dollars. Daniel Rotruck, special bail.”
The first jury was empanneled in the case of Kennett
ws. Hamilton, and the entry upon the journal is as fol-
lows: ‘A jury was returned by the sheriff, to- wit: Isaac
Davis, Jas. Hays, Joseph Tiffin, Wm. McLinahan,
Isaac Owens, Jno. Wilkenson, Robert W. Finley, Elias
Bootman, Jno. Bishong, Jno. Patton, Benj. Miller and
Jas. Kilgore, who, being duly elected, tried and sworn,
found a verdict for the defendant.” ‘Truly a model entry
for conciseness and simplicity. Before the jury was
given into the custody of the sheriff, that officer was re-
quired to take this oath, which for centuries was required

in all cases: “You do solemnly swear that, so far as is

- jn your power, you will keep this jury together without
‘meat or drink, water excepted, fire or candle; that you

will suffer no person to speak to them, nor speak to them
yourself unless by direction of the court, only to ask
‘are you agreed upon your verdict? And this you do as
you shall answer unto God.” Failure to agree upon a
yerdict was rare in those good old times when “rogues
were hung that jurymen might dine;” and the modern
practitioner is tempted, when a pig-headed, ‘“‘smart Aleck”
hangs the jury, to wish for a return to the cld practice.
Nearly all the entries in “order book A” are in the
neat and correct handwriting of Edward Tiffin; but at

AND HIGHIL.

i
1

the September term 1799, the prothonotary tried a dep- .

uty, and that deputy, evidently an Irishman who wrote a
good hand, but spelled with a brogue, for he always
wrote Justice Ferguson’s name “Faugorson” and Guth-
rey’s “Gutery” and closed the daily records of the courts
“adJournments.” His _ record, however, only fills six
pages, when Tiffin, resumed the pen and continued them
until the January térm, 1803, when, says the record,
“Thomos Scott, esq., produced a comtmission from
Charles Willeng Byrd, Esq., acting governor, appointing
him prothonotary of the county,” after which, having
taken the required oath, he assumed the office and kept

it until the State organization went into effect in April

of that year. . ‘
At the first term of court, 1798, it was “Ordered, that

Thomas Worthington and. Samuel Smith, esqrs., do

superintend the ones of a’ court house, jail, jailor’s |
And a few days later it was:
further, “Ordered, that one hundred and twenty dollars .

house, stecks and pillory.”

be appropriated out of the treasury | for the purpose of —

assisting toward the expenses of building the court house,
jail, jailor’s house, stocks and pillory.”
On the fifth day of February,

the territorial. common pleas jee with the words ‘‘Ad-

1803, the records of

journed until court in due course.’ : «

‘The first term of the court of éommon pleas, under
the State constitution, for the county ot Ross, “in the
second or middle district of the State,” began on the
twenty-sixth day of April, 1803. Reuben Abrams,
William Patton and Felix ‘Renick, esquires, produced
their several commissions as associate judges from Gov-
ernor Tiffin, touk the oaths required by law, and ordered
the opening of the court.

AN]) COUNT \iO. 09
{

On the next day, yrs Silliman, esquire, appeared,
and, having produced his commission as president judge,
took the oath and entcred upon his duties. Thomas
Scott was clerk pro tempore, and Jeremiah McLene
sheriff. On this second day of the term, the first grand

jury was empaneled, sworn and charged, and retired to

make inquiry of crimes and misdemeanors rowrniticd
within the body of Ross county; ‘‘and, “after some time,”
says the journal, ‘‘returned into court and made present-
ment of Stephen Warren for selling liquor without
license; and were discharged.” Stephen was afterward
duly convicted, fined twenty dollars and costs, and com-
mitted to jail until his fine and costs were paid.

The next business of the judges was the choice of a
permanent clerk of the court. Levin Belt, Thomas
Scott, William R. Dickenson and John McDougal were
the candidates, and each praduced a certificate of com-
petency, etc. signed by Hons. William Spring and
Samuel Huntington, judges of the supreme court of
Ohio. John MoDougal was the successful candidate,
and was at once sworn into his official position. Since
the great Rebellion of 1861-5, much significance has
been attached to spelling our Nation “with a big N.”
But Clerk McDougal, in the pride of his citizenship of
the newly admitted State, always wrote its name thus:
“OHIO;” all capitals, and big ones too!

The earliest licenses to practice law, by the State
courts here, were issued as follows: ‘To Richard Henry
Yansey, in April, 1803; to Lewis Cass (then spelled
“Louis”), in April, 1803; to William H. Irwin, in April,

1803; to Henry Brush, in December, 1803; to Abraham
J. Williams, in June, 1804; to Wyllys Silliman (ex-pres-
ident judge), in June, 1804; to James Scott (ex-associate
judge), in June, 1804. Neither Yansey, Cass, Irwin or
Silliman ever ‘resided in Ross county. The first cause
docketed in this first term was ‘Joseph Tiffin 7s. James
Wallace—debt. Judgment confessed; and execution
stayed, by consent of plaintiff, for six months.”

The third cause tried was Robert Campbell zs. Samuel
Smith; in case, Zamages, four hundred dollars. It had
been twice tried in the territorial court. At the first
trial-the jury had rendered a verdict for plainuff for
six hundred and twenty dollars, being two hundred and
twenty dollars more than the plainuff asked for! This
verdict was set aside, and, on leave had, the plaintiff
amended his declaration by asking eight hundred dol-
lars’ damages; so as to be prepared for another liberal
jury, if he could get such. But the second jury found
‘a verdict for defendant! ‘This was also set aside, and,

“upon this, the third trial, the jury again found for the

defendant, and the court entered judgment thereon as
follows: “It is, therefore, considered by the court that
the plaintiff take nothing by his bill; but, for his false
clamor, hé, together with his pledges, &c., be in mercy,
&c., &c., and the defendant go hence withont day, and
yecover against the plaintiff his costs by him in and about
his defence, in this behalf expended.”

We give this as a specimen of the quaint forms and
language of the law proceedings of that day. The

“&c.s” of the original record stand as given above, and,

oo;

Clark was hanged for the murder of a prison guard. His motive was
revenge for some punishment he had received.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
February 9, 1844.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Esther Foster.

Foster was hanged for the murder of a fellow nurse. Foster was an
inmate of the Columbus Penitentiary.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, black.

DATE OF EXECUTION
February 9, 1844.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED 2 ‘
Albert Myers.

Myers was hanged for the brutal murder of a mentally handicapped
prisoner.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
December 17, 1858.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Franklin County information was gathered from - History of The City of
Columbus, by Alfred Emery Lee, (1892).

FULTON COUNTY

No information on executions available.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
1840.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Erie County Ohio, Lewis Cass Aldrich (1889).

FAIRFIELD COUNTY

No information on executions available.

FAYETTE COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
William G. Smith.

ae,

The first and only execution in Fayette County. Smith was convicted for
the murder of John Gray, a neighbor. Smith got the Gray family to leave the
house. A feud had been going on for sometime between Smith and Gray. Smith
went to the home of Gray with a John Adams with the intention of robbing
Gray. They were both intoxicated. Adams later testified at the trial, that
he did not know the reason for the visit until they arrived. Adams received
a conviction for manslaughter. Smith was a known gambler and troublemaker.
His attorney asked for a change of venue due to the bias of the entire town
against Smith. The change of venue was overruled, and Smith was convicted of
lst degree murder.

AGE & RACE
49 years old, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
December 21, 1867.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Fayette County Ohio, by R. S. Dills (1881).

FRANKLIN COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
James Clark.

GALLIA COUNTY

No information on executions available.

GEAUGA COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Oliver Gavitt.

Gavitt murdered his wife by administering poison. He committed suicide
in his cell immediately before his execution was to take place. Gavitt
wanted to avoid a public execution.

AGE AND RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
1857.

METHOD OF EXECUTION

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Geauga County, W. Beers & Co., (1890).

GREENE COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Jesse Ransbottom.

The only legal exectution in Green County.

Ransbottom murdered his wife in Fairfield Village. After the murder
Ransbottom attempted suicide, but was unsuccessful. He plead not guilty.
However, he was found guilty and sentenced to hang. There were repeated
efforts by the governer to commute the sentence, but these efforts proved to
be unsuccessful. The motive for the slaying was jealousy. The execution
occurred in Xenia township.

AGE & RACE —
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
January 25, 1850.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Greene County Ohio, Hon. M.A. Broadstone (1918).

GUERNSEY COUNTY

No person has ever been given the death penalty and executed in
Guernsey County.

HAMILTON COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
James Mays.

Mays was involved in a fight with a Matthew Sullivan. Mays, unhappy
about being beaten by a man smaller than himself, threatened to kill
Sullivan. Later, at a party given by a local resident, Sullivan offered his
hand to Mays. Mays and Sullivan had been friends for years. However, Mays
preceeded to pull out a knife, and he stabbed Sullivan in the heart. Mays
was the first man sentenced to be hanged in Hamilton County.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
November 15, 1792.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Joseph Palmer.

Palmer and William Berner, a young German, murdered William Kirk, a
stableman. Palmer & Berner were employed as workmen by Kirk. The murder was
committed for a small sum of money. Berner planned the crime and persuaded
Palmer to help him. There was a great deal of public outcry because Palmer
was black. Berner was convicted of manslaughter and Palmer was sentenced to
die. Riots ensued and the militia was brought in. A mob stormed the jail and
broke into Palmer’s cell. The mob asked Palmer if his name was James Palmer.
Palmer replied, "Do I look like James Palmer? Can“t you see I’m white?" It
seems Palmer was half white, and white in appearance. This statement saved
Palmer’s life for the time being since the mob departed. Palmer was able to
escape, but was caught six months later and executed.

AGE & RACE fon
20 years old, black.

DATE OF EXECUTION
July 15, 1885.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

was murdered December 26, 1864. Francis, Alicebelle, an infant, and Jesse
Couzens were all killed in the attack. Jeanette, age 7, was the only person
in the house unhurt. However Mrs. Roosa survived the attack. Mr. Roosa was
committed to an insane asylum in Cincinnati the year before. He was a farmer
and treasurer of Union township. He had recently written his wife and told
her to sell their barley crop of eight hundred bushels and to keep the money
for paying orders on the township treasury. The letter was read in the
General Store to a friend. This was believed to have been the reason for the
murder.

Immediately after the discharge of all suspects on the case, Samuel
Coovert came to Lebanon. He stated he knew the murderer, a David Hicks of
Cincinnati. He said Hicks had confessed to him. After hearing the detailed
description of the crime and the improbable confession, the prosecuting
attorney became suspicious. Hicks was able to prove he was in Cincinnati at
the time of the murder. Coovert was convicted of perjury. The prosecution
secured an indictment against Coovert. The legislature passed a law to meet
this case, authorizing the removal of a convict in the pennitentiary against
whom an indictment for a felony is pending for trial in the county in which
the indictment is found. Coovert was removed from the pennitentiary in
Columbus. Eleven of the jury said they were opposed to capital punishment,
but they said their views would prevent them from rending a verdict. A
mistrial was granted because one of the jurors was biased and a new trial
resulted. A verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree was reached.
Mrs. Roosa and Jeanette identified Coovert as their attacker. Coovert wore a
hankerchief similar to one found at the house. Coovert was left handed and
the blows inflicted on the victims were blows from the left hand. Also, a
horse with mud on its coat was found in a stable near where Coovert worked.
The most damaging evidence was that he knew specific details of the murder
only a day after it occured. Coovert maintained his innocence to the last.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
August 24, 1866.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Warren County Ohio, W.H. Beers & Co.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

No information on executions available.

WAYNE COUNTY

No information on executions available.

WILLIAMS COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Andrew Tyler.

The only execution in Williams County. The victim, a ten year old boy
named David Schamp, was the son of Peter D. Schamp, a well to do citizen.
Tyler, a wandering fortune teller, had visited the Schamp home and concluded
that there was money available. Tyler induced a seventeen year old half-
witted youngster named Daniel Heckerthom to lure the boy away. Heckerthom
agreed to participate in the murder. Tyler stated that they would hold the
boy for ransom. Heckerthom lured the boy into the woods with arsenic coated
candy. He then murdered the boy and buried him. After the boys
disappearance, suspicion fell upon Heckerthom. After a time Heckerthom
confessed. Neither Heckerthom or Tyler lived in Willilams County. Heckerthom
stated that Tyler had promised him money from the ranson. Heckerthom wanted
to use his share to return to Wayne County. Tyler elected to have his trial
at the Supreme Court level. The trial took place a year later. Both men were
sentenced to hang. Heckerthom’s sentence was changed to life because of his
youth and mental deficiencies.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
January 26, 1849.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A Standard History of Williams County, Ohio, Volume I, by Charles A.
Bonerson (1920).

WOOD COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
George Porter.

The first execution in Woods County was George Porter. Porter, a
laborer, was sentenced for the murder of Issac Richardson.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
November 5, 1830.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, J.H. Beers & Co.
(1897).

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY
No information on executions available.
UNION COUNTY
No executions ever performed in Union County.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Union County Ohio, Col. W. L. Curry (1915)

VAN WERT COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Daniel Mcgrath.

Mcgrath was accused of murdering Michael McConnell. There was a drunken
fight in which both men were wounded. There only were the Golivers who
seemed to be biased against Mcgrath. The court overruled a request for
change of venue. The request for a change of venue was baed on the prejudice
existing in the county. He was indicted and convicted of murder in the first
degree. There was a diversion of opinion in the town, many feeling the
verdict was too severe.

AGE & RACE
Age unknown, white.

DATE OF EXECUTION
October 1845.

METHOD OF EXECUTION
Hanged.

SOURCE OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
History of Van Wert County Ohio, Thaddeus S. Gilliland (1906).

VINTON COUNTY

No information on executions available.

WARREN COUNTY

NAME & HISTORY OF PRISONER EXECUTED
Samuel Coovert.

The only case of capital punishment in Warren County. The Roosa family

WYANDAT COUNTY

wt tor

No information on executions available.

dé
i
w

Sandusky County, Ohio County seat- Fremont Executions

JOHN WELSH (Welch) better known as PELTER WELSH
Age 25; nopccupation mentioned, lived in Fremont
22 May 1879 -- accused of shooting unknown male during attempt

to nee him. ‘~ tied 8 : tank (
January 1880 indicted with (indeee Rosbey S04 Mary Bis éndei se
for murder of unknown, now identified as Anthony
Gottsacher, age 46, of Greenburg, PA.
March, 1880 - During this term of Common.Pleas Court, Welsh
was found guilty of murder in the first degree.
Sentenced to hanging 3 Dec. 1880.
% December, 1880-- reprieved by Governor Foster until 25 Feb.
25 February, 1880 -~reprieved for one week, |
4 March 1880-- Sentence commuted to life impriisonment. He
was taken to Columbus.

The newspaper of the time went into great detail on the preparation
for this hanging as it had been almost 40 years since the last
execution and research had to be done on how to build a gallows,

where to obtain the rope,etc.

“State: attorneys- John T. Garner and J.R. Bartlett and T.R.
Finefrock
Defense Attorneys-- Kezekiah kemsburg and John Lemmon

Judge-- John Doyle

JOHN RADFORD

Of English parentage, but raised in Bellevue, Ohio; age 35;
called hinself a contractor and builderfof the railroad.
(Bellevue was a railroad center)

4 November 1882 -- shot and killed his wife , Anna Greenslade
Radford at home of her parents in Mt.
Pleasant, suburb of Bellevue.
Wifé nad filed for divorce because he had
on many occations been abusive toward her.

January Court Term, 1885 --indicted for murder in the first

degree
April Court Term ,1883- Tried for murder Trial lasted for
10 days. ‘

30 may 1883- Verdict was guilty .

15 June 1883- Court sentenced Radford to be executed

12 October 1885-- Sentence carried out by Sheriff Charles
S, Pohlman, Jr. at 12:10 PM ( Gallows

and rope that had been prepared for Welsh was used for this

hanging)
Prosecuting Attornpys- George, Kinney, John Lemmon, Col. J.R.
Defense Attorneys -- T.P. Finefrock, T. k. Strong, and
O.E. Kellogg
Judge-- C.P. Wicklann Jury trial
Defense - Admitted guilt, but claimed shooting occurred while

he was in a dazed condition from the blows to his
head with a garden rake in the hands of his
mother-in-law. He was unconscious of whar he was
doing.

References

Sperry Case

*Everett, Homer History of Sandusky County, 135e¢ -. of -21 4
ugck, Basil "BOth Century Wistory of Sandusky County, 1909

i 1c Richmond—-Arnolc Co., Chicagoe p. L/74-175
& NcCount trom Newspaper story publis sek -

Same as for Sperry Anansloted Seow German

Welch Hanging
Fremont Weekly Journal

"Murder Will Out" Décember..5, 879. p.3 cd
"Picture of Murdered Man" Dec. 26, 187% pl ch
"For His Life™ March 5, 1°80 v3ck
"Bor His Life": con't March 12, 1880 plce- (Details)
"Murder in the First Degree" March 19, 1880 p2éc3
New Trial denied May 4, 1880.

‘John Welch kKeprieved" December 4, 1880 p4c5d

ee Feb. 25 1881 p3cd

it \/ c 1 ’
Meek, P 194 | March 4, 1881 peéc6 & p2cd

nadford Case
Meek p 194
Fremont Weekly Journal
"Death Penalty" October 19 1884 p4co
Radford Crime Qct. 10, 18%2 p3c4

Fremont Messenger O ctober 11, 1834 p3c4

The apove references are in the library of the Hayes
Presidential Center , 1337 Hayes Avenue, Fremont, Ohio 43420
Should you require more details than I have included, copies
of any of the news stories could be sent to you.

Mr. J. Snider is curator of the library if you shoulu need
further assistaice.

Ruth W. Balsizer

Secretary, Sandusky County Historical Society
1447 Hayes Avenue

Fremont, Ohio 45420

406 High Street
Fremont, Ohio 44420
October 12, 1982

Watt Espy

Law Library

Box 6205

University, Alabama 435486

Dear Mr. Espy:

Enclosed are the pages from the Sandusky County Histories
that you requested. There is no charge for them.

At the present time, The Hsyes Presidential Center does
not have the means of printing copies from the microfilss.
They expect to have the machine repaired sometime after
the first of the year. The Fremont News Messenger’ and
The Fremont Weekly Journal are on microfilm which can
be loaned. ‘he #remont Daily News has not yet been
microfilmed.Articles from that paper would have to Be
Dee Coles by other means the charme belli ade

LOUT

Samucl Woodrow Tanneyhill , born June 10, 1929 in Marion
County Ohio

Killea waitress Shirley Bradford ' on May 2, 1955 in Fremont
Was convicteu Octopner 15, 1955 after peing located in
Kansas State Penitentiary where he was serving 10-20 years
for a liquor store robbery.

Articles about the electrocution are found in the
Fremont News Messenger (icrofilm)

November 26, 1955 " Fremont Man Goes tg Electric
Chair Tonight" oe. 1

November 27, 1956, "Tannevnill Electrocuted ror

Shirley Bradford's Murder" pel
/*anneyhill's'Life of Crime'
Related in 'Autobiography' " p.13

The trial mele propaply be found in the 1955

film. I've not had time to check.

William Clark of Cleveland and Toledo murdered Mr. and Mrs.
Ralph Hoffman in Scott ''wp. in Sandusky County in February
1926

Was captured in Cleveland March 29, 1926

Fremont Daily News( Not on microrilm)

July 1, 1926 "Clark Will Not’ Escape Chair" p.l
July 8. 1Y¥¢e6 "Clark Orders His Last Meal" p.1
July 9, 1926 "Bill Clark Expiates His Crime" p/l

Charles Rehfeld executed on May 28, 1921 for Slaying

Dr. Horace Benson, Norwalk aentist November, 1920

He was convicteu in the Comnon Pleas cpurt in Fremont.

Lost appeals in common and appellate and Supreme courts

He was tried twice "as to his sanity, once in Huron County
and once in Sandusky County. Hach time he was declared sane"

Fremont Daily News " Renfeld Died in Electric
Chair and Paid Penalty" p/l

I will try to find articles on the trials of these three,
within the next month . Very little information of their
family backgrounds was given in the articles I read.

If I fina other information , or can ve of further help,
please let me know.

uth W. Balsizer
Secretary , Sandusky County Historical
Society

Metadata

Containers:: Box 32 (2-Documentation of Executions), Folder 6
Resource Type:: Document
Description:: Edward Miller executed on 1934-10-15 in Ohio (OH) Dick Howell executed on 1921-06-02 in Ohio (OH)
Rights:: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Date Uploaded:: July 3, 2019

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