Massachusetts, executions recorded in city and county histories, 1878-1992, Undated

7 v ee —

‘ het

ot

AAO HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
- tilled.my head with rum, and led me into it with him to kill Mrs. Jones
| and the giberen, and now he has left me here to hang. That's all qT ve
se ig ARR a SoS nee SRN ANG got to say.’

The last who suffered the extreme penalty of the law in Berkshive

— county was John L. Ten Eyck, a negro, for the murder of Mr. and Mrs,
¢ Leoeiea 7 David Stillman, in Sheffield. Mr. S. was a carpenter and a farmer, aged
eighty, and his wife was seventy years of age. They were found, dead
and cold, on the morning of November 380th, 1866, their skulls having
been shattered, evidently by an axe that was found in the house,.An
~ of attempt had been made to fire the hotse. ee : age
: Suspicion at once rested on Ten Kyck, who was soon arrested, and p22 55
was only saved from lynching by the officers in charge of him. No other |_
motive than robbery and an enmity that he felt toward Mr. Stillman for ete eee
having charged him with stealing fowls, was known. EER
He was Talad, convicted, and sentenced. A remarkable feature of his fe sere cf cae
trial was the voluntary appearance of his brother to testify against him, | 0
Tle tirmly asserted to the last that he was innocent. He was execu ies On: PSs eee,

: | the 16th of August, 1878. moh tae ae “e

a f : 4 ; . ; ; ; : Tae e : ee ‘ : ; f i wi “is pearest : z 2 r He ie
y Re Mas are AIST eRY oF Be Resi IE CeunM tye by Beers, nt ER a Has oe,
|

All the exeentions prior to that in 1863 were at Lenox, and eke ica
. - Thousands flocked to witness them. The first took place in what was Bosca

then a pasture, but which afterward became the garden of Judge Rock-
well; all after that were on what was long known as Gallows Hill, a.
beautiful elevation on which the late William Emery Sedgwick built a
costly mansion. Wes
: At the time of the first executions the jail stood on the Stookbridge
\ . road, half a mile south of Lenox village, a mile from Gallows Hill...
each execution the considerable space between the two points was ay
ersed by a solemn procession, led by the high sheriff on horseback, -
bearing his official sword, and wearing his sash and other official dress.
The condemned rode in a cart with their coffins. A military escort
murehed to the sound of fife and dram, which played a dead march on
-,~. the way to the gallows, and the liveliest of tunes on their return. The NG

' ¢elergy generally attended ina body. In short, every effort was made to |
render the scene impressive, with what effect moralists may differ in their
estimate.

Besides those who were executed and those who were sentenced for |
high treason and pardoned, there have been aut least three sentences to
death passed in this county. - tbe Bee

In the spring of 1861 a young couple who had eloped from their place f°
of residence in the State of New York, were pursued by the girl’s friends |
and found in New Ashford. They went to their chamber where they
were soon afterward found with their throats cut. The girl was dead,
but the man recovered ; and though he asserted that they had both at-
tempted suicide, in which she had succeeded, he was convicted of mur-
der and sentenced to death. Governor Andrews commuted the. sentence

to imprisonment for life. aoe iste snte = oe ewe shies

aarti te FOES %

Boe ik

Ring he 4 * = a a2 E ‘ mae Cea _ ‘ r SRG eee Pe se
Soa Sic. te if Pi ue Ane a tie Ry La SS ea: Ma Son a het) ecere PS he WoPines oh Cite ee ek.
Faw eat ae fab aol Si CARE eR ARDS TOS ONY AP MERE OES: LOOP IRME  AR IY


/ BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

missionary Te a Coad its sificiency i is steadily increasing. : fs
“The presidents of the Branch have been: Mrs. Paul A, Chadbourne, 3 3
fe of. Williamstown, who served during seven years ; and Mrs. E. F, Gid- :
- flings, of ae chosen in June, 1884. . The treasurer from’ the frst.
% } --has been Mrs. 8. N. Russell, of Pittsfield. The corresponding container

. a en caluaialneies * from the first ie been Miss Elizabeth A. Morley, of Pittsfield, and Mrs.
eee SA, Warriner, of Hinsdale, has been recording secretary. “The home i,
| “secretary during seven years was Mrs. Mary B. Davis, of Pittsfield. = Mrs...
< TT ae oe William B. Plunkett. of Adams, was chosen in 1884, - Maetats oa
- 18 Berkshire County Sunday School Union.—This was organized ata
‘meeting held in the chapel of the First Congregational Church in, Pitts."
field, April 11th, 1872. The object of the Union, as set forth in the 2
Meeecond section ot the constitution, is ‘‘by fraternal intercourse ind

? v4 - gooperation to promote the Sunday Behoot wore. in this county-””

~ with the general operations of the State Sanday School Association. 2
“i The pastors, officers, and teachers of all the evangelical. ee oe
“schools in the county are members of this Union. Meetings. are held:
annually at such places as are agreed on by the Union, and ab 1

--)times and places at the option of the executive committee. AL
“meetings there are devotional exercises, addresses, questions, ,¢
and discussions of all matters pertaining to Sunday school work,

ing the efficiency of Sunday schools A the county: s
.<. The presidents of the Union have been: Alexander’ Hyde,
Charles Pixley, Great Barrington; W. C. Plunkett, South Adams:
Francis, Pittsfield ; 3 A. Ostrander Lee ; oF & Munger, Neniee Ahn,

dog BOF at SNORTED igs OB Sel We Press
RS WN ELISE Sash ara a REE. fC ft ee

i SGeorge Skene, Pittsfield . - George F. Mills, Williamstown: Th
..,taries have been: George B. Perry, North Adams; J. i. Afilbon, ‘Tee :-P,
_ Clark, George E. Foster, F. S$. Parker, F.:T. West, Pittsfield -

CAPITAL CRIMES IN BERKSHIRE.

There have been eight executions by hanging i in, ‘this’ count:
_ which two were for burglary, three for rape, aod three for murde :
aad was peeves 6th, 1787, whey John Bly, an, Mnglishman

e the aretanie of abating sapulies tes the insurgents during Shaye
-, lion. Fosontiens a burglary were not uncommon as that. periods:

: _ for rape vant tiadl on his own daughter There was some doubt
“his guilt, the girl, who was the principal witness against him,” 1
weak mind. aie
On the 18th of November, 1813, Ezra Hutchinson,

if as


/

apie Sopeaaaents

Ps aS ALE SR en

‘SRA See paoue ys me aS

____‘and threatened death to her and her two children who were alone with® |

a

0. @ENERAL HISTORY. | eh, 48055.

yas hang. for rape on Sally Bates. The particulars of this case are notes.
- accessible, 00.) an
_2 On the 25th of November, 1819, Peter Johnson, a negro, of Sheffield, «| °
‘was hung for a rape committed on Charity Booth, under circumstances: *
of. ‘peculiar atrocity. The criminal overcame fer strenuous resistance’

her.’ On the morning of the execution he was taken from the jail to. the.
/ “meeting house where an appropriate sermon was preached by Rev. Mr.°:
+ Bradford, of Sheffield. ‘Thence he was taken to the gallows, where a full: °
“confession was read, and he was execu ted 1 in the presence of a large con
“course of. people,
“The i next case was that of Samuel P. Charles, an Oneida Indian, ae
had" lived: some time at West Stockbridge, and who was hung November:
26th, 1826, for the murder of Joel F reeman, a colored man, by shooting, ae i oioee
in, ‘Wadtanken brawl at Richmond. He was ably defended by Thomas ee
Robinson. and George N. Briggs (afterward governor of the State) but.
“was convicted, principally on the evidence of his own brother, Tradition
: guys that’ the brother on his death bed confessed that he himself fired
MeTatal shot, and that Sam was 3innocent, In an account of this execu-.
ton given by a paper at that time it was said: ‘‘ Early in the morning
the poor condemned criminal was taken from. the jail to the old court
house where appropriate religious services were performed by Rev. Dr.
Shepard.’ Thence the prisoner was taken to the gallows guarded by a
military. corps” of cavalry and light infantr y; and we are told that not
ess” than: eight thousand persons were present to witness the painful
scene.” “Fie: protested his innocence in incoherent words on the scaffold.
On ‘the 7th of September, 1862, there was perpetrated one of the
‘most atrocious crimes that ever stained the annals of Berkshire. ‘That
ay, Sunday, George A. Jones, who lived at Cold Spring, in Otis, went
oO church; while his wife, Emily, with two children of two and four
rears. went to pick blackberries. On Mr. Jones’ return from church his
“wife and children were missing. A general search the next day resulted
eh: discovering the bodies of the missing ones hidden under an old brush
i fence, and covered with brush and leaves, their heads mangled ina most
--shocking manner. _ Marks on the body of the woman gave evidence of a
fiendish outrage by more than one man. There was evidence of a des-.
pérate stragele. Three or four negroes were arrested, but it was possi-
‘ble to convict only one, a mulatto named James Callender, and him only.
ol the evidence of: his father, who was believed to have been at least ait,
equal Pe bent 3 in the hellish crime, but who could not be legally One
¥ icted, 4
ee ‘The kentence was s executed on Friday, November 6th, 1863, :in pres
ence of 250. citizens from different parts of the peanly and State, and.

the. eriminal: who, at his son’s request, was Souviasllea to be prestals On
Cae scaffold Callender said : “I haint got much to say, only the oe ma


QR Eleven Word
do ter husband June of,
ied im Apwil of the Collow-
god the cxsa wis nol
Is8 Marder Endictum nts
al, there have been is9 mitrder
troenta an @ie county during the
© ta0 years, including multipie in--
tments against the persons
some cases, The most famaus triat
that of Bertram G. Spencer of
st. Springfield, along songht  bur-
rwhe pursued the. mundane tasks
a’ ineat company Worker by duy.
burglaries had baffled the potice
‘two years prior to the nish: that
tried to rod the home of Mrs.
rah J, Dow on Round Hill, and
ot dew’ Miss Martha Blacixstone, a
«cher in the Jefferson Ave. School}
‘oOo was a dinner guest at the home. }
3, Dow, Miss Harviet Dow, and
<2 Blackstone surprised hire in his,
minal act and he shot his way aut
the house, killing the teacher and
unding Miss Dow.
spencer worked with a mask and |
iried « change of clothes, which:
hid before each robbery and as-
red directly after, to confuse auy |,
cethle identification, He was ar-;
“ted and confessed April 5. igté,:
ter he was committed for ooserva-

Same

.

“%

of his sanity. Publie opinion was
» aroused over the crime, that Spen-
ts attorneys, Charles R. Young and
“chard P, Stapleton. sought a/
ange of venue to Worcester Count ty |
the tvial, but the petition was!
nied. :
During the trial, in November, 1911, }
which 125 witnesses were heard,
‘encer made several violent out- |
Ks. A jury that stayed out five |
urs and 18 minutes found him]
uty and Judge John A, Crosby}
ntenced him to death. He was exe-
ted the following September,
(ne most melodramatic murder
ston record was that of Alexan-
:ikaminski of New Britain, Conn.,
id murdered Merritt W. Hayden, a
ard, during a break from the
mty jail Oct. 23,
caped with a companion, Paul War-
but they were recaptured. Tne
icf room was thrown into the ut-
»st confusion during the trial of che
o men Feb, 27, 1934, when Kamin-
Vs brother, John, tossed a pack-}
:@ containing a home-raade bomb /
the floor, and shot Sheriff Mann-
< in the thigh as he rushed for-
rd to subdue him. John Kaminski !
as sentenced to 2313 to 25 years in |
‘om Prison when he Mater was found ;
Ity of assault with a danzerous |
set attempting to aid prisoners |
escapa and carrying explosives. |
}
i

;
|
}

On March 9, 1934, Kaminski was
und guilty of first degree murder :
vi sentenced to die in the electric!
ur, The jury convicted Warzo of !
cond degree murder and he drew aj}
2 sentence, Kaminski succeeded in i
aping jail a second time Sept. 2% |
“4. but was captured in New York
ite im November. He was electro- |
“ual at the State Prison in Boston |
- 19, 1935, !
The last first-degree murder con-
‘tion in the county was obtained by |
st. Atty. Stephen A. Moynahan
unst Henry N. Soulia April 12,
% Soulia was found guilty of the
Sish murder on Nov, 22, 1948, of
ancis OW. Hudson, a Fairview
‘try farmer with whose wife he
sin love. Jude Charles Fairhurst
sed the ogeath) sentence, vut
in fought the sentence in a aries
tis oth

wuEt
conviction
Gov,

Commuted

at twis 2 revene
of dhe United
was uph in
Paul A. Dever,

Soulia’a sentence

Owdies,
every

how.
to

1933. Kaminski |

‘June,

.

, lar

»; Court acauived jurisdiction over

mut In this “coy

‘ since the Suy * Court assumed jue

‘ risdiction in « lL cases 6L yours
lago. They we ’

Wallace W. dotmes , hanged
1$92, for the nerideg
'F. Holines;) Kra shi;
Spencer; Stefan Boras
ville, electrocuted
ythe mtrder of Rose Oumesky Sept, 27,
191l (Antone Kolek, sentenced
chair for the same crime died before
the date of execution); Francis Dv- |
jcharme of Easthampton, electrecuted |
in September, 1917, for the murder
(of Eltis Kaczor of Chicopee on Qcr, 25
(19186: and Kaminski. j
Other. defendants have been found!
} guilty of murder ia the second dlegrea |
ior manslaughter, have been adjudged

of
Cas
Ky of Gran-
in June, 1913,

tor

to the!

jinsane, or have had their death penal- i
.jties commuted,

Trial of Ciyit Suits

! While criminal trials may capture!
/Dublic interest to a greater extent. the |
trial of civil suits occupies by far tue
greater portion of the Supe
Court’s time, There are three re: i
criminal sessions a year, usually
of two weeks’ duration each—in
September, January and May, Civil
jury sessions are held every month:
of the year in Hampden County,
cept Julv and Auzus
numerous sittings
. Without! jury. :
i The Superior Court was established
April 5, 1859, as successor to the old .
‘Court of Common Pleas, with ons
chief justice and 10 assoviates. The

OX-
t, while there are!
of the justices

- number of axsociate justices increased

_throush the years until there now ara
32 on the superior bench including
\the chief justice. Over the course of:
ithe years, the Legislature broadened
and extended the court’s powers until |
it became the “chief instrumentality ;
‘for the attainment and enforcement
; of rights and the redress of grievance. t
es in the history of Massachusetts
| jurisprudence.” In 1887, the Superior
di-
nuil and validity of mar-
assuming responsiblity in
(capital criminal cases four ve ars}
; later, In 1893, divers other matters
{such as appeals from district courts. |
‘also were added to the duties of the
{Superior Court justices.

In 1951, the clerk's office
recorded 2086 entries of civil suits,
Though figures are not available for
‘100 years ago, 50 years ago 305 sucit
(cases were entered. Customarily the
majority of cases entered never come
to complete trial, but are settled
‘fore trial opens or after it starts,
; By far the largest number of en- |
fentries are based on traffic accidents
‘involving motor vehicles. These run
as high as $5 per cent. Court oftfi-}
cials freely predicted that when f
jterulban street car lines disappeared
jand the trolly curs began to vanish.
jthe court entry list would zrow
| shorter, because of the great number
lof suits based on street car accidents,
/They fell into a natural error of the
times in failing to foresee the true
proportions of the automotive age. A
:Signat proof of the auto tort
jimportance in the business of: the
‘court is provided by the year 1913--
iwhen gas rationing was in. effect,
(Only 1091 civil suits were entered that
;year, the fewest in two-score years,
iIncidentatly, hard times usually inean
‘fever wsults. vet record of en-
foo Hampden County—2
vas established in ‘938, a depression
year,

; Vorces,
jriages,

here

De.

Ia the

tries t35——

Foy a lone

nh

time, for

the

applications
Piaian

and these
‘try totals before they were excluded
from the lists and directed to the
Supreme Court of the Commonwealth.

© fark ais litic tae

is} } concurrent jurisdictio

in- +

aya ihe
Warte are not

wk, though trials involved
“ta the process of naturaliz ,
Divorces Q@

Still anather factor that prevented
from henge engulfed.
| pending cases was the fact that pro-
hate courts of the state were given
with the Su-
3922

court in

Deviog

Court on divorces Oct. 1,
‘The Superior Court previously heard

talt divorcee libels in the due course cf |

Ncuses tried, though they were in a

‘separate docket and did not count as:

entries... The Hampden (County
Probate Court customarily hears

divorce, separate support and nuility

— civil

cases today, thouch this does net.
hold true in all counties.

ant Position in the county's
system. His general duties—attendin;
‘sessions and taking charge of

all

The cierk of courts. has in import- ;
judicial;

the ;

‘trial lists under the direction of the;

od by special dut
such as serving as clerk of the count
‘commission and of the
: Court for this county.
‘buen fortunate in the long tenure of
‘clerks. There have been: only
in a century. Geo
-from 1852 to 1372,
ert O. Morris, succeeded
deata, and Held thea

when his som, Rob-
him on hi
offica until he
he also died in 1925. A relative, the
late Charles M. Calhoun, succeeded
‘him. Mr. Calhoun retired in 1946 and
‘ Lewis A, Twitchell has held the posi-
tion since. Clerks of court ave elected

‘ by the people. Mr. Twitcheli'’s vresent
assistants are Edward J. Farrell, 2d-
‘ward J. McKay and Miss Helen Z.

Greel Assistants are appointed,

S; field has contributed many
Tnien to the wont Court
Local tices now sitting .

5

promin
beneh

2iso,

area Edward Thomas Bro2dnurat, ap. |

Supreme ,
Springfield has !

four:
‘ge B. Morris served *

pointed in 1923 and dean of
perior Court bench: George
Leary, appointed in 1934, and
Clement Giles, currently a resident of

the Su-.-

Longmeadow, who was appointed in:

1937,

The Probate Court, a court of re-
cord. has in its province the care and;
, Settlement of estates and the suard-
; Janship of infants, as well as co-
jurisdiction in divorce and
cases. The insolvency court also was

allied .

combined with it in 1858 and the mer- |
ger has lasted since that date. The!

necessity for a second probate judze

jin the county, due to rapidly increas- ;

(ing court business, was apparent from

tue time Probate started
| divorce cases, and in 1925 Thomas H.
, Stapleton, now first judge of probate,
| was appointed to serve with the late
John A, Denison. Judge Denison died
in 1948, Donald A. Macaulay was ap-
Pointed to succeed him and now pre-
sidesas second judge of probate. Other
judges of probate during the past
century were Oliver B. Morris,
Wells. William S. Shurtleff
Charles I. Longs.

case's"

‘How Population
Of Springfield

eased
11,300
15,199

Has Incr

ISBM ‘ccc veicecceenerees
18646
1870
BS8O cececconcccecsveves
1899 .

1944
1410
1920
1930
Wt

qa

Anema e seme arneeens
eee ee races ensases

eeeeee sekahe
t2989

> en

eaeeees

to handie !

John:
and .-

Ar

Gen,

£175 cir

Geor Re WW:

i throurh Sprinctint

, Men acconipanied hiny,

; Sreat title of “President
, the

,of the new nation Was rece,

ie ire

1:7. D. Brewer

‘and Court

ducted a

Way to take en MMNand
tinental Army in Fr,

over-nizht at the otq ie
which then stood
next day, when
journey, 2 co

on

he ¢

oMmpany of

ASA y

honor, as far ag Brook fieta,.
Gen. Washington Visited gos

field again in 1789, then near Bay

Cereesy

United States,"

aecording 14
Old local record. The

first Pre

ver vers
| Highest honors by the town’s Jn wie
Citizens, and sy pent some time j{
_ Inspection of the Arsenal

t :

bn
Site,

. ’ f
SAT Mh hes Salinas ee

Pynchon Family Began
In England at Time

Of Norman Conguest

' William Pynchon, the founder
;0f Springfield, was one of the
‘ English sentlemen who original.
ly formed the Massachusetts Ray
Colony, under a royal charter,
Pynchon evidently wae the
seendant of a Narman.= xald
who cams to Englend with Wil.
liam the Conqueror and, as a
reward for valiant military gery.
fee during the Conquest,
given a tract of land
colnshire.

Tha family nama of Prachsc
was spelled in yarious ways
over ths centuries. Tha Py ‘nehon
Weg hafore thse time of Wil.

cinded a number of Fug
ials and ti
bonadine Daronets
of high degree, and at ‘leas t one
high sherift of London, Nieholas
Pynchon, who avn ieved this im.
Portant post in

Noe

OP

WAS
in Lin.

tha year 1533,

> Chiefs

. Since 185

rte

taneisbe 1SSCiI8bs
i George Ensworth’.... 1851
Waa W. Parks oo. fg ess

George Dwight ........ 18:
iH. C. Lombard eeeedees 1859

I. C. Hanson

Ide Maralt? food a i.

Oo S. Taylor
I.

Elijah Gunn
Henry Gray
Amos Call ..., §

L. H. Powers seevceee e LSH5-1867
W. W. Day ...acceees 1868

L. H. Powers .....e00c8 1869

A. P. Lesure ..cccceees 1870

L. H. Powers...

W. W. Day Cebeeeaeds

H. C. Lombard
A. P. Lesure .....,

W. G. Littlefield se eesa
William H. Daggett
Herbert. C. Root oo 1933-1947
Thomas J. Wrenn .... 1947-195 31
Rd. Patingre {acting) 1951.

eee eeeens

sseseeee noe

.

wpe eee grpemenion

‘Cost is Cents to Mail”

A Letter in Year 1775

Moses Fig: WAS postmaster of
Springfield in 1773. He established
his peatertine at the corner of Main
Sts. where he also cone
fur and hat business, Whit

coulmodities Were cheap In those

early days, postage was not. It cost
at least 15 cents to mail a letter,
foses Church's

Dastoffica wae the


P*) or fadirectiv. oa. {the farm of William Mattoon.

- ented bas been remodeled extensively

ag Coie ‘Engiand, and possibly in the

Sa a em sere we wr Sas es ee ta ae ae tog : ie
Sih ‘ ‘ % upset, in fact, that he eisced ‘shaiirs
Boarc nto Action’ Frederick Bush to letve the eid
; 23 '  reem and arrest. 3 band ‘that
spy Spe — Sa she qr : ‘ around » Court Savare. ec .
43 Building Captured in Shays Rebellion; Last Hang-  jusade tora tiremen's’ Wun Ree

+ [Was tootling and Sine ite wav
ang in 1898; Spencer Trial Most Famous; 189 In. |{uslly Judse Lord was paciticd, at

dicted for Murders in ae See 952.
Rige DARRELL N. TOOWEY Ata fie ee
i uch of the life of any New Ene- ness that they were indicted by the_
TaAnd community that happens to be Grand Jury for misconduct in office, .

the county seat centers around the in neglecting to provide fireproof pCounts, vee
, county courthouse, Springfield has rooms for the Registry of Deeds and a , “H. H. Richardson was the architect |
been no exception, not only for the the safe-keeping of public papers and :0f the “new” court house. He plan-
“Past 100 years, or since Hampden petordecVAnd the bidicthtent -% buns ‘ned it in the Florentine style, model.
County was separated from Hamp- gyer them from December, 1859, un.’ /i7S the tower on that of the Palazzo:
shire County in 1812, but since colo- $j) jf was nol prossed in ‘Tl, when the / Vecchio in Florence. The building
nial times, when it was an alternate decision was made to translate the “was 169by 9Ofeetandthe walls were!
Shire town” with Northampton. Fee teoiitnouse fom dream stuf in- ifour feet thick. The site cost $75,-..
Gibraltar of Attraction to Monson granite, 4716.37, the structure, $214,068.39, the
While the complex growth of city, Captured by Rebels furnishings, $14,757.99. An “eminent!
aoe and Federal governments—in-. There were only two ofticial court ‘architeet,” quoted by The Sprinzficeld!
cluding their courts—may have di- A i
minished tha importance of the ah typ id 5950 dmhah  ahan “called is front stairway “the grandest’
eanwnisien County Court House in the the east side of Main St. on land ils Scatter an ,
minds of many citizens, it still re- subsequently taken for Sanford St. It. |. The structure was built of granite’

_jarrest order, though he remained:
a testy and grumbling for several hours, '
{Court history records the fact that.
‘it was several years before he wa
«again assigned to sit in Hampden:

a

_ thousands whe acec it, from necessity {T22, W500 UntIT ITPA. when the recoras) , Mrnished by Willlam X- Flynt & Co,
thither then “cOriosity. Ne mak eto ee ton. During | lied ann Ry psy abn » chide
oman becomes a naturalized ‘citizen Bee earrreer wae, expired by; es i am say ee wtdaneg sing
Phu chilg to. couet: hardy a pee feet Mert cette NO. RCO et ee
son buys a house or pets a mortgace hte, Semen. prevatied: upoet i ney Leponsiie) Se vane SNe, Was
“without the transaction being duly the court to postpone its sittings until? ‘considered “adequate to the wants of
Inscribed on the records of the Reg- Sheen Cemeenres:_ Subsequently, .. itt bia begat cho os were A a
istry of Deeds: marriages die in our! *** used as a Town Hall and for! ,yet a new wing was required and an
poster y= Ae arleina te: tisha Various pucposes, resuming its func- | ieowbid new buildine--the Hall of
fica ot rhe clerk; in Probate Court, bo cuteac tt ies lad apa pr when}? stage pA te Zener S00 ' Deeds
Lhe property of citizens passes to PemPden) County was _Dnsousediaas 3 Go mee age bE og eget eee
their heira; countless thousands seck +4Nd Maintaining its judicial identity” Fghiarh ri edifice inch se ie
-Yedress in civil court, where their, Until 1822, when the court moved into £4 mous: Tent: Pre Miy obes sporginsk
caeesgo to trial or are settled: crim-: the new huiiding acrosa Court Square. ap The Sprinsticld Giinda e mt # nore
inale are triedin criminal session.!1n_ 1826. the First Parish bought the! Telegram, Tan. 2, 1876 sy ewer!
Ic is likely that at some time or other! Old building for $800 and gave it to. Vy, aigned himself “Cud ai: pi hd
in the life of every individual in the its first Congregational “child.” South! “Let ne fool as this aaa peas t
founty who comes cf age—and of Church. Ii was moved twice after ison) ths outside We find it a
many who do not—he or she comes {tiat. and in iSizit was demolished, its) side street, not a good place. ma a:
inte contact with the people whoi timers completing their usefulness). grand show, pounded: rk he Wiest per

least to the extent of rescinding jis’ ~

‘Union but not otherwise identified,

os 3 ; ne a oe
Cell ype iat rom nel, of

court hotse for criminal defence:
awaiting trial Theyeare now tea:
Ported Gaily fring aed faotea go
SME Sh a mator WADE SD i era
S COUIE I8 IN swan tie os
| Jail Hatit tn psg
The county jait has lose Tes ee
the county court notes of a.)
Construction uf tie present jail a:
‘House of Correcticn was Suthordt
pin ISS4. It was builk at an eves
“eost of $256,953.96, inctuding 345;
_for the land at York St. and Cojv-
fous Ave, The old county Jat, were
Stood on part ofthe site of the Pre
ent Classical High School,
abandened in 1887.

‘A hundred years ago, the fhima

of the jail must hate had a tre
rouch time of it, as evident in ae
_ Of jail rules approved by tha tone
“Commission Jan. 7, 382. The ct
included these restrictions:

“The Prisoners, when not taken ©
of their cells for work, shall bas
in their cells and shall preserva ™

fect silence.” f

_ “When visitors are Present, no pre
oner shall look up from his work »
leave his seat.” pa ae 4

“The whole conduct of Prisons

' shall be orderly and quiet"-—on pens
ly of solitary confinement: or
_cases of extreme stubbornness, ¢.
‘gag may be used.”

The present jail. though obsoi-
cent, has been modernized consid:
ably during the administration
Sheriff David J. Manning. In aveh
tion to actual physical improves:

the sheriff also initiated an agric:
tural program that utilizes the la:
ef those prisoners who agree to
farm work. The jail has acquired «
‘extensive tract in Agawam, besics
“the large garden plot on Colum:
Ave, and the prisoners praduce
sreat part of the food they eat. T
result is that the per eaypita cost’:

é esti oo * nee in s 20 be ' + +
run the courts on Elm St, directly | upport of a tobacco barn built 98! 2 schouthouse and a board fence, on ~ feeding prisoners in the Hampa-

; -.) the south by a large beer saloon. on
' The granite pile of the Hampden{ The second court house cost $8375.) the exst by 2 dwelling houses, a tizh:.

) County Superior Court House is the! lt sak 48 xX 62 feet. two stories hish.! yoard tence and numerous baek shes

; ns girect descendant ef 2 room in the /and 31 feet to the eaves. One of its} fs Takes
- “home of William Pynchon. where the | More romantic features was 2 bell in’ with a very fine view o

¢ the rear ond

first court in Springfield was held; the cupola. which, tradition nad it,! of the Exchange Hotel and livery
March 27, 1850, The butiding was | once sounded on a British man o’ war | stable. On the north it is bounded by
dedicated April 28, 1874, by the Hon,/ that Americans captured during the; an ancient frame meeting house. , it
William G, Bates of Westfield, “fa-i Revolution. The hell assembled the |. has a wonderfully fantastic exterior,
ther and historian” of the county bar./ court and also “alarmed the people”| and so unlike anybody's notion of a
He said: ite j Whenever there was a fire. It was) courthouse thata stranger one day
“Having erected a temple to the hung in the present courthouse’ piney in sober honesty if it was a
adiminisiration of the ‘Jaw, we are cupola, but smashed into pieces when: en. 4
lieve to eousecrate it, 2a the forum it was tumiblel from its hangings by By Popular Sabseriptton :
Where the law is to be ineted out presumadly careless workmen in Sep-} But Court Square still is not a

i j i ite”? ee > -. misnomer, “though the Exchange
with Rhadamanthine impartiality. tember, 1379, : Y ea anes Gainad have long?

There may be a few people lefti > The bell did not respond to a putt) Motel and t Ce aap coe pad : Ate!
tho letra these words from rtheifrom a utilitarian rope when court ince bhcarrenpte 3 a ton Se aut
distingaished attorney, and the many | @+¥4 came and the judge approached, :. glare bien Maa inset er erat

“more which made up an oration that. The court-crier was stetioned in thee oi peinias bei pesos Boar oh ena
covered the county's history com- cupola, where “he kept a vis lantexe; a he ia cag ae recerd: feat

metely and that ran to 96 printed ;for the appearance of the judge as al Ya Hoetiatataded dune Comming

: pares in 2 brochure. a earue from the Massasoit Hause; ‘eis " eat’ the pea ae the aqnate for
Wing Added around the corner of Main and Court) hae ia ye shaaaie ere y

: Pe 7 -! hay s
The building which Mr, Bates dedi- tataeach? ie Ser ane _ 3) Not long after the turn Rat so
tendants, fresh froma hearty dinner, | eee se Brown Br degweas oarg
PATEUINE -acrepe. Se eyvare bintad caaccunte FA the wants of the county.” .
“thone in the Vicinity showed Breat “7 he housing problem chiefly con-,
poi ving to the _ dignity of the} cerned the Probate Comet and Regis-f
: : -“try and the Registry of Deec a, The!
cobegia anid much extention tthe, eat of Recode ax hut Adneent
™ he ne 7 - rth

those unfortunate enough to find abisees porter it in 1207. They!
attached to its predecessor, which was! themselves in the toils of the law. At’ oo. crowded back into it-—-and intot:
erected just north of the Old First! one time after the new court was! tig posement of the Auditorium—in)
Church in 1921. Mr. Bates well re- ibuilt and the cotrthouse beside the 4930, whila the Hall of Records under- |
meibered the trouble in that older| church bad been sold to the Odd) \ony further expansion through the}

and dustier day when he was a
voung man, and “a portion of tne; COUnty

end a wing has been added. In its
dey. it was regarded—vy many—as a
triumph of architecture.ag the finest
public edifice in Massachusetts. if not

East, tt also was the center and re-;
_pult of considerable controversy; ;
much more controversy, in fact, than :

huying back the Wuilding from ~ cet, recently completed at a cast of :
+ al *, y ; 43 ign £ A ty W a” le
inhabitants of Springfield” sought “to! the fraternal order nad use as a diss Qyour a liaif-million dollars, ads re
jovate th near the Uniterian Church, | trict court house, The plan, thoush,” seond Probate Court rag and auch:
. e a +d z 4 ejej ‘ ° : : . : f var z a ;
in the perden of Fon. Jonathan | never completed, envi joned te CON-: nore space tor both veri trie Dior
Mwizht, instead of its present loca-! struction of an undersiound paysaze- i Ia 1912, a new wing aso was adde
jvweay from the police station, to elimt- i: te the Superior Conrt House to fur:
“9 anequate Spuce for the of ¢
clerk of courts, the oun. *
iy Cepiats

“ton. { nj
For one rhine the county com. / nate the morbid crowds xho gathered. nish mor
wate 60s, resisted each morning io wate the prisonevs.. gees of 14 :

f per «nd the Cou

misnoners, in the |

de

Fellows, there was serious talk of the additien of # second floor, The proj."

“County Jail and House of Cyrrect:
is the lowest in the Commonwes:
and one of the lowest, in intl phen

Last Hanging In 1898

! Part of the sberif{'s duty before ¢'

closing years of the 19th Century wy:

the unwelcome task of officiating
executions sby hanging. The Lb

‘legal hanging in Massachusetts ts

place at our jail, when Sheriff ke

bury P, Clark hanged Deming:

; step-daughter, Victoria VPinkas, -
Dee, 39, 1898, Vine electric cisait ©.
Planted the hangman's novre the
lowing year. Tho rope that ens
Krathofski's life is preserved ta
curio cabinet at tho jail. ¢
It was customary in tho old di:
.for the high sheriff to invite a by
number of quests to witness a han
‘ing, sending out printed invita
for the event. The newspapers of t°
‘time covered the executicons ta &.
most minute detail, inchading  ¢.
‘-elergyman's prayer aml tha en:
-:demned man's last words, if apie
priate. ‘They seldom failed to reves
: the presence of the “morbidiy «ur
ious” on nearby rocefiops with ae
4iand of the xvim scene, And the
usually con:pleted their accounts #.
“a Uist of the names of distingiien:
\ invited) guests,” the bat seuetice
PYRnning to ascniany as tlh mane
© Le wae not until 189s that §
.Supertor Court—esctatiished tn lao
SOC extiusive Julisci tion in fay’
‘eases, At the outset, threas gnaw:
sere required to presse alr

Sleases. (ce number later boing cut

oto, and then tn be) to ene
Prot ta tath, tha suprenma’ dities
)Cotrt hued Mie aictien o9 et Mid:

“ptrinky, ft beard 1) evpitel easve Bie

#18a2 wibil the date the Mypret
J tyek oven, ot teat ant Teas wtp.

COT Rng aners. Cae S

Krathofski for the murder of bo


37 gk siecle @ pris Sam aoaaonn®
; ‘ Diswits tinpatred
: ey At tines the dis 7 .

8 ¥ J QD, pe | es Ugaty af the court

* . — teocd Ws linpiulred by noises — j "

y o£ i gUhas } bY nvises ino the
: Oui t i i0L Se 4 “other than the clop of hoofs aid the
“ - creaking of wagon wheels. In Mav
sew pig ant ant ae . ; eels, t av
t oO / d After Indictmen 1880, Judge Lord of Solem was so

upset, in fect. that he ordered Sheriff

street,

we

Frederick Bush ta lenve the court

ea! - A ws ’
Se orced Board Into Action room and arrest a brass band that

iwas tootling and clanging its way

: y around Court Square during the
ag Captured in Shays Rebellion; Last Hang-. | parade for a firemen's muster, Even.

tr . % {tually Judge Lord was pacified, at

S48: Spencer Trial Most Famous; 189 In- ‘least to the extent of rescinding his
: pata ee

ior Murdera in 100 fears

roar ye eccucture with such rugged stubborn-
tiat they were indicted by the
aiid ticand Jury for misconduct in office
In nesiecting to provide fireproof
raoms for the Registry of Deeds and
thea aufe-Keeping of public papers and
records. And the indictment hung
avec them from December, 1869, un-

le He nean

; County.

of the “new” court house. Hea plans
ned it iu the Florentine style, mrodet-
ing the tower on that of the Pala
eat :Veechio in Florence. The building
1i! it wax nol prossed in hire when the Eas 160 by"-90 feat aid the walls tees
decision was made to translate the | 7) feet thick. The site cost %75,-
new courthouse from dream stuff in- 1216.37, the structure, :
to Monson granite, furnishings, $14,757.99.
ecg by Rebels nen architect.” quoted hy The Syvinetiel
Vircre sere only two o a Dirt
houses in Springfleld before 1874, The
the first one was erected about 1710 on
Heuee IA INO ie enst side of Main St. on land
vee Hf all PO i guncoquently taken for Sanford St. It
attraction £0) woe used until 1794, when the records ;
se MeCONIUS | Vang miaved to Northampton, During
Shays Rebellion, it was captured »)
3e0 of Shays’ rebels, who, according oy
pathy At lto a later account, “prevailed upon; ; The bduilditts, at the time, was
SR NOTTAALS Ce Court to postpone its sittings uml) Considered “adequate to the wants of
veitig WIV ppt deanrture.” Subsequently, it the county for a century to come,”
eof tne Rex- tae used as a Town Hall and for yet a new wing was required and an
seca dia In OU) oO ious purposes, resuming its func-, . entire new building—the Hall of
ro in the Of-trinn as a courthouse in 1812, when: ,Records—for its Probate and Deeds
bate Cor Hampden County was established,;. tenants, within half a century.

Z scare.) Me en poe Mp a pe an : The delight of-Springticld in the
roueands seek and Maintaining its jud cial {entity ‘magnificent edifice was not unani-
where tireiy , eatil 1322, when the cour maved ous, {tem: A letter to the editor
er aem aettlods crim-;| the new building across Court Square,

‘osnah session.) In 1826. the First Parish bought the:
meor other; old building for $890 and gave it to who signed himself “Cudgel:”?

ual in the ts fivsec Congregational “child,” Sout, “Let us look at this grand abort:

age--und of /Church, It was. moved twice after denon the outside. We find

or aba comes{ihat and in i3v2 it was demolished, its. side street, not a good place for 2

people whol Uorbers completing thelr usefidness: . sang show. bounded on the west by

. directly; i9 support of a tobacco arn built on

the farm of William Mattoon. the south by a large beer saivon. on

of the Hampden he second court house cost $53°5 the east by 2 dwelling houses, a ticht

“f% Houne ts the} It was 48 x 62 feet, two stories Wish.) hoard fence and numerous back sheds.

Union but not otherwise identified
called is frontstairway “the grandest
‘stairway in America,” f

The structure was built of granite
furnished by William N. Fiynt & Co.
of Monson, with 950.000 bricks sup-
‘plied by John Leary of Springfield.
The contractor was Norcross Bros.

No man or

aiisedd eptizen

feissecs

if
it
a schoclheuss and a board fence. on

a room in the }and 31L feet to the eaves. One of its) —
shen, Shure the | More romantic features was a bell in’ with @ very fine view of the rear one
nafteld was hold: the cupola, which. tradition had it, { of the Exchange Hotel and livery!
* buiding was ‘once sounded on a British man o° war; 3f2.0le. On the north it is Soneee A
by the Hon.) that Americans captured ducing the, 2” ancient frame meeting house, ,
ef WestQield, “fa- | Revolution. The bell assembled the. has a wonderfully senate hie
ofthe county bar.) court and also “alarmed the people”! and so unlike anybody's notion a
whenever there was a fire. it was courthouse thata stranger one ¥
cf a teninia ta the hung. in the present courthouse enquired in sober honesty if it was et
" the law, we are cupola, but smashed into pieces whea church.

ta if, as the focum it was tumbled from its hangings by

By Popular Sahseription
“ : nt C Square still is not a
ha mated out presumably éareless vorkmien in Sep-: 8 ourt Sq
tpartiality.” jt tember, 1879.

misnomer, though the Exchange
H > gale ave lon
ew peoole left: The bell aid not respond to a pull patent peed hors —— rie
ja from rhejfrom a utilitarian rope when court equare fiself was purchased by popu-
*, and the many | dasa came and the Judge approached py aubseription Back in i82f and for
Bdpeogtoniey ae ore ee omy aa te a lonz time was under control of the
e hittery coin- cupola, where “he kept a Vv Ant eve

A ' county. It is a matter of record thai
“to 96 printed | for the appearance of the judge as he, COUNTY. 40 IS ied County Commis-
ms ; | casi from th Massasvit House fan economy-minded County :

4 j carn fror e Massas 18.1 oon sold the grass on the square for

ug Added } around the corner of Main and Cour in at en ee prio
snot hen Bec ea obi inthe oti eae a at. Not long after the turn of the
uge, Oo sher. k t of

sleled extensively |
fengunts, fresh froma hearty diuner,

2 feen added. In

century, it became obvious that the
“new” courthouse no longer Was
toy many— i Durading acrosa the square while “adequate to the wants of the county.”
evs the fineat! “tose ia the vicinity snowed great) oy, housing problem chiefly con-
«sehusetts, if not {deference to the dignity of the “cerned the Probate Court and Regis-
try and the Registry of Deeds. The

id mich attention to tha 3 Of Records waa builteadivcent
Ay SALE Oa noua ant Beets and

’ i> euurts

mio peasably in the}

veneer and ge

‘ sWertuniie enough ta fit probate occupied it ino taas. Th
toemsel.es in the toils of tha law. At were crowded back into it—and into
lone tima alter the new court WA"! sig gosement of the Auditorium—in
the courthouse beside the “939, while the Hall of Records under-
aclt ty the Oud | ial ot jon throuch the

r ana)

jarrest order, though he remained‘
| testy and grumbling for several hours, |
{Court history records the fact that:
‘it was several years before he was)

¢again assigned to sit in Hampden,

H. H. Richardson was the architect”

Morning >
Jan. 2, 1876. by a lawyer:

AUNixe a oostruction of
Distiet Court building in 1930 aixo
took more of the pressure off the
sont house, one of whose chambers
bad been used for District Court civil
casea3, At one time, also, there was
tcell space in the’ basement of ths
vourt house for criminal defendants
awaiting trial They are now trans-
ported daily from and to the county
¢ jail in a motor van, while criminal
+ court is in session.
| Jalt Buiit In 18864

“}. The county jail has close ties with |

‘the county court house, of course.
: Construction of the present jail and
‘House of Correction was authorized
in 1884. It was built at an overall,
“eost of $266,954.94, including $15,100
>for the land at York St. and Colum-
‘bus Ave. The old county jail, which:
stoodon part ofthe site of the pres-
ent Nassical igh School, was
abandoned in 18s7.

A hundred years azo, the inmates:
of the jail must have had a pretty
rough time of it, as evident in aeset
of jail rules approved by the County
Conunission Jan. 7, 1852. The code
inclided these restr :

“Tae Prisone When not taken out
of their celis for work, shall be shut
in their cells and shall preserve per-

' fect silence.”

“When visitors are present, no pris- |
oner shall look up from his work nor
leave his seat.” ‘

“The whole conduct of Prisoners
shall be orderly and quiet’—on penai-
ty of solitary confinement; or “in
cases of extreme stubbornness, the
gag may ba used.”

The present jail, though cbsoles-
cenit, has been modernized consider-
ably during the administration of
Sheriff David J. Manning. In addi-
tion to actual physical improvemeitts,
the sher also initiated an agricu!-
tural prograin that utilizes the labor
of those prisoners who agree to do
farm work, The jail has acquired an

‘extensive tract in Agawam, besides
the large garden plot on Columbus
Ave. and the prisoners produce a
great part of the food they eat. The
result is that the per capita cost of
feeding prisoners in the Hampden
‘County Jail and House of Correction
‘is the lowest in the Commonwealth
4 and one of the lowest in the country.
Last Hanging In 1598

Part of the sheriff's duty before the
closing years of the 19th Century was
the unwelcome task of officiating at

{executions «by hanging. The last
\ legal hanging in Massachusetts took
place at our jail, when Sheriff Em-
bury P. Clark hanged Dominique
Krathofski for the murder of his
step-daughter, Victoria Pinkos, on
Dec. 30, 1898. The electric chair sup-
| planted the hangman’s noose the fol-
; lowing year. The rope that ended
| Krathofski's life is preserved in a
curio cabinet at the jail.

It Was customary in the old days
for the high sheriff to invite a larse
nuniber of guests to witness a hanc-
ing, sending out printed invitations
for the event. The newspapers of the
time covered the excculions to the
most minute detail, including the
clergyman’s prayer and the con-
demned man’s Just words, if appro-
priate, They seldom failed to remark
the presence of the “morbidly curi-

, ous” on nearby rooftops with a con
j mand of the grim scene. And they
usually canipleted their accounts wii!
a list of the ‘nes of distinguisred
imeated yuests,’ the list sonterimes
i running to as many as 125 names,

It was not. until 1891 that the

Sunertoy Court—established in 1859-~ >

tC eNcinsive durisdietiog qn canine!


Hussey s
{ ta. ite %

- indichn scheduled for
Hampden

Woon

nt
hearing in
involved a Holyoke
af her husband June 24,
aye died in April of the follaw-
ing. pear the was nol
proxned,
io Murder Indictirenis
In there have been 189 murder
jmdbetuients in tae county during the
last 100 years, tnetuding multipie in-
Hicline nis the persons
eam sonte cases, The most famuus trial
vas Ulat of Bertram G. Speneer of
West Sprimgtield, a long sought bur-
glar who pursuedthe mundane tasks
of a meat company worker by duy
His burglimes had baffled the posice
fov two years prior to the nisnt that
he tried to rob the home Mrs.
Sarah J, Dow on Round Hiil, and
shot dead Miss Martha Blac
teacher in the Jefferson Ave. School

ne Cent

rrmder

and case

al

agzaimat same

of

tone, a

who was a dinner guest at the hone. !

Mrs. Dow, Miss Elarrict
_ Miss Blackstone surprised hira in his
ceriminal act and he shot his way out
fof the house, killing the teacher and

unding Miss Dosw,

Dew, and

Spencer {with a "Task and

hes,

8g 1
VOURes

iearried a enange of ¢ which

he hid before each robbery and as- |}

|

sumed directly afrer, to confuse any
possible identification, He was
rested and confessed April 5.

are:

iyo, !

j Later ne was committed [or ovserva-

_ tion of his sanity. Public opinion was
so aroused over the crime, that Spen-
-!cer’s attorneys, Charles R. Young and
Richard P. Stapleron. soughe

a

change of venue to Worcester County

,for the trial, but the petition was
“ denied.

i ysnumber of

_4 Duving the trial, in November, 1911, :

“in which 125 witnesses were heard,

Spencer made Violent out-
breaks, A jury that stayed out five
“hours
guilty and Judge John A. Crosby
sentenced him to deaih. He was exe-
cuted the following September.

The most melodramatic
trialon record was that of Alexan-
.der Kaminski of New Britain, Conn,
‘who murdered Merritt W. Hayden, a
guard, during a break from. the
county jail Oct, 23, 1953. Kaminski

, escaped with a companion, Paul War-
go, but they were recaptured. Tne
court room was thrown into the nt-

*;most confusion during the trial of che

_ {two men Feb, 27, 1934, when Kamin-
ski's brother, John,

several

tossed a pack-}
age containing a home-made bombd*

and 18 minutes found him}

murder |

jon the floor, and shot Sheriff; Mann- |
jing in the thigh as he rushed for- i
ward to subdue him. John Kaminski!

was sentenced to 2314 to 25 years in

“Stata Prison when he later was found |
guilty of assault with a dangerous!

weapon, attempting to aid prisoners
to escaps and carrying explosives.
On March 9, 1954, Kaminski
found guilty of first degree
‘and sentenced to die in tne electric
chair. The jury convicted Wargo of
second degree murder and he drew a@
life sentence.
‘escaping jail a second time Sept. 27,
1934, but was captured in New York
State in November. He was electro-

was}
murder +

Katnineki succeeded in |

cuted at the State Prison in Boston,

Feb. 19, 1935.

The last first-degree murder con-
jvictton in the county was obtained by
jDist. Atty. Stephen A. Moynahan
‘against Henry N. Soul April 1%

1949. was found gutiry of

dt

Sonia the

: isk rider 23. of
\Francias W. Hudson, a

‘poultry farmer with whose

was in love. Judce tharles
) ar »

in on Nov. i943,
Fairview
he
hurst

ah Sorinr ”

wife

f

“as high as $5 per cent.

fler hangs a
John D. Cassels of Sp
| ai Jun. 30, 3992 for
ary J. Lane of Long ulaw ©
jel. 26, 1900. Only seven have been
‘executed after trial in thia county
i since the Superior Court assumed jn-
risdiction in capital cases 61
ago. They were: ‘
' Wallace W. Holmes . hanged
‘June, 18 for Murder ons
| f>—Holmess— Krathotsktr~ Cass i
\Spencer: Stefan Borasky of Gran- |
ville, electrocuted in June, 1913, j
4the murder of Fiose Ountresky Sept. 27,
,1911 (Antone Koiek, sentenced to the;
‘chair for the same crime died before:
‘the date of execution); Francis Du-}
icharme of Easthampton, electrocuted
‘in’ September, 1917, for the murder |
;of Ellis Kaczor ef Chicopce on Oct. 31, :
(1918; and Kaminski. i
* Other defendants have been found:
‘guilty of murder in the second degree +
or manslaughter, have been adiudzed?
‘insane, or have had their death penal-!
{ties coirunuted. ;
Trial of Clvit Suits
While criminal trials may capture
|public interest to a greater extent, the
‘trial of civil suits occupies by far the
greater portion of the :
Court's time. There are thr osue
_ lar criminal sessions a year,
of two weeks’ duration each—in
September, January and May. Civil
‘jury sessions are held every month
‘of the year in Hampden County, ex-
cept July and August, while there are!
, numerous sittings of the justices:
without jury. ‘ -
; The Superior Court was established
April 5, 1859, as successor to the old
of Common Pleas, with
chief justice and 19 associates.

Vas

the

years

ae |
nm
4 he i

Ss

Superior

usurliy

Cou one
The
ssociate justices increased

‘through the years until there now are

32 on the superior bench including

the chief justice. Over the course of

‘the the Legislature broadened

land extended tive court’s powers until ,
iit became the “chief instrumentality j
‘for the attainment and enforcement

_of rights and the redress of grievanc-

:es in the history of Massachusetts

ijuvisprudence.” In 188%, the Supericr
!$Court acquired jurisdiction over di-

{vorees, nullity and validity of mar-}
‘yiages. assuming responsiblity in!
‘capital erimiaal cases four years

Hlater. In 1893, divers other matters, |
‘such as appeuls from district courts,

“also were added to the duties of the

‘Superior Court justices.

In 1951, the clerk's office here
recorded 2086 entries of civil sui
Thouch figures are not available for
100 vears ayo, 50 years ago $05 such
cases were entered. Customarily the
‘majority of cases entered never come
,to complete trial, but are settled De-
‘fore trial opens or after it starts.

By far the largest number of en-
entries are based on traffic accidents
involving motor vehicles, Tuese run

Court offi- |
leials freely predicted that when in-:
jterurban street car lines disappeared
‘and the trolly cars began to vanish,
\ the court entry list would grow
{shorier, because of the great number
lof suite based on street car accidents,
They fell into a natural error of the
times in failing to foresee the truc
proportions of the automotive aze. A

vears,

laignal proof of the auto tore ease’s |

‘importance in the business of the
!vourt is provided by the year 1043-—
jwhen gas rationing was in effect,
Only 1091 civil suits were entered that
the fewest in two-senre

Tryactetenrta tt bea

vear, years

‘ rai tinies aaily micon
fewer iawsuits. set the
tries fou Hampden County—2135—

vas established in 1938, a depression

iF)

yevord ul ene

‘rents.

‘lin the process ©

iy cas

: tao

yommpensation 2

q enacred, eninle

hosses tor injuries 1

anffered, barring out-of-court
The decline in fnmi
atro rpelleved the pressure of. court
though trials are not involved
f naturalization,

sun the

; work,

; Divorces

| Still another factor that prevented
‘the court from being engulfed. in
; pending cases was the fact that pro-
; bate courts of the state were given
coneurrent jurisdiction with the Su-
‘ior Court on divorces Oct. 1, 1922,
he Superior Court previously heard
{all divorce libe!s in the due course of
2s tried, though they were in a
rata docket and did not count as
civil entries. The Hampden County
Propate Court customarily hears ‘all
divoree, separate support and nmuibty

De
trey
T

} se

ases today, thourh this docs
hoid true in ali count
The clerk of courts. has in import-.
ant position in the county's judicia!
system. lis general duti
‘sessions and taking char
‘triad lists under the dire
court—are amplified by special duti
such ag serving as clerk of the cour
commission and of the {
;Court for this county. Springfield 14s
‘been fortunate in the long tenure of
lelerks. There have been only four
‘in a century. George B. Morris served *
| 4rom 1832 to 1872, when his aon, Reb-
ert O. Morris. succeeded him on
death, and held the offica until
‘he also died in 1925. A relative, the
late Charles M. Calhoun, succeeded
him, Mr. Calhoun retired in 1946 and
Lewis A. Twit lL has held the }
tion since. Clerks of court ara e
‘py the people, Mr. Twitchell’s present
assistants are Edward J. Farreli, 5at-
‘ward J. McKay and * Helea Z.
Greelex, Assisiants are apoointed.
ogfield has contribt
prominent men to the Superior Court
bench also, Local justices now sitting ;
ara Edward Thomas Brosdnurat, ane ‘

pointed in 1923 and dean of the Su-
erior Court bench; George Francis
Leary, appointed in 1934, and William
Clement Giles, currently a resident of
Longmeadow, who was appointed in
1937.
The Probate Court, a court of re-'
cord. has in its province the care and
settlement of estates and the cuard-
‘jJanship of infants, as weil as ¢o-
jurisdiction in divorce and atiied
cases. The insolvency court also was
combined with it in 1858 and the mer-
ger has lasted since tiat date. The
necessity for a second probate judze
in the county, due to rapidly increas- ,
jing court business, was apparent froin
the time Probate started to handie
divorcee cases, and in 1955 Thomas H.
‘Stapleton, now first judge of probate,
; Was appointed to serve with the Iate
John A, Denison. Judge Denison died
_in 1948. Donald A. Macaulay was ap-
pointed to succeed him and now pre-
sidesag second jute of probate. Other
judges of probate during the past
rantury were Oliver B. Morris, Jon’
Wells, William S. Shurtleff and
harles I. Long.

How Population
| Of Springfield |

Fias Increase

seer eweeseee
sewer esereressesese

eee ae reer ereeee


SERMONS :
. DELIVERED AT LENOX, meta is r

SEE Bit dl
February 20th, 1806 ; WEP ie?

Execution |
EPHRAIM WHEELER,

PURSUANT TO HIS SENTENCE, F ‘OR A.RAPE COM:
MITTED ON HIS DAUGHTER,

Betsy“Wheeler. —

ay SAMUEL SHEPARD, A. M.
* Pastor of the Church in Lenor,

4 188,
eas, \n the yoo?
according 2 the AO CONNELL gp, D.C-
Patered pa DAVID - rene, ot W!
of the ‘
In the Office

~ Berkshire murders

By Eileen Kuperschmid —_

4—'lhe Berkshire Sampler, Sunday, May 1, 1977

~ Jean Holland stood in the library looking out at the
moors that Surrounded the estate. She could see ‘
little through the mullioned windows for night was

“falling ‘and the--wind whipped, about, with great...

heaves of thick snow.

Jean played nervously with the tassle on the velvet
drapes as she worried about the strange assortment
of people her aunt had assembled for the weekend.

Aunt Edith-was old, frail, and the doctors worried
about her heart. Of late she’d taken to her bed and
her usual high spirits seemed to have abandoned |

-her. Something was bothering the ancient matriarch,
And now to top it all off, Jean thought, this gather-
ing of insipid vultures is house bound in a blizzard.

“Jean! Jean!” her cousin Annette’s voice broke
Jean's reverie. ‘Come quick—It’s Aunt Edith—I
think she’s dying, but she’s: trying to say some-
thing!!”’ % : ai

e ‘oe -@ :

The scene is set—the mystery ready to unfold—the
deductions ready tobe made. The reader moves
through the pages, confused by false clues and half
truths,, and the hours. slip by. There is, after all,
nothing like a murder mystery to keep a person
awake through the darkest hours of the night.

However, murder, real murder, usually lacks the
finesse of a Christie book. Miss Marple, Hercules
Poirot, and Sherlock Holmes are, after all, only
creations of the mind.“

: ay STOCKBRIDGE; P
‘ PRINTED BY H. WILLARD~———March, 1806, °

Delving’ through the old files in the Berkshire
Eagle’s library recently, I came across some dusty

“accounts of murders which occurred in Berkshire
. County in the 19th and early 20th centuries. To my

surprise I found that some of them read more like
-durid thrillers than actual case histories. ___,

Stockbridge in 1801 and which was made famous by
William Cullen Bryant in his poem, “The Murdered
Traveler.” ;

It started at’ about 4:00 on a winier’s afternoon,
that brief chilling hour that serves as a-gray inter-
lude between daylight and nightfall. The lone trav-
eler must have found the West Stockbridge tavern
.with its warm fire and its hearty fare a welcome
sight. But the long dark miles to Stockbridge loomed
uncomfortably before him, so he ate and drank
quickly. .As he paid his bill, peeling off several notes
from a thick bank roll, two men in the corner of the
smokey tavern looked up from their card game and
watched the hasty transaction. Minutes after the
traveler left the warmth of the inn, the two men
threw down their cards and scurried in his wake.

The nameless traveler chose a mountain path to
the east of the town, edging his way along a narrow
glen that cut through the steep and snowy cliff.
Though he never arrived in Stockbridge, little note
was paid to his disappearance, and other than the
free and easy spending of the two card players, the
life of the isolated hill community continued as usu-

-had certain inconsistencies.

EZRA HUTOMINSoN.
Wo WAS Execurg

DAT LENOX, (Mass, ) ;
_ November 18, 1813,

FOR 4 RAPE oN Tyg Bopy oF
Mise LUCY Rarrs *

08S

r

STOCKBRIDGE ;
D BY H. wittann,

most foul! |

Before the snows lifted, the two men left West
Stockbridge for points unknown and were never
heard of again. The Spring season brought longer
days, melting snows, and the discovery. of the wayfa-
rer’s bones. The victim was buried near the town

A pei aaatin line, a pile of stones left to mark his grave ‘ ‘
Take for instance a case which occurred in West _

Several years later, according to old accounts,
man was hanged in Canada. Before his execution, he
confessed to several highway murders including the
one in West Stockbridge. ;

Though the town has no records of such a murder,
the story has been told over and over again in Berk-
shire County. Some locals believe it happened, oth-
ers think it a romantic myth, and it’s doubtful that
we shall ever know the truth. ‘

However, we are certain about the murder of May
Fosburgh. Well documented, it is a case with all the
elements of a great whodunit. ot
- The mansion of Robert ‘Fosburgh, located on Tyler
Street in Pittsfield, was the setting for the murder of
the millionaire contractor’s pretty socialite daugh-
ter, May. On the evening of August 20, 1900, Mr. and
Mrs. Fosburgh were at home. With them, supposedly
tucked away in their beds, were their two daughter,
May, 19, and Beatrice, 13, their two sons, James, a
Yale student, and Bertie, a bit of a wastrel who
shared a room with his new wife, Amy, formierly the
Fosburgh’s maid. A house guest, 16-year-old Bertha
Sheldon, was also asleep. ‘The Fosburgh’s third
daughter, Esther, was not at home. ;

Around one o’clock in the morning Mrs. Fosburgh
woke her husband, saying that she’d heard some-
thing and would he please investigate further. - Ac-
cording to Fosburgh, two masked burglars then en-
tered the room. He claimed that he leapt from his
bed and that as he grappled with one of the armed
men, the other hit him from behind. When he re-
gained consciousness, he stumbled into the frall-and
found his wife bending over the slain body of his

, daughter.

Bertie’s story was basically the same, though. it.
He said that he was wa-
kened by sounds of a struggle, dashed into the room
occuped by May and Beatrice, and saw a man in the
hallway fire the fatal shot. After lowering his sister
to the floor, Bertie said that he chased the man
down the hall and into the vacant bedroom of his sis-

Continued on Page &

fe

!

When the Berkshires were hangin’ country

By Eileen Kuperschmid .

When Gary - “Gilmore demanded that he had the
right to die and that the state of Utah should execute
him for the crime of murder, the controversy over
capital punishment woke from its fitful sleep and
once again raged across the nation. The arguments
which had been used again and again in the past
were dusted off, gussied up and sent forth. Was capi-

tal punishment a deterrent to crime? Was the ‘‘eye_

for an eye, tooth for a tooth’’ philosophy viable or
for that matter, moral in-these enlightened times?
And on top of all the old questions, a new one
loomed. Should the execution of Gary Gilmore be
televised for all to see? Proportents of the public exe-
cution idea, theorized that it would make capital
punishment a much more effective deterrent. Others
said that it was a grisly and barbaric plan—a regres-
sion to the coliseum days when blood thirsty Romans
watched Christians being thrown tothelions.
Though contemporary Americans had not consid-
ered the question of public executions before the Gil-
more case, few realized that historically most crimi-
nals had their punishments meted out publicly. In-
deed, what European and American town squares
lacked in the way of architectual grandeur, they

heartily made up for in their cruel and inhuman

treatment of criminal offenders. Whether they were
adulterers or free-thinkers, agnostics or murderers,

these ancient villains were given little if any quar- *

ter. The punishments varied, of course, though for
the modern researcher it is difficult to understand
how our ancestral brothers and sisters decided
which punishment fit which crime. Little attention
was paid to the question of deterrence. It was gener-
ally assumed that the potential ‘criminal would have
second thoughts about breaking the law after watch-
ing a fellow villager burned at the stake. One would
think that the questions raised in those days were a
bit less pragmatic then the ones we puzzle over

.today,.Should the. .adulterer.be tarred-and feathered...

“or should he be put in the stocks? A stoning for the
thief? A whipping or a branding for the harlot?
Decapitation? Firing squad? A hanging? es.

The «first of nine public hangings in Berkshire

County began early on-the morning of Dec. 6, 1787,

when the two prisoners, John Bly, an Englishman, -

and Charles Rose, an American, were taken from

. the. jail to the court house. After appropriate reli-

gious ceremonies, the two were placed on a wooden,
horse-drawn cart and manacled to their coffins. Led
by the High Sheriff and accompanied by a military
escort of the Berkshire Greys, a corps of cavalry,
and another of infantry, the solemn procession made

their’ way along a road thronged with eager Berk- _

shirites. A death march played by fife and drum was
the only sound to cut the cold winter stillness and
according to “The History of Berkshire County,”
published in 1885, “...every effort was made to ren-
der the scene impressive, with what effect moralists
may differ in their estimate.”

On Gallows Hill, a promotory a half mile south of

Lenox, two nooses attached to an iron hook in a

great old tree swayed in the breeze and the men,

~women,.and children who had come from all parts of

the county laden with picnic lunches, grew restless. ©
The cart finally arrived and was set under the

tree. Hoods were placed over the heads of Bly and .

Rose, the knots on the nooses' were adjusted behind
their ears, and their souls were commended to God.
The sheriff, bearing his sword and wearing his sash

and other official dress, gave the signal, and the ,
‘horses shot forward, leaving the two men dangling.

The crowd shouted in triumph and the fife and drum
broke into a lively tune. Justice had been done.

Or had it?’ Looking more closely at the old ac- °
counts, you find that Bly and Rose had been hanged —

for the simple crime of robbery, a crime which our

* ancestors obviously considered a capital offense.

? e e e 2 3
The second execution took place on Dec. 6, 1806,
when Ephraim Wheeler. of Windsor was hung for-
rape’ committed on his own daughter.’ There was,

“however, some doubt as to Wheeler's guilt as the

girl was of ‘‘weak mind.”

t-— ~~

. was hanged for the rape of Sally Bates.

A mere six years later, on the 25th of Nov., 1819,
‘Peter Johnson of Sheffield was hanged for raping
Charity Booth. The rape was committed, says ‘‘The
History of Berkshire County,” “...under circum-
stances of peculiar atrocity.”

The next execution, that of Samuel P. Charles, an
Oneida Indian who had lived for some time in West
Stockbridge, occurred on Nov. 22, 1826. This time the
offense was the-murder by shooting of Joel Freeman
in a drunken brawl at a tavern in Richmond and
various accounts seem to indicate that Charles was
“distinguished for debased morals.”’ Defended by
George N. Briggs, who later became the governor of
Massachusetts, Charles was principally convicted on
the evidence of his brother.: ;

“The History of Berkshire County” claims that not
less than 8,000 people attended the execution.

The Pittsfield Sun wrote, “...The assemblage of
citizens, judging from the number which passed
through this village, must have been very great. We
do not learn that any. accident occurred, or that the
culprit made any confession of his guilt, but in short

Illustrations courtesy of the Berkshire

- Athenaeum, the Berkshire County
Historical Society, and from the book

‘The Good Old Days — They Were

Terrible,” by Otto Bettmann a

tory of Berkshire County.”

“On the 7th of Sept., 1862, there was perpetrated
one of the most atrocious crimes *that ever stained
the annals of Berkshire. That day, Sunday, George
A. Jones, who lived at Cold Spring, in Otis, went to
church, while his wife, Emily, with two children of
two’ and four years went to pick blackberries. On -
Mr., Jones’ return from church his wife and children’
were missing. A general search the next day re-
sulted in discovering the bodies of the missing ones
hidden under an old brush fence, and ‘covered with
brush and leaves, their heads mangled in a most
fiendish outrage by more than one man. There was
evidence of a desperate struggle. Three or four ne-,
groes were arrested, but it was possible to convict
only one, a mulatto named James Callender, and
him only on the evidence of his father, who was be-
‘lieved to have been at least an equal participant in
the hellish crime, but who could not be legally con-
‘victed.”” .

On Friday, Nov. 6, 1863, Callender was hanged | in
the presence of 250 citizens. Callender’s last words
were, “I hain’t got much to say, only the old man
filled my head with rum, and led me into it with him
to kill Mrs. Jones and the children, and now he has
left me here to hang. That’s all I’ve got to say.””

e e e

In 1863 the county seat was moved to Pittsfield.
Though there were two additional hangings before
an electric chair was established at the state prison,

~ neither drew ‘the crowds which the Lenox Gallows

Hill had attracted. Both were held in the jail yard of _
- the old Second Street Prison and though there were

numerous persons of influence to witness them, the

executions lacked the circus atmosphere of oaree
years.

The first of the two men executed in Pittsfield was

-- from Lenox. John Ten Eyck was charged with and
convicted of the double murder of Mr. and Mrs. Da-
vid Stillman of Sheffield, both of whom were in their
mid-seventies. The motive for the. Thanksgiving Eve:
ax-slaying of the Stillmans was presumably money,
though the villain Ten Eyck netted but seven cents.

He was executed on Aug. 16, 1878—protesting his in-

nocence to the very end.

Ten Eyck’s execution came as quite a windfall for
his father-in-law, who claimed the body, brought it to
his home in Chester, and exhibited it for the price of
‘10 cents a look. After collecting more than $15 and at
the urging of his daughter, he put Ten Eyck to rest,

‘ordering the most elaborate of funerals. He was able

to recoup much of the funeral expenses by filling his

dead son-in-law’s coffin with rocks and selling: the
hanged man’s body to a Connecticut physician for
dissection.

eee L

The last man to be put to death in Berkshire Coun-
ty was William Coy of Westfield, who was hanged
for the mutilation slaying of John Whalen of Wash-
ington on Aug. 29, 1891. In France they would have
called the murder a crime of passion, for Coy
claimed he was motivated by the fact that his wife
and Whalen were lovers. However, the prosecution
claimed that Coy’s jealousy was abetted by the $250
which Whalen was carrying in his wallet at the time
of the murder, and he was found guilty.

A Pittsfield Sun reporter was on hand at 10:37
a.m. on March 2, 1893, to witness Coy’s execution. In
his account, he noted that the body rebounded at the
end of the taut, new rope until a deputy steadied it.
Then he saw the dying man’s hands turn from pink
to purple. At the end of the second minute, Coy’s

_ pulse was 97, the third, 80, the fourth, 63, the fifth,

54, the sixth, 30, and the seventh, 0. - my ’

Before his death Coy predicted that his execution

_. would be the last hanging in Berkshire County, and

address tothe assembled multitude, persisted in his
innocence, and was then launched into eternity.’’
Whether. such a launching was fitting is difficult to

_ know since tradition has it that Samuel’s brother re-

versed his testimony on his death bed, confessing to
those assembled that it had been he who had fired
the fatal shot, _

® e e
The last execution to be performed in Lenox is de-

.. it would seem that his prediction was. accurate. Cer-
‘ tainly one cannot imagine the residents of Lenox or
Pittsfield condoning the building of a scaffold on an- .
other Gallows Hill. But we must. not for a moment
forget the power of television networks .and the
proclivities of a public. which has sat glued to TV ©
, Sets watching the Viet Nam war, the assassinations
of the Kennedys and Lee Harvey.Oswald, and the
slaughter of the SLA. Why not a good old-fashioned
hanging in our very own living rooms? There is, af-
' far cnch spectacles.


.

VOLUME 10.

+ PITTSFIELD, MASS., FRIDAY,

JULY 26, 1001

Se
NUMBER 68

May Le
Pistol shot

“| Srranged a:
been at liberty,

d to

vigilant
were th

bo rendered a verdict
iv

Robert {,. Fosburgh
fd early morning houra of August 20
it.

E. Hi

R.S. FOSRURGH

S TRIAL

ENDS IN ACQUITTAL

Verdict of “Not Guilty” Ordere

and Returned By Jury

-

The’ Public.

He Will Have To De.

VERDICT OF “NoT GUILTY”. ;
RECTED,

: MH
Judge Stevens said;
i ensary for

rect
Jury, without leaving ¢
of “not

Fosburgh was killed by @

at the home of her father, ;
on Tyler street, in

nd ti

the report had
when court con-

thi
the j y'
hear the argumenta
bba:

4
of
rd, senior for

‘en from the jury, everybody

be there to eee the detend-
ily and friends, as they
to the weicome words of

poll

fit time during the tia tor

At 8:15
Frank H.

‘Among oth
bar who
were wd fol

of Nort!

And everybody who could get the] Crosby leaned
deputies and lee omewe 4
ere.

& m. the
takes

clerk

the

the door, heid
with Spec-

ree attendance of attor.
neys, especially of the you:

and Seneca M. Taylor of at. epenens

Louis; Mr. Sheldom off Providence, Judge Btevens carries in his band

were ae of Mine te aion: and the note book he has used during the

rs. . Ohapin o} ,

The wite of the defendaste ira. R. He steps to the bench and, as ie cus-

8. Fosburgh, was to be “4 is erect, with eyes

ent to her-husband acquitted of straightforward and" with folded

the crime with which he i) hands, during the Crier’s prociama-

She is Ill at The Wen ton, “Hear ye, bear ye.”

‘ j beech ane Notes ae ines ee hd
we 8 g we

Tor the and thea took his seat while the

Hrety

aT

Ei

éj

E
as

Fricnds at The Wen
Slate Is Satisfied,

d by Court

“GOUS TMFINTE LOVE HS. SUSTAREN A

Fosburgh Family Issue Signed Statement’ To

nena tA
THREE THINGS FOR COMMONWEALTH TO PROVE |si:«'«

Fosburgh Family Receives
Nicholson Says As the

He Supposes

‘\

? STATEM

i

tE

i
i
&

the bench,

Then everybody knew what was
coming.
The case was not to

£0 to the jury;

all ye

ful duty which ap fallen to the lot of

sald at. yrs trial bed been fair.

lucted by @. prosecution

and the defense and said that it was
due to the chief of Police w

- single to
le explained that
Rot sai that the government
Drovented sumictent *etiseras
aupport a verdict of guilty, it was the
duty of the court tn direct the
return a verdict of not guilty,
He therefore directed that verdict

but
dell-—Chict

+ | 80d was aw
family. The
member

: | the
Th

ARRACAMENT
OF LER

WILL “PROBABLY OCCUR monpay
MORNING BEFORE JUDGE
TUCKER.

HEARING WILL BE
POSTPONED TE DAYS

PHISIONER MAKES PUBLIC STATE-
‘MENT AS TO HIMSELF,

Daniel Leary,

Will within a few
charge of murder, .
‘The campluinant is Charles W, Ful-
'e rif’ of Rerkshire county,
The arrest will be made by one of
Sheriff Fuller's deputies and the ar.
Falgnment will be before Judge Tuck-
er in the dintrict court, probably Mon.
day morning.

Lear;

alias Michael Welsh,
ayn be arrested on a

wi
of the Methodist
burial will be in Sheriff
Pittsfield cemetery.

held in the

{of the jail at 2:30 o’elocks tomorrow | sion
; | afternoon,

of Massachusetts,

To the Di Court of Central Berk-
shire, at Pittsfield, in said county,
or either of the justices or the clerk
of said court:

Charles W. Fuller in said

Berkshire, in behait

on oath, com,

Commonweaith
BERKSHIRE gs.

defendant of said
state of Pennsyl-
to wit:—On the sev-
in the year of

ANOTHER CLUE
IN FOSBURGH CASE

CAPTAIN Titus FORWARDS AFFA-
DAVITS TO THis CITY,

MISTRESS OF WELL
KNOWN THIEF TALKS

SWEARS THAT SHE BELIEVES THAT
LON GRAY, FROM HIS ADMIS-
SIONS TO HER, KILLED
MAY L.. FosBuRGH,

_——

&., bas been un-
der indictment for aix months, he be-
ing dincharged this Morning when
Judge

These affidavits were received here
this morning by regia 3
wi Presented to Chief Nicholson
mail carrier they were refused.
Chief N’ n's reason for so doing
ia that the affidavits were secured by
Captain Titus in sufficient time to have
been forwarded to him before they

ih

Captain Titus, ‘

been endeavoring
man mentioned in the am-
davits, but without su

ae

Captain Titus has statements made
by two womea now in New York
ing to show that

& man who was known by the name
man and the woman met
in Springfeld, Mass., at the ime of
the murder. “Gray toid one of 'O-
1 had committed a robbery
had been forced to use

th

to your com-| burgh.

Captain Tit
story told by

» after

Wpecial to The Eagle.)
‘Washington, D. C., July 26.—James
Gray, formerly of Union Pier, Mich.,
was arrested today on suspicion of
being Connected with the murder of.

ARREST IN WASHINGTON, D6
OFA FOSSORGH SUSPECT

@ house and shooting 2 woman in the
vicinity of Pittsfield. .

Detective Captain Boardman, sey.
eral days ago learned that Gray was
under suspicion of knowing something
about the crime and when the man

May L. Fosburgh’ in Pittsfield, Maes,
August 20, 1900,

Gray had just completed a sentence
of 15 days for stealing a hat from a
hotel.

‘The arrest on account of the Pitts-
flelt crime was made as the reault of
an affidavit secured by Captain Titus
of the New York detective force, from
® woman charging Gray with entering

On Trial it

came from jail today he was immedi-
ately placed under arrest.

Gray claims to come trom Indian.
apolis where he says bis father lives,
Me has worked on trains,

—_—

A detailed story of the alfidavite,
ete,, wilt be found in another part of
today's Eagle.”

for keeping the beet and largest line of
Summer weight furnishings to be found
In Pittsfield, and have been pronounced
guilty, Thle le the verdict of the peo.
ple—

Straw Hate te cless st reduced
Prices.

Balance of men's Sultings will be
sold at @ big sacrifice,

‘Youths’ oults 14 to 19, will be’ all but
given away until

JOHN McQUAID & CO,

CLOTHING.

THE RUSH SEASON IS NOW PAST
AND THE QUIET SEASON IAS SEY 11¢
1HIS MEANS IF YOU WANT ANY
THING IN OUR LINE, WE
ARE WILLING TO OF.
‘FER INDUCEMEMTS

IN THE MATTER OF PRICES,
PRINCE & WALKER.

Our 97c Offment Table

of Ladies’ Oxfords out this week, Don't

miss it. Store open Tuesday, and Satur.
day evenings. Telephone 312.13.

tl ENRIGHT’S

end the ind 100 in his posseeaion
send the informati in his possession
to Chief Police Nicholson,

William P. Hazen, formerly chiet of
the United States secret
has been

our Ineteen hundred and one,
at Pittsfield aforesaid, in the county
aforesaid, in and upon one James W.
Fuller ia Peace of said common-
wealth th and
there being, felontousty, wil
I. and a ae mone fore-
thought make an assault, and that
Leary, ‘alias Mi-

chael ween, then and there with «

id vit yn s bie
ht, did strike, giv! unto him
said w. Futies then and
maliet, by the

him the said J;
Full mortal wound; of which
sa wound he the said James
w. Mer the séventeenth day of
A. 1901, af Md lan-
and languishing did live end

WALTER B. 8M) .
Clerk of ald Court.

’
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, __ | Bosto
IRE 88,

BERKSHI
To, the Sheriff of our County of Berk-

ice lay and
Md Lown aMidavits of What they knew.

talled
00 | said thai
| Mi

of No. 15} East Forty.
and Olive M. Gray, of
reas, are the wi
fave Captain Titus the
which he hopes may clear
tery |, shooting,

128 North St. and 172 West St.
ted

NOW is the time to buy

sf COAL.
=!Here Is the Right Place to Buy COAL !

AWTON & SON

33-2,

—

Miss G ‘s aM@davit is the more de-
and lnportant of the two. She
it she bad lived in Springfield,
hat she was juainted

robbery
& revolver, and had
from the house and

re
Math ders ik the ri

them under @ rock near the riv
at West wi 1 was at home in

Continued ea Page 2,

| RUE
=|COOPER’S COAL,

A COOD THING 10 BE A CRANK

IT
If you are part of the BEST ICE CREAM
FREEZER in the World, the WHITE
i‘ “MOUNTAIN. All Sizes in Stock,

_ Peirson Hardware Co.,
' . “Right n the Centre of the City.” -

TRIED

AND I q

ITS “HOT STUFF’
I’ve said enuf,

‘—NO BLUFF,

Continued on Page 4.

abot

L61 ST ABW ‘cepang ‘aopdureg sarysyzeg ayy

“LL

Berkshire

Sampler -- ca

Sunday, May 1, 1977

A puplicabert of The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, Maseachuortts
ry

—Commonteealth. of Massachusetts

COUNTY OF BERKSHIRE.

Pittsfield, Nugugt 1, 1878.

| % On : . In obedience to the Laws of this Commonwealth
: i felating to the sentence of death, I hereby Tequest your
| I i i Shp en eet eRblat Si i am
eee i. wale’ presence at the Jail i in Pittsfield, in said Coats on Friday,
| ; a the ‘sixteenth day of Rugust Current, punctually at ten
| , o’¢loék in the forenoon, for the purpoge of witnessing the
ideedition of John Ten Rydk, & convict of the éfime of
murder, }
? oy By signifying your adéeptande of this request, a Card
: s of admission will be furnighed you.

I am regpectfully,

GRAHAM A. ROOT, Sherif] /

_ INVITATION TOA HANGING -

- Historical murders and executions
In | the Berkshires _

ee ee

DANVERS, Mass. (AP) — Three
centuries after they were executed,
five victims of the Salem witch trials
were remembered at a service con-
ducted under gray skies yesterday.

A Congregational minister deliv-
ered an invocation over a grave
where the remains of George Jacobs
Sr. are believed to be buried. De-
scendants of some of the victims at-
tended. °

The five people executed on Gal-
lows Hill on Aug. 19, 1692, for the
crime of witchcraft were Jacobs, the
Rev. George Burroughs, Martha
Carrier, John Proctor Sr. and John
Willard.

They were among 20 victims
killed during the famous witchcraft
hysteria that swept Salem Village,
now Danvers.

Most victims were buried in un-

Y f- All

marked graves, but Jacobs wasN oc
buried on family property. The re- > §
mains believed to be his were *ré- “1
buried in a religious service earlier(\ VY
this month. Those executed were.de-

nied religious burials at the time” AN

A monument to the victims tbo 3 rn

has been erected as part of the tér- Ox
centennial, which ends Thursday,

' the 300th anniversary of the last ex- N £

ecutions.


— Morct ea U2 \ Lnerdecsr NModebiierg, Fe
: ON 10-3 0° 1985 f

PAGE 10A ‘Mile MONTGOMERY ADVERTISE!

anne of Salem witch trials’
victims remember their ancestors.

“By DANA KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON — The 20 people
executed during: the infamous
Salem witch trials of 1692 are
mostly remembered in history
lessons and tourist attractions,
- but some of their descendants
are organizing to emphasize
their humanity.

“We want to keep the memory
alive,” said Howard Hay of Bos-
ton, a descendant of accused

- witch Susanna Martin. “This
type of thing keeps happening
around the world. People keep
getting persecuted. I don’t know
if we’ll ever learn the lesson.”

He is president of the recently
formed Sons and Daughters of
the Victims of Colonial Witch
Trials, which has 45 members,
all direct descendants of the trial
victims.

Mr. Hay founded the group
with Wayne Higley of Stoneham,
a descendant of accused witch
Rebecca Nurse. They are mem- ; eels aa a - 3 _
bers of numerous genealogical \ —AP wirephoto
ae Fey foo yah oe Howard Thomas Hay, right, president of the Sons and
while net ht - Nilay Aid o Daughters of the Victims of Colonial Witch Trials poses with

se. group member Wayne Higley, center, and sculptor Yiannis

Using standard statistical for-
cuisthe. they way tute sould be up rena creator of the Salem Witch Trials Memorial

to 20 million descendants of the
accused witches in the United —
States. One of the more famous, |R SW “i”
according to Gary Boyd Roberts | @

py pb dag none cea ll = ’
cal Society, is Joan Kennedy, for- | &

mer wife of Sen. Edward Kenne- 4 You re
dy, whose ancestry dates back to

accused witch Mary Esty. She is > Invited. re

not a member of the group. >

The witchcraft hysteria began | B
during the winter of 1691 when a | &
West Indian slave, Tituba, told

voodoo tales to a group of young | B 9c

girls and taught them palmistry | § TO MONTGOMERY :

a et : c HALLOWEEN
Tituba and two other women | &  . i

were killed as witches after a Monday, October 3

doctor examined them and pro- | §$

nounced them bewitched. -The | § Se.

scare continued for about a year, | £ ar

resulting in the execution of 20 | ZB

and the imprisonment of | Ee

150. » . a

~anen ti aeti

=

; Trick-or-T
| ' The descendants’ group is con- in the Gr
centrating on the approaching t :
300th anniversary of the witch enter 2
trials. They hope to hold an the m
observance on Gallows Hill in :
Salem, where accused witches BR’
were hanged.
- “Until now, there hasn’t: been /

anything to really remember
them by,” Mr. Hay said. “There
hasn’t even been so much as a} E&
plaque. We want people to know | B=
the real story. These people | &
were human beings *who were
ot unjustly accused.”

Mr. Higley said many of those
first accused of witchcraft were
either community outcasts or vic-
tims of neighborhood feuds.

The group said the city of Sa-
lem has been uncomfortable
about remembering the accused
witches except in terms of tourist
promotion. «

. “These people had no connec-
tion with \witches,” Mr. Higley
said. “It was a sad time in coloni-
al history: We don’t hold a
grudge against Salem but we do
think there should be something
there to remember them (the vic-
tims).” .


WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, HANGINGS.

B) 2

mg ee
bes ik

May 1977

Walt Espy Jr.
P.O. Box 67
Headlund, Ala 36345

Dear Mr. Espy:

aaa

Enclosed are copies of the articles in the Worcester Telegram and Worcester
Evening Gazette. The charge for:copies is $.10 per page. Your charge is $.90,
Executions which took place in Worcester County prior to 1901 are:

1737, Nov 26 Hugh Henderson, alias John Hamilton, for burglary
1768, Oct. 20 Arthur, a negro, for rape of Miterar
1770, Oct 25 William Lindsay, for burglary

yr, July 2 William Brooks, James Buchanan, Ezra Ross, and Bathsheba
Spooner, for the murder of Joshua Spooner of Brookfield |

1779, Nov. 11 Robert Young, for rape
(“9 1783, June 19, William Huggins and John Mansfield, for burglary
1786, Aug 17 Johnson Greene for burglary
771793, Oct. 31 Samuel Frost, for the murder of Elisha Allen of Princeton
1825, Dec. 7 Horace Carter for rape

41845, Jan 3. Thomas Barrett of Lunenburg for the murder of Ruth Holton

)
)
)

1868, Sept. 25 Silas and Charles T. James for the murder of Joseph G. Clark
11876, May 26 Samuel J. Frost, Petersham, murder of Franklin P. Towne
The article about Desatrick mentions the imposition of the death sentence in
Worcester County 14 years ago (1914?) but I've found nothing about that so far.

If you want copies of stories about any of these other executions, please
let us know. You might also check with the Worcester Historical Society, 39
Salisbury Street Worcester, Ma. They might have some further information.

Sincerely,

LealdO
hen C olem

Librarian, Worcester Collection

SALEM SQUARE, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS 01608 gr? 617 732-3751


Be

of 6 ek 8 ee ee bee eS

Val ee eat Ce el ek ee es

Behind the the Witchcraft Trials :

HE DEVIL IN THE SHAPE OF A WOMAN
‘itchcraft in Colonial New re
‘y Carol F. Karlsen

Ae Norton; 400 pages; $22.95

'EVIEWED BY LAURA LEDERER

gnarled old women with frightful wart-ridden faces
‘and pointed hats, boiling cauldrons of “eye of the
ewt, toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog.” .

Fe most Americans, the word “witch” brings to mind

Beyond these cliches, however, lies an incredible story
f thousands of women who were persecuted, tortured and
ometimes put to death. Scholars disagree about the num-
ers, but even the most skeptical nee tens of meres i
nd several experts says millions. .

“In “The Devil in the Shape ofa Woman” Carol Raitt: bg
rofessor of history, at the University ‘Of Michigan, asks a !.
uestion that is so. basic it has ‘beenalmost completely ¥
snored by scholars: “Why * “were most ‘witches women?”*!:
Vhat she discovers — by way of demographic, cultural and:
conomic, analysis of oo) wien trials in New Pape _ 8
ovgeliae re af :

“ Witches, Karlsen pa were most often. ‘women ‘over 40. ;
iho stood to inherit goodly sums of money or property from: ‘|
7

se

usbands, fathers or brothers.:The majority were unmar?:
ied or widowed, and if they had children they were usually /
aughters, Witch- hunting, she.suggests, had much'more to ||
o with maintaining a patriarchal social system — with 4
ae attending questions of inheritance, power and authori-
y, and how and to whom these: would peng _ than it did

‘ith the Devil possessing one's soul ah gees te

a Karisen writes that she has oxamined chowneds of»
ages of primary source material on the trials of; women
ccused as witches,’and she quotes generously from their : 4
arious sad stories to demonstrate and prove her points. **
/hen; for example, Katherine Harrison’s husband John, a
ealthy Connecticut landowner, ‘died in 1666, she and their
iree daughters became the wealthiest women in the coun:’
', Shortly after his death; Karlsen’ writes, Katherine ap-"’
eared in court to defend herself against charges of witch. *
-aft by her neighbors, and to petition the “Fathers of the
ommonweale” for relief from extensive vandalism to her.”
‘tate, including a hole bored in the side of her cow, a heifer.’
ished to death, the back of a steer Peoken. a corn crop,
estroyed by trampling. ntigisti ee :

‘Court records show that’ ‘ielghbors accused Katherine
' being a. witch because “she did often spin so great a

quantity of fine linen yarn as the said (neighbor) did never

_know or hear of any-other. woman that could spin so much.”

Katherine moved to a neighboring county soon after this

. court-case, but her reputation for witchcraft followed her.

For the next two decades she was in and out of court
defending herself from witchcraft charges and attempting
“ to keep her-estate intact. In a final trial she signed her estate
over to a male overseer to end neighborly “jealousyes and_-.;
feares.”

Her calbgnitrary, Susanna Martin, was not so lucky.
‘Susanna stood to inherit a goodly sum from her father, but
-she was accused by neighbor Bernard Peach of bewitching
him i in the ‘night. At her trial, Peach claimed that he “saw

‘FROM “THE DEVIL IN THE SHA

ee OEE SRR Bw we ~

Susanna Martin com in at the window and jumpt down upc
the flower. She was in her good and scarf and the same dre.
that she was in before at metting the same day. Being co)
in, she was coming up toward the deponents face but turne
back to his feet and took hold of them and drew up his boc
into a heape and Lay upon him about an hour and half «
two hours, in all which taim this deponent cood not stir n:
speake ..”

Susanna seems to have answered these accusations wit
laughter, explaining, when the judge reproached her, “We
I may laugh at such folly.” She was found guilty of witc’
craft and executed in 1692 with five other women.

In a fascinating chapter entitled “Brands Plucked 0:
of the Burning,” Karlsen examines the age, marital stati
and economic position of the accusers and finds that §
percent of them were also female. The most active-accuse
in New England were very young: 16 to 25 years of age. TI
majority were servants, poor and unmarried, with very fe
prospects for the future. They were in the opposite positic
of those they accused of being witches.

But this fact was rarely brought out in the trials, thoug
it manifested itself in odd ways: For instance, Elizabe:
Knapp told her pastor that she was possessed by an old

= woman in town whom she thought a witch. Elizabeth fr
3 quently called out the words “money, money” and declar¢
: that the Devil appeared to her many times to offer to mak

« her a witch and to provide her with “money, silks, fii

¥ Clothes, ease from labor.” Elizabeth resisted, with the help «

her pastor and the support of her community, but apparen
ly that was not enough, as the pastor reports that a few da:
later the Devil in Elizabeth Knapp took over completely.

Karlsen places the entire witch-hunt hysteria in th
context of the larger economic, social and political strugg:
that were taking place in New England in the 1600s, inclu:
ing conflicts between gender, class and religious sects, an
states that witch-hunts were used to ease tensions partic:
larly between men of different social orders and ranks. Or
wishes there were a bit more discussion of this theor:
which she introduces rather late in the last chapter.

In addition, one longs for an epilogue that would tie th
meaning of witchcraft in colonial New England to th
meaning we give to witches now. In spite of the occasion:
bumper sticker that reads, “My second car is a brogm.
witches remain connected with Halloween, horror and vic

“lence. Perhaps this pear book OD help your gale our minds
ey '
BOs, FEE = FPP

Berkeley writer Laura Lederer edited the feminist anthology,
“Take Back the Night.”


Murders —
Continued from Page 4

ter Esther. There Bertie saw, not one, but three
men. He later told police that two of the burglars
were white, and the third black. Despite his attempt
to stop them, the three men jumped through the win-
dow and fled into the night.

Police Chief John Nicholson was not happy with
the two stories. It puzzled him that Bertie said there
were three unmasked men while his father claimed
to have seen two masked men. Sister Beatrice said
she hadn’t seen any masked men nor had she seen
her brother catch May as she fell. However, Miss
Sheldon said that Beatrice cried, “Burglars have
been here and killed May!” James said that he’d
heard nothing until Bertie’s wife screamed:, “Sim!
Jim! Your father’s gone crazy!”

Though a .44 revolver was found under Mr. ‘Fos-
burgh’s bed, the murder weapon, a .22, was never
found. Outside the house, a pair of worn stockings
was found and a badly worn pair of trousers which
belonged to Bertie. Beneath the window of Esther’s
room were four footprints, :but they seemed to in-
dicate that someone had stamped his or her feet
rather than landed on them from a two-story height.
In addition, the dew had been heavy that night and
yet no trail was left.

Chief Nicholson was further confused upon dis-
covering that May’s nightgown carried powder burns
which could only have been made from less than a
foot away. And yet, Bertie had said the burglar was
several feet away when he fired. In addition, there
were signs of a struggle in Bertie’s room where
Amy’s nightgown was found ripped from throat to
hem and neither Fosburgh nor his son had said any-
thing about burglars being there.

To make things even more confusing, the family
doctor told police that Jim had summoned: him to
the house by saying, ‘‘There’s been a row at our
house and my sister is mortally wounded.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Fosburgh opened up a new line of
thought when she told police that shé found it odd
that the burglars overlooked a diamond brooch
which lay in plain sight in. Esther’s.room and. that
her son, Bertie, was an unhappy boy who had mar-
ried below his station.

When Sister Esther arrived at the railroad sition
she was greeted by Bertie and a crowd of reporters
who heard the young family scion say to his sister
after she’d asked about a bruise on his cheek, “It’s
nothing, only Father and I had a scrap and hurt
each other.”

Chief Nicholson later asked him about the remark. :

Bertie claimed that he’d only been trying to shield
his sister from the truth. Nicholson didn’t buy it and
arrested Bertie, charging him with manslaughter.

On July 18, 1901, the trial began. Bertie insisted

that he was innocent. Chief Nicholson said that the
Fosburghs had concocted the burlary story to save
themselves from scandal. He countered that in truth
Bertie had been drunk, that he had quarreled with
his wife, and that Mr. Fosburgh, hearing the com-
motion in his son’s room, had remonstrated with
him. In the heat of the moment, Chief Nicholson
said, Bertie grabbed a .22 revolver and the two men
struggled for its possession. When May tried to inter-
vene, the pistol went off scctaeahaity and she was
killed.

The trial continued for ‘eight days. Judge William
B. Stevens directed a verdict of innocent and Bertie
was released. The family left Pittsfield, and the case
was marked officially closed but unsolved. All of the
Fosburghs are dead and the only principal in the
case who is possibly alive today is the house guest
Bertha Sheldon. Efforts to locate her have been un-
successful.

7 e e e

The slaughter of William Silvernail on February
22, 1878 is probably one of the most gruesome mur-
ders ever reported in this county. :

After resigning his position as superintendent of.
the ore bed at the Richmond Iron Co., William Sil-
vernail purchased a farm and began buying stock
for it. On the morning of February 21, Silvernail left
his home and went by rail to Chatham, N.Y., where
he intended to make a deposit on a horse he wished
to buy. The travel and the transaction took all of
Thursday and it wasn’t until 6:00 on Friday that Mr.

Somewhere along the way, a murderer or murder- |

ers killed Silvernail and threw his body across the

. tracks where it was hit by the 9:00 passenger train.

When his body was found on the following day, iden-
tification was nearly impossible. Buttons cut off of
his jacket and sent to his family confirmed that it
was in fact Silvernail.

Though his feet and ankles were badly crushed
from the train, his shoes were found at some dis-
tance from his body and were unharmed. Detectives
investigating the case surmised that they’d been re-
moved prior to his death. They also felt that if he
had been walking, Silvernail would have been
knocked off the tracks, not run over. The wallet with
its meagre contents, which Silvernail was carrying
was never found.

The police were also puzzled by the lack of blood
at the scene of the crime and theorized that Silver-
nail had perhaps been murdered somewhere else
and dragged to the tracks immediately before the
passenger train came by.

Though suicide was considered, it did not seem
likely. William Silvernail was in good spirits and
was anxious to begin life on his new farm.

A secret inquest was held in West Stockbridge but

ny a Vernal blossom

di ee

ot
Bae ey

Another curious and grisly murder was that of
Simon Vandercook in Austerlitz, N.Y., just across
the line from Alford.

Oscar Beckwith and Simon Vandercook were gold
prospectors who lived in a small cabin on Varney
mountain. Thinking that he had discovered a rich
vein of gold, Beckwith killed his partner with a
hatchet, chopped up the body, and began feeding
pieces of it into his stove. When Harrison Calkins,
the owner of the cabin, arrived on the scene and
spotted Beckwith performing his gruesome task, he
immediately ran for help. The hastily organized
posse arrived at the cabin too late to stop Beckwith
from fleeing on horseback, but they found evidence
that indicated that Beckwith had cooked and eaten
part of the deceased. Six years later Beckwith was
found in Vase, Ontario, and Sheriff Humphrey of

' Great Barrington had him extradited. On March 1,

Beckwith was hanged in Hudson, N.Y. Ironically, the
vein of ore that Beckwith had killed for was nothing
more than ‘“‘fool’s gold.”

But the horror tale of Oscar Beckwith does not end
with his execution, for in recent years a Joseph El-
liott of North Egremont discovered chopped-up
bones 1 in a kimaliow grave near the supposed site of
tes | cohin Te curmises that Beckwith

tim |

site ete tae


6

!

A f

THERE Hi
ANOTHER

SPA tig Ook pn ae

wi

y

alEIMG ENTE,

oa

ile Ablvlen iy a ay M73.

| s38 HISTORY Or Ta uNTON. : ae

LL. Or ooo, the last porehacn

tee to “superintend the busines of its erection,’

i
’
i

aS

Mr, White’s sister, Anna, was the Atk Wile of William Wilde, hee
only. child, Daniel, , nya arricd Anna Sumner and was the father of Hon..
seo Wilde, a native of Taunton, so Jong on the bench of the Supreme -

Court. :

The father of Anna and Gaucl White, ae ciel a W eymorith, born

February 14, 1666, and who: married Ann Bingley, * was the son: of
Joseph, who marricd September 19, 1660, Lydi a Rogers, the son. of

Thomas White, early at Weymouth.

NOES,

(1) Captain Tlall, in an interesting account of this earliest court-house, states Cap-
tain Thomas Cobb, the 3 Iron manufacturer , converted it into a dwelling and thinks it
may have been fe in consideration of “a small gore of land » conv eyed to the county
“to enlarge the site of the new conrt-house,” iu addition to what the town convey ed,
What is now.Court street was cn only a miry lane, leading to and from Cobb’s iron
works, through his land. 'Phe «ld court-house converted into a dwelling was occupied
‘by Crptats Thomas Cobb, his son Jonathan, Apollos Bradford Leon ial Captain Job
_W. Tlall, J. Prince Sears, Dan. Wilmazth aa his heirs before its removal by Samuel
to Leonard St rect.

‘There was a one story brick.“ county building,” so called , occupying ahout forty feetin
‘length, in the rear of the second wooden court- rae Gea as a registry building, where
Colonel George Leonard, Dr, Wilham Baylies, Hon. Francis Baylies and Captain D. G.
W. Cobli, and James Williams, the father and the son, had. their offices, which was
‘taken down whei the brisk court- house was built,

(2) The stone jail at. the corner of Washington and Court streets, was ordered hy the

Court of Common Pleas held at Taunton, on the sccond Mienday of June, 1817.”
Hon, Seth Washburn and Apotlos J'obey, esq., wo appointed by the court a-commit-
The deed given for the lot agrecd
» STS, by Jonathan Wales, jr., and his wife, Fanny W oes

"horas French and his ike Sinah French; Job W. Hall and his wife, Nancy Halls.
Sainuel.Crocker and his wife, Iliza Crocker; Fanny, Sarah and Sap. ae: of
Jonathan Cobb, The land dex cane dis “near Cobb's Slitting Mil, &e” The precise
time of finishing and occupying the new jail is not a metter of record, but probably in
1319 or 1820, .. Gilbert Briggs, of Dighton, superintended the stone work and Abijerer
Dean 2d, of Taunton, the wood work. Maas Dean Ist-was the jailer, continuing
till his “lO in 1826, HTis son Aliczer followed him till 1829. Next, his brother
Joseph, ti 1836, Jacob L. Portes from 1836 to 1841, Eas A. Morse from 1841 to 1854,

2

upon was signed January 3
Ul

Tsaac G, Carrier from 1854 to lis death in 1886, T° ae 8, when the sheriff, A ndrew

NR. Wright, took his place. There have been two ex <ecutions, Benjamin Cr in
1839, James Clough in 1854, SS ; ee ee

:
2


MASS

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

STATE

OFFENDER:

NAME:
RACE: White

SEX: Female
OFFENSE: 1648

as
DATE EXECUTED: 1648
COUNTY: Dorchester

AGE:

VICTIM:
NAME:
RACE:
SEX:
AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF THE
WEEK EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIME:

INVENTORY #

SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION
(TITLE, DATE AND PAGE#)

AMistory of New England
Vol.4,: Be 97

Witchcraft

/verevithy Shorry Research Here !
You MAY DISCARD THESE AATOGETHER. Viz.

A GARBLED CONFUSION WITH ALICE LAKE, WHE
OF HENRY AAKE OF DORCHESTER. SHE WAS
EXECUTED AT BOSTON SOMETIME /N 1/650.

"The Goblin Grime"

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

MASS

STATE

OFFENDER:

NAME;

RACE: White

SEX: Female

OFFENSE: 1648 Witchcraft

DATE EXECUTED: 1648
COUNTY: Dorchester

AGE:

VICTIM:
NAME:
RACE:
SEX:
AGE:

" RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF THE
WEEK EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

MEDIA ACCOUNT ’ ;
OF CRIME: "The Goblin Grime"

INVENTORY #

SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION

(TITLE, DATE AND PAGE#)

History of New England
Vol.4, p. 97