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Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 20, 1875
News of the week
Moses Hull of Boston and a crowd of other lunatics, profaned the Sabbath and the beautiful Lake Walden at Concord on the 12th by a noisy meeting, advocating free love and Spiritualism, and resolved "that our present system of marriage is slavery, and that, considering that idiocy, insanity, prostitution, adultery, rape, drunkenness and murder are its legitimate fruits, it is the duty of every lover of humanity to protest against it".
Mary E. Woodard vs. Samuel S. Eastman et al. - This was an action of libel brought by the plaintiff, the wife of Elbridge O. Woodard of Greenfield, against the defendants, publishers of the Gazette & Courier, claiming $5000 as compensation for the damage to her character, by a certain item published in the paper of the defendants on the 25th of Jan. last. The following is the plaintiff’s declaration, and the plaintiff says the defendants printed and published, and caused and procured to be printed, published and circulated, in a certain newspaper, edited and issued by the defendants at Greenfield, in the same county, this false, scandalous and defamatory libel of and concerning the plaintiff, a copy whereof is hereby annexed:
Copy of libel annexed: "Our village was disturbed by a lively row Sat. eve. It appears that Elbridge G. Woodard, whose wife is employed in the kitchen of the Mansion House, had learned from intercepted letters that one Bailey, a blacksmith of Shelburne Falls, had planned an elopement with Mrs. W. Woodard [meaning thereby the plaintiff; and further meaning that she, the plaintiff, had secretly devised, agreed and arranged with the said Bailey, and he with her, to run away and leave her lawful husband, the said Elbridge G. Woodard, and to live with him, the said Bailey, in adultery], his brother Galusha Woodard, and a friend were in waiting at the appointed hour, and when Bailey made his appearance at the rear of the Mansion House, pounced upon him, one Woodard using his fists and the other a whip-stock. Officer Kimball finally separated the parties, but Bailey was badly punished. Thoroughly scared, he rushed for his team at the American House, and made hasty tracks for home, while Woodard, in another sleigh, followed in his pursuit."
Whereby the plaintiff was and is greatly injured in her name, character and reputation, and was and is held up and exposed to public ignominy, shame, and disgrace, and was and is otherwise, greatly damnified. By the plaintiff’s attorney, Charles G. Delano.
Defendants’ answer - And now the defendants come, and for answer say, that they admit that they are the publishers of the Gazette & Courier, and that the article set forth in plaintiff’s declaration was published in the issue of January 25, 1875. The defendants deny each and every other allegation contained in said declaration, and leave the plaintiff to prove the same. They deny that said alleged libelous article is false, scandalous or malicious. They deny that said plaintiff has been in any way injured in her name, character or reputation by said publication...And the defendants aver that said article, as published by them, is substantially true; and they say that the village was disturbed on said Sat. eve. by a lively row; that the plaintiff was employed at the Mansion House; that letters had been intercepted, and that the plaintiff’s husband had learned from said letters that one Bailey had planned an elopement with the plaintiff; that said husband and Galusha, his brother, were in waiting at the appointed hour, and that when Bailey made his appearance in the rear of the Mansion House, they pounced upon him, one with fists, and the other with a whip-stock; and that the parties were separated by Officer Kimball; and Bailey was badly punished, and rushed for his team at the American House, and drove rapidly homeward, pursued by Woodard.
And the defendant further say that said article, set forth in plaintiff’s declaration, was so published by them in good faith, without malice toward the plaintiff, as current news of the day, and substantially as stated by the husband of the plaintiff to the defendants and to the bystanders and to others, on said Sat. eve., and at other times...That said words "that one Bailey planned an elopement with Mrs. W." do not, in their plain, common and natural import, accuse the plaintiff of any action whatever in the matter. It is Bailey who has planned...By C.C. Conant, Defendant’s Att’y.
It was decided to proceed with the case, and C.G. Delano, Esq., counsel for the plaintiff, opened by alleging that the words of the obnoxious item were false, and would be an injury to his client for a long time; would lacerate her feelings and hold her up before the community in shame and disgrace. Admitting that a portion of the facts were true, he said the objectionable words were those which alleged elopement...The counsel then read an item alluding to the libel case, from a recent issue of the Springfield Union, the responsibility for the publication of which he tried to trace to the defendants...
The first witness called by the prosecution was the junior editor of the Gazette & Courier, who was asked under oath, the extent of the circulation of the paper. [This is rather a delicate question with some publishers, but we have no reason to be ashamed of our growth, in the court room or elsewhere]. Mary E. Woodard was next put upon the stand. She had lived in Greenfield about 10 years, and had been married 17 years to Elbridge G. Woodard. She held property and did business in her own name. The publication of the article which she had alleged was libelous, had been made the subject of no little talk and comment about town, and she cited instances when it had been the occasion of sneers and derision when she walked the streets.
People who had been friendly before now cut her acquaintance. She described an interview which she had with Mr. Eastman after the publication of the item. She said that she was real sorry that it had appeared, and asked him to retract it; but he said it was all true, and he could prove it. On the cross examination she said she had worked at the Mansion House 3 days, at the time of the disturbance there. Her husband came for her that night about 7 o’clock in the eve. to take her home. He went out to get his horse; had been gone half an hour when he came back and said there was a gentleman at the door who wanted to see her. She went to the door, saw a gentleman and went right back.
Afterwards she heard a noise but didn’t hear anything said. Didn’t know what the disturbance was about; didn’t anticipate any row; didn’t know what it was. Saw Bailey the week before at the house of friends at Shelburne Falls, and played cards with him. She saw her husband the next day after the fracas, but didn’t see him again that night. She never got a letter from Bailey; didn’t know whether her husband had intercepted one or not; she never wrote to him. She had lived in Coleraine a number of years with her husband. He was in the war 3 years. She had no talk with Mr. Doolittle after the trouble at the Mansion House about the matter, never told anybody that her husband had intercepted letters.
She never told Maggie Tracy anything about it nor Jim Butler. She never had any trouble at Coleraine with her husband; never heard any stories about her character; didn’t remember asking Hugh B. Miller if an accusation of unchastity by her husband was sufficient ground for divorce. She never told Euclid Owen that she was "going to get a good slice out of Eastman". never asked him if they could go back more than 5 years on her character. Didn’t sit on a sofa with Bailey at Shelburne Falls; never told him that he was the "first man that ever turned his back on her". In direct testimony she did not expect her husband to call upon her the night of the fracas. He asked her if she got a letter from Bailey, and she told him she hadn’t.
The prosecution rested their case her, and C.C. Conant Esq. opened for the defense. He told the jury that he would prove that the complainant’s character could not have been greatly injured by the publication, because it was already soiled by a reputation for unchastity in this and an adjoining town; but it would appear in testimony; that the statement published was substantially true. He would show that Bailey received a letter, and came to Greenfield to meet her in obedience to it; that this proposed meeting was the reason that Woodard committed the assault, and because Bailey was going to run away with his wife. Before the witnesses for the defense were called to testify, Lilla B. Woodard, a daughter of the plaintiff, was put upon the stand by the prosecution, and she said that she had complained to her mother about the treatment she receives from the children at school in consequence of the scandal.
The first witness for the defense was Samuel S. Eastman, the senior editor of the Gazette & Courier. He described the interview with Mrs. Woodard at his house after the publication. she asked him if he had not published something about her, and he replied by inquiring if Bailey did not come to meet her, and if letters were not intercepted. She did not deny, but she said "You can’t prove it". She did not ask him to retract or apologize, but was violent in her talk and behavior, and said she would give him all the law he wanted.
E.A. Hall, the junior proprietor of the Gazette was called to the stand, and said that he wrote the item giving an account of the disturbance, that he had no malice towards Mrs. Woodard, and knew her only by reputation. In the cross examination he told how he obtained the facts, as published, by Officer Kimball, whom Woodard had told that he (Woodard) had intercepted letters from Bailey to his wife, arranging to run away with her. Darwin F. Hamilton, a clerk in the post office, did not recollect of a letter passing through the office directed to Mrs. Woodard.
George Doolittle, proprietor of the Mansion House, said the plaintiff worked for him two days at the time of the fracas. He recollected the disturbance. Mrs. Woodard was in the pastry room at the time, adjoining the kitchen, where the sound of voices outside could be plainly heard. He saw Mrs. Woodard when she came for her pay, and she said she ran away because of the trouble. Maggie Tracy, meat cook at the Mansion House, testified that she slept with Mrs. Woodard the night after the disturbance. Mrs. W. told her then that her husband said he had received letters from Shelburne Falls directed to her.
Mrs. Woodard told her that she was "a’feared" to go home. At the time of the disturbance, she (Maggie) was in her room, second story, facing Federal Street, and heard Woodard say that the man was going to run away with his wife, and that he had letters in his pocket to show it. Joseph A. Bailey of Shelburne Falls was the next witness put upon the stand. He saw Mrs. Woodard at Shelburne Falls, at the house of one White, where he joined with her in a game of cards. He left her about 11 o’clock. He came to Greenfield the night of Jan. 23, and hitched his horse at the American House; went to the Mansion House alone; met a man at the entrance of the stable yard, of whom he inquired for the hostler; the man lead him to a short distance and then assaulted him.
He didn’t know as he saw Mrs. Woodard or any other woman. He received a letter from "M.E. Woodard" that day, asking him to meet her in the eve. at the American House. He met a man there, by the name of Hossington, who told him that she wasn’t there. When he was with her at White’s, at Shelburne Falls, she said, when he was seated beside her on a sofa, that "I was the first man that ever turned his back on her". On the cross examination, Bailey said that Hossington told him at Shelburne Falls, the day of the fracas at Greenfield, that he would get a letter from Mrs. Woodard. When he stopped at the American House he went in and took a drink of whiskey. He denied that he knew Mrs. Woodard was at the Mansion House. When asked his name during the fracas, he said it was "Hilliard".
Hugh B. Miller of Coleraine was next called. He had known plaintiff since 1860; her reputation for chastity in Coleraine was not good, and he should think that it was the same at Greenfield. Thomas D. Purrinton of Coleraine knew this woman, and her reputation for chastity was not the best. Charles Webster Smith of Coleraine had heard people say "she" was not what she should be. J.B. Clark of Coleraine said her reputation for chastity was not the best. Dwight Jewett of South Deerfield was acquainted with the plaintiff, and her general reputation for chastity was bad. When cross examined, he said her father and brother had called her character into question. C.B. Tilton of South Deerfield corroborated Mr. Jewett’s statement. Alfred Wells of Greenfield knew Mary Woodard’s reputation, and it was bad. Bela Kellogg of Greenfield said her reputation for chastity was not what it should be.
J.H. Beals testified that his place of business on the night of Jan. 23, was opposite the kitchen of the Mansion House on Federal Street. He thought the noise of the fracas could be heard 20 rods. The distance from the pastry room across the kitchen was 14 ft. He could hear the talk in his store with the door shut. He heard Woodard ask Kimball to arrest Bailey, and when the officer said he would arrest him if he didn’t stop, Woodard said "Mr. Kimball, you don’t understand, this man has had sexual intercourse with my wife" or words to that effect.
C.H. McClellan being called, said that he was a storekeeper in Greenfield. Had known plaintiff in Coleraine and Greenfield, and her reputation for chastity was not good. J.M. Monson has known her for some years, and her reputation has been bad ever since he knew her. Euclid Owen testified to having had conversation with plaintiff in reference to the case. She had asked him how much she was likely to get; a thousand dollars would do her a great deal of good; she meant to "get a good slice out of Eastman". she asked if they could go back on her character to the time she lived in Coelraine. He told her that they could not go back more than 5 years.
Henry L. Miller said that his shop was 22 paces from the entrance to the Mansion House. He heard Woodard’s voice answer to a question "This man was going to run away with my wife". He heard it distinctly. George A. Kimball, the officer who quelled the disturbance, testified that he heard the noise of the fracas as far off as Howland & Lowell’s store, some 15 rods. He found Bailey in the custody of Woodard, told the latter to let him go, and the former to clear out. Kimball declined to arrest Bailey because he had no authority. In answer to his inquiry, Bailey gave his name as "Couillard". Woodard said his name wasn’t Couillard, but Bailey, as he had a letter in his pocket.
The disturbance was within 3 ft. of the windows of the kitchen. Thomas Todd, employed in the Federal Street Market, testified that he went out when he heard the row; saw a fellow running and Woodard after him. In answer to his inquiry, Woodard said the fellow was after his wife. Heard Woodard say to Mr. Kimball, that he had got a letter in his pocket to show the man’s name. This last statement was corroborated by Samuel J. Lyons, who heard a portion of the conversation. Miss Belle W. Eastman, daughter of the senior proprietor of the paper, corroborated her father’s testimony in regard to the conversation between him and Mrs. W., at the interview at the former’s house. She remembered distinctly shutting the hall door when ushering Mrs. W. into the house. Mrs. Woodard did not ask her father to retract the statements in the publication.
The defense here rested their case, and the prosecution then called the following witnesses, who had known the plaintiff and had not heard her reputation called in question: S.L. Shattuck, George W. Potter, Joel Wilson, Hattie A. Sessions, Sarah H. Brown (of Leyden), Lewis W. White. The latter lives at Shelburne Falls, and it was at his house where Bailey was introduced to Mrs. Woodard. They played "Old Maid". Hossington, his wife’s brother, was present. He didn’t see anything out of character. The testimony of Mrs. White was substantially the same. Elbridge G. Woodard, the husband of the plaintiff, was slow called to the stand. He couldn’t describe much of the Mansion House fracas.
He said the letter he told Kimball he had in his pocket was from the Warrior Mowing Machine Co., on the back of which he had some memoranda. He said he heard Bailey was coming there from Bill Hossington. He didn’t have any letter which he had destroyed. He didn’t know that he had told S.D. Bardwell of Shelburne Falls that he had destroyed a letter from Bailey to his wife. He didn’t know that he had left instructions at the post office to have all letters addressed to his wife detained and given to him. On the night of the fracas he didn’t know Bailey. He thrashed a man he did not know, and that he couldn’t see in the dark. He followed him to Shelburne Falls.
Went to Bardwell’s to enter a complaint against Bailey for riding out with his wife. He was over there the same day in Bailey’s shop with Hossington, told him about Bailey and his wife. He didn’t tell Mr. Bardwell that Bailey said he had had all he wanted out of Mrs. Woodard. At this point the prosecution called to the stand Dr. Charles L. Fisk, L.L. Luey, George Pierce Jr., James Newton, A.A. Rankin and S.O. Lamb, who couldn’t recollect that they had heard Mrs. Woodard’s character called to question.
S.D. Bardwell, a magistrate at shelburne Falls, was called by the defense in rebuttal. Woodard came to him on the night of the 23rd of Jan. saying that he had taken a letter from the post office in Greenfield, directed to his wife, purporting to come from Bailey, arranging a meeting. He (Woodard) was exasperated and proceeded to catch Bailey when he came according to his appointment. A complaint of rape was made on Woodard’s representation. On cross examination Mr. Bardwell said that Bailey was tried before him on the complaint, but was discharged because neither Mr. nor Mrs. Woodard appeared against him. Euclid Owen was also called to the stand to contradict Woodard’s statements. Woodard told him that he was about starting for Conway that Sat.; he went into the post office and took out a letter for his wife and noticed it was from Shelburne Falls. He opened it and found it was from Bailey. He didn’t say what he did with the letter.
The evidence in the case was now in, and W.S.B. Hopkins Esq. of Worcester presented the cause of the defense to the jury. It was one of those cases that it was always unpleasant to try, but nevertheless should be tried fully and fairly. There were several points in the statements of the alleged libelous article upon which both sides agree. The counsel for the prosecution objected to the portion which says: "One Bailey, a blacksmith at Shelburne Falls, had planned an elopement with Mrs. W." Were these words libelous? The words were capable of two constructions, and it was left for the jury to determine which was intended...
[Follows a long rehashing of the evidence]. Judge Aldrich charged the jury at considerable length, and with unusual clearness. He explained the difference between slander and libel. A libel is a false imputation which is written or published, holding up the slandered party to more public ridicule and contempt than would words spoken in slander. the plaintiff claims that she has sustained damage in consequence of the article published. The defendants admit the publication. they say that it is not libelous, does not hold up Mrs. Woodard to shame and ridicule. It was not claimed that there was any actual malice on the part of the defendants.
The question of inference or interpretation of the words should be decided by the jury; they should determine the obnoxious meaning; should see practical common sense to reach a verdict; they should decide whether the words were applicable to the plaintiff or not; whether Bailey planned an elopement with Mrs. Woodard or without her aid. If the import of the language was that it was a plan of Bailey alone, then it was no imputation upon Mrs. Woodard. the defendants say that if it was a charge upon Mrs. Woodard, they can prove that it is true. It was for the jury to say whether the truth was established or not.
The judge reviewed the evidence. If what Woodard said in the fracas was competent evidence, it must be proven that it was within the hearing of his wife. This the jury should determine. If the matter is libelous and also true, you must find for the defendants, if libelous and untrue, the verdict should be for the plaintiff. In fixing damage to character, the jury should take the standing of the woman before the public for chastity. A bad character may be hurt, and it was for them to determine the extent. It was competent for the defense to show a bad reputation 10 years before. If a woman years ago was lascivious, the presumption is that her character continues the same. The jury were to judge whether before the publication she was a pure woman.
The case was given to the jury at 4:30 on Thurs. Their first duty was to choose a foreman, as E.D. Merriam, the foreman previously chosen, was challenged off. The judge kept the court open till 9 o’clock in the eve. and then adjourned, and the jury were out all night. At 9 the next morning, they announced that they had still failed to agree, and were called into the court room. The judge took the occasion to say that he thought the case a clear one, and it should not have detained them but a short time. In a case of this type, the burden of proof rested with the plaintiff. It was necessary for the defendants to show only the truth by a preponderance of evidence.
They should show the truth by a fair amount of testimony, absolute truth was not insisted upon. It was the duty of the jury to render a verdict if possible. They should pay proper respect to each others’ opinions. He then sent them out to make another attempt. About half past 11 in the forenoon, the jury sent in for instruction, asking if the word "appears" used in the article alleged to be libelous, did not indicate that there was no direct charge. His Honor instructed them that that was the very point which they themselves must determine. He added that he wanted them to understand that he was not detaining them. If they were satisfied that they could not agree, they might say so and be dismissed. But the jury retired to their room, and in 5 minutes returned a verdict for the defendants. They had had a siege of 19 hours and were dismissed until Mon. morning.
The counsel for the plaintiff had filed a bill of exceptions, which has not yet been approved by the judge.
The suit brought by Mary E. Woodard against the proprietors of the Gazette and Courier for libel, has the past week been on trial before the Superior court, and has engrossed more or less of the public attention. We publish elsewhere a report of the trial, which we have endeavored to make impartial. We wish, however to say, that the introduction of the testimony reflecting upon the character of the plaintiff, was rendered necessary in our own defense...It is the first suit of the kind in which we have ever been engaged, and we trust that it will be the last...
We admit that we sometimes make mistakes, through informants who may be in error, or correspondents who may have a meaning in their words that is not to us apparent. Every publisher is thus liable to make misstatements; but we assure our readers that we are always ready to make retraction and redress for these wrongs. Let it be shown in a proper way that we are in error, and we promise to make all suitable correction. As stated by the senior publisher of the paper on the witness stand, we hold ourselves responsible for every line which appears in our paper.
The verdict of the jury for the defendants throws all of the taxable costs in defending the suit on Mrs. Woodard.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, August 2, 1875
News of the week
A man named Baker, a Providence painter about 40 years old, was arrested at Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard a few days ago, for attempting to outrage several little girls, daughters of summer residents, but as the parents did not wish to give publicity to the matter, he was allowed to go on condition of leaving the State.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, July 26, 1875
News of the week
Lewis Thomson, [also seen as Lewis Thompson], colored, who brutally outraged a young lady at Iuka, Miss. last May, and was sentenced last Mon. to imprisonment for life, was taken from jail Tues. night by disguised men and hanged.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, June 14, 1875
A horrible double outrage was perpetrated by a negro upon 2 sisters
A horrible double outrage was perpetrated by a negro upon 2 sisters, aged 20 and 23, named Johnson, white girls living in Dekalb county, Georgia a few days since. They were at home alone with a little brother, who tried in vain to kill the negro with an ax. A negro named Gordon Jones has been arrested on suspicion and taken to the house for identification.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, June 14, 1875
News of the week
A tragedy at Harmony, Me. On Sun. eve. the 6th, Miss Ada Marble, daughter of Winslow Marble of Harmony, Me., a young lady 21 years of age, and of irreproachable character, went out alone to take a walk before going to bed. As she did not return search was made for her, and on Mon. morning her body was found in Main stream in about 2 ft. of water. The indications are of outrage and murder, and a coroner's inquest is to be held.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, June 7, 1875
News of the week
John L. White of Boston is under arrest for outraging the person of Emma G. Escabel, the 10 year old daughter of his washerwoman, the girl having yielded to him through the influence of a promised visit to Barnum's hippodrome and a new silk dress.
Tues. night Philip Parr, a German farmer living 7 miles from St. Louis, was murdered, and his wife, who was about to become a mother, brutally ravished by an unknown negro. Intense excitement prevails in the neighborhood, and 20 mounted horsemen have been scouring the woods and fields all day, but at last accounts had found no trace of the murderer. [Read about the execution of the killer, Henry Brown, in the article "Execution at St. Louis" in the New York Times Oct. 23, 1875 edition].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, March 29, 1875
News of the week
A most terrible crime was perpetrated at Terre Haute, Indiana last week, when an old woman named Eva Peters http://en.wikipedia....Vigo_County,_Indiana , who had been living alone, was found lying dead on her bed, her hands tied behind her, and neck tied to the head of the bed with a string. She had been outraged and then choked to death with the string. Cal Jones, a nephew of a leading citizen, has been arrested as the perpetrator of the crime, but having come from New Orleans, as he boasted, "to settle the old hag", because she had exposed a theft of money by him from his grandfather. (Of course the Wikipedia article has a totally different story. "The murder of Eva Peters, which was committed on the morning of March 15, 1875. Eva was an elderly maiden lady living alone in a small house in the village. Who her murderers are will probably never be known; what the motives were which impelled them to commit the horrible deed are yet a mystery to the community. Miss Peters had deposited in bank in Terre Haute a few dollars, the earnings of toil which she was saving to be expended to give her a "Christian burial." This money she drew out of the bank the day before she was murdered. The possession of this small sum is supposed to be the incentive to the commission of the bloody crime; if so, the murderers were disappointed, for the money was found, after the body was discovered, concealed in her bed").
Gazette & Courier - Monday, March 22, 1875
The Beecher trial
The case was continued Mon. by the examination of 5 witnesses as to Bowen's charges against Beecher, Mrs. Tilton's confession, Tilton's charges against his wife in which he had always maintained that she was a pure woman; Tilton's newspaper enterprises; his threats to blow off the roof of Plymouth church, his friendship for Woodhull and other points.
/ On Tues. several witnesses were examined, showing Moulton had always denied any wrong between Beecher and Mrs. Tilton, and Tilton's connection with Mrs. Woodhull, which was not very creditable to him. The remainder of the week was consumed in hearing witnesses as to Tilton's character and his treatment of his wife. Bessie Turner testified to his cruel treatment of his wife and attempts to violate her (Bessie's) person.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, March 8, 1875
News about home
(Greenfield) It was Mary Woodard's husband who swore out the complaint against Bailey for an attempted rape. Mary would not appear against her friend Bailey, and so that charge was not tried.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, February 8, 1875
(Shelburne Falls) On Monday Joseph Bailey was honorably acquitted on the charge of assault with attempt to commit rape on Mrs. Woodard.
(Shelburne Falls) On Monday Joseph Bailey was honorably acquitted on the charge of assault with attempt to commit rape on Mrs. Woodard.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, February 1, 1875
(Shelburne Falls) Wed. aft. Joseph Bailey was arrested by Sheriff Swan and brought before Justice Bardwell, on the charge of assault with attempt to commit rape upon Mrs. Mary Woodard.
(Shelburne Falls) Wed. aft. Joseph Bailey was arrested by Sheriff Swan and brought before Justice Bardwell, on the charge of assault with attempt to commit rape upon Mrs. Mary Woodard.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, February 1, 1875
Dastardly rape of a deaf and dumb girl
Dastardly rape of a deaf and dumb girl - A dastardly rape was committed Sat. by James T. Carney upon a deaf and dumb girl, named Mary O. Meacham. Carney took the girl to West Farms in a hack, ostensibly for a sleigh ride, and then called at the house of another young lady, who declined to go with them. On the way home Carney accomplished his purpose upon the poor girl whom he had entirely at his mercy. The driver hearing a cry threw back the cover of the sleigh, but it was too late to prevent the outrage. By signs the girl made him aware of what had been done and the driver succeeded in detaining the brute in the back till they arrived at Westfield, where he aroused an officer and had the fellow arrested. There was not the shadow of doubt of the truth of the girl’s statement, her clothing being badly torn. Carney waived examination before Judge Lewis, and was put under $5000 bonds to appear at the May term of the superior court. Carney has hitherto borne an ordinary reputation for decency.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, January 25, 1875
G.W. Ellery was arrested for rape on a girl aged 9 years old near Urbana O. on Thursday the 12th, was hanged Sun. morning the 17th, by a mob of 4
G.W. Ellery was arrested for rape on a girl aged 9 years old near http://carmazzis.tripod.com/history.htm Urbana O. on Thursday the 12th, was hanged Sun. morning the 17th, by a mob of 40 men who went to the jail, captured and bound the guards, battered down the doors, took out the prisoner, and after giving him a chance to pray, hanged him to a tree...A large crowd gathered...hung for an hour before removed by the coroner.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, November 16, 1874
Peter Bowen of Napanee, Ont., who was sentenced to receive 40 lashes for committing rape on his own daughter, received the first installment of 20
Peter Bowen of http://www.town.greaternapanee.on.ca/ Napanee, Ont. , who was sentenced to receive 40 lashes for committing rape on his own daughter, received the first installment of 20 Sat. His back was very much lacerated, and the blood oozed from the wounds made by the lash, while he screamed and pleaded for mercy. He will receive 20 more lashes at the expiration of two months.
Gazette & Courier - Tuesday, November 10, 1874
A beast of a negro named Jock Phillips outraged the wife of a planter near
A beast of a negro named Jock Phillips outraged the wife of a planter near http://www.arkansas....-heritage/famous.asp Osceola, Ark. early Thurs. morning, and from the treatment she received she will probably die, as she was within 4 weeks of confinement. The negro was arrested and brought to Osceola, where the citizens, both black and white, improvised a court, and after hearing the evidence took the prisoner out and shot him dead.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, July 15, 1872
(Orange) On the Fourth, Asa Magoon, a farmer in the south part of town, left his home in the morning, with his wife and two boys, to spend the day at the capital, leaving behind as housekeeper his da
(Orange) On the Fourth, Asa Magoon, a farmer in the south part of town, left his home in the morning, with his wife and two boys, to spend the day at the capital, leaving behind as housekeeper his daughter, some 18 years old. During their absence, Alpheus George called at the house and after some conversation made insulting proposals to the girl, which she treated as they deserved. He then attempted to achieve his ends by force, and after a desperate struggle succeeded. The girl was so badly injured that a physician, who was called as soon as the family arrived home, thought she would not recover and on Sat. the deposition was taken by Col. Samuel Kimball. In that she fully identifies George as her ravisher, and places his guilt beyond a doubt. George fled, but was pursued and captured Mon. morning. He is a widower, some 40 years of age, and has one child. He is a http://www.geocities...nlace12/village.html cooper [makes barrels, buckets, and tubs] by trade and has sustained a good reputation hitherto.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, February 20, 1871
An arrest for attempt to commit rape. Part I
An arrest for attempt to commit rape. Part I - (Greenfield) A warrant was issued on Mon. for the arrest of Michael Lawlor for an assault with intent to commit rape upon the person of Emma Smith. Lawlor has been employed by Father Robinson, the Catholic priest in Greenfield, as a hostler since some time in Nov. last, when he was brought from the http://germanroots.h...nd/castlegarden.html Castle Garden in New York . Emma Smith is a quadroon girl, 19 years old, bright and intelligent, has been employed as a servant in several families of the village for the past year or two, and is now in the service of Father Robinson. The trial of Lawlor commenced on Mon. and continued till Tues. aft. The girl's testimony was that the assault was committed on Wed., the 8th; that Father Robinson went to Boston on Tues, his assistant, Father Veaudrey went Wed. forenoon to Turners Falls, and that she and Michael were left alone in the house. After some conversation between them, Lawlor caught her about the waist and arms, carried her across the dining room and forced her into Father V's. http://www.geocities...11/tour_bedroom.html bedroom , which is connected with it. Here a struggle ensued, the girl trying to keep him away and he holding his hands over her mouth to prevent her screaming, and endeavoring to throw her upon the bed. Lawlor was finally forced to desist from his purpose & tried to make it up with her & have her promise not to tell. About 4, Emma went to the house of Mary Collins, an intimate friend, told the story of the assault, exhibited her torn dress and scratched & swollen face. The two girls returned to Father Robinson's and remained there together through the night.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 7, 1874
Outrages in the south
Outrages in the south - There have been received at Washington several well authenticated cases of outrages upon the negroes in the Southern States. One of these, of which there is official confirmation, is the deliberate murder of a colored mail messenger. This murder was committed by a gang of Ku Klux, who stopped the railroad train on the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad near York station, by false signals of danger, and then shot down the colored government officer while at his duty. Another outrage equally authentic was performed in Lee County, Alabama. A band of Ku Klux fired into a colored church without provocation and killed 4 colored persons. Congressman Hayes of Alabama, who is now here, states that he is also in danger of his life in Sumpter County, the strongest Republican county in the State; that his district, which has hitherto returned him by 10,000 majority, would now cast only white votes, as the black voters are so intimidated that they would not go to the polls. Mr. Sloss, an employee of the House of Representatives, who is speaking in Alabama, has just been warned by a band of Ku Klux, who entered his bedroom with cocked pistols, to leave the country. Representative Pelham of Alabama had fled from one of the counties in his own district for his life. The Chairman of the State Republican Committee of Texas, who is here, states that since the inauguration of http://www.lsjunction.com/people/coke.htm Gov. Coke in that State there has been 600 political murders. Mayor Stephens of Desoto parish La., who arrived at Shreveport Tues., furnishes the following account of the recent troubles in Red River parish, which resulted in the inhuman butchery of the http://theoldentimes.com/coushatta.html Coushatta prisoners , on Sun. It seems that in the Red River parish, where the negroes are largely in excess of the whites, much apprehension and alarm has been felt by the latter on account of a threatened outbreak of the negroes, instigated as it was generally believed, by Edgerton, Dewees, Twitchell, Howell, Willis, Holland and others. The lives of several white residents had been threatened by the negroes, and a few days ago, Mr. Williams of http://ftp.rootsweb....history/redrivht.txt Red River parish , was threatened with assassination by two notorious and desperate negroes near Brownsville; he having been fired at by them with double-barreled shotguns. Last Thurs. night a small party of white men went to the cabins of these negroes, with a view of aresting and lodging them in jail, when they were fired upon and one killed. The negroes then attempted to run into the woods, when they were both shot and killed. The next day (Friday) a large body of armed negroes, numbering between 300 and 400, assembled near Brownsville, swearing vengeance against the white race, and declaring that they would not leeve a white man, woman or child alive in the parish. This created great apprehension and excitement at http://www.sniksnak.com/la/chron.html Coushatta and throughout the surrounding country, and Fri. night, the roads leading into town were picketed. During the night, two young men named Dickson and Pickens halted a negro coming into town with a sack of buckshot, but he paid no attention to their command to halt, and ran off into the darkness, being fired at by one of the party without success. They immediately went into town to report what had occurred, and were returning to their post when they were accosted in the streets of Coushatta by http://www.rootsweb..../coushatta_times.htm Homer Twitchell and two negroes named Andrew Bosley and Bob Smith, all of whom were armed. They had a few moments' conversation, not of a violent nature, and had turned round to proceed to their posts, when they were fired upon twice by the Twitchell party from the rear without warning. Dickson was dangerously wounded, and now lies in a very critical condition. The firing party then ran off, Bosley and Smith escaping altogether, and Twitchell for the time being. That night and the next morning F.S. http://theoldentimes.com/old_news_la7.html Edgerton , http://ftp.rootsweb....ita/obits/ot1874.txt Homer I. Twitchell , R.A. Dewees, W.F. Howell, C. Holland and M.C. Willis, all white, besides a number of negroes, were arrested and placed under guard. All of the party who held office then voluntarily tendered and wrote out resignations and they, with others, voluntarily proposed that, if a guard be furnished them to Shreveport, they would leave the State and return no more. This was at once assented to, and the prisoners requested John Carr, a reliable and trustworthy citien, to take charge of the guard for their protection. On Sun. morning at 10 o'clock Mr. Carr, with a guard of 16 men, started with the above named prisoners, except the negroes released afterward. A party of between 40 and 50, supposed to be Texans, who came to Coushatta, started in pursuit with the avowed purpose of lynching the prisoners. Later in the day, Carr was apprised of this fact, and put his horse and those of the prisoners to the top of their speed to avoid being overtaken. While nearing Hutchinson's plantation on the Red River, some 30 miles below Shreveport, with a view of crossing there and destroying the flat boat to prevent further pursuit, he was overtaken by the pursuing party, the guards were overpowerd and the prisoners taken away from him. Three of them, Edgerton, Twitchell and Dewees were shot on the spot, and the other three, Howell, Holland and Wilis, carried back a short distance to near Ward's store, and there shot. The citizens of the neighborhood assembled Mon. night, and buried the parties killed, the first three in a graveyard near Hutchinson's plantation, and the last three on the spot whee they were killed near Ward's store. The St. Louis Republican learns from gentlemen just arrived from Galveston Texas that on Fri., Agu. 28, at Corsicana in that State, the wife of a negro living three miles from town was grossly insulted by a white desperado. The husband went to Corsicana and made a complaint against the offender before a Justice of the Peace. In attempting to arrest the desperado, the negro husband and two others were shot. Some 300 negroes then armed themselves with the intention of capturing the white man who, with 5 or 6 companions took possession of a cabin in the suburbs of the town, and barricaded it and determined to resist arrest. When the informant left, the whites were counseling the negroes not to besiege the cabin, as its occupants were well armed and would kill many of the besiegers. The colored citzens of Boston held a meeting Wed. eve. to "give expression to their indignation at the recent outrages upon the black and white citizens of the South". Speeches were made by http://www.africawithin.com/bios/william_brown.htm William Wells Brown , http://www.masshist....icipation/judges.htm George L. Ruffin , http://www.nps.gov/boaf/fugitiveslavelaw3.htm Joshua B. Smith , E.G. Walker and others. They believed that there had been shown altogether too much leniency to ex rebels, and that the old slave holding power was still struggling for the supremacy. Resolutions were passed calling upon the President to take prompt measures for the suppression of the present state of affairs, and if he had not the power to do that, to convene an extra session of Congress. President Grant has caused troops to be stationed within call of the localities where the recent troubles have occurred in the south, in order to protect both white and colored citizens wherever the local authorities are powerless. http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab11.htm Gov. Kellogg has issued a proclamation reciting the recent murders and offering a reward of $5000 per head for the perpetrators. Senator West of Louisiana states that there have been a hundred political murders in the South within 3 weeks.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, August 10, 1874
Disgraceful local scandal in Pittsfield
Disgraceful local scandal in Pittsfield - http://www.rootsweb....pitt_deaths/c-5.html Willis A. Crossman , a young married man, was arrested in Pittsfield Tues. for criminal conduct with several young girls. Crossman is very generally known, having been engaged as a clerk for a number of years, in the North street bakery of his father, A.W. Crossman, until last Spring, when they gave up the bakery and bought out a family grocery store on Bradford Street. The young man was never considered over smart, but has always borne a good character, although now it appears that he has been engaged in questionable actions of this character before, but not of a serios nature. He was arraigned before Special Justice Van de Mark, Judge Tucker being out of town. He pleaded not guilty to two indictments, the first charging him with criminal intercourse with a girl under 10 years of age, and the second an indecent asault on another child. He waived an examination before the district court, and under advice of the officer who arrested him - he having no counsel present - retracted his plea of not guilty and pleaded nollo contendere. Justice Van de Mark fixed the bonds at $3000 for the first indictment and $500 for the second, and ordered him to appear before the grand jury next Jan. The prisoner was taken to jail. It is said that it will be less pleasant for him to live out of jail than in, from now till the time of his trial. The parents and friends, both of young Crossman and his wife live in Pittsfield, and are people of the highest respectability, in good standing in the church and in society. [Crossman leads a good long life, not dying until 1928].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 14, 1874
A fresh case of outrage and its swift punishment by Judge Lynch occurred in Kentucky last week. On Tues. a young white girl named Strange, living in Jessamine co
A fresh case of outrage and its swift punishment by Judge Lynch occurred in Kentucky last week. On Tues. a young white girl named Strange, living in http://www.jessamineco.com/ Jessamine county , was outraged by a negro named http://users.bestweb...NG%20CENTURY%201.htm Lewis Oates [listed here as an unknown black man], who was subsequently arrested and taken to http://www.kentuckybb.com/sandusky.html Nicholasville for examination. He pleaded guilty and was remanded for the action of the circuit court. Soon after, the [?] was overpowered by a mob headed by the father of the girl, and the negro taken outside the town and hanged. The sheriff endeavored to protect the prisoner but received no support from the citizens.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 7, 1874
A negro named Albert Brown outraged a seven year old girl at Canton Pa. Fri. night, cut her throat from ear to ear, and then jumped himself in front of a passing train, breaking both his legs. He is
A negro named Albert Brown outraged a seven year old girl at Canton Pa. Fri. night, cut her throat from ear to ear, and then jumped himself in front of a passing train, breaking both his legs. He is now in custody.
- Mon, Jan 18, 2010
