Crimes, confessions, culprits, and convicts – 19th century tales of murder
Jan 17th, 2013 by bachmann
Sensationalized courtroom cases, ruthless murderers, shocking crimes, gruesome details, and the coverage of other lurid activities did not begin with mass media. Public fascination with criminal activities, especially murder, was all the rage in the 19th century. The public closely followed these violent cases and trials through whatever means possible, attendance at court, town conversations, local gossip, and of course, newspapers. When the public’s attention to the crime reached fever pitch, “eye-witness” accounts or “journalistic” investigations were compiled and published, mostly in the form of cheap pamphlets, to satisfy the public’s appetite for more and more coverage and details. Needless to say that these publications often had their own agenda and were rarely unbiased in reporting the crime.
Some historic crimes have made their way into popular culture and common expressions. One such example is the awful story of Charley Ross, a child who was abducted in 1874 and never seen again, after being offered candy from two strangers. This incident is considered the first ever kidnapping for ransom to have occurred in the U.S. In fact, the old adage of “don’t take candy from strangers” is believed to have originated with this shocking event. For decades after the disappearance, dozens of imposters claimed themselves to be the true Charley Ross, all frauds and con-men hoping to gain access to the Ross inheritance. The father spent much of his fortune searching for his lost son, but to no avail.
An earlier case with much intrigue was the 1827 murder of John Whipple by Jesse Strang, who had a wife and four children whom he deserted in 1825, faking his own death and changing his name to ‘Joseph Orton’. Orton, a.k.a Strang, found work at the Whipple home and eventually had an affair with Whipple’s wife Elsie. A la “The Postman Always Rings Twice”, they conspired to murder John Whipple, with Jesse Strang carrying out the evil deed. Eventually they were both caught and tried with Strang receiving the death sentence, while Elsie Whipple was eventually acquitted of any crime. The execution was an event in itself, estimated between 30,000 and 40,000 people witnessed the hanging of Jesse Strang. Apparently there were street hawkers selling pamphlets entitled The Confession of Jesse Strang Made to C. Pepper, Esq. as the event unfolded. Legend has it that, on the scaffold, Jesse Strang held a copy of this pamphlet and advertised it as the true story of what transpired at the Whipple home.
In other instances, these pamphlets capture certain milestones in legal jurisprudence, such as the murder of Mansfield Walworth by his own son Frank Walworth. After attempts by Frank and other family members to prevent what was clearly ongoing abuse of his mother by his father, Frank decided to take justice into his own hands and shot his father to death. He was convicted and imprisoned for his crime in 1873. However, his mother, Ellen Hardin Walworth a well educated author, activist, and lawyer in her own right, came to his defense. After studying the law further, she eventually succeeded in getting her son freed on the basis of insanity. The issue of domestic abuse as well as the legal determination of sanity were brought to the forefront in this case.
In November of 1868, Mrs. Mary E. Hill was killed in her house in Philadelphia. George S. Twitchell, Jr., and his wife, the daughter of Mrs. Hill, arrested on the charge of having committed the murder. The trail of evidence lead the police to George Twitchell, who apparently beat his mother-in-law to death with a poker, then threw her out a second-story window to simulate an accident. Subsequently Twitchell was found guilty and sentenced to be hung. On April 8th, 1869, the day he was to be executed, George Twitchell committed suicide by poison. Mrs. Twitchell who may have been an accomplice, or perhaps even the murderer, was acquitted and set free.
Some examples of these pamphlets are listed below:
- Description:
- Montgomery, Zach. The Schroder trial :bottom facts and leading incidents connected with the killing of Dr. Alfred LeFevre : and the trial and disgraceful acquittal of the slayer … [Oakland, Calif.] : Z. Montgomery, c1881.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978156
- Description:
- Spring, Arthur. The life and adventures of Arthur Spring, the murderer of Mrs. Ellen Lynch and her sister, Mrs. Shaw :with the complete trials, speeches, and conviction of the murderer. Philadelphia : T.B. Peterson, 1853.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978157
- Description:
- Red Nosed Mike! :confession of a terrible crime, assassination and robbery of paymaster McClure! and Hugh Flannaghan, on Wilkes-Barre Mountain : a history of the crime! as exposed by Pinkerton’s men. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. : Hart and Co., 1889.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978159
- Description:
- Walworth, Frank H. The Walworth parricide! :a full account of the astounding murder of Mansfield T. Walworth by his son, Frank H. Walworth, with the trial and conviction of the parricide, and his sentence for life to the state penitentiary at Sing Sing. New York : T. O’Kane, [1873]..
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978160
- Description:
- Twitchell, George S. The Twitchell tragedy :more about the crime, Mrs. Twitchell, a startling confession at last of the murderer of Mrs. Hill at Philadelphia : to which is added a full account of Twitchell’s poisoning and mysterious matters never before published : also startling attempt by his relations to bring a murderer’s corpse to life, after obtaining it from the authorities for burial–it being made to breathe and move. Philadelphia : C.W. Alexander, publisher, [1869?].
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978161
- Description:
- The life of Hungry Joe :king of the bunco men ; dedicated to countrymen with the compliments of the author. New York : Frank Tousey, 1885.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:5156126
- Description:
- A sketch of the life of Miss Ellen Jewett, who was murdered in the city of New York, on Saturday evening April 9, 1836 :with a portrait copied from her miniature. Boston : Printed for the Publisher, 1836 .
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:650155
- Description:
- Westervelt, William H. Life, trial and conviction of William H. Westervelt, for the abduction of little Charley Ross :the tragic death of the burglars Mosher and Douglass on Long Island, N.Y., who were implicated in abducting the poor little fellow ; the confession, the whole case, the trial in full. Philadelphia : Published by Barclay, c1875.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978163
- Description:
- Talbott, Albert P. The Talbotts :history of the assassination of Dr. P.H. Talbott and the trial of his two sons Albert P. and Charles E. Talbott, for the murder. Maryville, Mo. : Republican Steam Job and Book Office, [1881?].
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978164
- Description:
- The life and death of Fanny White, being a complete and interesting history of the career of that notorious lady. New York : [s.n.], 1860.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:650156
- Description:
- Stern, Samuel. Thrilling mysteries of the Rubenstein murder :never before brought to light. [New York?] : Published by S. Stern & Cohn, and sold by the American News Co., c1876.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978165
- Description:
- The terrible deeds of George L. Shaftesbury :who killed his own mother and sister, fled from justice by leaping from the palisades, swimming the Hudson River, and taking refuge in New York City, where he was joined by the female murderer, Marie Lavine, whom he detected in the act of dragging to the river the body of a man whom she had murdered in one of the dens of Walnut Street, in that city : and they, after passing through the most dark and unparalleled career of crime, were finally both executed in Quebec, June 7, 1850, for the murder of Lord Amel and family. Boston, Mass. : [s.n.], 1851.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:650157
- Description:
- Bradshaw, Wesley. Der Goodrich Schrecken :enthaltend das vollständige Bekenntnis von Kate Stoddart oder Lizzie King : weshalb sie Charles Goodrich tödtete, oder, Eines verstossenen Weibes Rache. Philadelphia : Old Franklin Publishing House, 1873.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978166
- Description:
- The truly remarkable life of the beautiful Helen Jewett, who was so mysteriously murdered :the strangest and most exciting case known in the police annals of crimes and mysteries in the great city of New York. Philadelphia : Barclay & Co., c1878.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:650159
- Description:
- Tirrell, Albert John. The trial of Albert J. Tirrell :charged with the murder of Mrs. Maria A. Bickford, before the Supreme Court in Boston. Boston : Daily Mail Report, [1846] .
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978167
- Description:
- Strang, Jesse. Trial of Jesse Strang, for the murder of John Whipple :at a special Court of Oyer and Terminer holden in Albany in July, 1827. Albany : Printed by D. M’Glashan, 1827.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:9978158
- Repository:
- Widener Library
- Institution:
- Harvard University