Thursday, February 28, 2013

Railroads, Wild Pigeons and Panthers--1858

    







 
Syracuse Daily Courier     PRICE TWO CENTS 
 
Thursday, January 7, 1858. 
Accident on the Albany and Harlem Railroad. A train on the Albany and Harlem Railroad came near meeting with a serious accident on Saturday. The locomotive was thrown off the track, upset and considerably damaged, in consequence of a switch having been misplaced by some fiend in human shape. As soon as the accident occurred, some of the employees on the road started with a hand truck to Croton Falls, for the purpose of procuring another engine; and on their way thither they discovered that several ties had been spiked down across the track, and a number of chairs had been turned upside down and fastened to the rails in that position. Had it not been for the accident to the engine by the misplacement of the switch, the train would doubtless have run against the obstructions at full speed, and in all probability resulted in a fearful loss of life. The misplacement of the switch and the placing of the obstructions on the track were doubtless the work of the same individual, and it is believed that the Company have secured the guilty party and lodged him in jail at White Plains, where an investigation of the affair will take place. The suspected person was discharged from the employment of the Harlem Railroad Company only a few days ago and thus undertook to manifest his animosity to the Company, regardless of its consequences to unoffending travelers.
Wednesday, January 18, 1858.
On the N. Y. & Erie R. R. on Saturday as an engine train of empty freight cars were
going westward from Piermont [Rockland County], the boiler exploded, killing, almost instantly, the fireman named Dalson, and a flagman named Lake, who was upon the engine. The engineer, wonderful to relate, escaped nearly unharmed, The locomotive, valued at $10,000, was shattered into fragments.
Monday, January 16, 1858.
There has been another fatal accident on the Rochester Railroad bridge. A woman,
on Wednesday evening while walking on the track, was overtaken and struck down by an engine cutting off both her legs, and otherwise injuring her so that it is impossible for
her to survive.
Wednesday, February 3, 1858.
A panther was killed in St. Lawrence Co. last week. It measured seven feet from the end of the nose to the tip of the tail, and was two feet six inches in height.
Saturday, April 14, 1858
The New York Journal states that while the New York and Worcester train, connecting
the steamer Commonwealth, was passing Nantick Monday morning, a ball of lightning
as large as the two fists of a man descended, ran along the telegraph wire, and exploded with a report as loud as a cannon. The wire was consumed, and the posts within a space of half a mile were shivered from top to bottom. The passengers on the train were greatly alarmed, as the ball of fire was all the time in sight, and the explosion seemed as if beneath the cars. Had the train been under the wire it must have been struck.
Tuesday, April 17, 1858
Killed. --A German was killed on the Central RR. by the express train from Albany on
Saturday He was walking on the track and was struck by the locomotive with such force
as to throw him a distance of twenty feet. He was terribly mangled. His legs were cut
off and his head crushed and mangled most horribly. He was taken into the cars, but
only survived his injuries a few minutes. He never spoke after the accident, in consequence of which his name and residence could not be ascertained.


 
 
Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette      Publisher Ellis H. Roberts*
 
 
Saturday, February 13, 1858.--Another terrible accident.
Yesterday afternoon, at about three o’clock a fearful calamity occurred on the Central Railroad, about three miles west of Schenectady, resulting in the death of one man and the probable fatal injury of another. The unfortunate individuals were in a wagon going toward Galways’ Corners; as they approached the track, a locomotive was going east from Amsterdam; the horse became frightened and unmanageable, and just as the engine reached the crossing the animal plunged forward upon the rails, when the locomotive struck the wagon, throwing its occupants upon the track. One of the gentlemen was instantly killed, and his companion, a Mr. Mead, had both his legs cut off, and will probably die. Both of the men belonged at Galway. The locomotive was on the track for repairing purposes, and was backing toward Schenectady at the time of the accident. We apprehend carelessness on the part of the engineer
 
Monday, February 22, 1858. [Editorial] Railroading.
These be troublous times for travelling. What with the stopping of pitch and jerks, the breaking of axles, the splitting of rails, the cracking of wheels, and all the etcetera with their accompanying detentions, time tables are but mockeries at this season of the year. We in Utica feel this as much as any, and more than many. The Central R.R. trains fail to connect with the Watertown trains at Rome; the Watertown and Rome trains fail to connect with the Potsdam trains at Watertown. Passengers are subject to delays which provoke profanity; mails are delinquent with their important trusts; and by no means least in the catalogue of ills, our subscribers are made to go without their daily Herald when they go hungry for the morning meal of intelligence. Well, these things are provoking to patience and not pleasant to endure to be sure; but let us than Heaven they are no worse, and wait pleasantly for the "cold snap" to end its reign, and to give to Tantalus his walking ticket. [On Thursday, February 18, 1858, the temperature in Utica was fifteen degrees below zero.]
 
Wednesday, February 24, 1858.--Railroad News.
Thomas Foland, who refused to pay his fare to the Hudson River Railroad cars because the conductor could not provide a seat for him, and then sued the company for ejecting him, has obtained a verdict against them for $50, the judge ruling that conductors must find seats for passengers. This is the second trial of the issue stated. About two years since, Foland recovered a verdict of $100. An appeal was taken by the R.R. Company, and the result is as stated.
 
Saturday, April 17, 1858.
Myriads of wild pigeons [passenger pigeons] line the track of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad about sixty miles from Cincinnati. In nine hours, six sportsmen are reported to have killed over one thousand birds, which they sent to the city by the next train and sold at a speculation.

Monday, May 3, 1858.--Crimes and Casualties.
On Thursday morning, April 29, two engineers of the Central Railroad named John Wooliver and Hull Harvey, were in the railroad workshop at Syracuse, and a little boy came in accompanied by a pet dog. The two engineers seized the dog, saturated his hair with turpentine, and set it on fire, and the little animal was badly burned before some of the more humane workmen could extinguish the flames by throwing their coats over him. This act of wanton cruelty came to the knowledge of Deputy Superintendent Chittenden, when he promptly discharged both the engineers from the company's employ. He did right: a man with so inhuman disposition that he can take pleasure in torturing a dumb beast is not fit to live in decent society, and especially is it improper that he should have the lives of passengers placed in his keeping.
 
 
 
 



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

News Heard Around the State


Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette
New York State News
Monday, November 8, 1880

 

Country
 
     Three starving children, aged 9, 4 and 2 were taken in charge by the authorities Saturday. A fortnight ago the father died of the effect of injuries received in a drunken brawl. The mother became insane, stripped the youngest child naked, stretched it upon the table and was about to kill it with a carving knife when the neighbors, attracted by frightful screams, interfered.

     Sarah Dempsey, aged 111, and undoubtedly the oldest woman in the state, has been found dead in her bed in her hut in the Ulster mountains near Ellenville. She has lived in a lonely hut since she was abandoned by the man with whom she eloped when a school girl. Beside the dead woman's bed was found a piece of paper, on which was scrawled in pencil: "My God, I am dying by inches from hunger. My money will be found.”

     Herman DeMoer, a clerk in a wholesale house in New York writes the following cool
explanation to August Arnold, a music teacher in Brooklyn, of how it happened that
he has run off with Arnold's wife. Mr. Arnold: “Whereas, I have made the acquaintance
of your wife for a length of time, and whereas we love one another with all our hearts, therefore, I do hereby inform you that she is now my wedded wife and that she will not yet again fall into your possession. We travel to another part of the world where I will take care of her as her husband. Respectfully, Hermann  DeMoer.” Arnold has also received a letter from his wife saying that she will now "travel with my new h u s b a n d” to another country. It is thought they have fled to South America.

     Mrs. Degrow was sent to jail at Williamsburg Saturday, as a habitual drunkard. The
prisoner was formerly active in the effort to reform unfortunate women, and acquired a
taste for liquor in attempting to show the latter how it could be used without being abused.

 
New York City
 
 
     Josephine Sparks died, Saturday, from an overdose of chloroform.

     The police records show that the past week was the most quiet for many months,
despite the election excitement [Garfield vs. Hancock].The weekly average of arrests is over 1,800. During the seven days ending at noon, Saturday, there were only 1,176 arrests made.

Monday, February 25, 2013

The Real McCoy

 
 
 
     That's Elijah J. McCoy in the photo. But he's not "the real McCoy."

Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines
 
 
     This is a drawing of "the real McCoy." It is a mechanical device invented by Elijah J. McCoy. 

     The McCoy oil-drip lubrication system was used to lubricate steam engines. It was so reliable that it became a popular favorite on railroads in Canada and the United States. Railroad engineers and yard workers would insist on "the real McCoy."
    
     In the United States and Canada, the expression "the real McCoy" was soon applied to anything that was reliable and first rate.
    
     Elijah J. McCoy was born at Colchester, Ontario in 1844. His parents were fugitive slaves who escaped to Canada from Kentucky. His family moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1847. When he was 15 years old, he went to Edinburgh, Scotland to study mechanical engineering. He returned to Michigan and worked for the Michigan Central Railroad. His oil-drip lubricating device was granted a patent in 1872. He called it an "Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines." McCoy obtained over 55 patents during his lifetime.

     After the death of his first wife, he married again in 1873 and moved to Detroit. He continued to work on various mechanical inventions while living there. He died in Westland, Michigan on October 10, 1929.

Reference:
1) U.S. Patent number 29843.
2) Wikipedia--Elijah McCoy

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Old Case of Murder by Arsenic (Part Six)


Deruyter New Era, Oct. 21, 1880

 
THE SHROUDER TRIAL

 
      After several days trial at Morrisville of Mrs. Francis Shrouder for poisoning to death Mrs. Barnard, in September 1879, the jury returned "not guilty.

     Mrs. Barnard was about the Saturday before, it was claimed, and as well as usual. Suspicion was soon aroused and within a day or two Frances Shrouder, the old woman's daughter, was arrested, and her husband, George Shrouder, who had the reputation of being a worthless character. They were charged with poisoning her with arsenic, which the woman was known to have bought at a drug store in the village. William M. Smith, a chemist, swore before the coroner's jury that the liver and kidneys of the deceased contained arsenic, and a verdict that death had been caused by that drug was brought in October 6th, with the words. "And we find that the circumstances and evidence point to Francis Shrouder and George Shrouder, her husband, as the persons implicated in the giving of the poison." The two were accordingly indicted by the
grand jury at Morrisville a few days after.

     In an interview in the Morrisville jail, both prisoners stoutly denied knowing anything of the cause of the death of Mrs. Barnard. After their indictment for this crime, suspicion
being greatly aroused, they were charged of having poisoned the father, Charles Barnard, who died the summer before after a lingering illness, and also a Mrs. Pope, an old woman who boarded at the house and who died suddenly some little time before. Her body was hurried off rather unceremoniously by Shrouder [Charles Barnard] to Truxton in Cortland county, and buried there. After the indictment of the Shrouders for the poisoning of  Mrs. Barnard, it was exhumed and an inquest held. A chemist who made an examination testified to the presence of poison in the body.



Editor's note:
     In an atmosphere of sensational journalism and pre-trial prejudice, how did twelve jurors arrive at a "not guilty" verdict? The limited information contained in our selected press articles doesn't tell the whole story.
     Who obtained title to Laney Barnard's house worth $250? Who got the team and wagon? If George and Francis were both released from custody after her trial, where did they go? Did George's mother, Mrs. Cornelia Hines, take them in? Did the young married couple belong to a church and seek help among the congregation? After the verdict, did most of the neighbors still believe that the young couple were guilty of murder? Did George and Frances continue to live at Morrisville?
     Readers with additional information on this case can sign in with Google and leave a comment on this blog.
     In a separate and later case, Roxana Druce of Herkimer County, convicted of the brutal murder of her husband, was executed by hanging on February 28, 1887. Her hanging was a long tortuous event.
     On June 5, 1888, the state legislature voted to establish electrocution as the method of execution. When William Kemmler was executed in the electric chair in 1890, his body was set on fire.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Old Case of Murder by Arsenic (Part Five)


 
 
Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette, Morrisville, Oct. 14.
 

     At the opening of the court this morning, Frances Shrouder again took the stand for cross-examination. Without making any alterations in her testimony, she left it at half past 11.

     George Shrouder, her husband, said he “recollected the fact of the washing of the bed stead with arsenic. I was present when that occurred. I knew of Mrs. Barnard's ill health. She complained of pain in her side, stomach, etc. I never knew or suspected that Mrs. Barnard had any intention of taking her life.” On the cross-examination he
said he never told George Comstock that a dose of strychnine would do her good.

     George Donahue, who said he had lived in Chittenango twenty years and known the
Barnard family very well, testified: “A short time before Mr. Barnard died I went to his
house at the request of Frances to help him. I watched with her father that night. While
there Mrs. Barnard said she could not go up stairs on account of lameness. She com-
plained of pain, and said she had about as soon die as live. I was at their house every
other night till Mr. Barnard died, and the prisoner always appeared good-natured.”

     Elizabeth Cowden testified: “I have been acquainted with the Bernard family for a very long time. In 1876 I had a conversation with Mrs. Barnard in which she said she was very miserable, and also told me where her pain was. She said she did not expect that she would ever be better. Frances’ temper is very mild. I never knew her and her mother to be angry. I am 71 years old.”

     Thomas Pinch, of Chittenango, said: “During the spring of 1879 Mrs. Barnard complained to me of being sick. I noticed that the relations between Frances and her mother were generally very pleasant.”

     George Daharsh on being recalled said: “The house of the Barnards is worth, I should think, about $250.” On the cross-examination he said it was new.

     Dr. Taylor, on being recalled, said he “had heard nearly all of the evidence of the defense, and from that should say that arsenical poisoning did not cause death. The woman's death, I should say, resulted from some inflammatory action or other.” On cross-examination, he said curiously enough: "I have said that it was an undoubted case of poisoning a number of times."

     Dr. D.D. Chase, a physician and surgeon of Morrisville, said he “had had practice in poisoning cases. From the evidence of the defense in regard to the symptom; and physical condition of the deceased I could not say that she died from arsenical poisoning.”

     Here the defense rested the case.

     Mrs. Laney Gates, when recalled by the people, testified: “During any time I saw Mrs. Barnard during her last illness, she never said anything to me about any breach or bunch on her person.”

     The taking of evidence closed here, and the court adjourned at 4.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Old Case of Murder by Arsenic (Part Four)


 
 
Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette, Morrisville,N.Y., Oct. 12, 1880.
[Trial convenes about one year after George and Frances Shrouder were arrested for the suspected poisoning of Mrs. Laney Barnard. Frances is the lone defendant.]

     On account of the absence of some of the people's witnesses, they rested soon after the opening of court. The defense was opened by D. D. Walrath, who spoke an hour and forty five minutes. The plan of the defense is to cast a reasonable doubt on the people's case as far as the motive and cause of death are concerned.
     Edward Jacobs, the first witness sworn, lives in Lakeport. Jacobs said: For two years he observed the conduct between the prisoner and her mother, and it was as far as I know very kindly. On the 28th [ ?] of September Frances asked me to go after the doctor and I did so----
     Charles Case, of Chittenango, testified to seeing Frances at Lamphier drug store.
     Chauncey Duvaux, on being recalled, said he kept company with Francis before her
marriage for about a year and a half. During all that time, I observed the best of relations existing between her and her mother. She, as far as I knew, always treated her mother kindly.
     Libbie Duvaux,.a cousin of the last witness: "I was at Mrs. Barnard's on Decoration day with her cousin. We asked Frances to go to the cemetery with us and she said she could not, as she had to get George's dinner. Mrs. Barnard then said: 'You go and I will get George’s dinner.' Mrs. Barnard seemed to be lame. I have heard her make complaints and she told me that she was ill.”
     Anna Bluestone, of Syracuse, who peddles Yankee notions through the country. said: “I have known the prisoner and her mother for about eight  years. I used to be in Chittenango often and I stopped at their house. Mrs. Barnard used to complain of her side and heart a great deal, and she seemed to be worse every time I went there. Once I saw her vomit just after eating. Frances always treated her kindly, altho' she was often very cross ----. This kindness of Frances attracted my attention. Some time before Decoration day, when she was ill I heard her say that she would like to take something and lie down by the side of her husband.”  On cross examination, she denied that she had ever been ordered out of the house by Mrs. Barnard.
     Conelia Hines, the mother of George Shrouder, who lives at Chittenango depot, said:  "About a week before Mrs. Barnard's death I was at her house and spent the evening. Everything was pleasant between the prisoner and her mother. At that time she complained of having pain 'all over.’ I was also there at the time of her death, and had to take Frances out by main force, she acted so. A short time before Decoration day I was there and Mrs. Barnard complained of being ‘in pain all over,' and said 'she had as soon die as not and I wish I could.' I have seen her vomit a number of times right after meal. She told me she had a breech and a bunch on her side.” The witness also confirmed a number of other interviews in which the same subjects were spoken of.
     Olive R---- corroborated the testimony about the pleasant relations between the prisoner and her mother and about Mrs. Barnard's poor health.
     Charles Caldwell said: “In 1872 France’s mother complained of having the rheumatism. Also in 1874 she was lame and complained of rheumatism in her side. During that time the relations between mother and daughter were very pleasant. These relations continued on to 1878. In April of that year I was there all night, and the next morning she complained of pain in the side, and said: ‘If this continues I had rather die than live.’ I know that during the summer of 1877 Frances’ father had arsenic in his barn to kill rats. Mr. Gates came over in the summer of 1879 and asked Mrs. Barnard for some arsenic. She said there was some in the, barn and went out using a cane.”
     Lizzie ---- of Chittenango depot, said: “I used to be at Mrs. Barnard’s during 1877 and 1878 often peddling berries. I heard many complaints in which Mrs. Barnard spoke of her ill health and vomiting. Whenever I was there the best of feeling seemed to exist between Frances and her mother. Frances generally did the work. Mrs. Barnard said before one would live and suffer as she had she would take arsenic. She told me this in the same language upon two different occasions.”
     George Daharsh, on being recalled, said: “I am a cousin of the prisoners. I was there a great deal between 1878 and 1879 and Frances far as I could see treated her mother well. I was there the Monday that Frances was arrested with [constable] George Merwin. I was present during the whole of Monday night and a short time Tuesday morning. I know that she did not make any declarations to Merwin. On the cross examination he said he “never saw or knew of Mrs. Barnard's using a crutch or a cane. She generally did her own work. I never knew her to have a breech.”
     John Hannon, of Chittenango, said: “Had a conversation with Mrs. Sarah Schuyler the day of Mrs. Barnard's funeral. I asked her if she would go to Morrisville to prosecute Frances. She said, ‘I would go to Morrisville on my knees to hang Frances if my testimony would do it. D--m her.’"
     Minnie Brownell, of Chittenango, mentioned several visits which she made to Mrs.
Barnard, and when she spoke of her ill health, lameness, pain in her side and stomach.
She also spoke of not caring to live and wishing to die. When George and Frances
were away she told me she was going to get them to come back.” On the cross-examination she admitted she lived in a boarding house known as [West's?] on Railroad Stn.---Syracuse.
     Anna Home used to visit at Mrs. Barnard's frequently and for the last five years. She said, “I have known her health was poor, and that she was suffering from pain in her limbs and side. Frances always treated her with extreme kindness and tenderness. Mrs. Barnard told me she wanted to have her return. Frances was always very kind and tenderhearted. I have never seen her mad.”
     John ---- of ----, said he had been charged, arrested and imprisoned  for stealing, but explained the matter in the redirect by stating that he had only picked up some chips which lay in the road.
     Frances Shrouder, the prisoner, was called and said: “I am 23 years old and daughter of the late Mrs Barnard. I have heard all the evidence in this case. My mother’s health for four years before her death was very poor. She had rheumatism. She used to carry my aunt, Mrs. Pope, from the kitchen into the bedroom. About a year before she died, she called my attention to a breech, which was about as large as ----. She complained of pain in her chest, limbs and stomach. She fell down a pair of steps in the last of August 1879. Her body was bruised and discolored from the fall. During the week, previous to her last ---- she was sick, vomiting and having these pains.  She sent me for the arsenic to put it on the bedstead. She and I were not in the habit of using it for this purpose.” She described the time and manner of the purchase, and continued: “I know Mr. Lamphier and Mr. Harris were . present when I purchased the arsenic. My mother knew I put it on the shelf in the. kitchen. I slept upstairs and left it there till the next day. When I put a solution of it on the bedstead. My mother was with me. I did not mix, mingle or give her any arsenic. I never had a quarrel with her up to my marriage, and never had any dislike for her. I never told Abram P. what he testified to. I never said I hated my mother.” The prisoner cried at this point and  stoutly denied the evidence given both by Sarah Schuyler, and Chauncey  Cowden. “The furniture in the house belonged to me, and I worked in the factory. I picked hops and took in sewing to pay for it. The only other property was a team of horses and the house and rig on which there was a mortgage ----.”
     The prisoner denied all the important points in the testimony of the officer George Merwin, Anna Bettinger, the boy Lester and E. Daharsh. On her cross-examination she said: “My mother got breakfast Friday morning, I was asleep at the time; George went away about 4 in the morning.”
     At this point the court adjourned.


Editor's note:
     The trial of Frances Shrouder was postponed one year from the time of her arrest in September 1879. If convicted, Frances Shrouder was facing a sentence of life in prison or execution by hanging. 
     At time of the Shrouder trial, only one woman had been executed by New York State courts. She was Mary Antoine*, a native American woman, age 21, who stabbed and killed another native American woman in Madison County. She was executed by hanging at Petersboro on September 30, 1814.
     For the trial of Frances Shrouder, court convened at Morrisville, New York in October 1880. This delay of trial worked to the advantage of the defendant. As stated in the October 12, 1880 news report, reasonable doubt would be the foundation of the defense argument.
     The Cortland Contrarian relied on old newspaper accounts of the arrests and trial. Words that could not be read in the old newsprint were represented as dashes in this post. Microfilm records of this trial may exist in Madison County court records at Wampsville, N.Y.
     Defense attorney Daniel D. Walwrath was about 59 years old at the time of the trial. He was admitted to the bar in 1847 and U.S. Circuit Court in 1867. He was a Chittenango village trustee, and was elected village president in 1849. He was supervisor of the Town of Sullivan in 1864 and again in 1876. He was a lifelong resident of Chittenango. He was born March 7, 1821 and he died February 2, 1886.
     Prosecutor Charles Kellogg also practised law in Chittenango. He was about 41 years old at the time of the trial. He had served one-term in the New York State Senate (1874-1875). He was born in 1839 and he died in 1903.
     Both men were buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Chittenango, Nerw York.

* Murderpedia--Mary Antoine

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Old Case of Murder by Arsenic (Part Three)


                                                     


 
 
 Syracuse Daily Courier and Cortland County Democrat, October 1879.

      As has been stated, Frances Shrouder, who is now confined with her husband, George Shrouder, in Morrisville jail, awaiting trial for the murder of her mother, is also suspected of having poisoned her father, Charles O. Barnard, and her great aunt, Mrs. Lovina Pope. Mrs. Pope, who was living at the house of the Barnard's, in Chittenango, died very suddenly in July, 1876, under what now appears to be peculiar circumstances. The sickness of Mrs. Pope was attended with violent retching which indicated poisoning. Her death occurred on Saturday afternoon at four o'clock, and the next morning, Sunday, at three o'clock the old man Barnard crowded the remains into a coffin, and hitching one horse to the dilapidated old village hearse drove to Truxton, where he arrived at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. A grave was hastily dug and the old woman was put under the ground without any ceremonies.
     When Barnard arrived at Truxton he took the body to the residence of Alvah Risley, upon whose property Mrs. Pope held a mortgage. He said that services were held at his house the evening before, and it was not necessary to hold further exercised. Barnard did not want the coffin opened, saying that the weather was warm and that the remains were partly decomposed. Mr. Risley would not permit the interment until he saw the body, and Barnard was compelled to unscrew the coffin lid.
     The sudden and mysterious death of Mrs. Barnard gave rise to the suspicion that Mrs. Pope was poisoned, and two weeks ago today, the grave was opened and a portion of the remains removed and submitted to Dr. Wm. M. Smith, the chemist, of Syracuse, for examination. Dr. Smith's analysis disclosed traces of arsenic which confirmed the opinion that Mrs. Pope did not die a natural death.
     After Mrs. Pope's demise the Barnards were noticed to have money in quite large sums. Mrs. Pope held a mortgage of over a thousand dollars and possessed $800 in United States bonds, and it is surmised that the Barnards disposed of her to obtain her property. As Frances at the time spent considerable money it is thought she was implicated in putting the old lady out of the way.
     Shortly after 11 o'clock yesterday the inquest conducted by the coroner of Cortland county. Dr. H. C. Hendrick, of McGrawville, was resumed at Truxton, with the following gentlemen as jurors: Amos L. Kenney, Joel Call, D. W. Carr, G. W. Towle, John Wheeler, W. S. Maycumber, Willard Pierce and William Jones. The inquest created considerable excitement in Truxton, and when the Courier reporter arrived at the village, the hotel, the "Truxton House,", where the investigation was held, was filled with an inquisitive crowd, who had collected to hear the testimony. Every seat in the room in which the inquest was conducted was occupied and the doors opening into the apartment were blocked by village people, who stood with uncovered heads and conversed in whispers and nods as the proceedings progressed. District Attorney John E. Smith, of Madison county, was present and conducted the examination for the people.
      Alvah Risley, upon whose property Mrs. Pope held a mortgage, testified that, when the remains of Mrs. Pope were brought to Truxton, Barnard told him that she died at his house. The last correspondence between Mrs. Risley and Mrs. Pope occurred the latter part of December 1875. It was with reference to the mortgage. Mrs. Risley bought the Pope farm of a man named Hughes and assumed the payment of the mortgage. One payment was made to the postmaster and the others to Mrs. Pope personally. Barnard did not say when he brought the remains to Truxton that the mortgage had been sold. Three payments have been made at the Truxton post-office and none of these have been taken up.
     Last Saturday Dr. Billington and Bickner C. Walwrath, of Chittenango, came to Truxton. They had the mortgage and the bond accompanying it, and the doctor stated that he was the administrator of the estate of Charles O. Barnard. Dr. Billington, as administrator, claimed the payments. Dr. Billington said that the in presence of three witnesses Mrs. Pope gave the papers to the Barnards. It was not stated to which one of the Barnard family the mortgage was presented. The assignment was not a written one, but simply verbal. Dr. Billington was paid no money. Mrs. Pope was over 80 years old and a sister of Barnard's mother. Barnard, when he brought the body to Truxton remarked to Mr. Risley that Mrs. Pope "dropped off suddenly." The reason that Barnard gave for wanting her buried so soon was that the weather was so warm the body was decomposed. Barnard left Chittenango about three o'clock in the morning, and stopped at Fabius on the way to Truxton and fed the horse.
     Dr. William Manlius Smith, to whom a portion of the remains of Mrs. Pope were given for analysis, was sworn, and said the arsenic most common was known as white arsenic, and when chemists spoke of the drug as arsenic, they referred to the metal. Arsenic, the doctor stated, was a mineral, and very easily oxidized, and when oxidized was poisonous. From two to three grains of arsenic would produce death. The poison distributes itself throughout the body and is quite as likely to be found in the heart as in any other part. The arsenic, after it dissolves in the system, can be gathered and re-crystalized. After the remains have become decomposed the presence of arsenic can be discovered. Cases have been reported when arsenic has been found as late as ten and eleven years after death.
     Dr. Smith said that he came to Truxton the 14th of September, and secured a part of the body. The stomach was gone and the back-bone protruded. The skin was entirely gone. The first portion of the remains taken was from the pelvis. A quantity of the decomposed matter was removed also, some not completely decomposed tissue from each side of the spinal column and a portion of the clothing that lay directly under the abdomen. In the situation of the liver, a piece of tissue that was not entirely decomposed about two inches square was secured. Three jars were taken, one containing clothing and two tissues. Arsenic, Dr. Smith informed the jury was a preservative of the human body, in the measure.
     The inquest adjourned at half-past twelve until a quarter past one, when Dr. Smith resumed his testimony. He made an examination of a portion of the remains. The part taken from the abdominal cavity, a granular mass, he diluted with distilled water and placed it in a filter. It took two days for an ounce to pass through. The liquid was boiled with hydrochloric acid and copper. a slight discoloration of the copper was produced. The copper was placed in a small glass tube, which was heated over a flame. A slight sublimate was obtained and under a microscope proved to be of a crystalline character. The quality was so small that it could not be tested other than by the microscope. Dr. Smith was positive it was arsenic and was willing to swear that poison was in the body. He could not give any idea of the amount in the entire body and that which he had obtained could not be weighed as the quantity was so small.
     Dr. Smith took a piece of the cloth from between the limbs to ascertain if it contained arsenic. Dr. Smith has not concluded his analysis yet. He used but a small quantity of the tissues taken from the body and tried but one test. He will continue his examination and try other tests.
     At the first session of the inquest that was held on the day that the body of Mrs. Pope was disinterred, September 14, Mr. Risley said Barnard brought the remains to his house in July or August, 1876, one Sunday morning about 11 o'clock. Frederick Garner was employed to dig the grave. Barnard proposed burying Mrs. Pope without opening the coffin, but Mr. Risley objected, saying he could not consent to the burial without seeing the remains. The reason for this demand was that Mrs. Pope held the mortgage on his property. Barnard said that services were held at his house the evening before, and "the weather was warm and he was afraid that the body would not keep." The mortgage was for between $1,380 and $1,400.
     Delevan W. Carr and Frederick Garner were examined as to the burial and the remarks made by Barnard.
     Dr. J.C. Nelson testified in regard to the symptoms and indications of arsenical poisoning.

     Mr. Risley made three payments at the post-office, amounting in all to about four hundred dollars. Two of these were to the postmaster, K. C. Arnold, and one to J. C. Weigand, the deputy postmaster.
     Mrs. A. Hannahs, a niece of Mrs. Pope's, who resides in Utica, as soon as she heard of the arrest of Frances Shrouder for the murder of her mother, sent the following letter to the postmaster at Truxton:



Utica, October 6th, 1879.

P.M., Truxton:

Will you write me answers to the following questions in reference to the payment of the mortgage on the farm owned by Mrs. L. Pope? Has Charles O. Barnard (now dead), of Chittenango, collected any of the payments, and if so, when, and how many, and the amount? Of course you have the receipts. Also, has the mortgage been paid up? If so, when and to whom paid? If not, how much is still due? Mrs. Pope was my aunt, and Mr. Barnard and family coaxed her there by offering to board her for $1.50 a week. On account of the recent poisoning case, and owing to the very suspicious circumstances of her sickness and burial, I am trying to find out what I can, for no one has had any control of her property except the Barnards. She willed it to a benevolent society several years before she died, but as part of it was in Government bonds, and no one has the vouchers, unless they can be found among old Mr. Severence's papers (as he bought them for her), there has nothing been done about it. I am not benefited, but I am anxious that justice should be done, and so wrote to know whether she did collect the yearly payments.
Address, Mrs. A. Hannahs, 27 Cottage street, Utica, N.Y.




Mr. Weigand, the deputy post-master [of Utica] replied [to Mrs. Hannahs] and received the following in reply.



 

Utica, October 10, 1879.
Mr. J.C. Weigand.

Dear Sir: Your postal was received this A.M. If Mr. David Severence or Octavia, his sister, is still living in Truxton, I wish you would ask them if among their father's papers they remember ever seeing an account or memorandum of government bonds to the amount of $800. Aunt Pope lived in their family for a long time, and he used to transact business for her. I thought it barely possible there might be somewhere the numbers of those bonds. Aunt Pope as the Truxton people will remember was very saving (if not penurious) and always kept her own in her own control. Not one of her heirs was to be benefited by her will, but I always claimed if she paid her debts she had a perfect right to do as she pleased with what she had accumulated as she had no child or any one dependent upon her. Mr. Barnard offered to board her for $1.50 per week, and she went. As I could not afford to board her here in the city for less than $2.50. Her death and burial were very suspicious, as she died at 4 P.M. Saturday, and Mr. B. started before daylight Sunday morning for Truxton. They (the Barnards) admitted having given her morphine and keeping her under its influence constantly for several days before she died, but claimed the doctor ordered it. Mother was notified a week or more after her death. She was the only one left of the family and is still living. The last will was written here. She made no change except appointing an executor. It was not possible to compel Barnard to give up the property without a lawsuit and I did not have money to do that. One thing might have been done which was not. The legatee, a benevolent society in Philadelphia, should have been notified but was not. Now, I have done, so hoping they may get what she willed them in every will she ever made. I am very weak but as soon as I saw that poisoning case I resolved to do what little I could toward finding out about her property, for I am more and more convinced that aunt was foully dealt with. They admitted to mother and I that she was determined to leave them and no doubt would have come back here, but that Barnard promised to take her to Truxton to visit Mr. Severence and others and put her off from day to day until he carried her in a box. A traveling merchant, by the name of Payne told us a message she sent by him. These things are what compel me to try and see what can be done now justice has overtaken the family. I am sorry my writing is so shaky. I thought I would give you a brief sketch, as above. I know the payments were made annually at the post-office. Mr. Risley wrote me that soon after aunt's death.
Respectfully,
Mrs. A. Hannahs,
25 Cottage street, Utica, N.Y.




     The witness from Chittenango did not arrive owing to some misunderstanding, and after examining the five gentlemen referred to, the coroner adjourned the inquest to November 11th. The next move will be to exhume the body of the old man Barnard, and if arsenic or poison of any kind is found in his remains, Frances Shrouder will rest under the suspicion of having committed a triple murder, and will enjoy the reputation of a modern Borgia.