History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 18

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574

USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 18

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After Mr. Jewell had been arrested in Dubuque, and it had been ascertained that he had sold the horses, wag- on and harness in Potosi, Wisconsin, D. S. Lee, esq., and Jed Lake went to Potosi to recover the property. The man who had purchased it attempted to secrete what he could of it, but, after search, it was found and the matter was compromised. The wagon, when found, had a stain on the bottom of the box, about in the mid- dle, that looked very much like blood; but so long a time had elapsed that it could not be definitely proven to be so.

Mr. Jewell had a preliminary examination at Indepen- dence, when all the facts in regard to his going away with Covey-his being in possession of the team, cloth- ing and other property of the missing man-his sale of the same, and his actions when discovered in Dubuque -were brought out in evidence before the magistrate. On this evidence Mr. Jewell was committed to jail to await the action of the grand jury. That body, at its next meeting in the fall of 1856, indicted him for mur- der in the first degree, and he was again committed to jail to await his trial.

While Jewell was in jail he was kept at Delhi, then the county seat of Delaware county. At that time a man by the name of Manchamer was confined with him. This Manchamer, on being released from jail, de- clared that Jewell admitted to him the killing of Covey, and told him where the body was buried. He also pre-

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

tended that he could go where the body was, if he should be led into the woods and shown the route that was followed by the team. This was done in the spring of 1857. Mr. Lake went with him, but on getting out into the grove the latter was unable to recognize the place. There were so many little clumps of timber, all so nearly alike, that, after a half day's travel through the woods he gave it up, and declared that he could not designate the spot. He stoutly affirmed, however, that Jewell ad- mitted to him the killing, and that Covey was buried within a half mile of his own house.

The fact that all attempts to discover the body were unavailing will not seem so wonderful when we bear in mind that the deed was committed when the grass and leaves had just started, and the search was not com- menced until some four weeks later. Thus the rapidly growing vegetation aided to conceal the place where the ground had been disturbed so long before.

When the searching first commenced the people gen- erally thought that Jewell went with Covey down beyond Delhi in the timber, and committed the deed there; and that, consequently, it was useless to search about Buffalo grove. But when it was ascertained that, instead of going east, the team had gone north on the prairie, to- ward Taylorville, in Fayette county, and had then turned toward Volga city, they concluded that the body had been taken in that direction.

It may be proper to state here that what Mr. Ham- mond saw, on the morning of the tragedy, convinced him that Covey was shot by Rock Jewell while passing through the grove; that Tom Jewell, and probably one other confederate, were to have buried the body there while Rock Jewell made off with the team; that for some reason they changed their plan about burying the body, thinking it would be more safe to leave it in the wagon covered up in the buffalo skin, to be carried off and se- creted in some unfrequented place upon the prairie : that Jewell waited as long as he dared to for Hammond to get out of sight, and that when he saw him on the north road he ran the team to avoid being intercepted at the crossing. That a conspiracy was formed for the murder of Covey he thinks is rendered well nigh certain by the fact that the two Jewells, and their brother-in-law, S. Starkey, are believed to have been together at the house of the latter till a late hour of the night previous to the murder.

Another fact in connection with this matter is that when Jewell was arrested, he had in his possession a re- volving pistol, known as a Deringer, which Covey brought with him from Vermont, and which he had loaned to Jewell not long before the date of his disappearance. However, some say that this pistol had never belonged to Covey, but was loaned to Jewell by Samuel Burns on the very Sunday morning on which the tragedy occurred.

Jewell was kept in jail about a year; when, as it ap- peared to the court that the body had not been found, and that there was no prospect of finding it, he was released from jail and the case stricken from the docket, so that, if the body should ever be found he could be rearrested and tried. The law requires that, before a

man can be tried for murder, it must be proved absolutely that the person supposed to be murdered is dead. In this case, convincing as were the circumstances pointing to the murder of Covey, there was still a doubt as to his death. He might have given up his property and left the country, although no cause for such a course and no probability of it could be shown. There is, of course, a necessity for the law to be thus stringent, in order that men may not be convicted of a crime while there is a doubt as to whether a crime has really been committed. The principle has long been well established, that the body must, save in very exceptional cases, be shown to be dead before the accused can be convicted of murder.

Some people have thought that Jewell ought to have been punished for murder, any way; that the circum- stances were so strong against him, and so long a time had elapsed since the disappearance of Covey, that there ought to have been a legal presumption that the latter was dead.

On the other hand rumors have been started that Covey has been seen in different places since the sup- posed murder. So that, even in this case, it would seem that all are not agreed that the missing man is really dead.

At the same time the editors of this strange history must be permitted to say that the common instinct of human justice demands that one found in the possession of the personal effects of a missing man, who was seen with him the last time he was seen on earth, should at least be kept in prison until he can give a satisfactory account of the manner in which the property came into his hands.

Mr. James Jewell, a brother of the two men whose names are so unfortunately connected with the mysteri- ous disappearance of J. N. Covey, still lives at Buffalo grove; and it gives us pleasure to state that he has never been suspected of having any knowledge of the crime which is commonly laid to their charge. He enjoys in the highest degree the confidence and respect of the community.

MAIL ROBBERY.

John M. Boyd, a young man of good family and of pleasing address, came to Quasqueton from Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1857. After a time, having made a most favorable impression upon the community, he was employed as deputy postmaster, and continued to act in this capacity to the entire satisfaction of the people of Quasqueton until about the first of September of the same year, when he left for Nebraska.

A letter was mailed at the Quasqueton post office about the last of August, by a Mr. Potterf, containing a draft on a Boston bank for five hundred dollars, and one on a New York firm for one thousand dollars. Mr. Potterf, learning that they were not received at Pella, Ohio, to which place they were directed, wrote to New York and Boston, and was notified in answer that the five hundred dollar draft had been paid. It was learned by inquiry in Dubuque that the five hundred dollar draft, endorsed by Boyd, had been sold to Taylor, Richards & Burden, bankers, of Dubuque. In possession of these facts,

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

Sheriff Martin, of Quasqueton, was dispatched with a warrant for the apprehension of Boyd, in Nebraska. He was brought back to Quasqueton about the first of De- cember, and, after an examination, in default of two thousand dollars bail for his appearance at the next term of the United States district court, was committed to jail. Boyd freely admitted, as of course he must, hav- ing the five hundred dollar draft cashed, but said it was sent to him by a friend in Wisconsin. The friend not appearing to substantiate this statement, it fell to the ground. About the middle of December Boyd was transferred to the custody of Marshal Pierce, of Du- buque, and taken to that city. A hearing was had before Commissioner Mckinley, who remanded him for trial at the next term of the United States district court, on the fourth of January, 1858.

Brought before the court at that date, he was, after a somewhat lengthened trial, convicted of the crime with which he was charged. He was ably defended by his counsel, Messrs. Samuels, Allison, Adams, and Lovell, Judge Love presiding. The testimony against him was clear and convincing, and the sympathy which his youth and previous good character were calculated to excite, was neutralized by a bold attempt to implicate Mr. Har- din, the postmaster at Quasqueton, a man held in uni- versal esteem. The vindictiveness with which he pursued this scheme, and the stolid indifference which he mani- fested after his arrest, went far toward convincing many that Boyd was not the tyro in villainy which his years and manner would indicate. A most pitiable attempt to extricate himself from the toils into which his own folly and wickedness had betrayed him was made in the court room, when asked if he had aught to say why sen- tence should not be passed upon him. During his whole trial his statements were contradictory, and proved their own falsity; but with this privilege from the court, he rose, and, weeping during the whole recital, gave the fol- lowing account of his connection with the robbery: He asserted his innocence of the charge, notwithstanding the verdict of the jury, declaring that on the night of the robbery he went into the office and found two men in the act of appropriating the contents of the letter. He could not tell where one of those men was, but the other was in court. These men, when they found that they were caught in the act, proposed to buy him off with the five hundred dollar certificate. He refused it, saying he did not want to be bought off, but they insisted on his ac- cepting it, not as "hush money," but as a gift. In accept- ing it he enquired whether they had come honestly by it, and they assured him that they had. He counseled them to destroy the one thousand dollar draft, as he did not wish the parties to be losers by it. He left Quasqueton and came to Dubuque to see a sick cousin, and while in the place had negotiated the certificate of deposit. He was innocent of the theft, and if the man who was guilty had the spirit of a man in him, he would never let another suffer by incarceration in the State prison, but would confess the charge he then made. He respected the man's family; they had nursed him when sick in Quasqueton, and he didn't like the task imposed

upon him. Here, depending no doubt upon having made a favorable impression upon his hearers, Boyd looked around the court room until his eye rested on the post- inaster at Quasqueton, S. W. Hardin, and pointing at him, exclaimed, "There sits the man, brazen-faced, who committed the crime for which I am to suffer." It is, perhaps, needless to say that this weak and wicked har- angue had an influence quite the opposite from that in- tended by the unhappy culprit. It was indeed a sad sight to all thoughtful persons-a young man endowed with so many natural advantages prostituting them to the com- mission of crime, when, rightly used, they would have secured him a high place among the honored of the land.

The jury having recommended him to the mercy of the court, on account of supposed extenuating circum- stances, he received the lightest sentence known to the law for the offence-two years' hard labor in the State prison.

AN ATTEMPTED MAIL ROBBERY.

The principal interest attaching to the following inci- dent, at the present time, lies in two somewhat curious coincidences-the locality being the same as that of the more successful operation of Boyd, nearly three years be- fore; and the sum which the last robber came so near securing, being the same in amount as that realized by Boyd. Since two coincidences suggest another it docs not seem improbable that the robbers were identical. We do not know that this indeed was suggested at the time of the latter occurrance; but, as this was several months after the time of Boyd's sentence had expired, the idea is by no means chimerical. Truth is stranger than fiction, it is said; and what sometimes passes for fiction, has more truth than that which sometimes passes for history.

On Thursday, the fourteenth of June, 1860, near the hour of noon, the post office at Quasqueton was robbed of several letters, by a stranger stopping temporarily at the Hardin house, in the office room of which the mail matter was kept. It is supposed that he secured them by reaching through the delivery window; some of the boxes being accessible from it; and, being in the house for the purpose of effecting the robbery, the opportunity for which he was waiting at length offered itself to him, in the temporary absence of the postmaster. One of the letters was addressed to a Mr. Smith, and another to Dan- iel Stratton, a third to Mr. Sales, and one was from Ger- many; having safely traversed the ocean, and two-thirds of the continent, to be purloined by a petty villain, just as it was to be placed in the hands of those who were wait- ing for tidings from "fatherland." These four, it is sup- posed, he took first; carried them into a clump of bushes several rods from the house, and opened them. Finding no money, he twisted them into a roll and threw them into the bushes, where they were afterwards found. It is thought he then returned and took from another box four letters belonging to B. G. Taylor, of Quasque- ton. Mr. Taylor thought that in one of these there might have been a small sum of money sent in payment of taxes, but neither of the others were of special value.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

In the same box, however, probably leaning close to the side nearest the delivery window, so as not to be ob- servable, was another letter which the thief did not se- cure-and fortunately, as it contained a draft for five hundred dollars. The robbery was discovered about two o'clock P. M., and the thief had not been seen for two hours; having left the place immediately, it is prob- able, upon securing the second quartette of letters, which he must have taken with him, fearing to risk another opening in the near vicinity. Mr. Hardin made imme- diate and active pursuit, tracing his quandom guest to Independence. About eight o'clock in the evening he was seen leaving that place, going north; and though chase was made at once, he managed to reach the woods and escape.

A NOVEL PROSECUTION.

On a pleasant morning in the early part of July, 1859, a singular cavalcade passed through the streets of Inde- pendence. The cortege was headed by Sheriff Martin, whose air was not that of an officer who realized in his demeanor the majesty of the offended law. Following the sheriff came a large number of open wagons, filled with men and boys of all ages, and at the rear rode the deputy sheriff, his position evidently designed to suggest the idea of a rear guard. The apprehended and witnesses numbered over fifty persons, residents of Jefferson town- ship, and parties in an action before Esquire Glynn-the defendants being charged with disturbing a religious meeting. The particulars, as they were developed dur- ing the examination, were as follows :

Religious services had been appointed to be held on the Sunday previous, in a grove in the aforesaid township. Seats had been prepared, and the people, on assembling, seated themselves as had been their wont, promiscuously, or, more properly speaking, and with great propriety of custom, families were seated together. The preacher, whose name and denomination are not matters of record, doubtless a well-meaning man, but possessing a zeal not according to knowledge, insisted that the sexes should occupy seats on the opposite sides of the speaker. This "Shaker habit" not commending itself to a majority of those assembled, the request met with a tardy compliance on the part of some, and a positive refusal on the part of others. The person who was to conduct the exercises not being able to overlook so flagrant a departure from what he esteemed of the gravest importance, the congre- gation was dismissed; and, subsequently, the above action was brought against some seventeen or eighteen of the offenders.

The action was not sustained, however, and the pris- oners were discharged. They left town as they had entered it, singing with great heartiness, but, it is to be feared, not in a frame of mind to be profited by the min- istrations of one disposed to elevate matters of minor importance into the ranks of fundamental doctrines.

As a matter of courtesy, we do not doubt that a sim- ilar gathering of intelligent citizens of Jefferson at the present day (which, as history repeats itself, may occur,) would comply with the request, or even a demand, though the inward protest against the unwisdom of the

proceeding might be just as stout as that in the breasts of the unyielding heroes of the novel trial of 1859.

COUNTY SAFE ROBBERY.

On the night of the seventeenth of March, 1864, the safe of the county treasurer's office was blown open and county, State and private funds to the amount of twenty- six thousand dollars were stolen. The robbery was one of the boldest and heaviest ever committed in the State, and its announcement was a shock to the entire com- munity. Everything indicated that the nefarious crime was the work of a gang of old offenders.

The safe, which was one of the old Lilly Chilled Iron patent, was a complete wreck; the ponderous door was thrown completely off, and fragments of the lock scattered about the room. Cases of record books were thrown down, and deeds, mortgages and other valuable papers scattered over the floor. Under the debris were found the implements used to effect their purpose, which had been stolen from a blacksmith shop on Walnut street- a sledge-hammer, tongs, punch and cold chisel. The building was doubtless entered by skeleton keys, and the safe opened by drilling a hole in the door and applying a slow match to powder.

Five hundred dollars was picked up from among the rubbish. None of the records or other papers were in- jured. The money taken was principally county funds and State taxes. The night chosen was exceedingly cold, with a high wind prevailing, which, with the isolated situation of the court house, prevented the explosion from being heard.

E. B. Older, county treasurer, promptly telegraphed to all available points, and one thousand dollars was offered for the apprehension and conviction of the thieves, or the restoration of the money; and later the sum was increased to three thousand dollars. Chicago detectives were employed under the direction of Cap- tain Yates, but it was not until about the middle of the July following that any arrests were made. Four pris- oners were lodged in the county jail at that time, charged with the great county safe robbery. One (Jones) was discharged at the preliminary examination. In the time which had elapsed between the robbery and the arrest of these men, Captain B. C. Yates, of Chicago, had been pursuing the matter with ceaseless vigilance, travelling hundreds of miles and assuming all sorts of disguises. He had been plow-boy, wood-sawyer, flat- boatman, log rafter, and fisherman, following one of the suspected parties in a skiff over one hundred miles. The difficulties were greatly increased by the fact that the three robbers pursued widely different routes after the robbery. Such were the evidences that the right clue had been taken which led to the apprehension, that from the first, great confidence was felt that the true culprits were in custody.

The prisoners were arraigned on Monday, July 25th, before Justice Barton, at the court house in Indepen- dence. They gave their names as Christian A. Roher. bacher (arrested at his home, near Pilot Grove, Black Hawk county), William H. Knight (arrested in Du-

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

buque), and Wallace R. Pollard (arrested at Marathon, Cortland county, New York). C. F. Leavitt, esq., ap- peared as counsel for the defendants, and Wednesday following was assigned for an examination. The bail was set at fifty thousand dollars, and the prisoners were recommitted to the custody of the sheriff. The three prisoners were brought before W. H. Barton, justice of the peace, for examination, on Wednesday, the twenty- seventh of July, the examination lasting nearly four days. The State was represented by Messrs. Woodward, Jamison and Chandler; and the prisoners had Messrs. Barker, of Dubuque, and Leavitt, of Independence, as counsel. The examination ended in holding the prisoners for trial in the sum of fifty thousand dollars each.

Near the last of the month, the prisoners had evi- dently resolved upon effecting their escape, thus adding to the evidence already strongly confirming their guilt. Knight not only slipped out of his irons, but had escaped through a window, and was discovered only in time to prevent him from making good his escape altogether. The other two were found during the same week with their irons off. Pollard showed himself a skilful mech- anician in this line.

The trials took place in April and May of 1865, and resulted in the conviction of Roherbacher and Knight, each being sentenced to the State prison for the term of six years. Pollard was acquitted, and returned to the State of New York, where he is now living. Knight, who was suffering from pulmonary consumption, was pardoned after about nine months' imprisonment ; went south in the vain hope of recovering his health, but remained only a few months, when he returned to Inde- pendence; died at the Montour house, and was buried by the county. He died, it is said, protesting his inno- cence of the crime for which he had been imprisoned. Roherbacher was also pardoned, about six months after Knight. He went to Kansas soon after regaining his liberty; and there, as we are informed, established so favorable an opinion as to his honesty and intelligence, as to be elected to the legislature of his adopted State.

The fact that these men, to all appearances, never en- joyed the money which they were supposed to have stolen, joined to the further fact that they were convicted mainly upon the testimony of paid detectives, who, how- ever honest they may have been, could hardly fail to be strongly prejudiced against the men whom they had fol- lowed so long-these facts, it cannot be denied, caused a strong reaction in the minds of many, after the excite- ment of the trial was over. It is probable that a large proportion of the community now have serious doubts if the convicted men were really guilty. On this point we have no opinion, but state the facts as they have been stated to us.

i - -

SUSPECTED POISONING .*

In the year 1868 one Daniel Thomas purchased a farm in the town of Hazleton, of Albertus Gillett, and moved onto it. About the same time a Mrs. Fay, a widow with a large family, moved onto a farm that she had

purchased from Mr. Thomas. The neighbors were not long in coming to the conclusion that there was an un- due intimacy between Mr. Thomas and the widow. But as Mrs. Thomas made no complaint, and none of the old residents of the neighborhood had any previous knowledge of either party, nothing was said or done by them, except to keep as far from them, in a social point, as possible. Things went on in this way for about two years. Mr. Thomas had received considerable money due him from Wisconsin, and Mrs. Fay built a new house, and fences, and outbuildings on her place.

Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Fay came to Independence to- gether quite frequently, and purchased goods to a con- siderable extent, for which Mr. Thomas paid. About February, 1871, Mrs. Thomas was taken sick with cramp- ing in the stomach, and severe spasms. A physician re- siding at Otsego in Fayette county, was sent for ; and, at the time of his visit, he discovered no alarming symp- toms, but thought she would get along in a few days. In a day or two after this, however, Mrs. Thomas died. She was buried in due course of time. On the day of the funeral, it is reported, Mr. Thomas took the widow Fay out for a ride. The neighbors became aroused, and sent for the county coroner, Dr. H. H. Hunt, and filed before him an information alleging, in substance, that they believed Mrs. Thomas had been poisoned. Dr. Hunt had Thomas arrested, his house searched, and found in it a bottle containing sulphuret of stryehnia.

He then had the body exhumed; a post mortem ex- amination made; and the stomach taken out, placed in a glass jar carefully sealed, and sent to a chemist for analysis.

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History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 18

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 574

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574