USA > New Jersey > Sussex County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 51
USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 51
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brains and blood all over the side of the room. Crill looked up and saw his wife standing by speechless with horror. She soon recovered her voice and asked him what he had done that for, to which he answered, "She has aggravated and tantalized me till I can't stand it any longer, and I have put an end to it." That he intended at first not to make a confession is evident. He knew his wife's evidence could not be admitted against him, and she was the only witness. He told her not to speak of what she had seen, and then started for Hamburg to consult his counsel, first telling Babcock that Eliza had died in a fit. On the road he met three men, to whom he told the same story. He stopped at his lawyer's house, but he was out. He went to look for him, and on the street in Harrisburg he met Babcock with a crowd of men. The husband charged him with the murder, the crowd surrounded him, and in the excitement he made an admission ; then, seeing he had given away his case, he confessed the whole matter and gave himself up to a justice. In September he pleaded not guilty to an indictment for murder, and the court assigned counsel to defend him. Up to a few days before the trial Crill talked and acted sensibly, al- though he appeared to be suffering from a nervous disease. Then his manner changed completely; he pretended to be unable to talk, and acted like a fool. His defense at the trial was insanity, but he acted his part so badly that the jury saw through it. He was convicted of murder in the first degree. A strong effort was made to have the sentence of death com- muted, but the Court of Pardons refused to inter- fere. On April Ist, Governor MeClellan granted him a reprieve of three weeks from April 3d, and on Wed- nesday, April 21st, he sent the death-warrant to Sheriff Decker, fixing the hanging for Saturday, the 24th. The last of his family to take leave of him was his daughter, Harriet Onshorn, who visited him on Mon- day. Before she was admitted she was searched, and a bottle of laudanum was taken from her. Crill was very much affected at parting with her, and cried pitifully. During the last few days he refused to sce anybody, spending the greater part of his time in prayer.
This was the first execution that occurred in New Jersey under the new law, which admits of only twelve persons appointed by the court, twelve special deputies commissioned by the sheriff, three members of the condemned man's family, and two ministers of the gospel designated by the condemned, to be present and witness the event. The hanging took place in an inelosure, sixteen by twenty feet, adjoining the jail, in which a platform twelve feet square had been built, and on this platform stood the new gallows, At a quarter to eleven o'clock the jury of twelve men ap- pointed by the court to witness and report the exceu- tion were sworn and subscribed their names. The following were the gentlemen named : William MI. Smith, Thomas G. Bunnell, Richard F. Goodman,
14
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SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Whitfield Gibbs, Dr. Thomas Ryerson, Dr. Levi D. Miller, Dr. Martin Cole, Jr., Job J. Decker, Joseph McMicke, Nathaniel K. Bray, Obadiah P. Armstrong, and Luther Hill.
Frederick Crill was born in Warren County, near the Sussex County line. When he was about five years old his parents moved to Canisteer, in Sussex County. His parents were very poor and ignorant, and his mother was subject to fits and other diseases. Crill never received any education, except a little at Sunday-school and what he picked up himself. Not- withstanding this great disadvantage, he grew up to be a shrewd man. He probably inherited some nerv- ous affections from his mother, and his temper, which was bad in his youth, grew worse as he grew older, until it became almost uncontrollable. He quarreled frequently with his friends and neighbors, and often these quarrels would end in a fight. He gained a reputation during his early years as a fighting man, and people said he was " able to lick anything around Canisteer." He appears to have always had a passion for women. At eighteen he fell in love with a young woman whom he called Fan Slack. After about a year he ceased his attentions, but she soon afterwards came to him with an infant and induced him to marry her. After living together a short time they disagreed, and Crill says they went before an officer and signed a paper mutually agreeing to separate, with the privi- lege of each marrying again. According to report, Crill soon afterwards married again and moved to Paterson, where it is said he shot his new wife, but had her buried secretly, and told such a plausible story that the matter did not get out until several years after, when it was revived at Sparta. Then Crill explained it by saying that he was cleaning his gun, not knowing it was loaded, and that it went off accidentally and shot her. Crill afterwards denied this story, and said he never had more than two wives. Not long after this Crill married his last wife, in Pat- erson, and returned to Sussex County, where a num- ber of children were born to him. He chopped wood and worked in the mines for a living. He spent a great deal of time hunting game, and was a splendid marksman with both rifle and shot-gun. Once, when out shooting with his son, it is said, he became angry at the boy for not answering promptly when called, pointed his gun at him, and pulled the trigger ; but the cap was defective, and the gun failed to go off. Another time, it is alleged, he threw a hatchet at the same boy, barely missing his head. It was not safe to anger him at any time when there was a dangerous weapon within his reach. For several years he was a member of the Methodist Church at Canisteer, and was quite an exhorter. At the same time he was thieving and gambling, but this did not become known until he sued a man for a gambling debt of forty dollars. He was immediately dropped from the church-roll, and he then said he could make more money serving the devil than the Lord. Crill had
dyspeptic trouble for nearly twenty years, and about four years ago it rendered him unfit to do manual labor. He had frequently pleaded in petty lawsuits before the justices of the peace, and when he was obliged to give up hard work he made this his regular business. He was a good speaker, and he made him- self so well acquainted with the law applicable to justices' court cases that he frequently won suits over lawyers of large experience. He became known as " Crill the Pettifogger."
CHAPTER VIII.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION IN SUSSEX COUNTY.
I .- EARLY STATUS OF THE PROFESSION.
ALTHOUGH the county had been settled for over half a century, it is doubtful if in the year 1766 it con- ; tained a single physician. At that time its people- engaged, as their descendants mostly are to-day, in agriculture and mining-were hardy, industrious, and healthy, consequently seldom required the aid of the physician, surgeon, or obstetrician. Roots and herbs were the common remedies, and the midwife was more in repute than the regular physician. In fact, medi- cal men were few. Mr. Edsall, in his "Centennial Address" of 1853, speaking of Johnsonsburg-the first seat of justice of the old county-says, "Here Dr. Samuel Kennedy, the first practicing physician we have any word of, fixed his location. His practice extended so far over the county that professional rides of twenty or thirty miles were common events in his career. He was an able practitioner, and prepared a great number of students for the profession. Drs. Linn and Everitt, and several other physicians of the last generation, derived their first knowledge of the healing art from this ÆEsculapian veteran of old Sus- sex. Dr. Kennedy died, at an advanced age, in the year 1804. I may as well remark here as elsewhere that the practice of medicine has never been a lucra- tive business in this county. The air of our moun- tains is peculiarly favorable to health and longevity."
In 1824, when Warren was formed and Sussex County was restricted to its present limits, with a population of less than twenty thousand souls, the ratio of physicians was quite respectable, eleven doctors were at that date practicing medicine in the county,-viz., David Hunt, Samuel Hopkins, and Jacob Sharpe, of Newton township; Elijah Everitt, of Greene; Jacob and Elias HI. L'Hommedieu, of Hardyston ; Berret Haveus and Heman Allen, of Wantage; Jacob E. Hornbeck and Jacob L. Van Deusen, of Montague,-none of whom are now living. " The leading mind was Dr. Fowler. He came into the county a few years prior to its division, and soon compelled all its physicians either to take license or retire. Into his hands speedily passed the consulta-
203
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION IN SUSSEX COUNTY.
tion business, and his opinions may therefore be taken as a fair indication of the scientific status of the pro- fession at that time. A very able practitioner of the present day [1866], who was contemporaneous with the last years of Dr. Fowler, says of him, ' He was by far the best naturally-endowed practitioner I ever knew.' Of acute perception, vivid imagination, and yet of judicial mind, an original thinker, his native talents placed him far in advance of his day, when Cullen and his disciple Gregory shaped the theory and practice of the country. He was as familiar with Brown and Darwin as with Cullen and with the other writers of his time. He knew the institutes of medi- cine, and could formulate as well as practice them. . . . He was fond of saying that 'the whole art of medicine consisted in knowing when to stimulate and when to deplete,'-an apborism that requires but slight modification to be level with the present knowledge."*
In more recent times, with the growth of the county in population and wealth, has been a corre- sponding increase in luxury, which, with the injudi- cious use of stimulants and narcotics, has " conspired to disturb both mental and physical functions, to injure the various organs and cramp and distort the intel- lect. Whilst the influences named have increased the tendency to and complication of zymotic disease, disorders of nutrition, perversions of special func- tions, and derangements of the general balance, the growth and development of the county has so im- proved the face and soil of Sussex that malarious affections are manifestly diminishing."
As to the status of the profession in this county, if success be the criterion, the practitioners of Sussex enjoy a fair share of it.
tt .- THE DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY OF SUSSEX COUNTY.
Dr. Thomas Ryerson, in his report to the State society, in 1866, says, "The District Medical Society of Sussex County was formed in 1829 by Samuel Fowler, Samuel Marshall, Elias L'Hommedieu, John K. Beach, and Stephen Hedges, to whom were added Francis Moran and John R. Stuart." This is evi- dently an error, as the following documentary proofs clearly show. The first is a notice published in the Sussex Register, and bears date of "Newton, June 1. 1818." It is as follows:
"MEDICAL NOTICE.
" At the annual meeting of the medical society of Now Jersey, which was holdt at New Brunswick on the 12th Inst., appeared in the society Drs. Ruel Hampton and George Hopkina, who expressed a desire to have a society organized in the county of Sussex.
" Resolved, That a District Society be formed in the county of Sussex ; and that Dry. Ruet Hampton, George Hopkina, Samuel W. Fell, Gideon Leeds, Jabez Gwinnup, John S. Hughes, George Van Nost, James Fowler, and Ellas L'Hommedieu be authorized to meet at Mrs. Bassett's Iun, In Newton, on the second Tuesday in July next, at o'clock 11 A.M., for the purpose of organizing suid society.
* Dr. Thomas Ryerson's " Ileport to the State Medical Society," 1866.
" It is sincerely hoped that not only a general and punctual attend- anco will be given by those physicians appointed to organize the society, but also by all who are resideuts in the county.
" By order of the Society,
" W'M. M'KISBACK, Sec'y."
The meeting was held and the society organized, as appears from the following, published in the same paper :
" MEDICAL SOCIETY.
" At a meeting of n respectable number of physicians of the county of Sussex, held at Newton, on the 14th inst., in conformity to a resolution of the medical society of the State of New Jersey, and agreeably to an act of the Legislature of the same, Dr. John S. Hughes was called to the chair and Dr. Samuel W. Fell was chosen secretary. It was then unani- miously
" Resolved, That it Is expedicot that a district medical society be formed in and for the conuty of Sussex, In the State of New Jersey.
" After which a society was organized, to be known and distinguished by the game of the ' District Medical Society of the County of Sussex lu the State of New Jersey.' The officers elected for the present year were Julin S. Hughes, President; Ruel Hampton, Vice-President ; Samuel W. Foll, Corresponding Secretary ; George Hopkins, Recording Secretary; and Ellas L'Hommedieu, Treasurer. A considerable business was done, and the society adjourned to meet again on the 3d Tuesday of October noxt.
" By order of the Society,
" GEORGE HOPKINS, Sec'y.
"NEWTON, July 20, 1818."
The society also met in annual session in 1819 "at Mrs. Bassett's hotel," April 20th, as appears by the secretary's notice, dated April 5, 1819, and published in the Register. Whether this was the last, or whether any subsequent sessions were held, is not known, as the records are lost or destroyed. It evidently had become inoperative before 1823; otherwise, we can- not explain the following notice, published in the county press :
"TO PHYSICIANS.
" The physicians of the county of Sussex are requested to meet at Samuel Rorbach's Hotel, in Newton, on the 1st Tuesday in October next (1823), at 10 o'clock A.M., for the purpose of choosing delegates to attend the Stato Medical Society, preparatory to the establishment of a Dlstrict Medical Society for the county of Sussex."
Whether it was reorganized we cannot say; but if it was, it must have died out after a brief existence. In fact, the carly years of this society's existence were marked by an indifference on the part of the profession in the county which rendered it difficult to sustain it, and was no doubt the cause of its frequent suspensions. After its resuscitation, in 1829, as be- fore stated, for several years it had a struggle for per- petuity. Although it managed to hold its sessions regularly, it was with but feeble vitality. But since 1843, when the State society virtually demitted the licensing power to the counties, the District Medical Society of Sussex County has had a far more vigorous existence. Since that time nearly all the medical practitioners in the county have been members of the society, and so salutary an influence has been exerted upon the profession and the public by the mere mo- mentum of the organization that few irregular prac- titioners have remained in the county.
The following is the roll of membership of the so- ciety since 1829, obtained from the society's records :
204
SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Aug. 22, 1829 .-* Samuel Fowler, *Stephen Hedges, *Elias L'Hommedieu. and *Seymour Halsey, named by the State society ;} *John B. Beech, *Samuel Marshall, aud *Francis Moran.
April 16, 1832 .-* John R. Stuart.
April 21, 1834 .-* David M. Sayre, *Thomas Roe.
April 20, 1840 .-* John Titsworth, *John W. Rafferty, and *Alexander Linn.
April 16, 1844 .-* R S. Farrand, #Edward S. Bell.
June 13, 1844 .- Abraham H. Fetherman, Franklin Smith, Jesse R. Burgess.
April 21, 1845 .- tAnthony D. Morford, *J. B. Dunlap, +Charles B. Cooper, Charles V. Moore, *Jetur R. Riggs (honorary member).
April 20, 1846 .- J. Linu Allen, Thomas Ryerson, "Joseph W. Beemer, #Isaac B. Muno, *Harvey Halleck (honorary member).
April, 1848 .- Carlos Allen.
April 16, 1849 .- John Miller.
April 18, 1853, -* William H. Linn.
June 5, 1854 .-* Isaac S. Hunt, +Thomas A. Drown.
June 3, 1856 .-* John N. Dee, ¡Henry Hulshizer, Levi D. Miller.
June 1, 1858 .- +James S. B. Bibble, +William I. Roe.
June 7, 1859 .-* Manning F. Cross, *Elijah W. Maines.
June 2, 1863 .- Jonathan Havens, Joseph Hedges, *J. W. Young.
June 7, 1864 .- Eugene Schumo, Theophilus H. Audress.
June 20, 1865 .- tRobert G. Maines, ¿Charles R. Nelden.
June 19, 1866 .- Peter N. Jacobus (on certificate from Warren County Medical Society), *J. Bedel Boss, +A. P. Farries.
June 18, 1867 .- +David L. Duncan, ;J. D. Mattison, +Mortimer Lamp- son, *Lewis Westfall.
Oct. 29, 1867 .- +William M. Hartpence.
Nov. 10, 1868 .- F. M. Cannon.
June S, 1869 .- +Frederick Rorbach, John Moore, "John Titsworth (hon- orary member).
June 14, 1870 .- C. K. Davison, +James H. Struble, ¡S. H. Moore, Joseph P. Couse.
June 13, 1871 .-* H. N. Crane, *Jacob Whitaker, +E. J. Westfall.
June 11, 1872 .- Jackson B. Pellet, Joseph F. McCloughran.
Dec. 3, 1872 .- +J. W. Collins.
June 10, 1873 .- Martin Cole, Jr.
June 8, 1875 .- Ephraim Morrison, ;Hugh McD. Struble, ;D. T. Condit. June 13, 1876 .- +Henry T. Elliott, *Thomae Roe (honorary member). Oct. - , 1876 .- John C. Strader.
JuDe -, 1877 .- J. Cole Price.
June 11, 1878 .- Benjamin W. Ferguson.
Oct. 8, 1878 .- J. H. Morrison.
June 10, 1879 .- Emerson B. Potter, Clarence F. Cochran, tO. P. Huston. June 8, 1880 .- +Henry C. Fithian, Edgar Potts.
The principal officers of the society, from the date of its earliest records to the present time, have been as follows :
PRESIDENT.
1820-32, Samuel Fowler ; 1833-34, Elias L'ITommedieu ; 1835, Samuel Mar- ehall; 1836, Stephen Hedges; 1837, John B. Beach; 1838, Francis Moran; 1839, David M. Sayre; 1840, Stephen Hedges; 1841-42, Thomas Roe ; 1843, John B. Beach ; 1844, Francis Moran ; 1845, Alex- ander Linn; 1846-47, John Titsworth; 1848, J. Linn Allen; 1849, John R. Stuart; 1850, Jesee R. Burgess; 1851, Charles V. Moore; 1852, Franklin Smith ; 1853, Thomas Ryerson ; 1854, John Miller; 1855, Isaac S. Hunt; 1856, William H. Linn; 1857, Thomas Roe; 1858, Levi D. Miller; 1859, Henry ITulshizer ; 1860, Jamee S. B. Rib- ble; 1861, Elijah W. Maines ; 1862, David M. Sayre ; 1863, Alexander Linn; 1864, Jonathan Havens; 1865, John Titeworth ; 1866, Theophi- lus H. Andress; 1867, Peter N. Jacobus ; 1868, Lewis Westfall; 1809, Levi D. Miller; 1870, Mortimer Lampson ; 1871, Jobn Moore; 1872, C. K. Davison; 1873, Joe. P. Conse; 1874, Thomas Ryereon; 1875, T. H. Andress; 1876, P. N. Jacobus; 1877, Murtin Cole, Jr .; 1878, Ephraim Morrison; 1879, Hugh McD. Struble ; 1880, Carloe Allen. .
SECRETARY.
1820-32, John B. Reach ; 1833-44, John R. Stuart; 1845-55, Anthony D. Morford ; 1856-04, Thomas Ryereon; 1865-66, Eugene Schumo; 1867- 68, David L. Duncan; 1869-75, Jonathan Havene; 1876-80, Levi D. Miller.
* Deceased.
+ Removed from county.
# Withdrawn from the society.
¿ David Hunt was also named, but lile namo ie not on tho roll.
At the late annual meeting, held June 8, 1880, Dr. Martin Cole, Jr., was appointed state reporter ; Drs. Ferguson, C. V. Moore, and Jacobus, county reporters ; Drs. J. Miller and C. K. Davison, delegates to the American Medical Association ; Drs. E. Morrison, L. D. Miller, T. H. Andress, J. H. Morrison, and H. C. Fithian, delegates to the State Medical Society ; Drs. C. V. Moore and J. Miller, delegates to the Warren County Medical Society ; Drs. T. H. Andress and C. F. Cochran, delegates to the Morris County Medical Society ; and Dr. T. H. Andress, essayist.
III .- REMINISCENCES AND PERSONAL SKETCHES.
The following reminiscences and personal sketches of Sussex County physicians are gathered from various sources, but we would here acknowledge our indebted- ness to Dr. Jonathan Havens, of Newton, for much valuable information. That gentleman has for many years acted as the historian of the profession in Sussex County, during which time he has been indefatigable in his efforts to rescue from oblivion the incidents connected with the lives and practice of the medical men of his district during the generations that are passed.
SAMUEL KENNEDY was one of the earliest, if not the first physician, to practice in Sussex County. But little is known of his history. He was located early at "Log Jail" (Johnsonsburg), and died, at an ad- vanced age, in 1804. Drs. Andrew Linn, Elijah Ever- itt, and others read medicine with him. He practiced for many years, and married, for his second wife, a Miss Shafer. Dr. Kennedy's farm was in Hardwick, near Johnsonsburg, and his residence, a stone house, is still, or was very recently, standing. George Arm- strong was his executor. Dr. Kennedy helonged in that part of Sussex which has since become the county of Warren.T
BERRET HAVENS was one of the pioneer doctors in the present Sussex. He was the son of Jonathan Havens, M.D., and was a native of Sag Harbor, L. I. Born in 1762, about the age of twenty he emigrated to Sussex Co., N. J., crossing the country on horse- back, and settling at Deckertown about the year 1782. It is not known where or with whom he pursued his medical studies, but he commenced practice very early, acquired a good reputation, and had an extensive practice. He was undoubtedly the first medical prac- titioner in Northern Sussex, and was possibly the earliest in what is the present county. He married, in the Clove, a daughter of William Titsworth and a sister of Dr. John Titsworth, of Wantage. He had only two children,-James C., and Jane T., who be- came the wife of Dr. Samuel Marshall, of Newton,- both deceased. Dr. Jonathan Havens, of Newton, is a grandson of Dr. Berret. He acquired by industry and economy quite a competence, and his homestead place, about two miles from Deckertown, towards
[ See chapter on "Medical Profession of Warren County," for further mention.
Dem fowler C
JOSEPH FOWLER, from whom Dr. Samuel Fowler is descended, wns of English ancestry. Ile is mentioned as one of the first settlers near Mispat Kills, L. I., es carly ns 1665.
John Fowler, the father of Samuel, and sixth in descent from Joseph, resided ut Newburg, N. Y. Ile married his cousin, Gloriana Fowler, the daughter of his uncle, Samuel Fowler.
Dr. Samuel Fowler, the subject of this sketch, was born Oct. 30, 1779, ut the family homestead, Newburg, N. Y. Ile re- ceived a thorough academie education at the Montgomery Academy, and his medical education under the instruction of Dr. David Fowler, of Newburg, N. Y., and attended the lec- turos of the Pennsylvanin Medical College, at Philadelphia, Pa. After completing his medienl studies he removed to Hamburg, N. J., and was licensed to practico medicine in that State, being nt that time a little over twenty-one years old. In 1808 ho married Ann Breckenridge Thomson, the daughter of Col. Mark Thomson, of Changewater, N. J., who was a member of Con- gress from this State during the administration of Washington. Aftor pursuing the practice of his profession at Hamburg, N. J., for a few years he removed to Franklin, N. J., where his first wifo died, leaving ono child, a daughter, tho wifo of the late Ilon. Moses Bigelow, of Newark, N. J. In 1816 he married his second wife, Rebecca Wood Platt Ogden, daughter of Robert Ogden, Esq., formerly of Elizabethtown, N. J., but at this time of Sparta, N. J., where he removed in 1786. Tho children of this marriage were Mary Estelle, Henry Ogden, Robert Ogden, John, Reheeen Ogden, and Clarinda. Ile diod Feb. 20, 184-1, at Franklin, aged sixty-five.
An interesting account of the estimation in which Dr. Fowler was held as a physician is given hy Dr. Thomas Ryerson in his report at the centennial meeting of tho New Jersey Medienl Society, held at New Brunswick, N. J., in 1866. In speaking of the early physicians of Sussex County, Dr. Ryerson says : " Tho loading mind was Dr. Fowler ; he came into the county a few years prior to its division, and soon cumpollod all physi- cians to take license or retire. Into his hands speedily passed tho consultation business, and his opinion muy therefore be taken as a fair indication of the scientific status of the profes- sion nt that time."
The District Medical Society for the county of Sussex was formed in 1829 by Dr. Fowler and others. Ile was for many years owner of the iron-works at Franklin Furnace, N. J., which in their various branches he conducted, while at the same time he attended to the arduous duties of his profession, bis medienl practice extending all over the northern counties of this State and into the neighboring counties of Pennsylvania and New York. He also found time to take an active part in national and State politics, representing his county in the New Jersey Senate, und afterwards his State in the Twenty-fourth and Twenty - fifth Congresses, during the administration of An- drew Jackson, of whom he was a warm supporter and ooe of his earliest friends in New Jersey. As a mineralogist and geol- ogist he is estimated by men of science as among the first in the country. Ile was a member of the lending scientific socie- ties of his day, both in this country and in Europe. The rare mineral "fowlerite," first discovered by him, was named in his honor by his brother-mineralogists. Ile is supposed to have given the name of " franklinite" to the valuable ore of iron known by that name. He made it known to tuineralogists over the U'nited States and Europe, and awakened an interest in it which has since resulted in its successful development and manufacture. The extensive zine mines of Sussex, affording the only red oxido of zine known in the world, were once owned by him, though disposed of before his death. He mode several efforts to have them worked, offering liberal induco- ments, but the untried nature of the ore and the difficulties of obtaining competent operatives caused a failure of his plans, without lessening in his mind the value of the ore and the ultimate success that would be likely to attend future attempts to work it.
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