Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc., Part 70

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228

USA > Ohio > Summit County > Akron > Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc. > Part 70

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The Fine Two-story Frame Grocery Store of Orin C. Baker, 701 East Exchange Street, after the storm.

Thomas H. Thompson, wife and two children, on Nash street, northeast of Baker's grocery, heard the storm coming and fled to the cellar, but had scarcely reached it before the house was lifted from its foundation and dumped in the yard, an irreparable ruin. On Vine street the nursery of Lucius Rose was largely damaged, including the prostration of his large wind-mill, and sad havoc made with the roofs, chimneys, windows, trees and out buildings of John Rawlins, Henry Stocker, A. L. Dickinson and others. The fine orchard of Lee K. Mihills, Esq., 133 Brown street, was largely destroyed, one tree falling on top of the house, while similar destruction was visited upon the orchard of Nathan Morse, Esq., 215 Spicer street.

At 302 Spicer street, the one-story house of Miss Lena L. Kling was almost entirely unroofed and a large tree in the front yard prostrated; an unoccupied house across the street had a great hole torn in its side, while the remnants of a frame barn strewed the back yard. Philip Webber's two-story barn, 307 Spicer, was neatly tipped over upon its side, and the houses of J. T. Powell and H. T. Wilison seriously injured.

On Vine street, the house of William Stein was unroofed and otherwise damaged, John Spicer's new barn was tipped over on its side, and Henry Strunk's house was badly shattered, both outside and inside.

Leveling intervening outhouses, trees, fences, etc., the next serious damage to buildings was at the works of the Ohio Stone- ware Company, 115 to 119 Fountain street, the building, a two-story brick, 60x 100 feet in size, was struck broadside on, blowing off the

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

entire upper story and a portion of the lower walls and one of the stacks, and but for the fact that the workmen had all just started for their respective homes, serious loss of life would have been inevitable. Following is a view of the wreck the day after the storm.

Ruins of The Ohio Stoneware Company's Works, Fountain Street.

A few rods northeast of the demolished pottery stood the fine brick barn of Mr. Frank J. Knapp. Mr. Knapp was in the barn grooming his horses when the storm struck. Hearing it coming, he pressed himself against the wall, thus escaping personal injury from the shower of brick and timber that came pouring down, though the horses were somewhat injured thereby. The following cut only partially tells the story, for in addition to the brick barn, a small frame barn, and large hennery were entirely blown away, together with some 25 or 30 fine chickens, while the slate roof and chimneys upon Mr. Knapp's house were also seriously damaged.

.....

Ruins of Frank J. Knapp's Fine New Brick Barn, and other near-by damage

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SUMMIT COUNTY'S TORNADOES.

Leaving Fountain street, the storm struck the south end of Louis Benson's house, 342 Carroll street, cutting off several feet of the gable, then bounding over the house of Edward Osterstock, stripping off its chimney only, it utterly demolished the house of Malvern S. Irish, at 350 Carroll street, the structure being hurled from its foundation 30 or 40 feet, and entirely disintegrated, timber from timber. Mr. and Mrs. Irish and their two boys were seated at the supper table, and hearing the storm coming, Mrs. Irish and the two boys started for the cellar, followed none too soon by Mr. Irish, who was at first rather inclined to scout the idea of danger, for while yet on the stairs the crash came, a heavy beam knocking him down and falling across his thighs, imprisoning him in the wreck. Both Mr. and Mrs. Irish were pretty badly shaken up, physically and mentally; but providentially escaped serious injury, while the boys came out entirely unharmed.

Passing down Carroll street, leveling all telephone and electric light poles and twisting off a two-foot solid elm tree, veering to the north and crossing the street, the house of Walter E. Frick, at 355, was unroofed, and otherwise seriously damaged. Slightly damaging the house of Mr. Jacob C. Whitmore, 357, the next house to seriously suffer was that of Mrs. Eliza Jewell, 361, the front of which was crushed in and the building moved several feet from its foundation, Mrs. Jewell and her son George wisely seeking safety in the cellar. Leaving the two intervening houses unscathed, the house of Mr. Alvin D. Alexander, 367, was next struck, and, twisted from its foundation, and badly shattered, was careened over towards its near neighbor upon the east, Mrs. Alexander and her child, alone in the house at the time, escaping with but slight injury. The house of Mrs. Kate O'Connell, upon the east, was also badly shattered, and thrown from its foundation, in an opposite direc- tion from that of its neighbor, as seen in the accompanying cut.

NATIL PHOTO ENG LO Cleved D. mas~

Residences of Alvin D. Alexander and Mrs. Kate O'Connell, 367 and 369 Carroll Street, after the storm.

Sweeping across the open space between Carroll street and Buchtel avenue and East Market street, fences, trees, sheds, chimneys, etc., were blown away, the houses of William Spafford, 616, Joseph Moon, 622, Patrick Flanagan, 626, Aaron N. Straw, 630, Buchtel avenue; and the green houses of Henry H. Brown, oppo- site, were slightly damaged, while the fine residence of Rober

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

Watt, at the junction of Buchtel avenue and East Market street, was partially unroofed and otherwise seriously injured. Crossing East Market street, prostrating several fine apple trees in the orchard of Mr. N. B. Stone ; twisting off the chimneys from the houses of councilman Charles S. Hart and others, partially unroofing the house of Mrs. Mary Cotter and somewhat damaging the house of Mrs. George Barber, the storm, sweeping northward through "Cotter's woods," and after doing considerable damage to chim- neys, out-buildings, fences, trees, etc., on Hazel, Upson and Jewett streets, lifted itself from the valley and took its way towards Tall- madge, though without doing any material damage in that direc- tion, after leaving the city limits; the track of the tornado, diagonally through the city, being fully two and a half miles in length, though scarcely averaging more than 100 feet in width.

It has not been attempted in this sketch to mention, in detail, all the minor effects of this disastrous visitation, but only to give its more salient features. The aggregate losses were probably from $30,000 to $50,000. A considerable portion of this loss- orchards, shade trees, etc., was irreparable by immediate money expenditure, while many of the other sufferers, though seriously inconvenienced, were able to repair their own damages without serious pecuniary embarrassment. Another portion, however, were less fortunately situated, depending wholly upon their daily labor for daily bread. For the benefit of this class, a relief fund of some $10,000 was raised, and distributed by a committee pro rata, according to losses and necessities, thus mitigating to a large extent the unfortunate visitation-though extremely fortunate in that no loss of human life or serious bodily injury was occasioned thereby.

THE BARBERTON DISASTER.

In Akron's young and vigorous suburb, Barberton, adjoining the village of New Portage, elsewhere written of, was being erected, in the fall of 1890, by the Creedmoor Cartridge Company, a three story brick factory, 40x 150 feet in size. The walls had been nearly completed and the workmen were engaged in placing upon them the timbers for the roof, when, at about 3:30 o'clock P. M., Tuesday, December 23, 1890, a high wind, over the middle portion of Summit county, from the southwest, assuming the form of a tornado as it approached the building in question, crushed in both side walls, down to the first story, taking down with them and the falling timbers, several of the workmen, one of whom, John Triplett, of Coventry, was instantly killed, and five others more or less seriously injured. The injured were : Louis Navel, of Millersburg, spine injured and left arm broken; Frank Mallory, of Lafayette, left shoulder dislocated and left arm injured; Horatio Leib, of New Portage, right arm injured; Isaiah Lower, New Portage, back hurt, back of head badly bruised and injured internally; T. F. Homer, Akron, back badly injured. John Triplett, the man who was killed, was blown entirely clear of the building, having a sheer fall of about 45 feet, breaking his neck, badly tear- ing the scalp on the back of his head, and inflicting a frightful gash over the right eye. He was 28 years of age, and left a wife and two children to mourn his fearful death. Mr. Ohio C. Barber, one of the proprietors of Barberton, with his characteristic liber- ality, promptly contributed $500 for the benefit of the sufferers.

CHAPTER XX.

AKRON'S FIRST, LAST AND ONLY HOMICIDE-THE SIXTH WARD WIFE- MURDER -TERRIBLE BRUTALITY OF A WHISKEY-SELLING, WHISKEY- DRINKING FIEND -- " WATT" HIENRY'S FATAL ASSAULT UPON IIIS WIFE, BRIDGET HENRY-HORRIBLE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF VICTIM-AN EXCITED POPULACE-LYNCH LAW TALKED OF-ARREST, TRIAL AND CON- VICTION-MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE-IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE, ETC.

AKRON'S FIRST REAL HOMICIDE.

T HOUGH many deaths have resulted from sudden quarrels between both sober and intoxicated parties, or from gross care- lessness in the handling of fire-arms or deadly poisons, during the half century, and over, of Akron's existence, the case in hand is the only instance in which a person has ever been put upon trial for wilful and premeditated murder, committed within the limits of the city, during its entire history.

PARTIES TO THE TRAGEDY.

Walter Henry was born in Ireland, about the year 1848, but about the time of attaining his majority immigrated to the United States, settling in Middlebury, where he already had several rela- tives. There, on the 21st day of January, 1878, he was married to Miss Bridget Doyle, of the same nationality as himself, (several years his senior), and a sister of Mr. Thomas Doyle, a moulder, then and now in the employ of Taplin, Rice & Co., and residing on Adams street. They soon afterwards engaged in saloon keeping at No. 143 Water street, the property of the twain, both real and personal, being vested in the wife. The saloon and family resi- dence were in the same building, Mrs. Henry, in addition to her household duties, also assisting in the saloon, as occasion required.

The character of the husband may be inferred from the fact that he kept, in spite of the remonstrances of his wife, a savage bull-dog in a small enclosure adjoining the saloon, to pit against any similar quadruped that his bibulous customers might pro- duce, for which disgraceful pastime, on complaint of neighbors, he was brought before the writer, as mayor, in July, 1881, and fined.

HIS OWN " BEST CUSTOMER."-In the whisky-drinking line, " Watt" at length became one of his own "best customers," so far as the quantity of liquor drank was concerned, often becoming grossly intoxicated in his own place, and frequently going the rounds of the other saloons in the city and neighborhood on a gen- eral spree, usually winding up by the most brutal abuse of his wife, cursing, beating, kicking, etc., often having been heard to threaten her life by neighbors, too timid to interfere for her pro- tection.

THE FATAL ASSAULT .-- On the 18th day of December, 1884, "Watt," after getting pretty "full" at his own place, made the rounds of the city in the buggy of an equally breezy companion. Returning late in the evening, he immediately began to abuse his

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wife, who remarked that when she next saw the man who had taken him away, she would tell him what she thought of him. At that " Watt" knocked Mrs. Henry down with his fist, and, while she begged him most piteously not to kill her, as heard by several neighbors, he began kicking and stamping her with his heavy boots, terribly bruising her about the head (nearly severing one of her ears), shoulders, sides, chest, (breaking three ribs), arms, legs and abdomen, (producing frightful external and internal wounds,) left her insensible upon the floor, and turning the key in the door, spent the balance of the night in a neighboring livery stable.

.THE INJURED WOMAN'S STORY .- Recovering consciousness, Mrs. Henry crawled to her bed, where, without undressing, she remained alone, without light or fire, all night. The next morning, about eight o'clock, a neighbor, Mrs. Phœbe Barlow, called at the door, and, finding the door locked, with the key upon the outside, turned the key and went in. On entering the bed-room, and find- ing the injured woman thus lying upon the bed, with both eyes blackened and swollen, and her ears, neck and hair covered with clotted blood, she inquired:

"Mrs. Henry, who has done this to you?" Mrs. Henry replied: " Watt has done it. I am pounded to death."

Though able to be up and to walk about the house, a part of the time for several days, 'she repeatedly stated that she was going to die; that Watt had pounded her to death, as he had so often threatened to do. Mrs. Henry lingered, in constant, agony, until 10:30 on Christmas night, just one week, when death came to her relief.

POST MORTEM EXAMINATION .- An autopsy was held upon the body of the deceased by Dr. L. S. Ebright, at the request of Acting Coroner Almon Brown, the doctor testifying that the body and limbs, as well as the head, internally, presented a horribly bruised and lacerated appearance, while internally, as above stated, three ribs were found to be broken, and other organs fatally injured; Coroner Brown finding that the deceased came to her death by reason of blows and kicks inflicted upon her by her husband, Walter Henry.

THE POPULAR EXCITEMENT .- The reports, during the week, of Henry's brutal assault upon his wife, and of her terrible sufferings, caused the utmost indignation among the people of the neighbor- hood, and when it was known that Mrs. Henry was dead, there was a decided inclination towards inflicting summary punishment upon him, at the hands of "Judge Lynch," but better counsels finally prevailed, the law was permitted to take its course, and the brutal uxorcide was immediately taken into custody, by the city officials, and lodged in jail.

A NEARLY FATAL PANIC .- On Saturday, December 27th, on the affidavit of Thomas Doyle, brother of the murdered woman, the prisoner was brought before Acting Mayor Lewis D. Seward, on the charge of wilful and premeditated murder, but was immedi- ately remanded to jail to await a preliminary examination on the following Monday at 10 o'clock A. M.

At the appointed hour, nearly a thousand people being assembled at the city building to hear the trial, an adjournment was had from the Mayor's office (then in the second story) to the Council Chamber, which was at once filled to its utmost capacity

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AKRON'S ONLY HOMICIDE.

by the surging crowd. Soon a cracking noise was heard and pieces of mortar and brick began to fall from the ceiling and walls. The cry was immediately raised that the building was falling, and a stampede for the stairs took place, severely squeezing a number of persons, before the building was cleared, though fortunately no lives were lost or bones broken. An examination disclosed the fact that one of the arches supporting the armory floor below had caved in, from the unusual strain thrown upon it by the jostling crowd above, and that it was, indeed, almost a miracle that the entire structure did not collapse with a destruction of life fearful to contemplate.

THE PRISONER FULLY COMMITTED .- On the subsidence of the excitement above alluded to, an adjournment was had to the county court room, where the examination was proceeded with. Prosecuting Attorney Charles Baird, assisted by Edwin F. Voris, appearing for the State, and Jacob A. Kohler and Rolin W. Sadler for the defense. Some six or eight witnesses were examined on the part of the State, who were rigidly cross-examined by the defendant's counsel, but no witnesses were introduced on the part of the defense, and at a late hour in the afternoon, the prisoner was remanded to jail to await the action of the Grand Jury.

INDICTED FOR MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE.

At the January term of the Court of Common Pleas, for 1885, the Grand Jury, with Mr. Nicholas E. Vansickle as foreman, returned an indictment, carefully drawn by Prosecuting Attorney Charles Baird, which, omitting preliminaries, was as follows: "That the said Walter Henry, in and upon one Bridget Henry, then and there being, unlawfully, feloniously, purposely and of deliberate and premeditated malice, did make an assault, in a menacing manner, with intent her, the said Bridget Henry, unlawfully, felo- niously, purposely and of deliberate and premeditated malice, to kill and murder, and that the said Walter Henry, with both his hands and feet, the said Bridget Henry, to and against the floor of the house of the said Bridget Henry there situate and being, then and there unlawfully, feloniously, purposely, and of deliberate and premeditated malice, did cast and throw, with the intent aforesaid and that the said Walter Henry, with both hands and feet of him the said Walter Henry, then and there, while the said Bridget Henry was lying upon the floor, as aforesaid, the said Bridget Henry, in and upon the head, stomach, back, chest, sides and limbs of her the said Bridget Henry, then and there unlawfully, felo- niously, purposely, and of deliberate and premeditated malice, did strike, beat and kick, with intent aforesaid, thereby then and there giving to the said Bridget Henry, as well as by the casting and throwing of her, the said Bridget Henry, to the floor as aforesaid as also by the striking, beating and kicking the said Bridget Henry, in and upon the head, stomach, back, chest, sides and limbs of her, the said Bridget Henry, with both the hands and the feet of him, the said Walter Henry, in manner aforesaid, several mortal bruises, the said Bridget Henry from the said 18th day of December in the year aforesaid, until the 25th day of December in the year aforesaid, did languish, and languishing did live, on which said 25th day of December, in the year aforesaid, the said Bridget Henry, in the county aforesaid, of the said mortal bruises died. And the jurors

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aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do say that the said Walter Henry, in the manner and by the means aforesaid, unlawfully, feloniously, purposely and of deliberate and premeditated malice, did kill and murder her, the said Bridget Henry, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio."

TRIAL IN COMMON PLEAS.

On being arraigned, under the above indictment, the defend- ant entered a plea of not guilty, and the trial was set for Monday, March 2, 1885. At 8:15 A. M. on the day named, Judge Edwin P. Green occupying the bench, the prisoner was brought into court, and seated beside his counsel, Messrs. Kohler and Sadler, Prose- cutor Baird being assisted by Gen. A. C. Voris, on the part of the State.

The entire day was consumed in empanelling the jury, which, as finally accepted and sworn, was as follows: E. A. Osborn, Hudson; H. E. Cahill, Sixth ward; James Miller, Bath; James P. Martin, Fourth ward; James L. Porter, Coventry; L. C. King, Bath; Simon C. Marsh, Coventry; Alvin Rice, Third ward; E. H. Bishop, Stow; J. B. Creighton, Fourth ward; Emory E. Lewis, Hudson; Samuel Findley, Third ward.

MR. BAIRD'S STATEMENT TO JURY .- On the coming in of the Court, on Tuesday morning, Prosecutor Baird stated the case to the jury, on the part of the State, saying substantially, that' the prisoner, Walter Henry, had been indicted by the grand jury for the crime of murder in the first degree, for killing his wife, Bridget Henry, by knocking her down with his fists, kicking and jumping upon her while she was down, from which injuries she died on the 25th day of December, 1884. That he expected to show, by evidence, that Henry had repeatedly abused his wife by knocking her down, kicking her, and calling her the most indecent names: that on December 18, Henry went away and came back intoxicated; that the blinds were pulled down, and those in a stable near by heard a terrible racket in the Henry house and heard Mrs. Henry screaming "For God's sake, Watt, don't kill me!" We expect to show that Henry kicked the prostrate woman all over, from head to foot; we expect to show, by post mortem exam- ination, the terrible condition of the woman as found by the physician, and we claim that the injuries inflicted upon her, by her husband, were the cause of her death, and expect to show that Henry hated his wife and that what he did was through malice.

MR. SADLER'S STATEMENT .- At the conclusion of Prosecutor Baird's statement, Mr. Sadler, one of the attorneys for the defense, addressing the jury said that Mr. Henry was on trial for his life; that he had pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder in the first degree. He told of Henry having lived in Akron for a long time; that he and his wife had kept a saloon on Water street, and that both had been addicted to drink. He told of the drunken condi- tion of Henry on the day of the affray; how he had been upon a prolonged spree and knew nothing of the affair. "We presume," said Mr. S., "that the State will be able to prove that the beating took place; they may prove that Mrs. Henry died from those injuries; but, even if they do prove this, they can't prove that there was any malice or premeditation in the affair. We expect

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to show how Henry sobered up before his wife died, and nursed her, and exhibited much anxiety for her recovery-even going for a doctor several times. And we claim," concluded Mr. S., "that no greater verdict than manslaughter can be brought against him."

ARGUMENT OF GEN. VORIS. - There were sixteen witnesses examined on the part of the prosecution and fifteen on the part of the defense, the evidence being concluded about the middle of the afternoon on Thursday. After a brief recess, Gen. Voris opened the argument on the part of the State; reading from the statutes, and from various authorities defining the different degrees of murder and the penalty attached to each, and as to what consti- tutes malice; the General, referring to the defense made, that Henry was so intoxicated at the time of the assault as to not know what he was doing, said that in law, intoxication is no palliation for crime. The man who voluntarily assumes a position or con- dition by which he takes the life of another cannot be held excus- able

There could scarcely be a conviction for homicide, if drunk- enness were a valid excuse; voluntary drunkenness is no defense for guilt; reading a decision from the Supreme Court that drunken malice is just as great as sober malice. Then turning to the jury the General said that from the evidence they had heard they should find a verdict against the prisoner for murder in the first degree. The General followed the testimony from beginning to. close, picturing, as he called it, the brutal depravity of the man, as shown by the evidence; knocking his wife down, kicking her, dragging her by the hair of her head, his threats and vile epithets, and made an eloquent and thrilling appeal to the jury to protect the community from such brutality and malice, by consigning the defendant to the fate he so justly merited.

MR. SADLER'S ARGUMENT .- Mr. Sadler, after briefly calling the attention of the Court to the laws of Ohio on the several degrees of murder, and agreeing with Gen. Voris that intoxication is no. excuse for crime, but denying that intoxication was an aggravation of the crime committed, argued that there could legally be no verdict for murder in the first or second degree, unless the evidence showed that Henry intended to kill his wife. He hoped that the jury did abhor intoxication and regarded the saloon business with detesta- tion; but they were selected because of their intelligence, and the defendant felt safe in their hands, believing they would decide in accordance with the laws of Ohio. The thing you are sworn to. try is, whether that man (Henry), is guilty of the crime he is charged with. They could not render a verdict of guilty because public opinion thought the man ought to be hung. We expect you to find that on the 18th day of December Walter Henry inflicted wounds on his wife from which, a week later, she died. This we admit the State has proven. Our client is already con- victed of manslaughter, and that is all he can be convicted of under the laws of Ohio. Mr. Sadler continued at length, contro- verting Gen. Voris' hypotheses, arguing the want of motive, critically dissecting the testimony, enlarging upon the kindness of the prisoner, after having sobered up, and closing with an earnest appeal to the jury to lay aside all prejudice, and, under the charge- of the Court, render the only verdict which the law and the evi- dence warranted-that of manslaughter.

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Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905 Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department Number of Pages: 1228

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228