USA > Ohio > Portage County > History of Portage County, Ohio > Part 40
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deed." When David first caught sight of Robert he extended his hands and cried out, "Oh, my wronged brother, my poor wronged brother, but you can't be righted." David seemed much distressed and said to Robert, "I little thought the words we had in the lane would put me in irons, did you?" Fur- ther than these things David McKisson never admitted his guilt, but asserted his innocence to the end, and upon the scaffold said "these hands never did the deed."
At the September term of the Court of Common Pleas, 1837-Hon. Van R. Humphrey, President Judge, Charles Sumner, Ira Selby and Joseph Lewis, Associates-the grand jury indicted both Samuel and David McKisson for murder. Both plead not guilty, and were allowed separate trials.
The trial of Samuel McKisson commenced on the 4th of October, before the following jury: Jonathan Brown, Edward Sumner, Hiram Collins, Ezra S. Bassett, Urial Case, David Collins, William N. Merwin, Isaac Ozmun, Bowen Blair, Moses Eggleston, Harvey Baldwin and Jonathan Metcalf. A portion of the evidence in the case developed the fact that the accused had a quarrel with Robert and his wife about a cow, and the evening before the murder, in passing the two women at a spring on their premises had uttered a threat to them. They were laughing at the time, and the old man cried out-"Laugh on! your laughing will soon be turned to trouble and sorrow." The case was conducted by L. V. Bierce and Eben Newton on behalf of the State, and by D. K. Carter and Wyllis Silliman for the defense. The jury were out but a short time and returned the verdict of not guilty, and the accused was discharged.
The trial of David McKisson was commenced on the 6th of October, before the following jury: Charles Reed, Peter Mason, Silas Comstock, Ashbel Bost- wick, William Coolman, Jr., A. K. Hubbard, Miner Merrick, Hugh Judson, Jonathan Foster, John N. Whittlesey, Alva Day and Daniel Trowbridge. This trial was conducted with spirit and ability by L. V. Bierce and Eben Newton on the part of the State, and by R. P. Spalding, David Tod and N. M. Humphrey for the accused. It was proven by a witness on this trial, that in May previous to the murder, David had said to his sisters Mary and Mar- garet, at Cleveland-"I will kill Robert's wife, By G-d I will; and then if Lucinda has a mind to have me she may, or she may go to hell." The jury found the prisoner guilty of murder in the first degree, and the sentence of the Court was pronounced that he should be hung upon the 9th day of February, 1838. The gallows was erected between what is now Prospect and Walnut Streets, immediately east of the Disciples' Church, in Ravenna.
From the Ohio Star of February 15, 1838, the following account of the execution is taken: "On Friday afternoon, the 9th inst., David McKisson was executed for the murder of his brother's wife. From the day of his con- viction to the last moment of his existence he declared himself innocent of the crime laid to his charge, but his conduct seems more indicative of great deprav- ity than of innocence. Until the day previous to his execution, he almost uniformly spoke of bis situation in the most indifferent manner, and studi- ously banished from his mind all thoughts of his condition. On that day he seemed to be somewhat affected at the near approach of death, and on the morning of the execution he requested the presence of Elder Stevens. To the Elder, who visited him in his cell and accompanied him to the gallows, he professed that he had asked for and obtained mercy, and declared that he could die in peace. On his way to the place of execution McKisson appeared sol- emn and thoughtful, and when he first arrived in sight of the gallows he was evidently overcome by the spectacle and swooned away, but recovered himself and sat firm and erect on his seat. He then handed to the Rev. Mr. Graham,
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who also accompanied him, his farewell address which he had prepared, remarking that he intended to read it upon the gallows, but that he should not be able to do it. On arriving at the gallows he got out of the carriage with- out assistance. requested Elder Stevens and Mr. Graham to accompany him upon the scaffold, and then firmly and unhesitatingly ascended the same with the Sheriff. He then addressed the spectators in a speech of nearly a half hour's length, consisting partly of admonition to the wicked and vicious, and partly of an examination of the testimony upon which he was convicted, and concluded by declaring his innocence and his preparation for death. He then requested prayers, and he appeared to respond to the petition which was offered.
" The rope was then adjusted, his arms pinioned, and the cap drawn down over his face by the Sheriff, who then descended from the scaffold; as he reached the bottom he trod upon the spring which supported the platform, and McKisson suddenly dropped about seven feet. Once or twice he shrugged his shoulders, and four or five times he drew up his legs, probably in conse- quence of the contraction of the muscles, and all was over. After hanging until he was dead, his body was taken down and delivered to his brother Rob- ert, who took it to Northfield for interment. An immense concourse of peo-
ple attended to witness the execution. The number is variously estimated at from 1,500 to 3,000, of which, we are sorry to say, at least one-eighth part were females. What there can be in such a spectacle calculated to excite the curi- osity and attract the presence of woman, delicate and sensitive woman, we are utterly at a loss to determine."
Sylvester Heathman was tried and convicted of manslaughter at the Febru- ary term of the Court of Common Pleas in 1838. It appears from the evidence that on the day when the disastrous occurrence took place, the defendant, with his two brothers, John and Elisha, had been absent from home until nearly night. How they were employed was not apparent, but about supper time John Heathman (the deceased) returned to the house of his widowed mother much intoxicated, and was seated at the table eating his supper when the defendant (Sylvester) entered the room. John immediately addressed Sylvester with the inquiry, "Where is Elisha ?" "He has gone up North." "You are a d-d liar! " replied John, " and the truth is not in you; " and upon uttering these words he caught up his fork and threw it at the head of his brother, and inflicted something of a wound upon his nose. This violence on the part of John was followed with a threat that if Sylvester came up stairs that night " he would be the death of him." About this time, said the witness, Mary Heathman (a sister, and the only person in the room at the time), there was heard a noise resembling the rattling of knives and forks near the place where John had been seated. At this instant Sylvester seized a chair and with it struck John a severe blow on his side. The young woman then left the room for the purpose of calling her mother. Upon their entering the room after the space of a minute John exclaimed, " Mother, I am going to fall," and imme- diately fell to the floor. At this time blood was discovered running from his shoes, and the odor of whisky pervaded the room. Sylvester advanced to the prostrate body of his brother and exclaimed, "John, brother John!" "You may call him now," said the poor mother, "but he cannot hear you, for you have killed him." Sylvester then endeavored to procure the attendance of a physician, but none arrived before the death of John, which took place about thirty minutes after the blow was inflicted.
Upon examination it was ascertained that the deceased had, in his right pantaloons pocket, at the time of the blow, a junk bottle filled with whisky;
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that the chair had been hurled with so much force as to break the bottle into small pieces, one of which had been driven into the groin so as to cut the artery, by means of which the deceased bled to death. The cause was argued to the jury by Messrs. Bierce and Spalding for the State, and Messrs. Carter and Newton for the defendant. A verdict of guilty was returned by the jury, and the culprit was sent to the penitentiary for one year.
The murder of Alanson Baldwin, of Aurora, took place November 8, 1859, and was perpetrated by Lemuel W. Price, also a resident of Aurora, and the nephew of his victim. Price was a man about sixty, a hard drinker and at times uncontrollably passionate. On the morning of the 8th of November he became offended with Mr. Baldwin, though causelessly so, and watching his opportunity stabbed him with a shoe knife upon the left side of the abdomen, the wound going through to the abdominal cavity. Mr. Baldwin died the next day after being stabbed. Price was indicted at the December term, 1859. The case began before Judge Benjamin F. Hoffman, February 23, 1860, on an indictment for murder in the second degree, to which the accused pleaded not guilty. The following persons were the jurors in the case: James Hudson, Ravenna; C. O. Brainerd, Randolph; O. B. Highley, Windham; C. M. Taylor, Hiram; Silas Clark, Nelson; A. B. Bristol, Edinburg; Alden Bissell, Roots- town; Nathan Sanford, Edinburg; H. B. Fenton, Randolph; E. Hawley and T. Stewart, Paris; D. C. Davis, Palmyra. The theory of the defense consisted of two points: insanity, and death from other causes. During the trial Price manifested a listless indifference, and received his sentence without emotion. The jury were out but forty-five minutes, and returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree. The Court sentenced Price on the 25th to the penitentiary for life. The case was conducted by P. B. Conant and E. B. Taylor for the State. Price being without counsel, the Court assigned him Alphonso Hart and O. P. Brown.
To keep unbroken the chain of this narrative, brief allusion is made to the murderous assault made upon J. C. Prentiss, in the store of D. M. Clewell, in Ravenna, upon the morning of December 17, 1864, by W. W. Flower, for the purpose of effecting a robbery of the safe in the store. The case was tried before Judge Charles E. Glidden, at the January term, 1865, of the Court of Common Pleas. The jury were in deliberation but ten minutes and returned a verdict of guilty of assault with intent to murder. The Court sentenced Flower to the penitentiary for seven years, the severest penalty prescribed for the crime by the statutes of Ohio. H. H. Willard and Alphonso Hart con- ducted the case for the State; Luther Day and P. B. Conant for the accused.
Upon the 17th of March, 1865, a young woman named Harriet Shorts was shot in her mother's house, and died of the wound, by a man who was reported to be her husband. This individual, Joseph N. Boor, alias Charles Wilson, was arrested for murder, but set up the defense of accidental shooting. The accused in the case was indicted at the May term. Trial was not had until the September term, when the case was heard before Judge Glidden and the fol- lowing jury: G. B. Purdy, William Stedman, R. F. Gardner, W. J. Gardner, H. E. Brush, A. J. Shuman, Reuben Brobst, Smith Sanford, A. Chittenden, A. H. Barlow, Arvin Olin and H. J. Cannon. The indictment charged that the accused, "on the 17th of March, 1865, made an assault upon Harriet Shorts with a shot-gun, inflicting upon the middle of her back one mortal wound of the length of one-half of one inch, and the depth of ten inches, of which mor- tal wound she immediately died. This did Joseph N. Boor, alias Wilson, with premeditated malice to kill and murder the said Harriet Shorts." After hear- ing the testimony and arguments of counsel, the jury returned a verdict of
I. Vi ace. M.D.
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manslaughter. The Court imposed a sentence upon the prisoner of one year in the penitentiary from the 19th day of September, 1865. The case was con- ducted by H. H. Willard and Alphonso Hart for the State, and P. B. Conant and E. L. Webber on behalf of the accused.
John Rhodenbaugh, a citizen of Franklin Township, residing upon his farm about three miles from the village of Kent, in that township, and about the same distance from Ravenna, was foully murdered between 7 and 8 o'clock on the night of October 24, 1865, while returning home from Kent, and within a little more than a mile from his home. The spot chosen for the scene of the murder was upon the road leading from Ravenna to Hudson, passing between Lakes Brady and Pippin, at a point where the road runs parallel with the C. & P. R. R., and within a few rods of the crossing of the latter with the carriage road leading to Kent, within sight of the lakes and the farmhouse of Joseph Heighton. Mr. Rhodenbaugh had resided in Franklin Township over thirteen years, and was well known in this and adjoining counties as a public auctioneer. He was fifty-six years of age on the 19th of September, 1865, and left a family consisting of a wife, four sons and a daughter, all of whom were present at the trial. He was fond of company and the social glass, and at times drank freely, and was, under such circumstances, apt to discourse largely upon his pecuniary means.
On the afternoon of the day of the murder, commencing at about 3 o'clock, we find him at Kent in the company of Cooper, Beery and others, playing cards, drinking and the like. Leaving Kelso's billiard and drinking saloon at or near 7 o'clock on that evening, soon after drinking with Cooper and Beery, he set out for home. Having proceeded two-thirds of the distance alone in an open wagon, he was assaulted and dealt two blows upon the head (caus- ing instant death) with a heavy club, cut near the scene of the murder. His person was robbed of a watch and the money he had with him, supposed to be nearly $200. The murder was discovered shortly after its committal by George Dewey, a resident of the neighborhood. A Coroner's inquest was held on the 25th before Justice D. L. Rockwell. Suspicion at once attached to Jack Cooper and Joel Beery as the perpetrators of the awful crime. Before 9 o'clock of the 25th they were arrested near Ravenna by officers R. W. Buck and S. L. Jen- nings, and at once incarcerated in Jail. An affidavit was made before Justice Coolman against these men, and an examination held upon Saturday, October 28, occupying from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M., the result of which was that the accused were committed to Jail for trial at the next term of the Court of Common Pleas.
The grand jury at the January term, 1866, H. M. Lewis, foreman, found indictments against Cooper and Beery, alleging the facts previously narrated. Being arraigned upon Thursday, February 1, both the accused plead not guilty thereto, and separate trials were ordered them. Being unable to pay counsel, the Court assigned Messrs. E. B. Taylor, J. D. Horton and P. B. Conant as counsel for the defense. On the part of the State H. H. Willard, Prosecuting Attorney, assisted by Alphonso Hart, conducted the prosecution.
The trial of Jack Cooper was commenced on Monday afternoon, February 5, 1866, before Hon. Charles E. Glidden. The first proceeding in the case was the impanneling of the following jury: Franklin H. Snow, Windham; E. F. Jagger, Windham; M. P. Higley, Windham; H. S. Johnson, Nelson; R. H. Miller, Garrettsville; Charles Goodsell, Nelson; Isaac Stowell, Gar- rettsville; Jason Rider, Hiram; Benjamin Waters, Hiram; I. J. Rhodes, Man- tua; Edwin Sanford, Mantua; William L. Coe, Edinburg. As soon as the jury were sworn, Mr. Willard, on the part of the State, made an elaborate statement of the case to the jury, detailing the items of proof it was intended
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to present. Mr. Taylor, on behalf of the defense, made a general denial of the allegations of the State, meeting them all with the simple plea, not guilty. For three days the trial progressed with unflagging interest. Thirty-six wit- nesses were examined, and elaborate arguments made by both prosecution and defense. On the evening of the third day the attorneys' pleas were finished, and Judge Glidden delivered his charge to the jury, which retired at 6 o'clock. Near the hour of midnight the jury returned to the court-room with a verdict of murder in the first degree. For a moment Cooper buried his face in his hands, and then as if accepting the death-knell of his doom asked to speak to some of the jurors. A short time was devoted to this, and the doomed man, encircled by stalwart guards, was returned to his prison cell, there to meditate and prepare as best he could for the consummation of the dread penalty of that law he so mercilessly violated.
The trial of Joel Beery as aider and abettor of Jack Cooper in the murder of John Rhodenbangh, the next scene in this drama of crime, was commenced before Judge Glidden, on Thursday morning, February 8, 1866. The case was conducted by H. H. Willard and Alphonso Hart for the State, and Ezra B. Taylor, J. D. Horton and P. B. Conant for the defense. The prisoner, as he sat within the bar, was attended by his mother, and his brother, H. L. Beery. The pressure of attendance during the trial was unabated, and the court-room was crowded to its very utmost capacity during the entire progress of the case. Beery belonged to Portage County, and had many relatives and friends living here, while Cooper was a comparative stranger and but little known in this
section. The following jury was impaneled and sat upon the case: John Webber, Deerfield; Caleb Steele, Deerfield; J. V. Mell, Deerfield; George Webber, Deerfield; Stephen Frazer, Deerfield; John H. Hoffman, Deerfield; J. M. Fry, Deerfield; T. H. Whittemore, Deerfield; John Mansfield, Atwater; Curtiss Goddard, Edinburg; George Brigden, Edinburg; Cornelius Mott, Deerfield. After the selecting of the jurors was completed, the trial was opened by a full statement of the case to the jury by Mr. Hart, on behalf of the prosecution, of the State vs. Joel Beery, for aiding and abetting Jack Cooper, on the 24th of October, 1865, in murdering John Rhodenbaugh. The theory of the defense was then ably presented to the jury by Ezra B. Taylor. Nearly fifty witness were examined on this trial, which also lasted three days, and untiring efforts were put forth by Beery's counsel to clear him. The jury was charged by Judge Glidden on Saturday forenoon, February 10, and retired at half past 12 o'clock. For more than twelve hours the jury wres- tled with the evidence before reaching a unanimous conclusion. At a quarter past 1 o'clock on Sunday morning they filed into the court-room with a verdict of murder in the second degree. The verdict was received by the people with great surprise, as it was the general opinion that Beery was equally guilty with Cooper, and should have received the extreme penalty of the law; and the jury was, at the time, considerably criticised and blamed for letting him off so easily.
On Monday morning, February 12, the convicted murderers, Cooper and Beery, were brought before the bar to receive sentence. The latter was the first to appear in Court, and after being asked if he had anything to say in his own behalf, and answering that he had not. was sentenced to hard labor in the penitentiary for life, where he was soon afterward taken. The sentence was received with but little or no emotion by the prisoner, and as no effort was made by his counsel to get a new trial, we can readily infer that both they and Beery were satisfied with the lenient justice of the verdict. Upon receiving sentence, Beery was returned to his cell, and Cooper brought into Court. A
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motion for a new trial was made by Cooper's counsel and promptly overruled by Judge Glidden. Before pronouncing sentence the Court asked the prisoner if he had anything to say why the penalty of the law should not be pronounced upon him. Thereupon, Cooper arose and answered that he had little to say about his innocence, but he could hardly feel as if he had been fairly dealt with, or he would not have been convicted of murder. He said he was not a smart, or an educated man, and could not speak very well, but did not think on the evidence against him, he ought to be hung. The prisoner then resumed his seat, and Judge Glidden, after an able and exhaustive summing up of the evidence upon which he was convicted, and showing beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty of the crime charged, sentenced him to be hanged on the 6th of April, 1866.
The verdict and sentence in the Cooper case gave universal satisfaction. It was the third in which the death penalty was pronounced upon a criminal in Portage County; and a full, thorough, unbiased review of the testimony can leave no shadow of doubt of the equal justice and propriety of the verdict, inflicting, as it did, upon the culprit, the direst penalty of the law. The ter- rible deed was deliberately planned and cruelly executed.
In the management of the Cooper and Beery trials, Judge Glidden exhibited an impartiality and clearness upon legal questions that commended him in a high degree to the bar, and the many hundreds of citizens who watched their progress. The attorneys for the State, Messrs. Willard and Hart, performed their duties with a fitting sense of the responsibility resting upon them, and with a zealous care that through no default of theirs should the interests of the people be allowed to suffer. Of the defense made for the prisoners by Messrs. Taylor, Horton and Conant, it can truly be said, that no man could have been defended with greater ability, pertinacity or zeal. Had the culprits been members of the most influential or wealthy families, instead of having to depend upon the county for their defense, greater efforts could not have been made in their behalf. The State thus throws her mantle of protection around the accused, guaranteeing him every chance for a fair and impartial trial.
After Cooper's conviction, he gave a history of his career. His real name was Samuel Wittum, and he was born in Elk Creek Township, Erie Co., Penn., a few miles east of the Ohio line, October 22, 1837. His father, Artemus Wittum, had previously resided in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and also in Indi- ana. Both his parents died when Samuel was about six years old, and he then went to live with a farmer named James Bird or Baird. This man treated him badly, and one of his sisters learning the facts came and took him away. He began life for himself on the Beaver & Erie Canal, and henceforth followed a wild, roving career. He was twice married, and is said to have been a gambler, counterfeiter, horse thief and murderer, and to have served a term in the Missouri penitentiary, ere cominitting the deed for which he finally suffered death. Wittum, or Cooper, as he is best known to our readers, was respited by the Governor from the 6th until the 27th of April, for the purpose of giving a sister living in the East an opportunity to visit him. Though at first professing repentance for his crime, he tried to break Jail three times, the last being a desperate attempt. He fiercely attacked Sheriff Jennings, secured a fastening bar used on one of the doors, and calling on some other prisoners for assistance, which they, however, refused, made a superhuman effort to gain his freedom. The alarm was given and the Jail soon surrounded by a crowd of excited citizens, and Cooper, seeing that escape was now impossible, threw down the bar and retired to his cell cursing and swearing like a maniac.
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He refused to allow the Sheriff to enter his cell for the purpose of putting irons on his hands and feet, and exhibiting a knife which he had in sonie unknown manner secured, swore he would kill any man who would attempt to do so. Science now came to the rescue, and a physician was called in who with a syringe drenched Cooper with chloroform until he lay upon the floor in a senseless condition. He was then heavily ironed, and so remained until his execution, April 27, 1866, on a gallows erected in the southeast corner of the Jail.
A few months passed by, and the dark crime of murder once more stained the record of Portage County. On Monday, November 26, 1866, a young man named Wilson S. Roof entered the house of William A. Musson, at Mog- adore, Suffield Township, and shot to death his wife, Mrs. Harriet Musson, while she was engaged in her daily labors. The murderer fled, and a reward of $550 was offered for his arrest, which was effected on Thanksgiving morn- ing, November 29, in Stark County, about a mile and a half from Lima Sta- tion, on the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad. The culprit was captured by James Roath, a farmer of that vicinity, to whom he confessed that he was the murderer of Mrs. Musson. Roath and William Wiles took the prisoner in a buggy to Lima Station, thence by train to Ravenna, where they arrived a lit- tle after noon, and delivered him to the Sheriff. The following Saturday Roof was examined before Justice Andrew Jackson. Prosecuting Attorney H. H. Willard and J. J. Hall, of Akron, appeared for the State, and Alphonso Hart and C. A. Reed for the defense. The prisoner pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, and upon a thorough examination was remanded to Jail to await the action of the Court of Common Pleas.
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