USA > West Virginia > Preston County > History of Preston County (West Virginia) > Part 16
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184
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
family ; second, the burning of the Court-house, as the property of Preston County, occupied at the time by Peter Voltz as a dwelling; third, the burning of the Court-house, whereby the dwelling of Peter Voltz was burnt; and, fourth, the burning of the Court house, whereby the house of Hiram Vankirk was burnt.
Intense excitement prevailed among the people over the burning of the Court house and the destruction of all the county's legal records from its formation down to that time; and the academy was thronged with an anxious crowd, who believed Gregg to be guilty, and hence entertained no good feeling toward him. Every man in the county was effected, more or less, in his business relations by the destruction of these records.
Deputy Sheriff Heironimous Zotz brought the prisoner into court. He had no counsel, and claimed that he was pecuniarily unable to employ any one to defend him. Whereupon the court appointed Henry C. Showalter, who was not a resident of the county, to defend him. Showalter entered upon the defense, and moved a continuance of the cause. This motion was overruled, as well as the motion for a change of venue to try the case in some other county.
The trial began forthwith, and a jury was impanneled. Objection was made to the jury, because the jurors had been summoned for the March term of court. Thereupon the first jury was discharged, and a second impanneled. This jury was composed of the following named men: Jacob Fream, Benjamin Freeland, George W. Walls, W. K. Core, John Scott, Stephen Watkins, David Nine, William Hibbs, Henson Liston, William M. Smith, David S. Wilt and George D. Moore.
Colonel Charles Hootom, the prosecuting attorney, was in ill health, and the prosecution was conducted by the Hon. William G. Brown, assisted by B. F. M. Hurley, of Freder- ick, Maryland, and James A. Brown, Esq. After the trial commenced Gregg secured the services of the late George O. Davenport, of Wheeling, to assist Mr. Showalter; and on
185
"FROM 1863 TO 1881.
Thursday Mr. Showalter procured the, services of P. H. Keck, Esq., of Morgantown, in his stead.
The Hon. William G. Brown opened the case, and the fol- lowing witnesses were called upon the stand, in the order of their names: D. Y. Morris, Peter Voltz and Henry Startzman, who were qualified to the safe condition in which the Court- house, was left on Saturday night, March 6, by the county officials having charge of it, and also the hour (between 2 and 3 o'clock) that they saw it on fire.
Noah Titchenell related a conversation he said he had with the prisoner, in which Gregg swore he would burn the town of Kingwood, because he had been badly treated in a suit there. He could not tell what time this conversation occurred.
James H. Carroll stated that he was appointed a commis- sioner to sell the land of Gregg and others, on March 8, 1869, but could not on account of the Court-house burning, as the decree specified that the sale should take place at the Court- house door.
William Runner testified that he lived four miles from Morgantown, and that on the 3d of March Gregg got horse- feed of him and had a jug-said he was going to Independ- ence to, sell some wine.
Franklin Gray testified that he saw Gregg riding towards Kingwood on Wednesday, March 3d; that he had on a blue Government overcoat, and had a pistol sticking out of his pocket. On the night of the burning he heard some one on horseback pass his house about 11 o'clock, and near morn- ing he saw old tracks where some one had walked into B. Stone's lane, and fresh horse tracks coming out.
Allen Fawcett stated that he lived 24 miles from King- wood, and that Gregg came to his house Wednesday night and said his name was Crebs, and he was going to Morgan- town for oats.
Smith Craney Clerk of the Circuit Court, stated that all the papers in the case of Gregg were in his office, except the chancery order book.
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186
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
David Wheeler and Henry Grimes stated that they saw Gregg at Reedsville on Thursday, March 4th, and that he had a jug which he said contained "sky-light oil."
Ami Walls testified that Gregg stayed with him on Tuesday night after the fire, and went off in the direction of Ice's Ferry.
John W. Guseman stated that on Thursday night, March 4th, Gregg stayed with him, and said that he was going to Independence to work for a man whose name he had forgot- ten; that he had a sack with a jug in it, and wore a blue Government overcoat, and said the jug contained Whortle- berry wine and wanted him to taste it; that he left on Friday morning to go to Morgantown to buy oats, and came" back Friday evening and stayed all night, leaving on Satur- day morning for Bruceton ; that on Sunday morning, the 7th, he came back about 6:45 o'clock with his whiskers and beard full of ice, and said he had been out sparking; his handkerchief was frozen to his face; that Gregg told him that he started for Bruceton on Saturday, but could not. cross the river, and had gone to Greene County, and bought a straw-cutter; that his house was in Monongalia County,? about 10 miles from Reedsville.
W. B. Weaver testified to meeting Gregg on Saturday, the 6th, and directed him, on the old Kingwood road, to a place to cross the river.
Henry Smith was qualified that the prisoner stopped on Saturday with him and wanted to get a lot of hoop-poles.
John Molisee stated that Gregg was at his house, 14 miles from Kingwood, the same day at 4 o'clock p. m., and said he wanted to get home.
Mrs. John W. Guseman testified that on Thursday, the 4th, when the prisoner was there, one of her little girls got oil out of the jug that Gregg said had wine in it.
Robert Savage, who lived at Prideville, (Ice's Ferry, Mon- ongalia County,) in March, said that Gregg came to his house in that month, and had a jug with oil in it.
187
FROM 1863 TO 1881.
Hiram Vankirk testified that his house was twenty feet from the Court-house, and was set on fire from it.
John Johnson swore that the prisoner wanted to borrow his horse at Guseman's Mill to go sparking on Friday night, March 5th.
John Williams stated that Gregg came from Ice's Ferry to his house, nine miles from Kingwood, before sun down on Saturday, and stopped to warm.
Mr. Broderick testified to living six miles from Williams's, and hearing some one pass after dark; also Isaac Teets, living one mile from Broderick's, testified that a man, about 9 o'clock, passed and inquired how far it was to Allen Fawcett's.
H. Zotz, the jailer, made a statement of his unsuccessful attempt to enter the Court-house when on fire.
Mark Harris swore that he saw the tracks of a man who had come down on the Kingwood and Morgantown Turnpike as far as the toll-gate; and that, following the track, he saw where some one had set a jug or bucket down in the snow : that the tracks were made by size seven or eight boots.
Brokenborough Stone testified that he lived two miles west of Kingwood, to the left of the Morgantown road; that the by-road on which the man's tracks were discovered, led to his house, and that he saw where a horse had been hitched and had trampled around considerably.
Henry Wright stated that he saw horse tracks on the Morgantown Turnpike, near Fawcett's.
A. B. Menear testified that he found the jug produced in court, in Gregg's tool-chest when he arrested him.
Nicholas Gross related a conversation between Gregg and himself, by the jail window, after Gregg was in jail, in which Gregg offered him 3000 dollars worth of counterfeit money to swear that Gregg was at his house on Saturday night, March 6th, 1869.
John Dill and Samuel Menear stated that they had seen a fresh horse track on the Morgantown turnpike on Sun- day morning, March 7th.
: 188
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
George Smith testified that he saw Elihu Gregg-riding on Sunday morning, towards Guseman's, about daylight.
Dr. - Lazier, of Morgantown, stated that the prisoner bought a gallon of oil from him ; that he very seldom filled jugs with oil, and, therefore, remembered well the circum stance; that the jug in the possession of the court looks like - the one I filled for Gregg.
A. Lee, residing three miles from Brandonville, testified that he had heard Gregg say, in the summer of 1868, he had three plans to stop the sale of his -land, and one of then : would work.
James .Hays, the last witness on the part of the State stated that he resided in Monongalia County, and that or the morning of the 7th of March, he saw the prisoner as h (Gregg) was coming from Decker's Creek, from the direc tion of Kingwood, and the little sorrel mare, with thre white legs and a star in her face, that he was riding, was al frosty.
On Thursday the defense offered witnesses to invalidat some of the State's evidence, but failed. Who the witnesse : were, or what they said, a diligent search has failed to « -disclose.
Mr. Hurley then commenced pleading in behalf of th State, at 4 o'clock, and closed that evening.
Mr. Davenport began on Friday morning, on behalf of th defendant, and closed at 2 p. m., when he was followed by Mr. P. H. Keck on behalf of the defendant, who closed hi ". argument about 10 o'clock on Saturday morning. The Hon William G. Brown, for the State, followed, and spoke til 1 o'clock p. m.
Judge Dille then delivered his charge to the jury, after which . they retired. In about three quarters of an hour " they returned into court, with a verdict against the prisone of being guilty of arson, as he stood indicted.
The trial was over, and upon the mass of circumstantia : evidence above given, as we find it reported, the jury had rer dered their verdict of guilty.
189
FROM : 1863 TO 1881.
This evidence showed that Gregg had left Vankirk's Hotel in Kingwood, on Thursday morning, carrying a large pistol, that he passed through Reedsville with a jug which he said contained "sky-light oil;" that he arrived at Mr. John Guseman's that night, saying that he had started for Inde- pendence to work for a man whose name he had forgotten, and, having gotten off the road, had come to Mr. Guseman's to stay over night ; he wanted. Mr. Guseman to taste some wine he had in his jug, which one of Mr. Guseman's little girls; pouring out, found. to be carbon oil. On Friday, morning, he paid no further heed to his work at Independ- ence, but started for Morgantown to buy oats. That very evening he returned to Guseman's, and at the mill wanted to borrow a man's horse to go sparking that night. On Satur- day morning, he left for Bruceton, and stopped to engage a lot of hoop-poles. He was before sundown, only nine miles from Kingwood, having crossed the river, and was now traveling, not toward Bruceton, but in the opposite direc- tion, and toward Kingwood, having his jug of "sky-light oil" still with him. After dark, six miles farther on this road and only three miles from Kingwood, a man on horse-back was seen going toward Kingwood .... Within two miles of Kingwood, between 8 and, 9,o'clock, a man called at Mr. Teets's, to ask how far it. was to Allen Fawcett's, but the . man remaining in the road, Mr. Teets could not see who it was. The place was seen on Monday, one mile out on the . Morgantown road, (which Gregg traveled in coming to Kingwood the previous Saturday,) and just to the left in the woods, near Allen Fawcett's, where a horse had been hitch -. ed for some time. The boots or shoes of the person who , had hitched the horse, were 7's or 8's, the soles containing round headed tacks, as shown by the tracks, made in the snow. Gregg's boots would make a track corresponding to , the tracks found where the horse was hitched. The person. who hitched. the horse had a vessel which he set down while hitching, as was shown by the impression left on the snow, and from which also it was supposed that the vessel was a ..
190
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
jug. The fire originated in or near the office of the clerk of the circuit court, which was on the second floor, and con- tained the records, whose destruction was the only means to prevent the sale of Gregg's land. Gregg arrived on Sunday morning, between 6 and 7 o'clock, from somewhere, nearly frozen, and said he had been out sparking; but he could not in trial, tell where, only stating that he was an honorable man in a dishonorable affair, and would not expose the woman with whom he had stayed.
The evidence of one witness was that Gregg swore he would burn Kingwood, and of another that the prisoner at- tempted to bribe him to swear that he (Gregg) had stayed with him on Saturday night. This long and strong chain of circumstantial evidence proved everything the State desired, except the act of the prisoner applying the match to the in- flammable substance in his possession.
On Wednesday morning, July 21st, 1869, Gregg was brought into the court, and requested to stand up. He was then asked if he had anything to say why judgment should not be passed upon him. He said he had; that he was not guilty ; and then made a long speech in which he requested that "all the lawyers, judges, and all the officers of the court should turn out as ministers of the Gospel."
Judge Dille then pronounced the following sentence: "The termination of this important State trial has been reached-the jury have finished their protracted and unpleas- ant investigations, and found the prisoner guilty as charged in the indictment, and it only remains for the court to render its judgment under the law upon the verdict of the jury. However unpleasant the duty, society and a violated law re- quire that it be performed."
"You, Elihu Gregg, have been indicted by a grand jury of this county -- you have been tried by an unprejudiced and impartial jury of your county-aided in your defense by able and experienced counsel, who did every thing for you that could be done, to persuade your triers that you were innocent of the offense charged against you ; . but after. a patient and
191
FROM 1863 TO 1881.
full investigation of your case, the jury have found you guilty -guilty of willfully, maliciously and feloniously burning the Court-house of this county, whereby the dwelling-house of Peter Voltz and Hiram Wankirk were burned, being occupied at the time of the burning-an offense under the law of a most henious character, and one to which the law (at the time the offense was committed) attached the penalty of death.
"I need not admonish you to meet the punishment pre- scribed by the law-your own good sense must have convin- iced you before this that your days on earth are few, short and precious, and that it becomes you, a sa rational, intelli- gent and immortal being, to spend the remnant of your days on earth for preparing for that world of spirits into which you will soon be launched. Dream not, I beseech you, that death is an eternal sleep. I beg you regard death as only the commencement of an eternal future, and that you will awake in the eternal world to a life of bliss or wretchedness. Life and immortality are brought to light in the Gospel. In that precious Book the depravity of man is taught, his elevation and redemption through the atoning blood of the Son of God, and the door of repentance is opened to the most abandoned. But diligence is necessary, nay it is indispensable-work while it is day, as you have but a short time to live and a great work is to be accomplished in the space of a few short weeks. You are commended to the grace, mercy and goodness of God, and let me urge you, that immediately on your return to your prison, you send for some pious divine-a good man -to pray with and for you, and assist you in getting your house in order and preparing for the awful change that awaits you.
"The sentence which the law prescribes for the offense of arson (of which you have been found guilty by the jury, and the court now pronounces,) is this:
"That you be taken from hence to the jail of this county, from whence you came, and from thence to the place of exe- cution, and on the 3rd day of September, 1869, between the hours of 10 a. m. and 3 p. m. of that day, be there hanged.
192
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
by the neck until you are dead; and may God have mercy upon your soul."
During all the time the judge was pronouncing the sen- tence the prisoner remained calm, and listened to the words of death as they fell from the judge's lips without the ... exhibition of any emotion whatever. -- The doom pronounced upon him, he heard absolutely unmoved.
To the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Gregg's counsel applied for a writ of error, upon eight bills of excep tion, taken during the progress of the trial. The third bill - of exceptions was, that after the jury was sworn, the court ... ordered all witnesses to retire from the court-room, and that " Henry Boger, who was in the room during a part of the trial, ~ was afterward called by the defendant as a witness, but was- not allowed to testify on account of thus hearing a part of the evidence. The fourth bill of exceptions alleged that the- . defendant offered in evidence to the jury his certificate of ». protection in bankruptcy, dated November 16, 1868, to rebut. . the testimony introduced by the State, that his motive in burning the Court-house was to save his land from sale, and .... the only means by which he could prevent its being sold. In their fifth bill, the defendant's counsel held that the counts of the indictment charged no crime or offense, and that the jury had no right to regard any evidence for the State under them. The seventh was, that the jury did not find in their verdict what punishment was to be inflicted, and hence the court could not render any judgment or impose any sentence upon the defendant. "The eighth bill was taken, because the court sentenced the defendant to the death penalty."
Upon the third and fourth bills of exceptions, the Court of Appeals, Judge R. L. Berkshire dissenting as to the fourth bill, issued a writ of error and supersedeas, reversed the- judgment of the inferior court, set aside the verdict of the jury, and remanded the cause for a new trial.
At the time of the fire, the office of The Preston County Journal was in the Court-house, and all the material thereof was destroyed by the fire. This paper was established by
193 --
FROM :1863 TO 1881.
Levi Klauser in Kingwood, on the 19th day of. May, 1866. It was the first Republican, and the sixth, newspaper ever published in the county ..
The board of supervisors, on the 28th day of August, , 1869, passed an ordinance subscribing 100,000 dollars . capital stock on behalf of Preston County, to aid in the con- struction of the ""West Virginia Central Railroad," provided the people ratify the same by a vote to be taken on the fourth Thursday of October. The railway was to start at the Penn- sylvania line, near Joseph Carrol's, and pass by the way of Brandonville, the mouth of Muddy Creek, and to Kingwood; thence to the junction of Three Fork and Racoon Creeks. At the October election, the people ratified the measure by a vote of 1186 for to 126 against the ordinance.
On the 11th day of October, 1869, that being the first day of the October term ot the circuit court of Preston County, Elihu Gregg was again indicted for burning the Court-house, - and placed on trial. - The following jury was impanneled: Ebenezer Liston, Elijah Messenger, .. William Shaw, Clark Sypolt, Henry Knight, David O. Feather, Isaac P. Martin, . David Nine, George H. Trembly, George S. Martin, Philip Mahon and Philip Buckalew. Gregg's counsel, Messrs. Dav- enport and Keck, not, being present, the court assigned Gus- tavus Cresap as counsel for the prisoner .- The prosecution. was represented by the Hon. William G. Brown, James A. . Brown, and James H. Carroll. The testimony introduced . was the same as on the previous trial. The defense did not . call Boger to the witness-stand.
Mr. Cresap made an eloquent speech, imploring mercy for Gregg, and claiming that they had no direct evidence to con- vist him, and giving instances where circumstantial evidence had convicted innocent men. Messrs. Davenpert and Keck ... arrived the next day, and made a more aggressive fight for Gregg, which many think was not as wise a course as Mr. Cresap's. The Hon. William G. Brown made a long and able .. argument on the part of the prosecution, and was followed by .. Davenport in a powerful effort for Gregg. He, in turn.
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
was followed by James A. Brown, upon the part of the State, in a telling speech.
On Tuesday morning, October 21st, 1869, the jury came in with a verdict of guilty. The old law making the act of burning a building used as a dwelling, a capital offense, was changed, and the punishment for the crime was made death or imprisonment for life, at the discretion of the jury. And, accordingly, when Gregg was brought into the Court on Wednesday morning, October 22, 1869, before pronoun- cing sentence upon him, Judge Dille explained to the pris- oner that he could choose between death and confinement in the penitentiary during the remainder of his natural life. Gregg, summoning up all his bravery, rose and, in a guttural tone of voice, and with an affected theatrical manner, said, "Give me liberty, or give me death," and took his seat.
It only remained for the judge to pronounce sentence of death, as the prisoner had refused to accept imprisonment for life. Gregg was ordered to stand up by Judge Dille, and asked if he "had aught to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him." The stillness of death perva- ded the crowded court-room. All eyes were upon the pris- oner. Deliberately herose and, to the astonishment of every one, launched out into a long speech, entirely irrelevant to the subject and the occasion. He told the judge that the people of the United States had reared monuments to Washington, to Patrick Henry, to Henry Clay, to all the great and distin- guished men of the Nation, and he wanted the people to show their appreciation of the Christian religion by erecting a mon- ument to Jesus Christ, that would surpass in magnificence and grandeur all other monuments on the face of the earth.
The judge finally called him to order, and pronounced upon him the sentence of death, and fixed the 28th day of January, 1870, as the day upon which he was to be hanged. Gregg was taken back to the jail and placed in a cell with Bazel Simpson, who was under indictment for robbing Tutt . & Feltner's store in Evansville, in 1861. Gregg and Simp- „son had occupied this cell for two or three months, and ey-
195
FROM 1863 TO 1881.
ery few nights after Simpson became an occupant of the cell, Gregg would have his handcuffs and hobbles sawed off and ¡be walking around in the morning in his cell free from all ; fetters. The jailer could find no tools with which the work had been done. Daniel R. Jackson and Elisha Brown were appointed to make a thorough search of the jail and the pris- oners, which they did, and could find nothing. Simpson asked them when they were through whether they thought there were any tools in the jail, and upon being answered very emphatically in the negative by Mr. Brown, he very coolly drew out a long fine steel saw from its place of con- cealment in the brim of his hat.
Guards were placed in the jail at night, but Gregg and Simpson were still allowed to occupy the same cell.
On the night of Monday, November 1st, 1869, four guards "were placed in the jail. They roomed in a cell across the hall and opposite the one occupied by Gregg and his light- fingered friend. A. B. Menear and Jacob Huffman were on watch till midnight, when their places were taken by George S. Martin and James W. Holt. The guards had access to the hall, but could not enter the cell of the prisoners, it be- ing locked and the key in the possession of the jailer. When it was light enough to see it was discovered that the pris- oners had escaped. Gregg and Simpson had taken up a board in the floor under their bed, and burned or bored off a sleeper. They then dug a hole clear across under, their cell to the wall of the jail, which they undermined. This subter- ranean passage was just large enough to admit one of them „ at a time, and through it they escaped. From all appearances, they must have been at work for a couple of weeks or a month. Gregg's choice of death at his second trial was a surprise to everybody, and was supposed to be an exhibition of mere Stoicism ; but it would seem from this underground passage, then und'er headway, that Gregg's strange choice was made in the belief of his ability to escape by it before the day fixed for his execution.
Upon the discovery of the flight of the prisoners, the citi-
.
196
HISTORY OF 'PRESTON COUNTY. .
zens turned out and searched the surrounding country for " miles, but failed to find them. As Gregg was a vindictive man, and had made threats that if he ever regained his lib- erty, he would burn the town of Kingwood, a long and care- ful search was made for him, but without avail.
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