Read the full story: Murder at Bloomingdale.
Saturday, January 28, 2023
The Murderous Barker Brothers.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Henry G. Green.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Erring Wives and Jealous Husbands.
A pair of attractive young ladies sat down at the table next to them. Nelly Dalton and Fanny Coburn were sisters, the daughters of John Gove, who owned a clothing store in Boston. Fanny recognized Mr. Porter and reminded him they had been introduced at a ball for the City Guards the previous February. The four struck up a conversation, and although both ladies were married, they became quite flirtatious. Before they left, they told the men that they often came to Vinton’s and hoped they would see them there again.
That November, Nelly began to worry about getting caught and asked Sumner to return her letters. He did so, but she did not destroy the letters he sent to her. Nelly’s husband, Benjamin Dalton, found them and confronted her. Nelly tried to shift the blame to Josiah Parker, but that only enflamed Fanny’s husband, Edward Coburn.
Charles Sumner had not responded to the letter, so the men went looking for him. They found him in a saloon on West Street. Sumner had never met Dalton or Coburn, so he did not know who they were. They told him that Mrs. Dalton was very anxious to see him, and they would drive them there in a carriage. Sumner declined, saying he had to catch a train to his home in Milton. The men said they would take him home. The men persisted, and Sumner reluctantly agreed to go with them.
They entered the house and went to the parlor, where he found the two sisters. The men revealed themselves as their husbands. An argument ensued, and Dalton asked Sumner if he had ever taken any improper liberties with his wife or had placed his hand upon her bosom. Sumner denied doing anything of the kind.Dalton said his wife had made such a charge, to which she replied, “I placed his hand upon my bosom; he did not. He never took any improper familiarities with me.”
This made Dalton even more furious. He and Coburn dragged Sumner to the basement, where they began pounding him with their fists. They beat him until they were satisfied and kicked him out the back door.
Josiah Porter filed charges against Dalton and Coburn, and they were free on bail, awaiting trial. Sumner did not go to the police and wanted to keep quiet about the beating. But Sumner was still in pain from the attack, and his health was deteriorating. On December 11, Sumner died. Dalton and Coburn were re-arrested, this time for murder.They also argued that the beating was not planned. The women sent for Sumner and Porter on their own initiative. The defendants planned to confront their wives and demand an explanation of their conduct, then let the men go. But when Sumner arrived, they saw he was wearing a ring that Dalton had given his wife at their wedding. This so enraged Dalton that he began beating Sumner.
The jury was deadlocked for five hours, with half for conviction for manslaughter and half for assault and battery. The jury finally agreed on the lesser charge. Coburn was sentenced to ten months in the jail and a fine of $250; Dalton was sentenced to five months in jail and a fine of $200. The discrepancy was probably because Coburn was much older than Dalton and believed to be the instigator.
The defendants were pleased with the verdict. As their attorney, R.H. Dana, expressed it, his clients were “delivered from blood-guiltiness.”
Sources:
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“Errings Wives and Jealous Husbands,” Evening Star, September 28, 1855.
“Fatal Rsult of the Shawmut Avenue Cowhiding Affair,” Boston Evening Transcript, December 11, 1855.
“The Merry Wives of Boston,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 12, 1855.
“Sentence of Coburn and DAlton,” Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, March 8, 1856.
“The Shawmut Avenue Outrage,” Kennebec Journal, December 21, 1855.
“The Sumner Case in Boston,” New York Daily Herald, December 21, 1855.
“The Sumner Tragedy,” New England Farmer, December 22, 1855.
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Murdered at Prayer.
Mrs. Caldwell exclaimed, “Go up and take care of him; he threatened to kill me, and I hit him with an axe, and I don’t know, but I have killed him.”
Ambrose hurried to the neighbor’s house. In the kitchen, he found the warm but lifeless body of her husband, John Caldwell, lying on the floor, surrounded by a dark pool of clotted blood. His skull had been split open; the frightful wound was eight inches long and five inches deep. A large axe was leaning on a chair. Ambrose took his wagon into town to notify the deputy sheriff.
Miss Brown told the deputy that Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell had been arguing loudly that morning before coming downstairs to breakfast. It was their custom to eat breakfast at about 8:00 and have family prayers afterward. Mr. Caldwell read a chapter from the Bible, then knelt on the floor to pray. Miss Brown joined him, but Mrs. Caldwell did not. He was almost finished praying when Miss Brown was startled by the sound of a violent blow. She sprang to her feet and was horrified by the sight of her brother-in-law lying on the floor with his skull split open and his wife holding the fatal axe. Miss Brown fled from the house, followed by her sister, and both ran to the home of Mr. Ambrose. Mrs. Caldwell did not attempt to escape as the deputy placed her under arrest.
The Caldwells were well-known and widely respected in South Byfield, but Lucy Caldwell was viewed as “partially deranged.” She sometimes needed supervision, which was why her sister was staying with them. Some believed that her insanity stemmed from her disappointment that her husband’s prominence in the community had not led to financial success. The family physician, Dr. Huse, confirmed that Mrs. Caldwell had, for some time, suffered from “morbid excitement.” Mr. Caldwell had contacted the doctor on the previous Monday to consult him about having her confined and to get an opiate to help her sleep.
At her arraignment, Lucy Caldwell pleaded not guilty, saying she was justified in killing her husband because of his ill-treatment of her. She claimed he had threatened to kill her. The case never went to trial; Lucy Caldwell was judged insane and committed to the asylum in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Sources:
“Arraignment of the Byfield Murderess,” Boston Evening Journal, January 2, 1879.
“The Byfield Murder,” The Boston Globe, January 1, 1879.
“The Byfield Murderess,” Boston Evening Transcript, January 14, 1879.
“The Byfield Murderess Seat to the Insane Asylum,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 5, 1879.
“The Byfield Tragedy,” The Boston Globe, January 1, 1879.
“The Byfield Tragedy,” Boston Post, January 2, 1879.
“Eastern Massachusetts,” Springfield Daily Republican, January 1, 1879.
“Murdered at Prayer,” Illustrated Police News, January 11, 1879.
“A Shocking Tragedy,” Boston Post, January 1, 1879.
“Suburban Short Notes,” Boston Post, February 4, 1879.
“Terriible Deed of an Insane Wife,” Evening Post, January 3, 1879.