Nels Olsen Holong

Little Murders:

From Defenders and Offenders:

Nels Olsen Holong.

"Nels Olsen Hulong is another one filling the long list of murderers.  The crime was committed at Fergus Falls, Minn., and the victim was a woman named Lillie Field. The case was at the time the sensation of that part of the country, and the evidence was so plain that it only took the jury twenty minutes to find the fatal verdict."

 

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Defenders and offenders. New York: D. Buchner & Co., 1888.

The Murder of Patrick H. Dwyer

Little Murders
 

(From The New York Times, New York, NY, January 26, 1883.)

The Murder of Patrick H. Dwyer

Recorder Smyth’s Charge—The Jury Locked up for the Night.

The trial of Charles H. Warren, a contortionist, for the murder of Patrick H. Dwyer, proprietor of a pool room at No. 108 Bowery, in a dispute arising out of the refusal of the former to engage in a game of pool on the night of Sept. 21 last, was resumed in the Court of General Sessions yesterday. The deceased saloon keeper received a shot in the back, which proved fatal. Warren, who is an extraordinary freak of nature, amused the court officers during the long hours in which the jurors were deliberating on his case by his wonderful actions, dislocating the various joins of his body at will and resetting them with a sharp click, disagreeably suggestive of the operating room. The defense was that Warren fired in self-defense, Dwyer having attempted to shoot him. The case on both sides having closed on Wednesday evening, Recorder Smyth, on the opening of court yesterday, commenced his charge to the jury, and occupied an hour and a quarter in his delivery. His Honor charged that if the jury believed that before firing of the fatal shot Warren had time for premeditation and formation of a design to kill, his offense, if any was murder in the first degree. If he showed no premeditation, his offense would be murder in the second degree. He withdrew the offense of manslaughter in the first and second degrees form their consideration as inapplicable to the case at issue, and defined the law in relation to manslaughter in the third and fourth degrees. If, he said, Warren believed that Dwyer intended to kill him or to do him serious bodily harm, he had the right to take the life of the latter. It was no longer the law of the State, the court explained, that a man should retire before an armed assailant, when to do so would expose his life or person to danger. He had a perfect right, in the defense of his person or life, if unable to escape in safety from his antagonist, to stand his ground, and, if necessary, take the life of his assailant. He would be justified, too, in governing himself according to appearances. If he was menaced with a pistol—even though it should afterwards transpire that the weapon was not loaded—he had the right to act upon appearances, and take the life of his assailant. His Honor charged the jury to take into consideration the evidence of the defendant’s previous good character, and if they had any reasonable doubt of the guilt of the defendant it was their duty to give him the benefit of that doubt and acquit.

 

The jury retired at 12:50 P. M. and at 10 last night, not having agreed upon a verdict, was locked up for the night.


 

(From The New York Times, New York, NY, January 27, 1883.)

 

The Warren Jury Disagrees

 

The jury in the case of Charles H. Warren, the contortionist, on trial for the murder of Patrick H. Dwyer, proprietor of a saloon at No. 108 Bowery, whom he shot in a dispute arising from a refusal of the defendant to play a game of pool, entered the Court of General Sessions yesterday morning, after having been locked up all night, and had the evidence of one of the witnesses of the prosecution read to them. They returned to their room and on coming into court again at 2 P. M., informed Recorder Smyth that they found it impossible to agree upon a verdict. As they had been together 25 hours and could arrive at no conclusion, the Recorder said he did not feel justified in detaining them any longer, and discharged them from the further consideration of the case. The jury stood nine for acquittal, and three for conviction of some grade of murder. Warren was then taken back to the Tombs. His counsel will endeavor to procure his release on bail.

The Baltimore Sorrow.

William James and Denwood Hinds of Baltimore were close friends who had served together in the Fifth Maryland Regiment. The friendship would have remained strong if William’s sister, Lizzie James, had not become hopelessly infatuated with Denwood Hinds. Lizzie’s love set off a chain of events that not only ended her brother’s friendship with Denwood, but resulted in her own death and the murder of her father.

Brutal Murder in Middletown.

On September 24, 1843, Lucien Hall murdered Mrs. Lavinia Bacon in Middletown, Connecticut.  I am planning a more detailed post on this murder, but for now, here is a great picture and summary reprinted from the 1844 edition of Confessions, Trials, and Biographical Sketches of the Most Cold Blooded Murderers by George N. Thomson:

Brutal Murder in Middletown.

A brutal murder was committed at Middletown on the person of Mrs. Bacon, by a man named Hall who was one of three taken up on suspicion. Hall confessed himself to be the murderer at the trial, and said he could not let the innocent suffer. He says he entered the house and took some money from a desk, before Mrs. Bacon discovered him. She entered the room where he was, he knocked her down with a chair, and beat her to death. He stabbed her with a large butcher knife several times while she was struggling to save her life. The murder was committed about 11 o’clock, A. M. The jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to be hung on the 20th of June 1844.

Source:

Thomson, George N, Confessions, trials, and biographical sketches of the most cold blooded murderers, who have been executed in this country from its first settlement down to the present time ... Hartford: S. Andrus and Son, 1844.

A Serial Murderer in the Regiment?

Check out my guest post at Civil War Medicine (and Writing) on Samuel E. Calhoun, who was either a psychopathic killer or the subject of a tall tale.

Joe Doran.

Little Murders:

From Defenders and Offenders:

Joe Doran.

"Joe Doran was sentenced to a term of sixty years in the penitentiary, for murdering his father-in-law, at a place called Lamar. Owing to the man’s laziness and refusal to support his wife and two children, she left him and went to live with her father. The husband being denied the privilege of even seeing the children became angry, purchased a revolver, and deliberately shot down the father and his wife. He was tried and subsequently received the above sentence."

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Defenders and offenders. New York: D. Buchner & Co., 1888.

"...as though he had shot her.”

Mary Pomeroy was the organist at the Prospect Avenue Presbyterian Church in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1874 she was a beautiful young woman and an accomplished musician with a sterling reputation. Mary was renowned for her purity and virtue until she was seduced and abandoned by her pastor, the Reverend John Glendenning. She died soon after giving birth; her doctor said the cause of death was “a broken heart.” While Mary was technically not murdered, the people of Jersey City saw no difference. One newspaper story said of Reverend Glendenning: “He is as truly the murderer of Mary Pomeroy as though he had shot her.”

Death in the Family.

Family murders are always the most tragic and inexplicable. Whether the motive is greed, jealousy, or pent up animosity the killer is driven to a state of animal rage (or in the case of Lydia Sherman, single-minded determination) that knows no mercy. Here, in chronological order, is a list of murders where two or more family members were killed by the same hand.

	The Lester Brothers, 1850 – Reuben Dunbar clubbed and strangled his two young stepbrothers out of fear they would inherit property he believed was rightfully his.
	Lydia Sherman, 1864 – Over the course of seven years, Lydia Sherman poisoned three husbands, five children and two stepchildren.
	The Deering Family, 1866 – In a plan to rob his employer, Antoine Probst murdered six members of the Deering Family—including four children—with an axe and a hammer.
	The Christensens, 1873 –There have been several theories concerning the axe murder of Karen Anne Christensen and her sister-in-law, Anethe Matea Chretensen on Smuttynose Island, but the most likely killer was the man executed by the state, Louis Wagner.
	The Woolfolk Family, 1887 – Thomas Woolfolk was convicted of the axe murder of nine members of his family ranging in age from 18 months to 84 years.
	The Bordens, 1892—America’s most famous unsolved crime. Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the brutal axe murder of her father, Andrew Borden and her stepmother, Abby Borden.
	The Meeks Family, 1894 – Four members of the Meeks family where shot and beaten to death as they were traveling on the road. Only six-year-old Nellie Meeks lived to tell the tale.

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Mysteries Cleared Up

Little Murders

This headline from the Davenport Daily Leader, December 9, 1894 references two sensational murder cases. The second case, the murder of Catherine Ging in Minneapolis, has already been covered in detail in this post: The Minneapolis Svengali.

 

Here is the "Packing Box Victim at Chicago:"

 

(From The Davenport Daily Leader, Davenport, Iowa, December 9, 1894.)

Mysteries Cleared Up

Two Sensational Murder Cases Made Plain.

Packing Box Victim at Chicago.

 

He was Killed by His Assistant, Jordan, According to a Confession Made by a Man Who Agreed to Help Dispose of the Body—Confession of Adry Hayward Clears Up the Murder of Miss Catherine Ging at Minneapolis.

Chicago, Dec. 8 – The mystery surrounding the murder of A. D. Barnes, the janitor of the Hiawatha building, whose remains were found in a packing box near Sixty-third street, has been solved. Two men and a woman were arrested. One, named Jordan, was Barnes’s assistant. The other was known as Jersey and sometimes did odd jobs about the place. The woman in the case is the wife of another janitor and from appearance was intimate with Barnes. She says that Jordan and Barnes often quarreled about her. The mystery was solved, however, by a confession, and Jersey was the man who confessed. To police officials he told the following story:

Mrs. Martin Steinhauser.

Little Murders:

From Defenders and Offenders:

Mrs. Martin Steinhauser.

"In the early part of 1888, Mrs. Martin Steinhauser was convicted of murder in Palmyra, Wis., the victim being her husband. The shooting was done at night, after the couple had retired. It appeared she had a lover by the name of Henry Rohrmason, who lived in the house with them. They conspired to rid themselves of the husband, and he also was convicted as an accomplice. She maintained that her husband continually abused her, and on the night in question he attempted to shoot her. In endeavoring to take the pistol away, it exploded, killing him. The evidence proved the contrary, and she received a life sentence."

 

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Defenders and offenders. New York: D. Buchner & Co., 1888.

A Matter of Honor.

In the autumn of 1882, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Nicholas L. Dukes learned that his fiancée, Lizzie Nutt, had been intimate with other men. An honorable man would have confronted his betrothed and ended their engagement face-to-face. Dukes chose to break the engagement in a letter written to Lizzie’s father, Civil War hero and Cashier of the Pennsylvania State Treasury, Captain A. C. Nutt. The resulting conflict was so divisive and violent that it would take two murders and two controversial trial verdicts to restore honor to Uniontown.

Five Surprising Facts about Salem Witchcraft.

Visit The History Press Blog to read my guest post, Five Surprising Facts about Salem Witchcraft.

For Murdering his Mother.

Little Murders

(From The Boston Daily Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, January 1, 1886)

For Murdering his Mother.

 

Opening of the Trial of James F. Hodgdon at Bath.

Bath, December 31—The trial of James F. Hogdon of this city for the murder of his mother, Mrs. Esther L. Hodgdon, who was shot on the morning of May 7 last, and who died from the wounds on the 18th of the same month was commenced in the Supreme Judicial Court this afternoon, Judge Virgin, justice presiding. The prisoner was indicted for murder at the August term of the court. By request of his counsel, who held that Hodgdon was insane when the crime was committed, Judge Walton ordered him to the insane asylum till this term.

The prisoner was brought into court today, looking much thinner than when he was previously arraigned. In a firm and loud voice he pleaded not guilty. County Attorney Baker and Attorney-General Baker are counsel for the government; William E. Hogan and George E. Hughes of this city for the prisoner.  Nine of the jury had been accepted when the list became exhausted. Three of the jurors challenged were recalled and the jury competed.

After the opening of the case for the government by County Attorney Baker, Walter F. Brookings testified that he was about 100 feet from the scene of the shooting when he heard the pistol shots; he saw the father of the prisoner rush from his house and cry “Murder! Police!” went into the house. He saw Mrs. Hodgdon in bed. Blood was flowing from a wound in her forehead. The prisoner stood at the food of the bed and held in his hand a pistol. Ira Hodgdon, the father of the prisoner, followed me into the room and stood in the doorway. He said to his son: “James what have you been doing?” The prisoner replied: “I’ve killed her, it is too bad.” It was between 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning when the shooting took place; was present when the police made the arrest; heard the prisoner say that he would protect himself; he was then in his room; saw him the next day after the shooting in the police station; he was greatly excited and complained of a bad feeling in his head. Court adjourned at 6 o’clock till 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.

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The Boston Daily Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, January 1, 1886

Oregon Hamilton.

Little Murders:

From Defenders and Offenders:

Oregon Hamilton.

"In the month of May, 1888, Oregon Hamilton of Newaygo, Mich., was convicted of murder in the second degree. He is a widower and the crime for which he was convicted was in whipping his nineteen months old daughter to death. The case excited the inhabitants of this small town, and the verdict met with general approval, as the case was one of horrible cruelty, and if the inhabitants could have taken summary punishment in their own hands, the wretch could have saved the county the cost of a trial."

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Defenders and offenders. New York: D. Buchner & Co., 1888.

Poisoners.

Poisoners are the most dispassionate of murderers, killing their victims at a distance, sometimes over long periods of time. In the days when the deadliest of poisons were readily available and difficult to detect, they were used to eliminate unwanted spouses and paramours, and to hide indiscretions. Poison was the preferred tool of a particular type of serial killer. And a poisoner had a better than even chance of getting away with it.

Here, in chronological order, is the Murder by Gaslight poisoners hall of fame:

Lucretia Chapman and Carolino Amalia Espos y Mina - 1831

Lucretia and her Cuban lover were accused of putting arsenic in her husband’s chicken soup.

Robert Mathews (The Prophet Mathias) - 1834

Cult leader Mathias was accused of killing his most ardent follower with poisoned blackberries.

Henry G. Green - 1845
Eight days after their wedding, Henry poisoned his wife Mary. His mother did not approve of the bride.

Alfred Packer, Man-eater.

From Harper's Weekly, 1874

In February of 1874, a group of six men led by Alfred Packer, ventured into the San Juan Mountains in Colorado territory in search of gold. That April, Packer arrived alone at the Los Pinos Indian Agency, somewhat wild looking, but remarkably healthy for someone who had endured two month of brutal winter weather in the mountains. Packer claimed that he had taken ill, his men had abandoned him and he had traveled alone to the Agency. But when confronted with evidence that suggested his story was false, Packer made a full confession. He had survived the San Juan winter by eating his companions.

Cruel Boys Who Become Murderers.

Little Murders

(From The Palo Alto Reporter, Emmetsburg, Iowa, June 30, 1877.
- quoting The Cincinnati Commercial)

Cruel Boys Who Become Murderers.

It is set down as a veritable fact and a warning to boys that George W. Fletcher, a murderer and repeater who was hanged in Philadelphia on the 11th for a very cowardly murder, began his vicious career at the early age of 11, by cutting off the tails of pigs for amusement. The inference is that boys who begin life in that manner will end it as Fletcher ended his. And the inference is not much out of the way. The wanton killing of innocent birds and the torture of domestic animals for amusement cultivates a hardness of heart and an indifference that soon qualifies a man for any criminal act. No doubt if all the dogs to whose tails Fletcher tied tin canisters, and all the cats that he illuminated with turpentine, and all the pigs whose tails he cut off, could rise in judgment against him, the verdict that he was served right would be unanimous. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should issue a tract setting forth Fletcher’s career as an awful example. - Cincinnati Commercial

Mrs. Wm. Huntermark.

Little Murders:

From Defenders and Offenders:

Mrs. Wm. Huntermark.

"This is a portrait of Mrs. William Huntermark, the devilish female, who brutally murdered one of Baltimore’s most respectable citizens, Mr. Charles Ensor, an old man of 65 years. Mr. Ensor had been gunning, and fatigued he sat down on a stone on Mrs. Huntermark’s premises. She had been making many bold threats of killing the first trespasser on her husband’s domains. Procuring a navy revolver, she proceeded to where Mr. Ensor was, and suddenly seizing his gun, wrenched it from his hands and then deliberately shot him twice, wounding him fatally."

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Defenders and offenders. New York: D. Buchner & Co., 1888.

A Balance of Probabilities.

The morning of December 11, 1859, eleven-year-old Priscilla Budge carried a cup of tea to her mother’s bedroom, where she found her mother, lying on the bed with her throat cut. Mrs. Budge was known to be mentally unstable and her husband, the Reverend Henry Budge, immediately declared that his wife’s death must have been suicide. The coroner’s jury agreed and Mrs. Budge was soon buried—a quick conclusion to an unpleasant event. But as it turned out, it was not the conclusion, just the opening argument of a debate that would go on for years.

A Bender Family Album.

The Benders were a family of serial killers living in Kansas in the 1870s where they ran a general store and restaurant out of their home. While travelers were eating their meals, the Bender men would hit them from behind with sledgehammers. The bodies were stripped of all valuables then shoved down a trapdoor into the basement for later burial in the yard. They abandoned the house before their acts were discovered, leaving behind the bodies of ten victims.

The story of the Bloody Benders was originally posted on Murder by Gaslight on November 6, 2010. I recently came across a book entitled History, Romance and Philosophy of Great American Crimes and Criminals with some fascinating depictions of the Bender family, along with a floor plan of their house and an illustration of how the murders were done.  So as an addendum to the original post, here is the Bender Family Album:

The elders of the Bender family. Old John was also known as William Bender, his wife was better known as “Ma” Bender. Thomas and Katie were the other members of the family, but it is unclear exactly how the four were related. Most accounts say that Katie and Thomas were son and daughter of Old John and his wife. Others say Katie was Ma’s daughter and  Katie and Thomas, aka John Gebhardt, were husband and wife.