Physician Murdered Girlfriend's Husband

Civil Secretary's letter books : H-1201:

Image 148

To Gov. of Vermont

Re: Physician who murdered his girlfriend's husband

1839

Murder (George Holmes, a physcian whose residence is Sorel, Quebec) committed near Kamouraska in the District of Quebec...perpetrator has taken refuge at Burlington, Vermont...using the name George Fly__...name of deceased is Rebille Tache

"In 1839 two new residents were involved in a murder trial. George Holmes, who lived in town, was in romantic pursuit of Joséphine d’Estimauville, who had been staying with family in William Henry. Holmes killed her husband Louis-Pascal-Achille Taché in the seigneury of Kamouraska. Holmes fled to the United States of America, and d’Estimauville was acquitted of any involvement. In 1970, Anne Hébert wrote a book, Kamouraska, about the affair, which was made into a film in 1973 by Claude Jutra." [Source]

Pardon Me In Michigan

Report of Proceedings, By Michigan. Advisory Board of Pardons

Ugas Layman was a widowed merchant when he died in 1934.

Richmond's Attempt To Poison The Backus Family

Dansville weekly herald., May 30, 1850, Page 2, Image 2:

Livonia, Livingston County, New York

The well on the premises of John Backus was poisoned

Arsenic was discovered before any of the water was used

A man by the name of *James Richmond--who was indicted some year and a half ago for Arson, in setting fire and burning a barn belonging to Mr. Backus, and who was once tried, but the Jury did not agree--has been arrested on suspicion.

*Will of James Richmond of Bloomfield, Wisconsin

In 1860, 49 year old James A. Richmond was living with his brother, Ira Richmond, in Walworth County, Wisconsin. Was James the James Richmond in prison in Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York, in 1850?  The crime [Arson] was listed on the census.

Were James Richmond and his brother Thomas (my ancestor) married to sisters? [Laura Backus married Thomas Richmond; was her sister, Lorenza married 1st to James Richmond and 2nd to William Watrous?]

Inmates In the Provincian Penitentiary

The roster for October 1, 1838 (Names, District, Crime, When Sentenced and Term of Imprisonment):

Source

At The Clements Library - Murder Most Foul (An Exhibit)

“Murder Most Foul: Homicide in Early America,” an exhibit at the William L. Clements Library:  

1-4:45 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through Labor Day, then Mondays through Fridays until Oct. 2.

There's even a YouTube video featuring the curator.

Another "Billy The Kid" Arrested In Detroit And Wanted In Pittsburgh

While searching through extradition papers looking for William Brooks at the Archives of Michigan in RG-44 B209 F1 and F5 (with negative results), a letter caught my eye:

Law Offices of Brooke & Spalding
Detroit

December 17, 1895

Honorable John T. Rich
Lansing, Michigan                              (Answered By Telephone)

                                                         Prosecuting Attorney of the City (Detroit)

My Dear Governor:
Re:  Writ For Extradition in the case of Charles H. Marsh, alias William Burke, alias Billy The Kid.  We are the attorney for this.....

F. L. Brooke

William Burke, alias Billy The Kid, coincidentally, was referenced in an earlier post of mine at "Relatively Fiction." Was he the same "Kid"? Yes. The date was in the right time frame and even Governor Rich is mentioned in the article below.  From "The Daily Inter Ocean," published December 16, 1895 (source: GenealogyBank):

From the "Jewelers Circular and...":

"William Burke alias Billy the Kid alias Murphy alias Petrie was arrested last week in company with the notorious Sophie Lyons and jailed on suspicion. He is a well known bank sneak thief and store robber. Four or five years ago he was arrested in Detroit on suspicion of being concerned in a sneak job at Wright Kay & Co's Store but was finally turned over to the police of Pittsburgh where he got two and a half years for robbery. He was lately released and told to get out of town."

See William Burke's "bio" as a member of the "Grady Gang" of New York and photo here.

An Oakland Co. Murder Victim In Arenac

A murder in the national news on June 19, 1938--as reported in the Reading Eagle newspaper, of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Jason Dulsky murdered his adoptive father, Edward Dulsky, in Oakland County, Michigan, on May 31, 1938, put the body in the trunk of the car, drove toward Alpena where an ill Mrs. Dulsky was staying and dumped the body in Arenac County, north of Omer. He confessed to police, led them to the murder weapon then showed them where Mr. Dulsky's body was dumped by the side of the road.

Read the article on Page 1 and Page 16.

The Disgrace Of Alfred Digby Howard

These newspaper items reveal a disgraceful event in the life of Alfred Digby Howard and also his death.  He was my 1st cousin, 4 X removed (our mutual ancestors are William & Mary Howard):

 From the Springfield [MA] Republican published December 16, 1883:

CRIMES AND ACCIDENTS

Alfred D. Howard has been arrested at Denver, Colorado.  He was staying with his wife and child under the name B. H. Stewart for a heavy embezzlement at Winnipeg, Man.  The officers found $15,000 secreted in the wife's bustle.

Published the day before (Dec. 15, 1883 [Springfield Republican]:

A RUNAWAY THIEF CAUGHT WITH $15,000
Denver, Col., Dec. 15--Alfred B.(sic) Howard, who recently absconded from Winnipeg, Man., with $15,000 belonging to Messrs. Wood & Wells of Milbank, Ontario was arrested here yesterday.  The entire amount of money was recovered.  He was stopping with his wife and child at one of the principal hotels under the name of Stewart.

Also in the Springfield Republican (on December 19th):

From the New York Times:

STOLEN MONEY FOUND IN A BUSTLE.

CHICAGO, Dec. 15.--Alfred Digby Howard is the junior member of the firm of Kirchoffer Brandon, solicitors, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and until about a week ago bore an unblemished reputation.  [Note:  Alfred's sister, Clara, was the wife of John Nesbitt Kirchoffer, a Canadian Senator from Manitoba.  Another sister, Jane, was mentioned here]

 In 1900 Alfred D. Howard, now a journalist, was living in Manhattan, New York, on W. 88th Street:

United States Census, 1900

  Household    Gender    Age

   Alfred D Howard    M  

spouse    Caroline S Howard    F  

child    Clare Howard    F    

The family officially immigrated from Canada to the United States in 1886, 3 years after being caught red-handed with the embezzled money.

According to the Jersey Journal, published June 21, 1912, a judge ordered the body of  "A.D. Howard" late editor of The Englewood Star and the Leonia Star, to be exhumed.  It was feared that he was murdered and that his house was set afire to mask the crime.  Was this Alfred Digby Howard?  Most likely.

From the New York Times (Date?):
A.D. HOWARD KILLED.; Editor Dies Alone in His Burning House at Leonia, N.J.

The body of Alfred D. Howard, editor of The Englewood Star and The Leonia Star, was found yesterday in the ruins of a house he had recently taken in Broad Avenue, Leonia. Mr. Howard had gone there late on Sunday night to open it in preparation for his wife, who is an invalid and has been living in Brooklyn.

 
A June 18th  article in the NY Times mentioned that (the late) Alfred Howard was formerly an editor in New York.  In the 1900 census, Alfred D. Howard was a journalist living in New York. 

Alfred D. & Caroline (Turner) Howard's only child, Clare, never married, so there are no living descendants.

A Revenge Murder In Lapeer Co., Michigan

From the Brooklyn Eagle, Tuesday, June 20, 1854 (click link to read the whole article):

Peter Ulrich married Abby (Abalania/Appolonia) in Wurtemberg, Germany. She had previously rejected Henry Daum "after the wedding guests had met" and Henry never got over it. Henry "sold his estate and moved to a distant province." After Abby became Mrs. Ulrich, Henry Daum stalked Ulrich. "At length they met in a wild, narrow mountain pass; a deadly and fierce struggle took place, at the termination of which Ulrich was left upon the ground slain, as his assassin supposed." "Daum fled, and Ulrich recovered...".

Daum fled to England where he stayed for six years. The Ulrichs and their children "joined a party who were emigrating to America, and settled in the county of Lapeer." In August of 1838, Henry Daum knocked on the door of Ulrich's Lapeer home. Abby answered the door; Mr. Ulrich had been out hunting, never to return home alive.

Henry Daum was put on trial for the murder of Peter Ulrich, but was acquitted because the circumstantial evidence was not strong enough to compel the jury to convict him.

The "rest of the story" can be found in the "History of Lapeer County," including the fact that the widowed Mrs. Ulrich married 2nd Philip Harbor**. **Philip & Abby Harbar, both age 49, and both born in Russia, were living in Thornville, Lapeer Co., Michigan, in 1860.

Data about some of the involved persons:

1870 MI Lapeer, Metamora
Harbor, Philip, 59, farmer, b. Prussia
", Apolonia, 59, b. Prussia
", Philip, Jr., 27, b. MI
", Fred, 25, b. MI
", Margaret, 22, b. MI
", Appy, 19, b. MI

1880 Census MI, Lapeer, Metamora
Philip HARBER Self M W 69 PPU Farmer --- ---
Abigail HARBER Wife M W 69 BADEN Keeps House --- ---
Smiley MATHEW SonL M W 29 CAN Farmer IRE IRE
Abagail MATHEW Dau M W 29 MI Keeps House PRU BADEN
Frank MATHEW Son S W 1 MI CAN MI

This land Patents site has the following:

2 August 1837 - Oakland Co.
Henry Daum of Wayne Co., Michigan
N fractional 1/4 of Section 6 T 5 N R 10 E
117 & 72/100 acres

1 Oct 1839 - Lapeer Co.
Henry Daum of Oakland Co., Michigan
SE 1/4 of SE 1/4 of Section 11 T 6 N R 10 E
40 acres

10 November 1840 - Lapeer Co.
Maria Daum of Lapeer Co.
SE 1/4 of SE 1/4 of Section 7 T 6 N R 11 E
40 acres

Bad Boys In Lapeer Circa 1882

Lapeer Democrat newspaper dated 11 January 1882:


The (Isaac) Jenness store is mentioned in the article and also here. Jenness was profiled in one of my "In Deeds" blog posts.

The Saga of Julia (McEachern) Barker And A Millionaire Murder

Mrs. Julia M. Barker came to my attention because her stationery was used to jot down biographical details of Colonel Joseph Hayes Acklen and the letter was then sent to the Franklin Co., Tennessee, Library by Pauline (Acklen) Landis (the Colonel's daughter) from Detroit, Michigan. I copied the letter because I have Acklen ancestors, and being from Detroit, was intrigued by the "Michigan" connection.

Oh, what I found through a "Google" search of Mrs. Julia M. Barker*, real estate agent in Detroit, Michigan:

Per the Utica Daily Press
Tuesday, January 18, 1938
"ONCE WORTH A MILLION FIGHTS MURDER CHARGE"
Detroit - Mrs. Julia M. Barker, once reported to have made a million dollars in real estate, sat in a jail last night, faced with the likelihood a first degree murder warrant would be issued against her, and worried over the loss of a dollar bill.

Held in jail since last Saturday in connection with the death of Mrs. Edith Mae Cummings, her friend and partner in many transactions...

Prosecutor Duncan Cameron McCrea said his staff had uncovered evidence to contradict Mrs. Barker's statement that it was Mrs. Cummings who took the pistol used in the shooting to the lonely spot on the banks of the Huron River near Belleville, Mich., Saturday. The pistol had been stolen from a friend of the two women.
--No fingerprints on the gun
--Mrs. Cummings did not wear gloves; if she handled the gun, there would have been prints
--Mrs. Barker wore gloves

The Utica NY Daily Press issue dated Monday, January 17, 1938 mentioned Prosecutor William E. Dowling, and included pictures of Mrs. Cummings & Mrs. Barker.

The St. Petersburg, Florida, newspaper, The Evening Independent, noted that Mrs. Barker wintered in St. Petersburg in its January 17, 1939 issue.

The Evening Independent, January 18, 1938 mentioned the Kentucky land deal that triggered the chain of events leading to Mrs. Cummings' murder. The St. Petersburg Times, February 13, 1938 stated that Arthur McEachern (Mrs. Barker's brother) was extradited from Detroit to Kentucky for the Barker case.

This issue of The Evening Independent, 19 Feb 1938, included a picture of Arthur McEachern as he was remanded into the custody of Mrs. Lena Maiden Craig, a lawyer, and under special commission for Gov. Happy Chandler for the McEachern extradition. Arthur McEachern explained that he was the Secretary/Treasurer for the Wayne County Holding Company, but that the holding company had been absorbed by another company. Originally indicted in the Kentucky land scheme were Arthur McEachern, Mrs. Edith Mae Cummings, Mrs. Julia M. Barker, George W. Brooks, and R. W. McAfee.

The New York Times dated June 18, 1938, noted that "Mrs. Julia M. Barker, former Detroit real estate operator, was sentenced today to serve ten to fifteen years in the House 'of Correction...".

The Ludington Daily News noted that Mrs. Barker was denied new trial, on 2 April 1940, and mentioned that Mrs. Evelyn Fosha had been a witness.

This article mentioned Mrs. James Fosha as the witness as well as an Albert Dolph (this one?) who gave Mrs. Barker a ride to Ida, Michigan, and whose car was left in Dearborn.

The judge in the case was Judge Ira Jayne whose family lived in the Fenton, MI, area.

The Evening Independent of St. Petersburg, in the obituary of Jeannette I. McEachern, on 6 April 1936, identified her sister as Mrs. Julia Barker of Detroit and her brother Arthur McEachern, also of Detroit.

*Marriage record found online for Julia M. McEachern & Sylvester Barker
Groom's name: Sylvester Barker
Bride's name: Julia Mildred Mceachern
Marriage date: 1915
Marriage place: Monongalia, West Virginia, United States
Collection: West Virginia Marriages 1853-1970

Julia McEachern Barker had her real estate license revoked not long before she shot Edith Mae Cummings. It would be interesting to see what the Archives of Michigan held regarding her license and that of the other parties involved in the Kentucky land dealings.

I do not know when Julia Barker died or what happened to her children or the children of Edith Mae Cummings.

Pauline (Acklen) Landis's husband, Robert, was a real estate broker in Detroit; I'm assuming that's how she (Pauline) came into possession of Julia M. Barker's stationery, but would be interested to know the relationship between the Landis family and the Barker, Cummings, and/or McEachern families, if any.

Crime & Punishment in Michigan Circa 1880

Google books has the 1880 Michigan Annual Report for the Attorney General (by county) - the Lapeer County report can be found here.

It's called the Abstracts of Reports of Lapeer County, Harrison Geer, Prosecuting Attorney, Number of Persons Prosecuted - 93.

The criminals are not identified by name, but the list is broken down by Criminal Charge, # charged and the Result and Punishment.

This was an accidental find and I thought it was interesting.

Upon further review, it appears as though the information sent in by the county prosecutors are part of the Appendix; the other parts are "A" - cases for the State Supreme Court (there are names listed); "B" - List of Chancery Cases and "C" - List of cases authorized to be instituted by the Attorney General's office.

Lies, Elopement and Attempted Murder In Detroit Circa 1886

The headline below was just one of the interesting items found during a search on the Monroe Co., NY, GenWeb site's "Early News" section. Follow this link to read the whole article.

Rochester, Monroe, NY
Union & Advertiser
Sat Mar 13, 1886

A RUNAWAY TAILOR

Attempted Murder by a Rochesterian in Detroit
Wiltsie, Who Eloped From This City With His Niece,
Tries to Kill Her in Detroit - The Rascal Under Arrest - His History