UNIDENTIFIED: August 12, 1823 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania John Doe

 On August 12, 1823, a man died or was found dead in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There is little information in this case. 

John Doe is a black male around 40-years-old.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

UNIDENTIFIED: April 21, 1823, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania John Doe

 On April 21, 1823, an unknown man died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

John Doe was a black male and was around 50-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Find A Grave

Murder of Hester Vanauken

On News Years 1821 in Wantage, New Jersey Hester Vanauken, was at her sisters home. Her husband Wilhelmus would send a black boy to tell her to come home that he was near dying. She paid no attention as she knew it was a lie. He would send the boy again with the same message and as a response this time the Hester and her sister invited him to come over for dinner with them.

Wilhelmus would join his wife and sister-in-law for dinner. That night she would return home with him. That night she went to bed and he read a book. Three of the children were asleep and Hester's daughter and Wilhelmus's step daughter was out of the house. He would then find her sleeping in the bed and put out the fire and candle. This was when attempted to cut her throat with a double bladed knife.

She would wake up and nearly overpowered him as she tried to escape. Because he didn't succeed in cutting her throat he took a larger stick of wood and beat her on the head with it. He would then hit the back of her head with an andiron. It's unknown which blow killed her, but it was brutal.  

Wilhelmus would go to a neighbor to admit what he had done and ask the women to lay her out. He would go to another neighbor to do the same. He told both houses to bring their own light as there was none in the house. Wilhelmus would return to his home with the neighbors.

The neighbors came to a brutal scene with the walls and doors and floor covered in blood. She was nearly naked lying on her knees and face. Her body was covered in bruises, stab marks, and marks that looked as if she was stabbed with a fork. The knife laid half open on the floor, and the club had Hester's brains sticking to it. After the neighbors came one of the young children crept upon the scene of their murdered mother.

At the time Hester was 6 months pregnant. Wilhelmus starting from about 2 to 3 years before would frequently threaten to kill his wife and his stepdaughter. His step daughter was away from the home at the time and it was believed had she been home he probably would have killed her also. 

Wilhelmus would be prosecuted and set for execution. He would be executed on January 22, 1822.

SOURCES:

Death Penalty USA

Sussex County New Jersey Archives

The Hillsborough Recorder Jan. 31, 1821 pt.1

The Hillsborough Recorder Jan. 31, 1821 pt.2

Newbern Sentinel Feb. 10, 1821 pt.1

Newbern Sentinel Feb. 10, 1821 pt.2

UNIDENTIFIED: September 24, 1825 Natchez, Mississippi John Doe

On September 23, 1825, a man would arrive in Natchez, Mississippi on foot. He had a fiddle and a small bundle of clothes with him. The next morning the man would be found dead on a bench in the Market house. It was believed that he had died from some unknown disease. 

The man was believed to have been around 35-years-old.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Murder of Hannah Davis

 In 1829 21-year-old David Evans and Hannah Davis were loved each other in Wales. They were not wed yet,but in April Hannah would become pregnant. David was a Husbandry Laborer and Hannah worked as a servant for a farmer.  David claimed he loved her and was very attatched. 

On June 11th Hannah would visit David and ask him if he would go with her to see her family on Saturday the 13th. He was agree to go with her and they spent the next two hours together. He would promise that would,meet her on the road near Esgar Fynwent.

When the day came David would leave home between 9 to 10 and took a bill hook (a tool similar to an axe and a knife) with him. He would tell his sister that he was going to mend some gaps in the hedges. He began working and before closing one gap Hannah came to him. She would ask him if he was coming and he did not want to. He gave the excuse that his sister was washing his stockings. This did not work with Hannah and she told hime "Come this night, or I will never forgive you". 

David would hide the bill hook underneath his jacket and walked with her. They proceeded to walk along the road to Cwm-sifigw, in the parish of Llanybyther. When the two would get to Pencader mountain David would use the bill hook on her. He would slash her throat which did not make her fall, but then he would stab at her causing her to fall. He would use it no less than 14 times. She would fall into the ravine.

He would claim to automatically feel regret as he murdered her and their unborn child. he would then run homeward and on the way dipped the bill hook in a pool of water to clean off the blood. There was no blood on his clothes.He would sneak into the home about 1 to 2 a.m. when he'd lay in bed for an hour. He would then clean his shoes and grease them. In order to trick his sister who he told the day before that he wasn't going with Hannah he finished the hedges. 

Hannah's body would soon be found. It was said that her blood caused the water to be red for two miles. 

When police arrested David he had claimed innocence. He would go to trial and would be found guilty of the murder. He would be set to hang on September 21, 1829. David confessed to the murder just before he was to be hanged. He stated that just before the murder that the two were getting along and that he had done it out of jealousy. Jealousy of what was not stated or if he had planned to murder her all along that day. 

On September 21 David would be hanged in Camarthen. with perperations done David gave the signal he was ready by dropping a handkerchief. The bolt would draw but the hook gave way and  instead of hanging he landed on his feet. He expected to be reprieved, telling the officials that “He had been hanged once and they had no more to do with him”. This was not the case though as it was to be hanged till dead. He would be hanged a few minutes later and would hang for an hour. His body would be sent for disection.

SOURCES:
Executed Today
The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries and South Wales Advertiser June 30, 1829

The Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser, for Somerset, Wilts, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall July 8, 1829

The Western Flying Post or Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury July 13, 1829

Chester Chronicle, and Cheshire and North Wales General Advertiser September 25, 1829

Sheffield and Rotherham Independent October 3, 1829

CURSES: The Old Chained Oak

 

Near to the village of Alton, England, there is an old oak tree wrapped in chains on a footpath to the left of the Chained Oak B&B. The tree is known as The Old Oak and according to legend, it holds a deadly legend for a family.

One autumn day in the 1800s the Earl of Shrewsbury was on his way to the Alton Towers in a horse and coach. Suddenly there was an old woman who showed up in front of them. The coach would stop to find out why the woman was there. The woman would then ask them for a coin. The Earl would ignore and cruelly dismiss the poor woman. She would then tell the Earl that she had cursed him and each time a branch fell off of the old oak tree one of his family members would die. The Earl refused to listen to her silly curse and continued on his way.

That same night a violent storm would happen. It would cause a single branch from the cursed tree to fall. A member of the Earl's family would die mysteriously that night. The Earl now believing in the curse would order servants to chain every branch together to prevent branches from falling and the premature death of a family member.


There are some variants from retelling the tale. Sometimes it's an old man, sometimes the branch falls on the Earl's son with the old woman watching, and in some tellings, the Earl takes the branch and does experiments on it to find a way to end premature deaths. But did it happen?

The legend may have been around since 1821 which would make it the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot. But other sources say that the legend has been around since the 1840s which would make it the 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot. 

Now if it was John Talbot this legend does not match what he was known as. He was remembered as "Good Earl John", he had a very good reputation of being charitable. He supported and helped communities build in the Midlands. He was known to have supported schools and churches, and even helped build new Catholic chapels in the Midlands. He was also known to help build almshouses for the poor and elderly in Alton. 

He did have 4 deaths of family members after the 1840s, but none of them was sudden or mysterious. His youngest daughter Lady Gwendoline Catherine Talbot died in 1840 at 22 in Rome by Scarlet Fever and 3 of her children died shortly after from measles.  Making it unlikely that the man was him if some of the legends were true.

On April 9, 2007, one of the main branches from the tree fell off and no one from the Talbot family mysteriously died. 

The tree may have been chained in an attempt to preserve it. The 15th and 16th Earls extended Alton Towers and planted many new trees. The old trees like the chained oak were greatly prized and since it was in a highly visible place it was chained to keep it from collapsing under its own weight.

SOURCES: 

Wikipedia

BBC

Alton Towers

Atlas Obscura

Oddity Central

Ramblers Retreat

Annice was the First Female slave executed in Missouri for killing children

In 1828 Jeremiah Prior of Clay County, Missouri owned slaves. This included Annice and her children. On July 27, 1828, Annice pushed some of the slave children into a body of water where five of them drowned. The children's names were Ann, Billy, Nancy, Nelly, and Phebe. Billy was 5 and Nancy was 2 and the other's ages weren't stated and these two were Annice's children.

Annice did have a jury trial and a defense attorney. She was found guilty of the murders. It was possible she wanted to get back at Jeremiah and to take away some of his valuable property. The children were slaves and considered property. She was publically hanged on August 23, 1828, by Sheriff Shubael Allen.

This lead to Annice being known for the first slave woman in Missouri to be executed.


SOURCES:

Wikipedia
Women and Capital Punishment in the United States: An Analytical History pg 117

Genealogy Trails

Murder of Joe The Quilter

Joseph Hedley better known as Joe the Quilter was a master at Quilting. He was known for his quilts so much so that some of his quilts were sent to America from his Northumberland, England Cottage. When people described the 80-year-old he was welcoming, harmless and an inoffensive man. He would even allow people to stay at his cottage with him.

He was last seen on Jan. 3, 1826 and it was believed that the horrific crime happened right after he returned home as the stuff he'd gotten that day was found.

The attack began in the cottage as he was attacked with a coal rake. He was able to escape his home and had gotten to at least across the street. The killer followed and continued to beat him. They then dragged him back to his home as it left his shoes and torn clothes showed. They beat him and then took a knife to the elderly man. They slit his throat and mangled his face. He had self-defense wounds on his hands from the knife.

Having not seen Joseph for a few days neighbors got worried and went to check on him. What they found was a bloody mess. The room seemed to have been covered in his blood. The killer even wiped his hands and then folded the towel and placed it upon a quilting frame. The cupboards and drawers seemed to have been rummaged through. Money may have been stolen.

It was believed that Joseph knew his killer and this case will remain unsolved.

SOURCES:
New Castle Weekly Courant
The Bury and Norwich Post 
Caledonian Mercury 
BBC
Unsolved Murders