Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1832-02-23

Upper Canada papers contain an account
Of the murder of mother and sir chill
dren, and the strongest suspicion Of this
act rests upon Henry Sovereign, the ia
ther of the family. The following par
ticulars are from the pen ofthc Rev. Mr..
Ryerson:-
A general horror has been excited in
the midst of the inhabitants Of the Lon
don District, by the preparation of one of
the most atrocious and unnatural crimes
that ever stained the history OF man-it Is
the murder Of mother, and six, if not
seven children, will briefly state the
particulars of this dark and bloody trans
action, as detailed to me by the dcepy
afflicted father and brother OF the muir
dcred woman, and also by one of the
coroncr's jury that investigated it.
The principal evidence, ! was inform
ed, was neighbor, who lived between
a quarter and half a mile from the place
where the murder was committed. He
stated that on Monday morning, the 9 list
instant, some time before day, 'cnry
Sovereign, the father Of the murdered
family came to his house, slightly wound
ed in the breast and left arm, saying that
there were mul dercrs at his (Sovereign's)
house, and that he was afraid or expect
ed they would kill his wife and family.-
The nelghbor, in company with Sover-
eign, came with all possible haste to the
place. The first Obj Get that attracted his
notice on his arrival was little infant,
about three or four months old, burning
on the fire, one of its legs was burnt of
nearly to the knee, the back part of its
head was consumed, and its body was
much burnt. Near the hearth lay ano-
thcr child in a state of inscnsibity.-
This | believe is not yet dead, although
it is not expected to survive. BY the
side Of the door was another, in sitting
or squattng posture, having been struck
on the head with bludgeon, or some
large instrument, which caused instant
death. A fourth was found out of doors
at the corner of the house, lilclcss and
bleeding on the ground. About rod
from the house, in a path which led to an
old hoveI, was seen fifth in the same
state Nearly rod further, in the same
path, was found young woman, about
II years Of age, liicless corpse. In the
yard, in front of the hovcl, lay the mo-
ther and another little boy, close togcth-
cr, wcltering in their blood.
Close by the mother was observed the
blade of knife, all bloody. 1t was
found, on examination, that she had re-
ccivcd blow on the back of her neck,
which fractured her skull and dislocatcd
her neck bone, and had also been stab
bed in the pit of the stomach, so rs to
pierce the vitals and divide one of the
large arteries, which bled most profusely.
The knife blade was Immediately chal-
lengcd as (Sovcrcign's, and the unlortu-
nate woman's brother declared that he
had frequently seen it at his Sovcreign's) }
house. Search being made, the handle
of the knife was found about two rods
from the place where the blade lay, and
it was said, that Sovereign had been seen
few days before putting rivet in the
selfsame handle. Sovereign however
denied having any knowledge of the
knife, and said he had his knife in his
pocket. lie produced it at the request
of those present, and behold, it also was
bloody!
The above, together with the facts Of
Sovereign having brutalized himself by
INTEMPElANCE, and rendered his
family very unhappy, and at different
times threatened their lives, and other
wise abused them, has created very
general suspicion that he perpctratcd the
inhuman crime. This suspicion is
strengthened by the facts, that none were
known to entertain any hostile feeling to-
wards Sovercign's family--no persons
were discovered or suspectcd--Sovcr-
cign's story that two men attacked his
house little before day and the manner
of his escaping from them appeared to be
quite mprobabe--that the bludgcon,
(Which was a club or mall about Two feet
long, such as is used in irving shmglcs)
was found concealed between the straw
and feather bed, and the manglcd bodies
of the unfortunate family had the appear
ance of being dead some time on the ar
rival of the ncighbor who first witnessed
the dreadful scene.
Sovereign was apprchcndcd and sent
to Jail on suspicion.
On my way from Long Point, the day
after this most melancholy affair took
place. called at the house ;but it would be
in vain for me to attempt to describe my
feelings in witnessing scene the most
painfully affecting of any that ! ever be-
held. Picture to yourself, stretched on
one bed, close by the side of each other,
all stiff and cold in death, a mother and
five lovely childrcn-thc most of them
wcrc ycrv bondsomc-with the half con-