Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1854-08-07
Case of Miss pharr.

Case OF Miss Pharr.
Having seen in the newspapers good
many ruu1ors in the .case of Miss Agnes
Pl,arr, supposed to have beer killed by
strychnne administered to her by DR..
Thompson, both Of Covugton, and being
unwilling to copy paragraphs, tor the truth
OF which no one could youch, we have
taken son:e pains to ascertain the facts of
the case. that we may give correct his
tory Of the affair So far as anything positive
is known.
Miss Agnes Pharr died very suddenly Of
spas,ns on the 9th Of last s'.,.,srch, lavi~ =,
beer Under the treatment Of Dr.. Tnomp,
s $, 'of yer, months. Il wss universal
, etl.-ved that they Were engaged TO be
married, aud preparations were making
foy their nuptials. DR.. Thompson. it
seems, had been endeasofing to postpone
the. marriage from time to time.
The suddenness and singularity of Miss
pharr's death, in short time. excited sus-
picioh and much was said about 1t in the
community and propositions were made
for eAhuming the body, which, from cir
cumstances unknown tc Us, failed &c be
carried into effect
After the lapse Of three or four months
DR.. Thompson instituted suits for SANDER
against several prominent and wealthy in
dividuals living in and about Coyington,
laying the aggregate damages at some
thing like $4,000. The defendants in
these suits determined that if possible,
the body should be d,interfed and exam
ined, which was agreed upon. On Satur-
7 Al. A., u
Doctors Jordan ana Estili Of Lexington (;
DIR. Woodson, Of Fincastle, and Major Gil
ham, Professor OF Chemistry in the Vir-
ginia Military Institute, under the direc-
ton of the Coroner and Jury Of Inquest.
When the body was taken up and ex-
amined, the internal viscera and other or
gans were found to be in remark able
state of preservation, considering that the
budy had been buried ere hundred and
foitytlitee days. going strongly to prove
that the general condition OF the subject
at the time Of her death, was healthy. A
further result OF the examination was, that
the young lady was found TO have been
four Or five months advanced in pregtIan-
cy. After ascertaining these facts, the
stomach was taken out ard handed over to
Major Gillian to analyze its contents SO
as to detect presence OF strychnine or oth-
er poison. Owing to the very important
issues in all human probability resting
upon this analysis, and that its determines
ton may be as certain, reliable and salts
factory as possible, Major Gillian has very
ptudcntly determined TO perform the anal
ysis in the presence of a gentleman, emf
nent both as a chemist aud physician.
These facts having been privately re-
ported to VIM. Skeen, Esq, the Attorney
for the Commonwealth, warrant was
Immediately Issued, and DR.. Thompson
was at once arrested and is now in Jail to
answer a charge of murder.--Ler. Gazette
Progress of the Cholera.
There were cholera deaths at Wheel
Ing for the three days ending Thursday
last. II is reported that disease resem.
bling cholera has appeared iD Burke coun-
ty Ga, and out of 81 cases. 1t is said SO
proved fatal including II in one family
The cholera is prevailing in a malignant
form at Eaton, Ohio, and among the vic
Tins is d. +. Protzman, teller Of the
Prebble County Bank. A lady from Chi
rago was the first victim. At Troy, N.
L.. OIL rTluay, Hese "eic ~ ehV'ei"
deaths, and at Toledo, Ohio, for the two
days ending the 26th, there were Is.
In Detroit the interments on the 23d
inst, were Al, fourteen reported cholera ;
on the oath there were 36 interments, all
cholera.
Total deaths from cholera in the city of
St, Louis for the week ending July Oath,
So. Mortality BY this disease on the
week previous was 1870.
number of cholera cases broke out on
Thursday at Rocky Hollow, Staten Island,
seven of which terminated fatally.
At letter from Freeport, Illinois, says
there has been good many cases of chol-
era throughout the State, and mentions
the case of a family of ten cmigrant per-
sons who arrived in Freeport from New
York. Seven cut CT ter were dead.
During the three days ending 25th
there were 10 deaths in Chicago, Of which
48 were from cholera and in ST Louis,
during the last three weeks, there have
been 1854 deaths, including 437 from
cholera At Detroit, from the 1st to the
25th inst, the total number Of deaths was
607.