Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1855-11-03
From the Pittsburg Union.


Alleged Murder in WestmoreIand County-Horrible
Details.
Hugh Corrgan, of Derry township, Westmore-
| land county, was committed to the Pittsburg Jail
on Monday last, charged with having murdered
his wife, and burned her body to conceal his
crime.
We copy the following particulars from the
Greenburg Argus of Thursday.
MURDER OF WIFE.-On Saturday last, Hugh
Corrigan, a notorious character, residing in Der
| nv township, in this county, was committed to
Jail on charge of numbering his wife, and then,
| to conceal the crime, burning the body The ev-
| idence is entirely c,rcumstantial, and as near as
| we can gather it, as follows: There were tro
women that claimed to be legally married to him.
One of them has two children and says they
were married several years ago, and names the
magistrate that performed the ceremony; he how
ever denies that he married them. Some two or
three years since, he was married to the deceas-
ed, according to the ritual Of the Catholic Church.
Corrigan is of incorporate habits. At times,
both women lived with him-sometimes but
of them frequently, owing to his brutal treat
ment; both left him and he lived alone. At the
May quarter sessions the missing wife had him
indicted fer assault and battery with intent to
kill. The cause continued at his instance
until the August term, when the prosecutrix fail
| ing to appear, her rccognzance was forfeited.
| In the meantime, they were living together, at
times as man and wife. The last seen of this
WOMAN was on Saturday evening, the 10Th of Sep
| TENDER. In the early part of last week large
fire discovered in a stone quarry in the corn
err of a field, about forty rods from his dwelling
house, and the air being filled with strong odor,
it was supposed by the neighbors to proceed from
some dead beasts, that, they thought, he was
burning. Corrigan was frequently observed to
be stirring up the tre,and supplying it with wood
| f.too good quality to be consumed without
| some object. Some of the neghbors passing,
| ;nonirod of him hat dead hoost ho hurp;pr
that filled the air with such strong smell. He
got angry and told them it none of their bu-
siness, and ordered them off his land or he would
prosecute them for trespass. They left. On
Thursday neighbor went to the woods with
his gun, and attracted by the smell proceeding
| from the fire, as he was passing, took pole and
commenced separating the wood. While doing so
he threw out human skull, cntire-eye sockets,
nose, mouth, jaw and teeth. lie took the skull
to a neighbOring house, and ON exhibiting it, the
lady of the house exclaimed, ''My God, that is
Mary COrrigan's face - Assistance was pro-
cured, and on further examination great many
| human bones considerably charred, were found
| in the fire. The accused was then arrested, and
after a protracted examination before Justice
Shannon of Bairdstown. was fully committed to
Jail, to await his trial for the murder of his wife.
When arrested he could not account for the
bones found in the fire, and when asked where
his wife was, he said he had given her twenty
eiSht uOilarS Oh Sunuay morning, anu tnat Sne
had taken the cars to Philadelphia, where her
friends resided, lie was reminded that they did
not run on Sunday. On examining the house,
all her clothing except one dress was found al
so her bonnets, shoes, rings, combs, &c.
The fire in hole in the quarry, about
six feet deep, eight ten feet wide at the top,
and narrow at the bottom, Ten spots of blood
were discovered between the quarry and the house
"a spot of blood on sled that was tracked
from his door to the fire, and blood on the floor
of one of the rooms in the house, although there
had evidently been an attempt made to wash it
| out.
Several years ago, former wife of Corrigan,
as we learn, mysteriously disappeared. lie gave
out tn she had run off and taken all his m Onev
with her. lie afterwards said she had gone back
to the old country and, subsequently that he
had got word of her death. This wife had som e
children to hm-at one time twins, both girls.--
When they were several years old, the mother
was absent for some days, and on her return he
told her one of the twins had sickened and died
and was buried in the garden. He owns a good
farm in Derry township, has it well stocked and
although of incorporate habits, and entangled in
lawsuits, has always been flush of money. We
believe he is about sixty-f,e years of age.