Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1857-06-18

606O H
RETURN ]. N. WARD,
THE
MURDERER AND WIFE BURNER,
At Toledo, on Friday, the 18TH inst
Return ]. n. Ward, who killed his wife
and afterwards burned her body, last Feb,
in the village ofSylvania, near Toledo, Ohio,
having been convicted of the crime and re-
ceived his sentence at the March term ofthe
Court, was executed yesterday forenoon in
the Jail at Toledo.
THE MURDERER's CONFESSIONS.
After his trial had taken place, and
while q motion for a new n was pending,
Ward made a confession; acknowledging
his guilt, but pleading in exclamation that
be done it in q moment of passion while
smarting under provocation received from
his wife. He made this confession, he says,
under the impression that it might favora-
bly, effect the motion for a new trial, where
by he hoped to have sentence committed
10 imprisonment for life. But the motion
having been overruled by the Supreme
Court, and all hope of life failed, he re-
signed himself TO his fate. Wishing to
make a sclean breast of it." and rid him.
self of the horrible secret which was locked
up in his own heart, he made a second and
complete confession to one of his coun-
sci, Mr.. Fuller, wherein he acknowledged
not only the killing of his wife deliberately
and with premeditation, but the murder of
two other persons, many years since; the
first a store-keeper named Hall, at Rich
land, Ohio, whom he murdered IN the eve
of his (Halrs) departure for New York,
suppossing him to have in his possession
q considerable amount of money. The sec
ond, a pedler, at Richland, who had stop
ped with ward, who was then keeping tav-
ern, for the night. For these murders he
was not arrested, although suspicion fell
upon him. The woman to whom he was
married at the time of his first murder, was
so sure of his guilt, that she became insane
under the tormenting thoughts such knowl-
edge created, and is now an inmate of a lu-
matte ASYLUM.
The confession of these murders, togeth-
er with a fuller and truer acknowledgement
of the murder and Blu ming of his wife, was
made but 2 weeks previous to his execu-
ton, and was believed by the public to be a
true exposition of his horrid crime.
THE A OF EXECUTION.
Our Reporter, accompanied by Mr.. Wag-
goner, of the Toledo Blade, visited the
Jail about 8 o'clock in the morning, prior
to the execution; and through the polite
ness of Sheriff Springer, was shown the ar
rangements already made for the sad af-
fair.
The Jail is a low two story brick building,
in the rear of the courthouse, on Ontario
street. The portion of it used for incarcer-
alton purposes is in the back part, and con-
tains twenty-sevcn cells, ranged in tiers one
above the other, fourteen below and the
same number above. Outside of the space
occupied by these cells or dungeons, is a
corridor eight feet wide, extending around
the entire apartment. A walk, two or
three feet wide, level with the floor of the
upper tier of cells, and seven feet four and
n half inches from the floor, leads to the
cells on two sides of the prison. There
are twelve or fourteen prisoners in the Jail
at this time, committed for various offences,
lone of whom were permitted to witness
the execution.
THE z l. OF THE PRISONER.
Ward occupied the cell in the southeast
corner of the upper tier. 1t was furnished
with some efforts toward neatness and taste,
and doubtless never contained a more har-
dened criminal. In the southwest corner
of the prison, diagonally from the cell of
the prisoner, in the corridor between the
wall and the dungeon, was erected.
THE scAFFoLD.
1t was built the night before, the work
men commenced at 10 o'clock and finished
before daylight. The prisoner was awake
during the time, and must have imagined
every blow of the hammer to be his death
knell! The scaffold was a strong frame of
scantling, braced and bolted with iron bars,
and painted black. The drop covered with
carpet, on which the prisoner was to stand,
comprised about two-thirds of the platform,
hung on hinges, and was made to fall from
under him by the simple moving ola lever.
The platform was 7 feet Al inches in height
from the floor of the prison, and the dimen-
sions of the frame containing it, 5 by 6
feet. The rope was of whale line, three
fourth inches in diameter, fastened to beam
over head by an iron bolt. A narrow stairs
led to the scaffold.
THE
At the time your Reporter made these
observations, the prisoner was in confer
ence with a minister-after he had retired,
a friend entered his cell, at his request, to
whom he expressed himself ready to meet
his fate; acknowledged the truth Of the
confessions he had made, remarked that he
had seen a book which gave al account of
his life and crimes, and hat its contents
were correct. Late in the evening before,
he denied the truth of the confessions.
While we were in the prison a heavy
thunderstorm was raging without, and the
flashes of lightning through the barred
windows rendered the gloom of the place
depressing in the extreme. 1t was a fear
full time in which the soul of o murderer
should be forced to wing its fight from
dungeons and human accusers, to eternity.
OUTSIDE OF THE JAIL.
1t was generally known that the execu-
ton wa to be strictly private, hence there
was not an exceedingly large number of