The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-09-15

An Insane Woman Murders Her
Husband and Daughter.

Suicide of the Unfortunate Muir
dereSS. =.
From the Boston Post, Sept. O.
Yesterday morning tragedy occurred in the
quiet town of South Dedham which, in all the
elements OF horror, has hardly parallel in
modern annals
THE FAMILY
thus hurried into another world, without
warning or notice was that OF DR.. Carlos Mars.
ton, who has been about three months in prac-
tice as homeopathic physician in the village
of South Dedham, a little over four miles dis
tant from Dedham court house. Some ten
weeks since DR.. N. removed to this place from
Concord, Vermont, and rented tenement in
the house known as HartshOrn's tavern. He
was not entirely unknown in the village, Rev.
Mr.. Hill. who is pastor of the Universalist
church there, having been q schoolmate of the
of the Doctor, and since that time till his death
one of his most intimate friends. DIR. Marston
had good reputation as a practicing physi-
clan, and was gaining q good footing in the
families in that vicinity at the time the TRACE.
dy occurred. All speak of him as man of
pleasant appearance and manner, careful in the
performance of his professional duties, and
His family consisted of his wife, who was be-
tween thirty and. thirty-ffve years old-the
Doctor was nearly forty-fve-and an adopted
daughter, Cora, about ten years old, who had
been with them from infancy. There was also
q hired servant girl, and within few weeks,
Miss Susan r. May, of Waterford, VT, had
come to Dedham to place herself under the
his family. -
l-- PREMoNIT1oNs.
At their usual hour the different members of
the family retired to rest in their respective
apartments, and all remained quiet until about
II o'clock, when Mrs. Marston came to Miss
Mays room and spoke about the cat that was
IN there, saying she made q noise, and put her
out of the room. After that the wife retired
again to her room, but about o'clock, as she
thinks, Miss May was again awakened by DR..
Marston coming to her room. He knew that
she believed Mrs. N. to be insane. and was fear
ful OF danger, so he came to warn her that his
wife was more uneasy than usual, and had gone
to sleep the rest OF the night with Cora. He
cautioned her also that she had better lock her
door. .-.......
In reply Miss May gave him warning which
take care, or she will kill you before morning "
With an almost careless disbelief he said he
guessed not, but he. should lock his door and
20 to sleep. Whether he did as he said or not,
cannot be known. The suspicion of danger
which led him to warn Miss May may have led
him to take similar precautions for his own safe
IT,, but it is more probable that he changed
his mind, remembering that if his door were
locked, the little girl would be exposed to all
the possibilities of injury from her insane moth.
er. Unable to believe that his wife would
make any dangerous attempt on his life, he
might have felt also that finding herself shut
out of his room, where it was her right to be,
she would become violent and be urged to ex-
tremities which she might not otherwise at
tempt. If this was not so, then she returned
and secreted herself in his room when he was
gone to warn Miss May.
THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAGEDY.
Whether in or out OF the room, she did not
wait long before making preparations for her
mnrderous work. The pistol lay in her hus.
bands trunk at the foot of his bed. A day or
two previous he had drawn the charges fear
full that she might obtain possession of it and
do mischief. Carefully and cautiously the pts.
tol was distracted from its hiding place, and
every one of the five barrels loaded with ball
cartridge The instrument of death thus pre-
pared and in readiness for lis deadly task, the
cunning brain Of the insane woman suggested
another means by which the similitude of
death should be effected before her full pur.
pose was accomplished.
With only the garments of night about her
she feels her way in the darkness to the Office
where her husbands drugs are kept, and there
secures the bottle of chloroform, the applica-
ton of which she well understood. Returning
then to her chamber she poured the volatile
fluid on the bed clothes and held the saturated
cloth to her husbands nostrils. The easy
slumber ofhealth was succeeded by the dreamy
lethargic trance induced by the subtle narcotic,
and then the murderous work was easy. Per.
haps DeIOre his slumbers were restless and she
feared sudden awakening but now the senses
were stepped in deep oblivion. Placing the
pistol near her husbands breast, che pulled
the trigger, and instantly the victim passed
without q motion or struggle to the repose
of death. The crazed woman staggered back
from the bed of death.
THE ALARM.
The report of the pistol and the confused
noise above had awakened Miss May, who
went Immediately to the door of her room and
called TO DR.. MarstOn. She looked up stairs
but could see nothing, bat heard the voice of
Mrs. Marston, that now had stern metallic
ring not known before" Be still go back to
your room or I'll blow your brains out" All
the fears that had oppressed her were now ap-
parently realized, and she at once obeyed the
order and turned back to her room. She did
not lose her presence Of mind, however, and
while providing for her own eafety by locking
the door, she hastily put on few articles Of
dress, intending at once to summon the neigh
bors. While dressing she heard the report of
pistol up stairs, and her imagination needed
not the groans that followed 10 picture the
murder Of DR.. Marston by the pistol with
which she had been threatened. Opening her
door easily and cautiously, lest the insane wo.
man, now roaming the upper rooms, should
carry out her threat, and half expecting bul-
let in her back every moment, she sPrang
across the hall and ran to the room of Mrs.
Hartshorn to waken her with the horrid an
nouncement that Mrs. Marston was murder
ing everybody up stairs The two women
were alone IN the house, and another pistol
shot from above, and still another, gave them
new warnings and fears of death. Trembling
and weak, yet urged on by tie dreadful groans
that still rang In their ears they ran to the
house of the nearest neighbor. Mr.. Summer
Allis, and reused his family. AS they crossed
the threshold still another pistol shot was
with the thoscht of who would be the NEXT