The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1867-06-06
From the Cincinnati Commercially
An Awful Tragedy in Indiana
A Man Kills his Wife and Child
with Stones, and then Kills
Himself-His Cornerstone

with Stones, and then Kills
Himself-His Cornerstone
The terrible tragedy that occurred
last Thursday, in Perry County, In
diana, in which q man beat his wife
and child to death with stones; and
then blSw out his owff brains, has
seldom bee11 SURPASSED Id dull hor-
ror. About five years ago the fnur-
derer, Francis j. Smith, of New AL
bany purchased and removed to a
farm of 32O acres near Rome, Perry
County, Indiana. In 1865 he mar
ried refugee from Georgia. In
the latter part of the year his wife
gave birth to q. male child, which
almost from it's first breath became
the victim of it's fathers vile aud
cruel nature. On one occasion, af-
ter beating his wife, he seized the
infant and held it over blazing fire
until its cries of anguish softened
even his stony heart. His wife pro-
cured q divorce, and went to live
with brother in New York.
A few months passed and the
health of said Smith began to fail,
and fearing that death would soon
overtake him, became much alarmed
and according to subsequent state
ment of the wife, wrote to her that
if she ever wanted to see him alive,
to hasten Immediately to the place
of his confinement. She came, but
was met very coldly by Smith, who
denied that he had ever written such
letter as the above mentioned, and
expressed the greatest surprise al
finding her at the door, and stated
that as she was unsolicited there
she could then go out upon the cold
charities of the community.
She passed from house to house
dragging through a miserable exis
tence, until last Wednesday morn
ing, when she was at the residence
of H. Groves, not far distant from
Rome, contemplating visit to the
residence of the Trustee of the town.
ship, with a view to obtaining s
home and shelter for herself ano
child, and while she was thus con.
templating, her husband arrived ano
expressed his desire to accompany
her to the Trustees office. She
readily accepted his offer, and the
two set off on the journey, taking
the child with them, the poor moth
er little thinking of the sad fate
which her and her dear little child
were soon to meet. They Travelled
on, arriving near the farm of R
Welch, when a drizzling rain set in
and under pretense of finding shell
ter tinder large tree, standing two
or three hundred yards from the
roadside, up deep ravine, he in
vited the mother thither, and aftel
arriving at the designated spot
made known his bloody intentions
It seems that he pelted the moth
er's brains out with large stones
and with one blow on the head O.
the child killed it. Smith took th'
strings from the shoes of the moth
er, tied her feet closely; and thei
her hands over her breast, laid th'
child beside her, covered the two
with light shawl, and then lef
them.
The next day after Smith com
mitted the murder he was at hi
brothers. He sat down and wrot
a letter and handed it to his sister
in-law, and told her to take it to on,
of the neighbor's houses and reat
it. She refused to go, and he thel
told her that he had killed his wifi
and child, and that he intended tC
kill himself, whereupon he seized i:
loaded gun belonging to his brothe
and walked out into the yard ant
shot himself through the heart, kill
ing him instantly.
SMITHS CONFESSION.
1 have killed my wife Mary am
our boy Roger. 1t is pretty gener
ally known over Perry County tha
my wife left me about one year ago
applied for a divorce; had on
granted by the court; the most o
my property was given to Mary
The origin of the difficulty yea
ago was this; Mary got home sick
and wished me to sell out and NOV
to Georgia. I would not do so
when Mary found that l would nc
move to Georgia, where her fathe
lived, she began to talk of leavin
me and going herself, saying sh
knew that would follow her in les
than a month. l always told he
that if she went I would not folio
her, neither would I take her back
she once left me. After our boy wa
born she still talked Of leaving m,
and going to Georgia. ! told her
. she was determined to go; and like
her people in Georgia better than sh
did me, I would sell enough propert
to get money to take her to her f:
ther in Georgia; then she talke
that she was afraid that would nc
let her take the boy; told her ths
she might take him, but she woul
not believe me, and before she le
she threatened to have me fixed S
that l could not follow her and tax
/ the boy.
IIoved Mary and my boy, there
: fore killed them, and such horri
' way to kill any person, poor Mar.
after had knocked her ON the hea
:. with stone, she begged me to sto
for she would die at that, and sh
wanted to have some talk with m
/ did so. I told her that I did NJ
kill her or the boy through ange
hatred or spite. 1t drove me ma
to see her and the boy kicked abo'
as they had been for the last thre
months. She says God bless 70
Frank; I believe you, let me ki:
you, and I did time and again befol
she died. hope that Aee, and Mar
1 and my boy may be buried near eae
n other. I hope it will be many yea
hence ever another husband and f
ther will be compelled by such crusl
ing misery to do as / have done,
FRANCIS j. SMITH.
THERE is whole sermon in tt