Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-03-27
The GriSMoId MnrtiPr.

all in our community, the main facts OF the
most horrible crime ever known in this re-
gicn. Many Of the details however, may
have passed from memory, and concise
summary of the facts, as they appeared on
the trial, will be of general interest.
In August 1868, about six miles from Bur
lington Court House.in the neighboring town
Of Williston, were living Mr. and Mrs.
Ephiram Griswold Mrs. Griswold was a We.
man Of marked character She had been
twice. alone, to California in previous years
and returned with money enough to build
neat and comfortable house. and to support
herself and her husband She was - years
Of age, short and stocky in figure, in yigor-
ous health. hard worker and careful of her
property With this couple, at the time, were
living an adopted daughter and heir at law
of Mrs. Griswold, and her husband. Charles
Potter, and two children. On SUNDAY morn
ing August 9th 1865 the whole family, Mr..
Griswold excepted. started for Canada in
wagons. leaving Mrs Grisvold in the hou.c.
with only hired lad of 10 with her. On
Monday morning August 18th, neigh
bors coming to the house found the
boy fastened into his bedroom in the kit
chen wing. and calling to be let out; found
blood upon The kitchen, doorstep. and push
ing open the kitchen door. found The l'N
within covered with the marks of a terrible
crime and desperate struggle-looIs Of '''.d
through which body had been dragged.
bloody foot-marks around the room AMI ..a4-
ing into Mrs. Griswolds bedroom adjoining.
bloody finger marks upon the doors. the old
lady's bed stripped of the bedcloJhiug. "a b1-
reau in another bedroom l-oken olen and
rummagod. Searching further they found in
a calf pen at the barn the corpse Of Mrs..
Griswolj, in her night clothes. partially wrap
ped in the bedding taken from her bed: the
body covered with blood from the waist mp.
the throat cnt and jugular vein severed.
stab. and cuts on the chin. ON tie neck. or
the backs Of both hands, tie skull frac ei
By blows as FROM billy sluns shot, bruises
und marks on the chest and lower limbs. al
the marks Of a hard struggle and revolving
butchery.
That forenoon, before che murder bad be-
come known here. a man came to the cars at
tlle Rutland y Burlington depot, and begged
o the Express Messenger on the train ios New
Y ork, the privilege Of riding with him in the
q xrrcss car. on the score of acquaintance with
t he express boys in New York. His
clothes were bloody, shoes and PANTS dusty
nd stained with blood which he had tried to
wash oA.and wristbands and shirt sleeves sat
u-atel with blood. To explain his appear
aace he toIda cock and bull story about hay-
ing bad desperate fight the night previous,
near Jack Neuill'," with four men, whom
he finally drove Off from him with bis revol-
yer. The messenger allowed him to ride to
Rutland with him, raw himogain on tie train
that day at Troy and Albany, and again in
New York the next day.
With the close description which tie Mes
senger was able to give Of this man, officer
y. B. Flanagan went to New York found
there his man. recognizing him in the street
by his face and clothing, which. the Ianta-
looms excepted, was the same rs he wore the
dav Of the murder found that he was one Of
gang Of desperate characters; identified him
again % the cars two or three days later
(about three weeks after the murder) on his
way to Burlington, when. however, Ward had
changed his clothes, and appearance by shaw
inc oil his whiskers, and was shrinking from
observation, keeping his hat over his eyes and
a handkerchief around his chin. At Winoos
ki Depot Mr.. Flanagan arrested him, and |
searching him found on him revolver, which
he had tried to draw, a spring billy"
? bottle of chlorofor1n. a SO confederate bin |
and little other money. Three days after,
Charles Potter was arrested at the house in
Williston, and at the April term Of our
County Court following, the two were az
raigned for the murder.
The trial occupied a week and aroused more
interest in our community than any previous
case on record. Potter was defended by able
counsel. proved an alb, and was acquitted
bv the Jury. Ward, alias Iavigne, was fully
identified by the express messenger, and by
parties who saw him around Essex Junction
the day and evening before the murder. The
chain of circumstances around him was made
c rnplete and there were coroborating circum-
stances. in admissions made by Ward in con-
v,rsation and in intercepted letters to his
friend, written from Jail. The only evidence in
his favor was that of a perjured witness, "a mem
Der Of the gang to which Ward belonged, who
came here from New ork obtained his own ar
rest by pretending to be drunk and disorderly
in the streets, and having thus secured COM
munieation with Ward in Jail, just before
the trlal, went on to the stand and
told story to which neither court, jury
Or SPECTATORS gave a particle Of eredence.
States Attorney Eaglesby in summing up the
case for the Stare, claimed that Ward was
merely hired assassin (; that it was plain
that robbery was not the motive that mo-
tive to get Mrs. Griswold out of the way had
been shown on the part of Potter, in i'll
Hood existiur between him and her, and in
purpose to obtain possession of her pro
marty. his wife being her heir in short that
Ward was the actor and Potter the instiga-
or and accessory of the murder. The jury