The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1868-03-13

man rights advocacy and FOR considora.
bic cNceutricity.
During the umo was there, tho law
business OF the valley furnished the Courts
OF Wood County, number Of quito inter.
csting cases. Among them also, were q
few OF the more important criminal cases
Of homicide, burglary oui the like in which
a number of tho accused were convicted .
and seut TO the rcuitcutiary.
In the spring OF 1896 there transpircd at
Pcrrvshurg, case ol more than ordinary
interest and excitement. Eluah Hunting.
ton, Esu.. of Perryshuyg, had about that
tmo bccu collecting his moucv with view
to he prepared to purchase some lands on
thcrivcr Mat were soon to I've rcsoM by
the United States. and which had become
forfeited for uon.pavmcut by tho tormcr
purchasers. Uungtiustou had in his house
some four hundred dollars, which he kept
bv him. waiting the sale of the lands,
E,rlv ono morning, Mr.. ii. camc to my
house gtcauy excited, with club in his
hauds. saving, that in the night previous
some rcr.ous had entered his house, broke
omen his drawers. taken his money and lott
n the room that club. Mr. H. thought
hims,if ruined. for at that tinc four hun.
,ircd dollars with view TO the approach
inc sales was an Important sum OF money.
But who had committed the crime could
not I've even guessed at. It, for whilc haG
He'd all conjecture, and became quite a mys
terry. \ week or two previous, a pocket.
book and a small amount oI money had been
misscl from the house of Nj, Charles
ONcl, of Pcrryshnrg, aul suspicious after
a wEjlc, began to bc ll,ced upon ono stock
we'll and his wife. who had not lnog before
settled there. The citizens ct Perryshnrg
became greatly excited upon the subject OF
this robbery and tor n time ii seemed 70
,ludc all cnlravors to detect the pcrPetra-
tors. Suspcions having been placed upon
Stockwcll and his wife, in regard to the
O'Ncil affair (hnugh as yet there wts no
evidence against thcm) public attention
was directed immediately TO SioCEWelI as
4 person who might he IN some way Gou.
ucctcd with the robbery oi Mr.. li"ling-
ton. The Cl Ib that was iOuud IN lluntlnE'
tous house. after the burglary, was Tor u
while handed arouBdOs curiosity. When
tired of it's exhibition, Mrs. ii threw It
upon the fire Tor the purpose of making a
final disposition Of il. just thcn, AZ luck
woull have it, Judge Ambrose Rice, an old
citizen of Muumcc. a remarkable shrcwd
man. aud close observer came into the
house, and Immediately suatchcl the club
]
should be preserved, as it might yet be
evidence against the perpetrators oi the act
The club WIS a ickory stick, considerably
reduced at one end, by long chips taken
from it with a liutc. Judge Rice thought
that probably the chips might he some.
where found, and identified with the club,
SO as to imrlicate some one with the bur
gllrv. Strenuous investigations were made
for some days without any result Al
thou IN a number Of the citi2nns of Perrys.
burg, determined to make "a search OF Stock
wells house, aul take him and his wife for
"a while, at east, into custody For TINS
purpose they went in the night time, when
thcv would he suro to fad them at home,
took possession of the house, took them
into custody, and made diIigcnt search OF
the house without finding any evidence
against them. Stuclwcll and vile assert
| ing entire ignorance of the whole matter in
question. The next morning Judge Rice
went to the house with the club, aud rX-
amned to sec if some OF the chips taken
I from the club could not be found there.
After s0me diligcut search, he found some
fresh chips scattered under the lIoor OF
the house. These chips upon examination
would correspond exactly with the marks
of the club, so completely that there could
be no question of their identity. This was
4 crushing answer to SIocllwelrs assertion
of his innocence in the matter. But as yet
no further evidence was discovered against
them. But becoming alarmed, in conse-
quence of the identity of tho chips found
at his house with the club, and finding
that his associates had played trick upon
him in keeping him ignorant OF the amount
of money that had been taken, and apply
ing the whole of il to their own use, he
became indignant towards them, and de-
termued to disclose the whole. For this
purpose, he sent Tor me as the prosecu
~ att torucy, AID disclosed to me the VII lc
transaction, as lar rs he knew 1t. lie told
me that be and his wife had the O.Nell
money, and informed mo where ! could
find il but as to the Huntington money,
ho knew nothing beyond eight or ten dol
lars Of it. lie said that night or two be-
fore Hunting gton's houSe was robbed two
men by the name OF kciser old croli's ol
his in crime, came to his house, and lit
duired of them, if there Nere not some
plundcr to be had in Perrysburg. Stock
well informed them that his wife had dis
covered that Mr. Hunting ton had a quantity
of money on hand in his house. This they
soon formed resolution to take. They
kent secrctcd at his house. day or two
making observations and planning how to
take the money. On the night that the
money was taken, they, all three, rallied
forth and went to lluntingiou's hunse,
found them all asleep aud one oi the kei-
sers made his way into the house, and soon
returned, saying lie had got limiting gtOn's
puckrt-bnuk, but he feared it was Tdtsr
hduL" The club hc had taken into the
house with him, he had accidentally left
there, which gave them some concern, and
some time debated upon the subject of re-
turning for it. They did not however and
proceeded 10 Stockwell's house TO examine
the pockct.hoo AID divide the spois
Kciser presented the pocket'book as all
that he had taken. Upon examination it
was found that it contained only fifteen or
twenty dollars. aud the keiser's gave
Sfockwcll eight or ten dollars as hs share
of it. Slockwcll was dissatisfied and sus
pected frand; and so questioned Keiser
about it. Keiser declared upon his h0nor,
that was all he had taken---it was, lie said,
only water hanI; and proposed to Storkwell
that he might search him. Stookwcll was
silenced by the brass and impndeuce of
the Keisers who Immediately lett Perrys-
burg and no ono except Stockwell aud
wifo knew anything of their having been
there, or within hundred miles.
Now, if the club had not been saved, by
Judge Rice, and Identified with the chips
found in Stockwelrs house, and was likely
to throw upon him the guilt of the whole
transaction, and conviction on his part
that tho Keisers had pcrpetrated upon him,
what he considered to be, a dishonorable
and knavsh trick, in secreting FROM him
almost the whole Of the spOils they had