Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-16
EXECUTION ror, MunpEs..

\ Former Citizen Of Nashville.
On Friday last at Edwardsyille, in the |
county of Madison and State of Illinois, |
William Bell was made TO suffer the ex-
treme penalty of the law by being hung for
the murder of one Herman Wendell, of |
that county on the night of November 81, |
1868. 81 80
After his sentence, Bell made a state |
ment, in which he said that be was born in |
Nashville, Tennessee, and to the best of
his knowledge was about 81 or IS Yeas of
age at the time of his execution. His
parents moved from Nashville to Saline
county, IN this State, about 1888 when
he vas quite child, and about that time
his father died When he was about seven
years Of age his mother went on visit to
Tennessee TO collect some money due her,
| and the last ever heard of her she had col
lected the money and took passage on
| boat for home, and the presumption was
| that she had been robbed aud murdered.
Hearing nothing of their mother, Bell and
his one brother and two sisters found
homes where and as best they could.
| William chose home with a family that
he thought he could like, but the authori-
ties overruled his choice, and he was taken
from them and bound to tailor in what Is
known as the Salt Pond settlement, named
| George G. Harper. By this man, Bell
asserted he was most cruelty treated, not
being allowed to go to the table with the
balance of the family, and compelled to
sleep on some old quilts on the door, while
Haper's children had good beds He was
made to work at all kinds of menial service,
his Saturdays work being to clean the fur
niture of the house, rubbing it off with
wooden cloths On one occasion, by aeel-
dent and ignorance, he got hold OF a collar
for coat Harper had just cut out, and for
which, when discovered by Harper, he was
most numerically whipped with hempen
rope, and was afterwards hung up with the
same rope until Mrs. Harper discovered
him and took him down After this occur
renee he ran away and went to Arrow Rock,
and engaged himself to carpenter by the
name Of Reuben Dye, and lived with him
until he broke up, was sold out by the
sheriff and left the county. Of this man
Bell spoke with much feeling, and as being
the only man that he ever knew that had
a proper regard for orphan children. He
thinks he lived with Dye about eighteen
months or two years, and when Dye left
Arrow Rock, he went to live with man
named Jesse Read, brick-mason, but be-
ing unable to work at that business, he
was put on Reads farm, and, according to
his story, was very shamefully misused by
Read, who possessed an ungovernable
temper. On one occasion Reads nephew
told him that Bell had been saucy to Mrs
Read, when, one Sunday morning, he was
most brutally whipped by Read, to make
him acknowledge the truth of the story;
/ but it was false, he denied the assertion,
and was whipped until Read partner inter
, fered and made him desist. Read was
p some time a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and after getting
ready for church that morning, and reflect
ing over the severe whipping he had
l given Bell, he came to him and dressed his
wounds and bruises, and manifested the
1 utmost sorrow and contrition. On Monday
1 morning Bell ran away from Read and went
} to his sisters with whom he staid about two
S years, when he went to Brunswick, Charlton
county, and engaged himself to TheOphilu'
J | Newbolt, a sadler. The business did no
t fully agree with him, and in consequence o
= that and il-treatment by the journeymenr
4 he remained only two years, when he wen
/, back TO Saline county, he thinks IN abou
: lS47. and engaged in farm work, chOpplnl
wood. ETC., till 1850, when he started acros
the plains for California. Arriving there
he was employed farming, mining, pros
pecting and fighting Indians for perlo'
of about eight or nine years. A part o
t that time he was a member OF tn
: | Vigilance Committee at San Fran
k cisco, but asserts that, always having
# horror of the gallows, he opposed thu
hanging of those who fell under the dis
n pleasure of the committee. In 1868 he lef
; California for Nevada, where he was again
# busted in prospecting, mining and driving
) teams. On one of the calls for troops, ht
Il enlisted in one of the Nevada regiment
= for three years, or during the war, but wa
honorably discharged in December, 1860
b After his discharge he remained IN the sam
q valley in Nevada until November, 1867
# when he returned to Missouri to visit IN
O brother and his two sisters. Remaining
If with them a short time, he took tram
/ over Saline and Charlton counties, visitin!
among those he had known when a boy
f until some time in December, when b
l. went TO Illinois, arriving IN the nelghboI
> hood of Edwardsville on the 9th of De
cember, 1867.
n He then refers at length TO the murder
,e and asserts his innocence, which he con
Sc tinued to do to the last.
10 A correspondent VI IAo ~ A@O'I
The Republican thus describes the PEI
N sonnet of the murderer
10 Bell was about six feet in hight, with
70 rather slender form, and of handsome pre-
portions, and was a chronological stud!
l. His head was small and ill-shaped. III
ne countenance almost expressionless, and
h the little that was visible one could perceiV
s. neither warmth, pity or humanity He ha
le a cold, heartless, vicious look. His hal
H. was auburn; forehead narrow, long an
be receding; eyes gray, small, close togethe
rs slow in their movement, withered IN al
so pearance, Efar back in the head, and indie
ch tive of malice and wickedness. His nos
e was large, prominent, with cllnehed no
m trils mouth large and ill-shaped, chi
g, heavy and good face shallow md hollo7
ch slightly crooked, with pale rose unge c