The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-02
T HE G. Allow
Execution Of a Negro Murderer
i'm Virginia.
Story OF His Crime, Arrest
and Conviction.
Scenes at the GailOWs- Wreiched nunglng
Of the ExeculiOnbr
NEW KENT CouR1


Lewis Kennedy (negro the last and pr ucipal Of
the notorious New Kent murderers mcendIarIes
and burglars whose accompce alexander Card.
neD WAS executed on the 1lth OF February last to.
day pail the penalty OF his horrible crime by hang
Ing ny the neck until dead.
1t will be remembered by The readers OF the
HERALD that about the close OF September, 1865,
Mrs. Julia Stewart (whltel ana her para
mour and oyerseer, John Baker, % half breed,
were brutally murdered by two negroes named
respectively Lewis Kennedy and Alexander Gardner,
both discharged employees of Mrs. Stewards The
victims were IN good circumstances. living at Pegas
Point, On the Pamunkey, Mrs. stewart belug tho
propreiress or small plantation, the working OF
which Baker superintendent and both were reputel
TO be possessors OF considerable amount Of money
In specie and greenoaeAs, which was supposed to be
concealed about lie premises Of Mrs. Stewart Dur.
ing the absence Ci Baker at Yorktown once Gardner
effected entrance to the residence OF Mrs Stewart
ana commitied the theft OF shot gun, and this SO
alarmed Baker that his return he placed the trea-
sure in glass jars, took them wish him out of the
house, ami. 1t is Supposed buried them In the woods
where they remain to this day every effort to dis.
cover them has failed. 1t was to secure Tits money
As well ~ 20 gratilya
PERSONAL HATRED
OK Rennedys towards Baker that the murderers
were actuaCsd 10 the commission OF the foul deed.
Kennedy had an amour with a sable daInse named
Annie, living on Mrs. Stewards place, and, though
ordered OF the premises by Baker after his dis
charge, he stli continued his visits TO this woman
Between these the r.0st dsgraceful scenes took
| place. They quarrelIed, fought, aud frequently
made night hideous with screams, yells and curses.
| Kennedy who savage and vicious used 10
| beat ana ynaltreat the woman in an outrageous
manner, and the almost ghtly rep ett on OF such
| mi an int r,hia
| IN the nelghUOrhood. Again Baker ordered ootn
TIE woman ana kennedy to leave lie premse s stat
my that ne would iofclbly EJECT them II they
| did not. and at length the order was com
pied with; but Kennedy had mwardy sworn
| vengeance against h per ecutOr, a. lie regarded
BAKER. Once aler this tley both met at a store IN
| the ne gnoJrno)d, VIII n difficulty ensued. Kenne.
| dS SELF. Baker, and ace npted 20 drag I'm WITHIN
reach Of an axe, ana bat the iAterpo. ition OF
| constable who was pres ent q tragedy would have
| occurred. Kennedy thsn swore N the presence of
b. 81 anders: 81 will XII Baker If ii takes me five
| years To DO tn From this tlme forward the two
murderers, only sought an opportunity to carry tue
purpose they had resolved upOn into execution All
thts occurred about o. muuth prior To the commits
sion OF the CRIME. and about the same period the
! relations between Baker ana Mrs. Stewart wee
| By NO MEANS AAiGABLE.
Baker had again become On. m red--ths time o.
| an Indian maiden. tf the Cherokee tribe, who had
vcd on the Pamunkey from time itnniemorial. Mrs.
! stewart Observed GOODNESS on MS part towards
her, and, witha woman instinct, she soon OWNED
Sne cau,e. the result being Jealousy. Fey fou Int
| aud quarreed almost daily, ana, instead OF har.
| monilng, the breach became wider and wider be-
tween Them, untl al length they ceased
each other: Baker then became enga3 ed TO the last
| Oh cr Of his affections. a tact with which Mrs.
stewart soon became acqua ed, and r m that
spoke 70 each Other again.
| MURDER MOST FOUL.
The evening OF the "last Saturday Of September
1865, calm and still, with marky, oyeruangng
clouds the oppressive and suitry, ana tuera
was every indica tion OF an APPROACHING storm whan
| Kennedy aud Gardner, armed with two old m.isketI
SET out IN the direction Of Mrs. Ste warts bent on
their mission of murder, rdplne, arson ana robbery
lxuLr nad ~. NJ
the house, and the two lurking Williams wen knew
tue route by which he would return. Arriving about
| dusk, they lay In wait near hogpen, concea ed
by underwood Which was usually visited 10y Baker
| before going to TIE house. They had cacua.eI
wei, for soon their VIC i'm made his appearance
| coming at leasur,ly gait WI an axe over ms
| shoulder. He had reached the hogpen. only few
rods distant from the concealed assassins, wnen the
report OF musket rang out upon the air, ami Baker
Eel. ex laimiDg, Murder murder; I'm Xii eds
| The unfortunate man was pierced by Two balls,
winch entered his LETT side aud lodgeu III the right
! one the balls beng embedded In the other. He
made an e1Ort to rise with MS expiring exclaml-
| on but powerful blow Of a mu ket dealt by one
| OF tn assassins, which broke tAe musk I at the
| breech and severed tho murdered mars head In
| two, tet MN lie ess ana man led corpse They
| then rlhe the pockets OF tae murdered man. but
were ony RETARDED py the d.scove. OF ten cents In
WOMAN RAW SHED AND MURDERED.
! II Their gieed for piuuuet had b-en appeased in
the fret instance he, might probably rave retired
| WI hout sleeping their murdercls nands In ,he
| blood OF another victim; but this lpontne {
fren4icd them, and their thr,t for fresh gore be-
came more intense. Leaving the dead cody of
Baker tney went direct to house Of Mrs Stewart
aud here the inc rnaie fends perpetr tea a horror
which for atrocty aud baibaIlty has no equal IN
into the house and demanded or the t rror-
| stricken woman the Whe eabouts Of the hid
| den treasure. She tod them she dld moi know
wnere Baker had ND It, but the aSsasss did not be-
| l.eve this, aud they threatened her with instant
death ii the money was not found. In the most
| peUuS tones she assured them she was ignorant OF
where It hid, and again and again she hnplore
mercy Kennedy. who Is nlatcn for the arch fend
hi nseif, then seized hcr ny the throat, threw
the noJr. when she ocean, almost Ilsens!ole, aud
| thed rav.s@ed her, and, after having satisfied his
brutal passions, with the ierocity OF den0l he
seized 0ue OF the fire-irons, wan winch he struck
| her a terrible bow on the head, crushing la her
skull, bespattering her brains on the noor aud III.
| SANITY killing ncr.
After this carnival VI blood tue Wfetches next pro-
! ceeded to yIu der the house but they found n0ti.
ing beyond the usual articles of domestic use such
as -four, brown sugar aId coffee, winch tney carried
OIL. Fearing d ection, and IN order u enectua!, \
| from IL the straw " tn which u filled, aad IL
nlSlng this set fire TO the house, which was
this the ,nnrderers then # the scene o.
this triple outrage, carrying with them
ten 1e wSnG ed 5 5nd Of @ vc Which Gp y
| carried 10 whaif on the river near by aud threw
Tin, anchorlng It to the bottom win ne barre. OF
| the broken gun with which they haI Killed Baker
Tas completed the hellisn work OF the night. aud
the re lred home feeling at least secure
as TO discovery; but their counting had o'erreaoned
| lselir and little they knew they were aying a trait
| ARREST OF THE MURbERER5.
| Next morning Nra Stewards house wasa smoking
| mass of deUris the chimney beng sanding mon :
meut or the edit o. The cnarred bones Of a human
being, Afterwards proven by medical testimony 10
| be those OF w0D1an were found IN the ru rs, and
this gave 70 the belief that Baker hal murdered
/ the woman ana had fed, for he could here be
| found. Soon afserwaru, however the tide was out
| and the b0ny OF The murdered man was found
anchored TO the bottom OF the river. Suspc then
fell upon the real leurderlr e, a1d two detectives from
| Richmond were not long IN bringing quit home