Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-10-11
THE HAGGERTY MURDER.
The Confession of Andrew Thompson Convicted
Of the Murder-A Horrible tale of Crime.

Inc CONCESSION Oh AnuFcW hump
son, charged with, and convicted of
the murder of the Haggerty family,
has appeared in pamphlet FORM
The copyright is duly secured by
Judge McClintock, of the Fayette
Co. 0owa) Union, and the publica-
ton is by the McGregor Times, in
the usual style Of neatness of that
office. The pamphlet consists of
nearly fifty pages, and in the main
is the confession Of Thompson as
written by his own hand.
Andrew Thompson, wealthy
farmer of Clayton county, first be-
came acquainted with Maria Hag-
garty, at the saloon Of her husband,
at Bulls Head, in 1858 In 1861 he
employed her to work for him in
1864 he became crimlnally intimate
with her, continuing this intimacy
until 1866. In the latter year she
gave birth to child, the offspring
of this intimacy, having some time
before separated from her husband.
The child was murdered by the
mother, with the knowledge Of
Thompson and by him concealed
Thompson claims that he then sought
to get rid Of the woman, but she
persisted in remaining near him, and
by threats obtained complete control
| of him. His wife became alarmed,
and was also threatend with violence.
Having in vain endeavored to pur-
chase release from the woman, and
in vain sought to her to leave him,
Thompson in December of 1868 con-
sented, or appeared to consent to her
plan of deserving his family and re-
moving with her to some distant
place where they should live togeth-
er. On the evening Of December
9Th, 1868, he took Maria Haggarty,
her two boys and daughter into his
sleigh, at McGregOr, crossed to Wis
consin, and began the journey which
ended in the murder OF the mother
and her children and his return to
his home. He drove TO Bridgeport,
Patch Grove, Tafton, North Andover,
Cassville, Beetown and Lancaster -
The girl was sick when they started
and appeared to become worse as
they proceeded. AT Lancaster he
wished to remain all night and save
the girl from further exposure from
camping out, as they had done from
the time they left McGregor. The
mother objected, and charged Thomp-
son swith being DESTROYS Of delay
and that his family might ogertake
him and give him an excuse for de-
sorting her and returning home
Tkey drove on, but had not gone far
when one Of the boys called out
that his sister had. tainted. Thomp-
son tells the story Of the murder as
follows:
1t was beginning to get little
dark, when we left Lancaster
When we had gone along the Platte
vile road about a mile, l should
jude, we had to had to cross quite q
deep ravine-just as we got to the
top Of the hill, on the south side OF
the ravine, one of the boys said Anna
had tainted. We stopped and Mrs
Ii. dashed some snow into her face
and chated her hands, and in a short
time she recovered, Mrs. FL. then
drank about one-third Of the pint of
wine herself. | urged her strongly
to go back to Lancaster and remain
over night, and see if we could get
something done for Anna, but she
wouldn't hear to it. We then start
ed off again, and travelled two OIL
three miles, when the boy said he
thought Anna had tainted again. Ii
was quite dark then there was tim
Der on both sides. | turned off tc
the left of the road into the edge O
the timber, intending to stop there
for the night. | stopped about five
or six rods from the road. As soon
as | stopped l handed Mrs. I'll. 8
match and told her to light the lam
tern and see to Anna. | unhitched
the horses from the sled, and Just as
| was in the act Of fastening them
to a tree, Mrs H. called out, "boss,
Anna is dead" Mrs. II. generally
called me boss when she spoke to
me) | said, surely not. She said,
Eyes, | am sure she is dead" | lift
ed the two trunks out of the front
of the sled and then got in and look
ed at the girl. ! felt her pulse and
put my ear TO her mouth and listen
ed. | chafed her hands for some
time without effect. She was dead.
When fully satisfied that the girl
was dead | said to Mrs. H., what are
we to do now? She said "we must dig
a grave and bury her" | said that
wouldn't do if we were to dig a
grave and bury her there in the
woods, without a coffin, and the grave
be found and the body dug up, it
it would be thought that we had muir
dered her and we would be followed
and arrested for murder. She said
the girl had died a natural death, and
it was no body's business how she
was buried. | said that was all very
true, but people would make it their
business if they found it out, and that
the only way for us to do now was to
go back to Lancaster and tell how
the girl had died have an inquest. if
it should be thought necessary, and
then bury her decently. | would
here remark that Mrs. III had treated
Anna very harsh and unfeelingly all
through the trip, and am sure some
of the people where we stopped must
have noticed it. When | told Mrs.
II. that we must go back to Lancas-
ter, she got into terrible passion
and said, if we went back and had
an inquest we would have to tell who
we were and all about ourselves, and
then my folks would know where |
was and would come after me that
it would keep us two or three days
at Lancaster, and by that time my
folks would be there-She said she
knew all | wanted to &C back for
was to leave her and go back to my
id lazy b-h of a wife," She then
called nv wife and myself, and all