Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1870-02-18

'Wo went INTO the room where Flora lay.
| went up to the bedside and kissed her
and she was very glad to sec me. She said
Ellen, am dying; l shall not live until
morning. l told her guessed she wasn't
dying, and while we were talking Laura
said well, Miss Ellen, If you are going to
take care of Flora tonight / should think
you had better be about IL she needs it bad
enough. The policeman stayed few min
utes, and afther he was gone Laura said to
me | want to know what you mean by say
ing Flora was abused. l made no reply.
She asked do you hear me speaking to YOU.
(No reply.) Flora looked up at me and
said Ellen, Laura is talking to YOU. re-
piled l know it, heard her. Laura said
none of your sauce or impudence here for
/ can put you out of doors now Just as ca
sy as could before, and If you use any of
that, will. still made no reply, and she
went on, saying Flora has given me all her
clothes, if that is what you came for. no
answer) You can stay with Flora tonight
but in the morning you must go. Laura
turned to Flora and said Flora, you might
have lived day or two longer if Ellen had
not raised this rumpus. Flora looked up
at her and said I don't want to live any
longer / have lived long enough. She bid
Flora good-night and shortly after retired,
When she was gone, | asked Flora If she
had given Laura her clothes, and she said
Ellen, Laura asked me for them, and l
could do no better. Several times through
the night l thought every breath would be
Der last anu Twice 1 started TO call MI. HIS
kins, who slept in the kitchen, but she
called me back both times and said she
didn't want them woke up, for she wasn't
any worse. | said Flora, you are dying.
She replied know it amt You glad Ell
len? | told her | was glad that she had
got most through with her suffering. |
asked her If she wanted to die and she said
she did. We had no fire during the night,
and l was obliged to put my sack and
shawl on, and then could not Keep warm"
The account then describes the removal
of Flora to house of Mr., J. i. Willard, and
concludes rs follows:
AT about 10 o'clock A. NJ, | asked Flo
ia how long it had been since she had eat
en- anything. She said not since yesterday
morning. l asked her what she had
then. She said that she had some oat
meal Cruel and cold water. She
said she could have had some oftencr, but
it distressed her so, and made her cough 50
| hard that she went without Just as long as
| she could. She said that they had DR..
| Dearborn few times, and he wanted Lau-
| IA to let Flora have something nOurishing
to eat, once in two hours, but she would
not let her have anything only twice day.
Tea Flora was accustomed to, and drank
pretty freely of for the past year, and she
said that before Laura got back from New
! Jersey she broke herself from drinking 1T
| because she knew that Laura would not let
her have it, and when we brought her tea,
she said that she had wanted ii good ma
4 ny times when she was at Lauras, but she
| did not dare ask for it, for she knew that
Laura would not allow her to drink it.
And what Laura Haskins stated about tea
in tho paper is false. Flora never coughed
once after she was moved. She had the
most comfortable day that she had enjoyed
Tor a long time, and at % minutes of hVt
p. NJ. she died without a struggle. Wher
Flora left Connecticut she had no skin dis
l. i,,sr, ~ hat ~.
and Flora told me the day she died tina
she never broke out until Laura had beer
back from New Jersey about three weeks
Desiring to do no injustice to any one il
the premises, and to give our readers al
opportunity of judging for themselves il
regard to this most unhappy affair, WI
gladly give place to the above statements
; and while they furnish no absolute proof o
starvation in the case of Flora, we comics
} upon reading them TO have felt stron
suspicion that the alleged facts containe
I therein were more than half true, and tina
g in our investigation of the affair we ha
: omitted some important testimony. AC
y cordingly we have thoroughly reviewe
i the field, freely examined persons and pa
l pers, and we believe have succeeded i
d fathoming the whole affair to the bottom
:, In doing so we have brought to light II
V following facts:
:, 1t appears from the statements of Mr.
q Haskins, amply cOrroborated by letters r.
F. ccived from her various relatives, that Mr.
At H. is a daughter of Jasper NJ. Stoddal
r by his first wife, and that she has sever
~ brothers and sisters now in various par
le of New England and that Ellen L. al
W Flora Stoddard were children by secon
"a wife. [Our former statement that Ellie
Iy and Flora were only hall-sistcrs was Il
st mistake of our reporter.l 1t also appeal
m that Mr.. Stoddard has a third wife now liz
10 ing, who left him some years ago, an
d that he is now living with another woma
'r who is the divorced wife of his own son,
3 whom he has made over what little prope
= ty he had, and to whom he now holds ALI
- glance, despite the opposition and protes
n atoms of his children. That the infuent
- .exerted upon him by this woman Lucy,
d not of the best character, is abundantly G.
y ident from his statement as above give
i That he can express such opinions in SUE
"a a way, regarding his own flesh and bloc
re is, to say the least, not very creditable
A. him. Especially is this the case WHIT
compared with the following note TO Nj
~ IIask ms, written soon after his arriv
xt home. The note is written on the last pa
ia of q letter to Flora, under date of Dec.
80 and the hand writing is unmistakable
81 Nv Dear Daughter Laura: have VIZ
Id ten to Flora, and Ellen has written, al
Is, YOU can read the whole. She is at Hen
e, Carley's. She is coming home soon as 5
lat can get chance to. Accept my since
l. ~.
"a, and give.my warmest gratitude to Georl
'rs for / sincerely love him. Write soon
OF you can and let me know how Flora is.
lis Farewell, j. NJ. SToDDARD
We also give place to the following uns
licited communication received from NJ
Dodge, the sister referred to in Mr.. Sto
dard's letter. 1t will be seen from the da
-, that this letter was written previous to t
y" publication of the above statements in t
-, Record:
MIDDLEsEx, VI, Feb. S, 1870
Editors W. ThGnir Il wish to make
RS. few statements through the columns
10 your paper. / am Mrs. Haskinss eld
es- sister, and hall-sister to Flora Il. Stoddal
at / received letter from Mrs. Haskins wr
err ten Nov. 30, 1863, saying Flora was We
Ter low and the doctor said she could not Ii
nat but short time, and wished me to inlol
4
ly, Brattleboro the 9th of Dec. lie came to q
place, went to Il. with me; arrived there
,er' O'Clock Monday eve; went to Mr.. III
., kins's staid there until Friday morniI
vi the 10th. When we arrived there Flo
re, was up around the house, although gu
of feeble came to the table parlook of su
in food as the rest of the family, which CO
~ sisted of potatoes, SQUASH fried pork, fro
ne beef, sausages, also graham bread, cree
ca tartar biscuit cake, apple, prune and pea
bpsidpa manila lnunV hnttar
od &C., &c, and at every meal father wor
I Su ask Flora if she did not want some tea a
~, ~, she invariably said no, she did not like
' e, and would not drink it, she preferred v
,o 'd, ter. Flora told me she had had a cough
rS a great while, and that the doctor in G.
NV, io chester, Conn, told her last spring that $
nro had the consumption. Mrs. Haskins off
,hn ed father S25 besides expenses If he wol
~ take Flora home and care for her. He 81
% he would if she was able to go and he cot
re make her any more comfortable than S
al, was there, but he could not, and he thoul
Of Flora had better stay there, he was satisf