The Portland daily press., 1871-07-15
Baltimore Poisoning Case.

Baltimore Poisoning Case. S
The Baltimore american gives full particu-
ars of the following case in that city, which
ccasions great excitement in that vicinity
This case is ia ole of the most aristocratic
,arts of the city, and in home distinguished |,
or its culture, while the victims were personal
riends and one benefactor. The particulars
ire taken from the american.
THE CoNFIDING GUESTS.
On Saturday afternoon, June "a, Mr.. Eugene
Van Ness, clerk in the banking house oil AieS'
Brown & Sons, corner of Baltimore ana oai-
vert streets, called al the house of Mrs w bat-
ton, No. 263 North Eutaw street, three G"Irs
from Bddle street. He was lriend ~ 1ne |
family and also financial agent for MIS-. w har-
ton, and attended to the ltVesthe9t o' her
money. Shortly after he entered the house he
drank glass of beer pouring il "A few diops
of tne tiuctuie OF gentiap. ln short tme he
was taken ill.,, and DIR. 5 Z. Chew vas sum-
moned to attend him. Ode Chew declines
oivi,g the press any infni nation at this stage
Of the case M. Van Ness was too i'll TO be
taken to his home, and was put 10 bed 10 Mrs.
Wbatiop's house, whe,e h6 iemaiEcd ill the
following Friday upder the meuical caie of
Dr.. C5ew. On the same Saturday afternoon
that Mr.. Van Ness dropped in al Mrs. Whar-
TONS to pay an annual visit, General W. Scott
Ketcham, a cid friend of the family, arrived,
intending TO stay few days with Mrs. Whar-
ton before her departure Tor Europe. He and
Majcr Whartei Mrs. Whartou's deceased hus-
band) bad served together in the 6,h United
States Infantry, The relations of their families
had always been most intimate, and they were
in the habit Of inter chapgius frequent visits.
TWO SICK MEN
The immediate cause Of Gen. Ketchams i'll
ness has not yet been made public. bat certain
il is he took 10 his bed on the same evening
that he arrived, and did not leave it until car
ried away a corpse. DR.. Williams attended
him, and had suspicious ali the time he had
been poisoned. He Id the GeEeraI's brother-
in-law his suspicious. A post-mortem exami-
nation was made, the contents of the stomach
aDalyzed, and twenty grains OF tartar emetc
discovered. La the meantime a circumstance
occurred in the room in which Mr.. Van Ness
was lying that seemed to give the key to the
mystery ard TO demonstrate beyond doubt
that he had been poisoned. DR.. Chew had
prescribed milk punches" for his patient,
which were prepared in the house and brought
to his bedroom ready made. He drank the
first one and it appeared to be all right, Moth
ing unusual being detected in the taste. When
the next one was brought in Mrs. Van Ness,
who was in attendance on her sick husband,
while pouring the fluid from one glass to an
other, by some inexplicable impulse was
prompted 10 taste it, and she Immediately dis
covered that something was wrong. She
poured OUT Une Ullk, anu III the DObIOtu OI inc
glass there was a white substance resembling
cream of tartar. 1t is said that a lady who was
in the room put this glass in her pocket and a
subsequent examination by Prot. Aiken show
ed the white substance to be tartar emetic.
This occurred on Wednesday afternoon June
%, al hour or so before Gen. Ketcham's death,
and confirmed the suspicion to which the
symptoms of the dying man had already given
rise. Gen Ketcham's body was taken to
Washington by his friends and there inferred.
THE ARREST.
Mrs Wharton was arrested on Monday eve
ming, but who made the affidavit of imtorma-
tion is not known outside of official circles
Out of consideration for her health she was not
taken to Jail, but was made a prisoner in her
own house, four officers being detailed 60 guard
the Ii )use and prevent any one from leaving.
John ii. Thomas, Esq and /. Nevitt Steele,
Esq have been retained as her counsel. Mr..
Thomas was in consultation with Ler during
the night.
THE HOUSEHOLD.
On the day that Mr. Van Ness and General
Ketcham came to Mrs. Whartons house heI
family consisted of herself and two colored
women, Ia cook and chambermaid) Her on
ly daughter, Miss Nellie Wharton, was absen nj
on visit to the country and did not return
until the day Gen. Ketcham died. The rumo1
that the daughter was also under arrest ap.
pears to have had its origin in the fact that
there was a guard around the house, which
had supervision over the movements of the
family. She was absent at the time the poison
was taken, and did not return until the day OF
which one of the victims breathed his last
| Those persons most familiar with all the cir
cumstances of the case do not in any way con
meet the daughter with the crime. Neither O
| the colored women were arrested, and there
| fore it is probable that no suspicion attaches
| to either of them.
| GEN. KETCHAM A CREDITOR.
| IT is said thot Mrs Vbartnn mn, ;,dob1ad 4,
Gen. Ketcham for money borrowed and tha
I he held her note for $1,000; and there are per
sons who discover in this fact (if it be a fact
the lnducement to the alleged crime; but un
less accompanied by explanatory circumstan
| ces the theory appears to be worthless, for tn,
reason that to take away the life OF the credi
tor would not necessarily destroy the cvdenc,
| of Indebtedness, or relieve the debtor from it
| payment. 1t is rumored that Mrs Wharton
went to Washington after Gen. Ketcham Z
death and made a claim of $4,000 against hi
estate Gen. Ketcham was a widOwer, an(
and leaves two or three children. He was con
nected with the Quartermase err Department
for many years, but was lately put on the re
tired list 1t Is said that he was man of un
lmpeachaDle integrity, and while a disbursin,
officer in the army was the terror of all rascal
who meditated raid on the treasury.
FOUR DEATHS IN THE FAMILY
About four years since Col. Edw Wharton
| U. s. A., a cousin of Mrs. Wharton's husband
accompanied by his daughter, 18 years of age
| paid visit to Maio Wbarton's house in Bal
| timOre, and while there taken suddenly il
| and died; in a few days his daughter followed
| him to the grave Not long after this Majo
Wharton himself taken with Jne IypnoIt
| fever. He passed the crisis, and was supposed
| to be cOnvalescent when sudden vomiting
| set in, and he died in a few hours. He hat
| eaten oysters, and his physicians thought il
| possible that the unfortunate symptoms were
Occasioned thereby. About year since Major
| ID. w. Wharton, Jr., Mrs. Wharton's son, who
had resigned from the army, and came to hi!
mothers house to make preparations for TRIP
| to California, died very suddenly. His life was
insured for $4,000, and it is said that hi.
mother was the lawful heir to the money
These four deaths occurring within four years
in the family have furnished material Tor a
great variety of speculatiOns, and there are
those who pretend to recognize the deadly act
of the poisoner in each of them.
MRS. e. G. WHARTON.
Mrs. E. G. Wharton, the accused, is an ex.
ceedingly intelligent and well-bred lady, per
haps 10 or 30 years of age, of rather slender
build, ard has the appearance of being in deli
cate health. She is said to belong to p hila.
delphia family of high social position and has
IN her person all the graces that mark the ac-
compshed woman. 1t is probable that fur
ther developments will be made in the case in
a day or two.
The Corr ExCURsIoNIsTs-We may expect
to see the Colt excursionists, from Worcester,
Mass, in our city on the 18th inst. The COM
pany will number about 1926, and their means
of transportation will be the steamer New
prr,,~ ,;oJy H,n r Al I