The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1871-07-29
NO. 30.
ANOTHER FEMALE POIsONER.
4 shocking Case in baltimore.

mania, which, IN Its malignant develop
ments, has created much excitement in
sister cities, has reached Baltimore at
last. While cur people were reading
with feelings Of horror the details of the
poisoning case in Connecticut, which has
earned for one unhappy woman the title
Of 1.-The Modern Borgia," and were con-
graduating themselves that the theatre
of her operations was so remote, Marshal
John Il. Gray and Deputy Marshal
Jacob Frey were busy at work securing
the proof, which goes to show that in
one Of the most aristocratic localities of
the city, in one of its most beautiful
homes, and in family distinguished
alike for its culture and high social
position, two men have been willfully
| poisoned, the one dying within four days
from the time he drank the fatal potion,
the other languishing on the brink Of
the grave for some days. but now happi-
ly convalescent. Never before has Bal
timore society been so startled as by the
revelations made public yesterday, which
throw dark cloud upon a household,
apparently as happy and virtuous as any
iB the city, and which fix upon highly
educated woman, the widow of a de-
ceased officer Of the United States army,
the suspicion of having committed an
atrOcious crime.
On Saturday afternoon, June "a, Mr..
Eugene Van Ness, clerk in the banking
house of Alex. Brown & Sons, corner of
Baltimore and Calvert streets, called at
the house of Mrs. Wharton, No. 263
North Eutaw street, three doors from
Biddle street. He was a friend of the
family, and also financial agent for Mrs.
Wharton, and attended to the Investment
of her money. Shortly after he entered
the house he drank glass of beer, pour
ing in a few drops Of the tincture Of
genlian. In short time he was taken
Ill, and DR. S. G. Chew summoned to
attend him. DIR. Chew declines giving
the press any information at this stage of
the case. Mr.. Van Ness was too i'll to
be taken to his house and was put to bed
in Wharton's house, where he remained
till the following Friday under the medi-
cal care of DR.. Chew. On the same
Saturday afternoon that Mr.. Van Ness
dropped in at Mrs. Wharton's to pay
casual visit, General w. Scott Ketcham,
an old friend of the family, arrived, in
tending to spend few day with Mrs.
Wharton before her departure for Eu-
rope He and Major Wharton (Mrs
Wharton's S deceased husband) had served
/ together 10 the United States Infantry,
the relations of their families had always
been most intimate and they were in the
I habit Of interchanging frequent visits.
The immediate cause of General ket-
CHAINS illness has not yet been made
public, but certain it is that he took his
bed on the same evening that he arrived,
and did not leave it until carried away a
corpse. DIR. p. G. Williams (20l Madi-
son avenue) ATTENDED him, and had sus-
picions all the time that he had been
! poisoned. He considered it his duty to
communicate to Paymaster General
Brice, General Ketcham's brother in
law, his suspicious. a post morteB1 ex
animation was made, the contents Of the
stomach Analysed by Professor Aiken,
and twenty grains of tartar emetic dis
covered.
In the meantime circumstance occur
red in the room in which Mr.. Van Ness
was lying that seemed to give the key to
the mystery and to demonstrate beyond
a 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, nothing unusual
being detected in the state. When the
next was brought in Mrs. Van Ness, who
was in attendance on her sick husband,
while pouring the fluid from one glass to
another, by some inexplicable impulse
was prompted to taste it and she imme-
diately discovered that something was
wrong. She poured out the milk and
in the bottom Of the glass there was
white substance resembling cream of tar
tar 1t is said that lady who was in
the room put this glass in her pocket,
and subsequent examination by Pro-
fessor Aiken showed the white substance
to be tartar emetic. This occurred on
Wednesday afternoon, June %, an hour
or SO before General Ketcham's death,
and confirmed the suspicion to which the
symptoms Of the dying man had already
given rise.
General Ketcham's body was taken to
Washington by his friends, and there in
TERED.
Mrs. Wharton was arrested on Mon
day evening, but who made the affidavit
of information is not known outside OF
official circles.
1t is said that Mrs. Wharton was in
debted to General Ketcham for money
borrowed. and that he held her note for
| 81. 600; and there are persons who dis
cover in this fact (if it be facD the in
ducement to the alleged crime; but un-
less accompanied with explanatory cir
cumstances, the theory appears to be
worthless, for the reason that, to take
away the life of the creditor would not
necessarily destroy the evidence OF in
debtedness. or relieve the debtor from
its payment. 1t is rumored that Mrs.
| Wharton went to Washington, after Gen.
eral Ketcham's death, and made a claim
of four thousand dollars against his es-
tate. General Ketcham was widower,
and leaves two or three children.
About four years since Colonel Ed
ward Wharton, u. s. A.. cousin Of Ma
ior Fl. W. Wharton, (Mrs. Wharton's
busbandl. accompanied by his daughter,
a Young lady of eighteen years OF age,
paid a visit to Major Wharton's house in
Baltimore, and while there was taken
suddenly i'll and died. in a few days his
daughter followed him to the grave.
Not long after this Major Wharton
himself was taken with the typhoid fever.
He passed the crisis, and was supposed
to be convalescent, when sudden vomit-
ing set in and he died in few hours.
He had eaten oysters, and his physicians
thought it possible that the untavorable
symptoms were occasioned thereby.
About year since Major Ii. W.
Wharton, jr., Mrs. Wharton's son, who
had resigned from the army, and come
to his mothers house to make prepara-