Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1872-12-14
,Tahn HoDsel.

While upon the stand, stated as follows
Have lived most of my life in New LYME
and Rome; have live with Mr. Way and Mr.
Reeve. Ny father is dead, but | do not re-
memb'r WHEN he died he was poor and left
no property went TO school in the winter; and
! have usually worked out for my support L
first knew Serene Smith, when be came TO hire
me, at my mothers house in New LYME I
went to work for him at $50 for four months
Smith working at Joiner work. and can
not til how long he was away from home, and
! did most of the work, changing work with
Nelson Smith. I he family consisted of Smith,
his wife, his father and myself / slept in the
cnambrr When my time was nearly expired,
Smith said he would like me to stay and work,
but lie did not know about the pay. Afler-
wards he asked me how | would STAY, and
said the pay should ne made satisfactory, and
l stayed. there had been no difficulty be-
tween us, AID he treated me with respect An
improper intimacy began between me and Mrs,
Smith in DeceR Rber, and continued not very Of
ten in the bedrooms aud upstairs, until the
Tuesday before Smiths death. The first I /.
knew of bis seeing anything of it was at the
time spoken of when had my arm around her
in the Kitchen when Smith came out, but said
nothing She said that he was telling me
something. We all went into the sitting room
! and Smith took no notice of it, and said moth
| ing. The next time was in April, when he
was watching with Mr.. Scott One evening
| he got off the lounge where he was living, and
took Lis oYercn1t and went out, when they
| supposed he had gone to Scntt's, She and
! took a seat on the lounge, and kissed each 9th
er She got up and went to the window, drew
the curtain aside, and seeing Smith, called him
! in. Before he came. said to her Now | shall
| leave. She said, no you wont neither; you
keep still. She rallied him about watching at
home instead of at SCOTS We afterwards
| piled some brush and rubbish to be burned
| when it was dry. He then got me tn go with
! him after Il tree in Olmsteads woods; he want
| ed me to bring an AK. But | took spade.
Smith then went out pretending TO burn some
brush, which he did not, saying the wind was
not in the right direction. He wanted me to
go with him, but she called me back to mend
my Over'ls, the ones that have been shown in
court then put my arms around her and
kissed her. She asked me il thought he had
gone 10 burn the brush for she said, he does
not always 30 when he says he will. | spoke
TO her several times proposing to go away,
when she would cry and urge me to stay, say
ing ii | went away, she would not care what
became of her. She said that from the first,
ii seemed as If some one was dead when L WAS
gone that Smith cared but little for her; that
she had no gumptOn to do anything il l was
not there. he and often went fishing and
hunting together. We were both a. Rock
Creek on the Saturday before his death, and
were gone nearly all day.
On The 25th of April cot up first, and went
right to the barn and did the chores, taking
care of the cows and horses He came to the
barn, as l got done milking, and took the milk
| to the house. | then went TO cleaning the
horse stable. lie came back and went in
where the calves were, when he called to me
to come in, he wanted to talk to me. He de-
, manded 10 know if had hadillicit intercourse
with his wife; and said if l did not tell he
would smash me finer than barn. told him
had nothing to tell. He then came at me
, with an aX IN both hands. | seized the AK and
we scutilcd tor it. He stumbled and | struck
l. I Ct, aNcital that | hardly uhat
| did, and he fell. | struck him three times.
then pulled him round and laid him in the
corner. | then went To the house, and Mrs.
Smith took me by the arm and asked me what
was the matter l told her that Soreno and
, had had q difficulty, and thought had kill
I, ed him. aud SO | must gO and tell Nelson. She
1 said sit down and keep cool; for Gods sake,
If cared anything for her not to say anything
about it. Keep cool, she said, for some of
, Nelson's folks will be over, and it will all
} come ont. She suggested that the manure
e pile would be place; no one would think of
q looking there for him; and as he had always
said he did not care what became of him
when dead, that place was rs good as any. l
then went back to the barn, placed him IN the
= corner and covered him with the straw.
| came back and offered her. the money She
! told me to keep it, and to get the pocket book
. out of the way. / buried Smith in the afler-
! noon. In the forenoon, Frank Beckwith
i came 10 the house; when she saw him coming,
I she told me to keep out oI inc way LOT my ap-
. pearance would hcray something When he
came In she told Bcckwth that Smith had
: gone after an evergreen, etc. When l buried
2 Smith | carried him myself taking him round
h the waist. his feet dragging The ground. After
!. Lemuc, Phelps spoke of the blood on his
- horses foot she told me- you did not clean
: that blood all away, and had to tell him you
l. had the nose bleed. On the day of the find
e ing she told me to go To the barn. and stay
there ana not bctrny any guilt, but keep stiff
upper lip. When James Phelps told his
It dream, she nudged him with her knee, under
ii the table. The AK was usually kept neaI
I where he was killed. Smith never manifested
> any unkindness to me, until this morning
when I saw he was mad. She repeatedly
u told me not to show any thing in my manner
and not to tell any one any thing to betray
,e me- Afier he WIS killed she got me some
peppermint, as felt sick. drank cup oi
coffee, but could not eat She told the eyer
greer ory first to old Mr.. Smith, and caution
ed me not to let the old man see anything un
usual about me, to excite his suspicion. A
the lime of the assault, he was south of me
. so there was no way for me to get away from
i'm