The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-08-03
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correspondent W4f ttllse en- III afies ltynclthssso f
d caniofed man near. Elksoa,s CEcI ctpnfyss
| Nd. who was charged With having SEES FIRE
to Tie house DC BIZ. Griffith, Ia Kent county
The following additional particulars OF the
affair have been obtained by a reporter sent
TO investigate the matter, ss 49,
FHe e DwE7assa. ~$sffetis
The house burned down belonged To Mr..
Walter S. Griffith, living near the g Head OF
Sassafras" river, which divides Cecif4and
Kenf counties, situated about fifteen niilcs
from Chesapeake City, on the line Of the
Chesapeake canaa.s trhe house occupied 10y;
air. Griffith was a franc building, three isto-
ries 10 height, containing about ten rooms,
aud was valued. st about $4,000. It was Ilo-
Gated ON a farm Of abont 200 acres cultivated
principally as q fruit farm, and the owner
had In his eYnpieya number Of colored labor
ers. Among them was one, o mulatto, of
short build, average intelligence, but fac-
credited with q violent temper, named John,
,Jones. who had beRn discharged some time
since by Mf. Griffith. Jones had no%ecupied,l
together with his wife and sfepson,, aged
fourteen years. q tenant house on the farm,
and on Saturday last, In response.to IN order
from Mr.. Griffith, yacatcdRthe pfesaisess but
in DOUG sd gave expression TO threats, III iis
alleged. Of "tgeting even, with hlna1 ttGrif-
iith}.i i 'aestt&'a@ '',sas.s1' ttsii - 80 81
.,a. NARROW ,EscArg!a u t.G at
j. On Sunday night Mr.. Griffith was aroused
from his siiim1bers by tie smell Of Ere, and
OH arising found the house In flames He
succeeded, +withf,a narrow escape. in sfvilig
himself. wife. .al aunt, and lnrphew from the,
fam,e.. he being compelled tn jump fronsa
sccond.story window whilst attempting to
save some property. The family fed to the
house OF neigbbors, and the dwelling, as also
q smoke-house near 1t, were totally con-
sumed. Various conjectures were indu!ged
IN AZ to the perpetrators Of the arson, as it
was plainly evident that the building had
been set on tire. ..
.,.s. ARREST AND EXAMINATION.
I On the same night the stepson Of Jones,
| whilst in Warwick, a town in Cecil county,
| about six miles away, made acknowiedg--
|mcnts which Justified the arrest Of father and
son on Monday, and they were arTaigned
| before Justice William S. Bell, OF Warw lick.
In the examination the boy confessed that
| his father, himself, and u colored man named
| Green, employed by a MIR. Lynch, Ewing in
| Delaware, had been TO- Il social entertainmen
among the c0lored people, about three mites
| below Griftitl's farm, and abont"1o O'CLOCK
| on Sunday night, as they were passing the
| house of Mr.. Griffith his father halted, en-
tered the barn, procured a bundle. OF straw,
placed it beneath the porch, and ltcs, -,
.t. SET FIRE TO IL HOUSE. II
The boy testified that his father Threatened
to shoot him aud the nsan, Green il, they be-
came informants in the case, and the three
| beat a haSty retreat. Upon this testimony,
verified by the iuan Green, Justice Bell COM
| mified the two men and the boy to- Jail to
await trial, and q young man named James
| Merritt, n farmer living in the neighborhood,
was detailed TO convey the prisoners TO the
| nail at Eikton, located about fourteen miles
away. Mr.. Merritt left Warwick about 8
! o'clock L. N. for Eikton in a one-horse
wagon, with the colored man Jones hand
cufied, and the other two named in the
wagon being held as witnesses vi " =
CAPTURE OF THE P~KIsosERs.s,a%
About 81 p. NJ. Merritt reached Elkton
bareheaded, his horses ina fOaiD,,ta and he
greatly excited, declaring that he had been
| attacked on the road ny a gang of men and
his prisoners rescued. AZ an early, hour on
| Tuesday morning. Sheriff Thomas, of Cecil,
started, in company with Merritt, TO the spot
| described by him where the attack had been
made, and in a woods, about fifty yards from
| the roadside, near the fruit farm OF Mr. John
Price, and distant about seven miles from
Elkton, was found the body Of the eolored
man, ts..rI, a.f,raiu ilnl - ~ '..i !,
gi rsf JONES, HANGING TO A TREE qlauI
4 small hickory tree, about a foot in diane
ter, the rope about his neck havingI been
drawn over a limb about ten feet from the
ground, and the body drawn up, barely clear
ing the ground. After hanging the man the
perpetrators, of the outrage had hound the
rope about his body and, tied him fast to the
INQUEST AND TESTIMONY.
The remains were taken down. and Justice
G. f.; CTcsstield, OF Chesapeake city, was
summoned to hold an Inquest. 4 single
witness examined was the young man Mer-
rift, he being the only person seeming to
have any knowledge of the affair. He testi-
lied that he left Warwick with the prisoners
between Z and s o'clock, aud had passed
along the road about seven miles, when, In
going by tbedwoods opposite Prices farm,
the horses attached to, bis wagon. were seized
by a man in the road, and in an instant seyp-
raj men surrounded the wagon; one firing q
shot at him. He returned the fire, emptying
ASK barrelledi revolver, but with what re-
suit lie, did not know. The prisoners were
taken from the wagon, the man Jones being
carried to tho woods. 4 His companions
started to run, and witness, fearing for bis
Town life, put whip tothe horses aud fastened
ton to ElEton. He saw no vehicles on the
road except q wagon, with TIVE men, near
Back Greek mills, distantsesa mine miles from
Elkten,, and could not distinguish the oecf-
pants.tl Don't know whether the attacking
parties were citizens of the neishborhood; or
not. /, .tI To- tgs -. ~ ,r5 ag :, r'a1". II Il
p~ iift,%t =. VERDICT OF. THE lJURg., i..r /'th
The jury, after q. brief examination, rem
dered q verdict "that the deceased came 10
his death by hanging, at the hands bf per-
sons unknown to the jury The body was
| enclosed In o coffin and buried near the spot
| where he was hung, the new-made grave
being easily found by the reporter BY means
Of numerous carriage tracks from the road
side, eyidencing The visits OF many Of the
curious. The grave was marked by two
cedar stakes driven into the ground at either
end oil. the pile OF earth thres& up, andsfhe
Tree on which he was hung ehfp ped opt with
an aXe.. b Il i ,it n 80 : f ~a.f,s's ss naas
yi,a@ s9LsuBSEauENT Ta TRANSACTIONS,
Ain Investigation made in the nteighbor-
hood fora q distance 5ofp over twenty miles
ELECTED no further particnllr ia The case than
the statement by citizens OF Warwick that
on Tuesday the boy a{JoHes's step-Sen) was
seen in d i itlaSe, and, 1T Is alleged, oh.
ttained al pair OF spantaiOonS for, 1.-The man
EGFeen; one leg of the pants he had worn
when being conveyed u jail having been
torn off in his struggle with the party who
hing hiS;conpanion. ~ From This stitement,
(which is deemed reliable, It would seem that
both the hey and.fhe man Green escaped, as