Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-02-07
NO. 6.
COvFBssIO.v or .uHs. sVER.U-f.v,
THR POEsOvRFy.

Respectable women, who poison people
at the average rate of one year for eight
years, are happily so rare in the annals of
crime that we cannot pass by such an one
without a moments consideration. The
full confession of Mrs. Sherman gives
pretty complete history of her career as
murderess, though her motives are stated
with a badness which at the same time
carries conviction and yet staggers that
conviction by the very horror of the deed.
We will briefly state the leading facts. She
was treated kindly in her grlhood, living
in her uncles family, with occasional visits
to brothers. When about 20, she began 10
learn the tailoresss trade. She met Ed
ward Struck, a widower with six children,
and married him. lie was blacksmith,
but soon after they moved into New York
! and he became one of the first metropolitan
police. He was discharged for alleged
cowardice in making an arrest and appar-
emily had the hypochondria in consequence.
His old employer urged him to return to
work In the old shop, but he refused, fret:
ted all the time, became morose and took
to his bed. He refused medicine, once or
!
| lock up a razor and pistol for fear he would
use them. Finally he became quite imbe-
cile and helpless, and wanted she should
find places for the children. ~ told him
could take caro- of them and he needn't
worry" she says.
This first case is the interesting one, but
this seems to be all there was in it. Appa-
rently this man and wife had stood by
each other faithfully for IS years, and seven
children were growing up as the fruit Of
their welded life. They we're no more un-
fortunate than thousands have been be-
fore and since, and there is enough heroism
in the common run of human nature to
have enabled the then Mrs. Struck to have
supported an mbecile husband, put the
children out and struggled along, painful
ly and hardly, to bc sure, but guitless.
| Perhaps she would have done it, but a
sergeant Me-" q neighbor, who called
to see her husband, advised her "to put
him out of the way, as he would never be
any better or OF any use to himself or any,
body else He told her where and how
much arsenic to get. She thought of It
few days. Then she followed Sergeant
Mc--'s directions, gave her husband the
potion in cruel, tended him tenderly all
night, and in the morning saw him die.
Why, what an easy thing to do! What
she thought, or whether she thought at all.
does not now occur to this coarse-grained
wife, now eight years older. That careless
sergeant little knew the devil he had un-
chained in that woman's heart, or rather
the angel that he had there smitten down,
leaving mere cunning regnant.
Within a few months, finding herself
burdened with seven children, she "got
much discouraged and down bearted," and
pois the two youngest, thinking ait
would he better for them if they were out
OF the way" Edward, she says, "was
beautiful boy, and did not complain he
was very patient" She got work at sew
ing and nursing, and was keeping house
with four children home, when next to the
oldest boy, George Whitefeld Struck, IA
years of age, having got place to earn $3.50
week as painter came home sick with
the painters collie. He grew worse and
she put arsenic in his tea, because she was
discouraged. II know now that is not
much Of an excuse but I felt so much
trouble then that did not think about
that The singular fact sticks out that her
disbursement does not tighten at all,
with each succeeding release from care.
She now thought she could get along
with her daughter Lydia, who had be-
come betrothed, if only the little, sickly
Ann Eliza were out of the way. This was
soon accomplished. "She died about noon,"
=, saws the mother-murderess, "and was the
happiest child l ever saw" These five
deaths were all wrought with the original
package of arsenic procured by the direc-
ton of the Mephistophelean Sergeant Nc
-. Then kind Providence took away
, Lydia, by fever and imprisoned the girls
pastor, Rev. Mr.. Payson, tending her
through the whole sickness
She now changes the manner of her life
, and by the aid of her son, John Wesley,
: young butcher. passed into Pennsylvania
as family nurse, then back again to New
q York as clerk in sewing machine store.
I hnaily into Connecticut as housekeeper for
Mrs. Curtis, an old lady of Stratford Hero
& a marriage was soon arranged between her
n and old Mr. Hurlburt, man of little
, property, then living alone. He soon died
, of drinking cider with saleratus, which
, saeratus by no connivauce of hers had be-
o come mixed with arsenic on the pantry
4 shelf. She did not know there was auy in
r the house, and once was very sick herself
4 with some cider that the old man gave her.
q She came into the possession of Hurlburt's
# farm, and was soon laid siege to by Horatio
s \. Sherman, a widower, who wanted a
O housekeeper, somebody who could keen
Y the peace between his daughter Ada and
: his mother-in-law. She refused for some
p time to go, and in both of these matrimo-
J.. nial ventures does not seem herself TO have
r been the aggressor, but seems to have been
d led into them by professional match
makers. Sherman was in debt. He had
= had sickness in the family, had to support
If his mother, his daughter was taking les
|, sons on the piano, etc. They "took walk +"
- and she gave him her hand and loaned
q him $500. Before they were married she
q loaned him $500 more. Thereupon he be-
IS gan most dissipated and debauched life,
g squanderng all of her money that he could
II get, selling the piano and spending tho
d proceeds, about $500 in siA-o spree.
q After her previous career, it was then
r. natural that she should resort to her never
If iailing refuge. She arsenicked bottle OF
70 brandy, which the sot drank up in one
1T night, leaving ii near the bed handy where
l. he could resort to it constantly. OF course
l. he died within few hours, under crcuu,-
+ stances that led to a post-mortem. sus-
I. picion, trial, conviction.
"a The utter stolidity and cold -blooded ds.