Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-01-16
THE DERBY POISONER.


The Hartford Courant gives the substance
of the confession recently made by Mrs. Lydia
Sherman, the Derby poisoner, to the jailer in
New Haven. 1t is a fearful story of crime,
and is as follows: Mrs. Lydia Sherman was
arrested in June, 1871, at New Brunswick, n.
j., on the charge of having murdered her hus-
band, Horato n. Sherman, in Derby in that
State, in the year 1871. She was also
charged with numbering two of his children,
but was only tried for the first crime. Besides
these, she was said to have poisoned two other
husbands and several of their children.
The trial occurred in March, 1879, in New
Haven, and was noticeable amsng "poison
trials" for the very clear testimony of Prof
Barker, of Yale College, who had examined
the remains of the three -frst-mentioned vic
Tins His evidence was as conclusive as cir
cumstantial evidence could be. The only
question was as to the motive that could lead a
sane person 10 such q step. The trial result
ed in verdict of murder in the second de-
gree, the jury uniting in considering her
guilty, but allowing that the circumstantial
evidence permitted of a reasonable doubt"
and so did not call it of the first degree. AZ
ter she was found guilty, she was sent to the
Jail in New Haven, and she will be taken from
thence to the Superior Court to receive her
sentence some day this week or next
Since she has been imprisoned, her mind has
been seriously troubled, and recently she
has made full confession OF her guilt,
and expresses herself as much relieved
thereby On the 2Sth day of December,
1872, she began her story to the jaler, Capt.
Webster. Mrs. Sherman is very ignorant
woman. She can scarcely write at all, and
like many persons who have done less than
herself TO make history, she is unable to re-
member dates with any accuracy, so that in
,arts har parrativa ia yau0a All thrnu oh har
| trial in Court, and to her own counsel, she
positively denied ever having poisoned any
| body, and she begged to be allowed to take
the stand and swear thereto, but she was not
allow to by her counsel. Mrs. Sherman 5
story is as follows She was born in New
Brunswick, n. j., in 1925, and was early left an
orphan. At the age of II she Joined the Metho
dists, and at a love-feast there she met Edward
| s. Struck, whom she subsequently married.
| Struck in time became a policeman at York
| vile, one of the suburbs of New York city.
| One night there was a row in saloon on his
beat and detective was killed. Struck was
| off without leave He was reprimanded and
| disgraced. 1t troubled him very much, and
| finally it weighed so on his mind that he be-
| came crazy and had softening Of the brain.
| He then was discharged. When he recovered
it was only to be very feeble physically and
unable to get any work, so that he was only a
| burden to his wife. One day male friend OF
| hers suggested to her that she could get rid of
the man by poison. She took kindly to the
idea, and gave arsenic in his food. and she
also, with the same poison, killed their young
| est two children, SO that they also should not
be burdens to her, and should not have, as
she says, to grow up to lfe's cares.
She was not suspected of this murder, and
soon after it went to Litehfield, in this State,
| to live. Here she met one Dennis Hurlburt
and married him, but she did not get along
particularly satisfactorily to herself with him,
and so she poisoned him. Soon after his
death she was told by friend there was man
in Derby, named Horatio n. Sherman, who
had plenty of money, and had lost his wife,
and that by skillful management, if she want
ed a third husband she could probably get him
Accordingly she went there and applied tc
him for the place of housekeeper in his fami
ly, and he engaged her, and subsequently she
succeeded in marrying him. He had two
small children, Ada and frankie, and these
she determined to poison and did poison, bu
she did not plan to poison Sherman. She in
tended to employ the arsenic upon the rats il
the house as well as to kill the children, ant
she purchased it in New Haven at Peck
drug store, with the aforementioned object
She took the package home, and put it on
shelf beside similar package of saleratus
Mr.. Sherman used to drink great deal o
cider, into which he put saleratus to make
it foam. This was his favorte drink. The
saleratus and the arsenic on the shelf became
mixed in some way, but she did not mix them
saw they were so. One night some friend,
| were present, and they had some ''toddy
to drink. Her husband invited her to tax,
some, but she chose in preference som,
of his cider prepared to foam. 500,
after she took it she went out Of the house t,
call upon neighbor, and was taken suddenly
very sick, SO badly that she was utterly un
able to do anything for herself, and had to b,
carried into the house. But rallied in littl
while.
She thinks that this sickness was due to tn
arsenic that had been mixed with the salera
tus, and that when he died, it was because o
taking more of similar preparation at a lat
ter period. In no other way did she know o
his obtaining poison, and the talk of the pros
ecution about her putting arsenic into his tel
and into ''sings' and other hot drinks was al
expended on wrong track. This was not
therefore, such clear case Of murder as the
others. In fact, she merely neglected t,
warn him of his danger, and that she did no
always remember it herself, is shown in thu
fact Of her having taken some of the cider
1t is curious that the only death for which sh
could not be held accountable according to he
story, should be that for which she was con
victed.