The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-02-25
EXECUTION AT PITTSBURGH.
Full Description of the Murder OF
of the Hainnett Famii y-Sickcnin
DetaiIs-The EXecntiOn-As Usual.
the GnIIows Becomes the strait
and Narrow Road TO Glory.
PlrTsBURGu, February -, 1873.
Editors of the Register:

PITTsBURGu, February -, 1879.
Editors of the Register:
1t is now almost Il year since this vi
cinity and then almost the whole country,
was startled by the news of one of tue
most dreadful murders Of modern times,
the Humnctt tragedy Of the particu-
lars of that terrible murder all have read,
and yet rs to-day. the perpetrator pay
the penalty upon the scatiold, It may 10
we'll to recte afresh the particulars, sick
ening though they be.
On the &0th of April last, Mt about
three o'clock in the morning, the resi-
denCe OF John Hamnctt and family, sit
uatcd i'm the township of Mifiin on the L.
V. Il {. Railroad, and about one and Il
halt miles from the little village OF
Homestead, and about six from Pitts
burgh. was discovered in flames and near
" burned to the ground. The neigh
bor,. upon being aroused by those who
first saw the fire, focked to the spot 10
render assistance if possible. At first 1t
was presumed to be only a fire: but
where" said one TO another, 'is the fam
ily?' Nothing had been removed
from the ruins, u would certainly
have been the case were there
no foul play. Soon the question
was answered by the ,ickeuing fumes OF
burning flesh Imprr:nating the morning
air, and then the work Of rcscuinS the
remains was commenced, and one after
another the remains of John llamnctt
and his wife and children and Il bound
boy were gathered from the cmhrrs.
Burned, charred, almost consumed were
the bodies, and vet the proof of the dam
nm" crime that had been committed was
plainly to b" seen by the wounds which
had not been consumed with the rest "i
the flesh.
Murder! yes, every thing went to show
that murder had been committed, but by
whom? There is one body missing, th,
body of Ernest Ortwcin, farm hand
of Hamnett's
But let us 90 back and tell the story
If the murder and murderer. Ti- u
,ickcnlng story, and yet perhaps the tell
ing OF il may not be without effect. John
Uamnett was wcll-to-do farmer. He
was worth, perhaps $4,000, snug for
time for All enprctending farmer. IL
was plain honest lawful mur-would
go ten times further TO serve friend
than to harm m enemy, even /. he hac
an enemy, which is doubtful. His family
consisted of his wife, Agnes; Il go"c
I kind hearted woman, partaking of tho
traits of her husband; their daughters
aged four and eight, and II bounC
/ boy. Robert Smith by name, aged four
I teen. Some two or three months pre-
Won, to the tragedy, Ernest Ortwcin, {
stout, thlck-set, hat-nosed, phlegmatlc
German, had been hired rs a farm hand
lie had been treated we'll by the Ham
netts. They had had no trouble, ne
iars nor quarrels, and apparently werc
getting on well together. On the even
ing OF the Goth of April, last, Ortwcin
had taken one Of lIumuctt'S horses and
zone To- Homestead. He had half dol
lar given him before he left by Mr.. Ham
nett. After he left Mr.. and Mrs. Ham.
nett went to visit at neighbors, about
mile and Il half from
their home. Ortwcin went t.
Homestead, drank one or more glasscs
of beer. bought some candy for tn" chill
drcn. returned home about nine o'clock,
and deliberately killed first the boy and
then the children, all of whom We're asleep
in their beds. The deed was done with
an AK, first by hitting them with the pole
and then cutting or chopping their
throntS with the blade.
But his work was not yet done. Sc
crcting himself behind the door he waited
tor more victims. About ten O'Clock
Hamnett entered the door and WA
struck down, and tn" wife followed, ana
she too Was butchercd by tins i"nd IN
carnatc, and now for robbery. The hou't
waslransackcd, bureaus, drawers and boxes
/ broken open, and some eighteen dollar.
we're found besides few valuable trlnk
ct. and then the house was fired an,
Ortwein fled. But, just here, Ortwcir
insists, and why deny him the PrNII"g"
insists that he did not set the house OF
fire, but that in hls haste to flee lam
was overturned, and the house burned
All of this was on Thursday morning
and Saturday morning, millions ofpcop!,
throughout the length and breadth "i th'
land were told that the night before The
murderer had been arrest
ed in Allegheny seven hti!''
from WilerS ms I'''',',SA IN SS'' ,'n "a
nan drunken S,"''' 'l'' '.,.''S ~ = =,
oil OF the P.uhueT rom '"t l'"'''', ,:I'
residence. Opoh ms person 'nt u. J.. SUI
a.'a T.,,,.,. In"a.h.