The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1875-06-11

| They asserted their innocence. They
| said that they had confessed as their
! last hope Some ompassion began to
! to be felt for them. They might, after
| all, be innocent. A petition for their
! pardon was presented to the Legislature.
! But it availed only to obtain commuta-
| ton of Jesse's sentence to Imprisonment
| for life. No more. Stephen was to be
| hanged.
Let the reader now turn to another
| chapter of this strange history.
In April, 1913, there lived in Dover,
| Monmouth county, n. j., Mr.. James
| PoIhamus. During that month way
| farer, begging food, stopped at his door.
| Being handy, a good natured, quiet and
! obedient, homeless, and weak of intel
! lect too, he was allowed to stay. He
| said his name was Russell COlVin, and
| that he came from Manchester. VT.
| Not far from Dover lies the little
| town of Shrewsbury, then a quiet ham
| let, now invaded by the cottages and
villas of Long Branch pleasure
| Here lived Taber Chadwick, brOther-in-
| law to Mr.. PoIhamus, and intimate with
| the family. Accidentally reading the
| New York Evening Post, he met, not
with the notice of the Rutland Herald,
but with an account of the trial of the
| Boorns. Convinced that the Russell
Colvin, alleged to have been Murdered,
was the very man then living with Mr..
! POlhamus, he wrote to the Evening Post
letter, which was published Decem-
Der 9, 1919.
Upon the arrival of this paper at
Manchester it excited but little atten-
ton. The letter was believed to be a
forgery or a fraud. Had not the best
people in the town long believed the
Boorns to be guilty? Had not one,
perhaps both of them, made full con-
fession? The bones of the murdered
man, button of his coat, his jack
knife-had they not all been found?
Had not an upright judge made solemn
| charge that the evidence was conclusive,
and an intelligent jury found them
! guilty, and the legislature sanctioned
| the findings? There was no doubt of
| their guilt-none whatever; and there
| fore no benefit of a doubt had been
given by jury, chief justice or court of
appeal.
MIR. Chadwick's letter was, neverthe-
less, taken to Stephens cell and read
aloud. The news was so overwhelming
that nature could scarcel7 survive the
shock. The poor fellow dropped in a
fainting fit to the floor, and had to be
recovered by dashes of cold water.
Intelligence came next day from a
| Mr.. Whelpley, formely a resident of
Manchester, that he himself had been
to New jersey and seen Russell Colvin.
The members of the jury which had
convicted the Boorns, however, hesitat-
ed to accept anything short of the mans
presence, and Judge Chase, who had
sentenced them, pointed to Stephen
Boorn's confession.
The third day came another letter.
''I have Russell Colvin with me, :"
wrote Mr.. Whelpley. 81 personally
know Russell Colvin," swore John
Rempton, che now stands before me. y
- It is the same Russell Colvin who
married Ann Boorn, of Manchester, VT,
made affidavit Mrs. Jones of Brooklyn.
But it would not answer. Pride Of
opinion is stubborn. Doubt of opinion
dies hard. Manchester intelligence,
not to say piefy, was on trial, and it
behooved all good residents to hold out
against conviction to the last.
However, Colvin, or Colvin's double,
was on his way. AS he passed through
Poughkeepsie the streets we're thronged
to see him. His story was printed in
every newspaper and told at every fire.
side. At Hudson cannon were fred In
Albany be was shown to the crowd from
platform; and all along the road to
Troy bands of music were playing and
banners were Haunting and cheers were
given as Colvin passed by. Some men
become famous from having been MUIR
dured. Russell Colvin was famous be-
cause he was alive.
Toward evening of Friday, December
%, 1919, a double sleigh was driven
furioUsly down the main street of Man
chester to the tavern door. It contained
Whelpley, Kempton, Chadwick and
the bewildered Russell Colvip. Imme-
diately a crowd of men, women and
children gathered around, and as the
sleigh unloaded its occupants and they
took their place on the piazza, exhibiting
the last man 70 view, That's Russell
Colvin, sure enoughl There's no doubt
about it !" came from the lips of scores
of the gazers. He embraced his two
children, asked after the BOorns, and
, started for the jail.
The prison doors we're unbolted and
p the news was told to Stephen Boorn.
"Colvin has come, Stephen" said
the Rev. Lemuel Haynes.
' Has he ?" asked the prisoner
Where is he"
? "Here I am, Stephen" said his
brother-in-law "What's them on youl
legs ?"
'' 'Shackles !" replied BOOrn.
= I" What for ?"
" Because they said I murdered you.
/" You never hurt me in your life,
replied Colvin.
| The sequel is soon told. Stepher
l BoOrn was released from prison, as wal
Jesse also. Russell C0lvin returned tC
! New Jersey. But the Judge who suf
fered an innocent man to be convicted
, of murder by the admission of extra
judicial confessiOns-the members o
the jury who deliberated but one houl
before agreeing upon a verdict guilt,
upon evidence that should not hang
dOg-the deacon and church member
who urged confession and preached re
: pentance-and the ninety seven mem
bers of the legislature, sitting as
court of appeals, who refused re- hearing
: of evidence what became of them
l. The shah OF Persia has proftes
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