Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1877-01-13
Death by the GallOws.

On Friday the 9th, Edwin Ellis
Major of Wilton, N. H., was hung
within the walls of tho State Prison
for the murder of his wife. 1t Will
DO remembered that Major was tri'
ed at Nashua In September, 1870,
on the charge Of having poisoned
his wife. The trial lasted ten or
twelve days, and the jury after q
deliberatiOn of eighteen hours were
unable to agree. A second trial
was held in December 1876, only
four days being occupied. The ju'
~ were out about two hours, when
they returned q verdict of murder
in the first degree. He was sentenc.
ed to be hung on the 9th day OF
January, 1877. A dispatch gives
the following account of the last
scene of the execution:
At twenty minutes past eleven
Major left the room, walked through
the guard room and stepped upon
the scaffold. His arms were pinion-
ed at the wrists with q leather strap,
and he was dressed in black broad.
cloth frOck coat open at the neck,
and pants of the same material. He
wore boots and q white shirt. He
was conducted to the gallows by
Sheriff Scott and Deputy Sheriff
Eaton; following him was Deputy
Sheriff Nichols and Revs. b. A.
Smith and A. M. Pendleton. He
walked firmly, without support. and
there was scarcely perceptible tre-
NOR of his person.
He walked upon the drop and
stood upright without assistance
while Sheriff Scott placed the black
cap upon his head, the moose about
his neck, and a Deputy Sheriff put
pinions upon his knees and ankles.
During this time he remained per.
fectly passive, betraying no emotion
whatever, and not word escaped
his lips. The Sheriff then, in dis
tinct voice, read the warrant. There
was no motion of the body or limbs
till it was concluded, though dur.
ing the latter part the Deputy Sher.
if placed his hand upon his shout.
der to support him. The moose was
frightened about his neck as the
Sheriff concluded the death war
rant with, "May God have mercy
on your SOUL" At this point the
wonderful nerve exhibited by Ma
jor seemed to give way and he sank
upon his knees, crouched down,
dropped his head and moan es-
capped his lips. His labored breath
ing, which was perceptible to the
spectators, showed the terrible ag-
ony with which he was convnlsed.
The Sheriff sprung the drop, which
did not work readily, but was kick
ed down by the deputy. The body
fell through the trap at twenty.four
and a half minutes past eleven.
His neck was broken by the fall,
and he died with scarcely strug-
gle. There was slight o0nvulsive
twitching of the body and limbs,
but that was all. In ten and a half
minutes the pulse ceased to beat,
and in thirteen he was pronounced
dead. The pulsations varied, as is
usual in such cases, the highest be-
ing Sc per minute.
So far as can be ascertained there
had been thirteen executions in
New Hampshire previous to that of
Major. Three of these took place
at Haverhill, and as a matter Of in
terest we give below brief sketch
of the murders for which they were
hung:
Josiah Burnham was hung at Ha-
verhill Aug. IL, 1906. He was com
mitted to Jail at that place for dis
orderly conduct, and while incarce-
rated he got into an alteration with
two of his fellow prisoners, and in
a parOxysm of rage killed them both
before the jailor could interfere.
The victims were committed simply
for debt, and in all other respects
were most exemplary citizens. One
of them was Hon. Russell Freemen
of Hanover, who had been two
years Speaker of the House of Rep
resentatives and five years a mem.
Der of the Governors Council. The
other was Capt. Joseph Starkwea-
Their.
Rev. Enos G. Dudley, the first
minister in this State who ever suf-
fered capital punishment. was hung
at Haverhill May 90, 1S49, for the
murder of his wife. He pretended
that she was thrown from sleigh
and killed, but the jury concluded
that he chOked her to death. Dud-
ley was Baptist, and lived at Graf.
ton.
The last public execution in New
Hampshire was at Haverhill May
6, 1868, when James Mills, a rowing
English miner, paid the penelty for
numbering George Maxwell, a peace.
able old man, at his home in Fran
coma. The disgraceful scenes en-
acted by the public at the execution
caused the Legislature in the fol-
lowing summer to pass a law requir-
ing persons convicted of capital
crime to be executed within the
walls of the State Prison.