The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1878-05-23
DEATH OF LYDIA SHERMAN.
A WOMAN WHO CONFESSED TO POISONING
TWO HUSBANDS AND TWO CHILDREN.
From the New York World

man, the notorious Derby prisoner, died in
the Connecticut State prison at Wcthers-
field to-day, where she was serving out
life sentence for the murder of her third
husband, Horatio N. Sherman. She was
"a years of age. Her conviction in New
Haven in the spring of 1872 was mainly on
the brilliant Psychological evidence of
Professor Barker, then of the Yale Medical
School, but now of the University of
Pennsylvania A Connecticut statute
which permits a verdict of murder in the
second degree when evidence is purely
cicumstantial and not equal in the minds
of the jurymcn to the testimony of two
direct witnesses, offered the jury way
to escape from hanging a woman, but
Judge l.. F. 5. Foster, the acting vice
president turing Johnsons term in the
white house, expressed his regret when
he pronounced the sentence that he
could not send her to the gallows. In
January, 1873, she made confession Of
the murdcrpus crime which she had COM
missed, confirming the belief that her last
husband was not by any means the first
person for whom she had mixed the
poison bowl. According to this statement
she was born in Burlington, n. j., and
learned to be tailorcss at New Bruins
wick, where she also joined the Methodist
church. In this church she met Edward
Struck, whom she married and by whom
she became the mother of several children.
They lived together eighteen years. Struck
was appointed New York policeman and
stationed at Manhattanvlle. Mrs. Sher-
mans story is that he was finally dis
charged from the force upon an unjust
charge of cowardicc. fIe became dishcart-
ened, would not work and took to his bed,
Gld even made two efforts to commit sui
eide, The police captain advised that he
should be sent to an asylum, but certain
sergeant recommended dose Of poison,
50 the wife bought ten cents worth OF arst-
mic and mixed it with his oatmeal Cruel
and the next morning she was u widow.
In the confession she respectfully speaks q
Struck IS devoted Christian, soon nftcr
his death size made Up her mird that her
40 children. girl of six and =
| boy OF fOur would be better off if they
were out fthc way. and after thinking the
| matter over for several days, she
made them some OF the same kind of grtlel
| their father had eaten. The doctors said
they died of gastric fever. She continued
to keep house with her remaining four chill
drcn. The oldest. a boy Of IA, named Geo.
Whitciicld, was taken sick with painters
collie the doctor said. As he did not get
better his mother became discouraged, and
mixed arescnic with tea. When the boy
died the doctor still chung to his theory Of
| painters collie. When another young
daughter, who is referred to as the happiest
child.her mother ever saw, was taken down
With the chills and fever Mrs. Struck be-
came discouraged again, and put some of
the cvcr-rcady arcscnic in her medicine.
i.e child died four days atterward The
eldest daughter died not long afterwards,
but IN this case the confession says. death
was natural-at least. the mother did not
give her anything the doctors did not order.
Mrs. Struck had supported herself So far,
queerIy as it may sound, by going out as Il
nurse.
The bcreaved and now childess widow
was at length free to go into other pursuits.
After being employed in several households,
She became the housekeepcr of an old mau
IN Huntington, Conn, by the name of Hurl-
burt. He had some property, and in Ia few
days after she came into his house he mar
ricd her. This took place in November,
1865, and the happy bridegroom lived four
| teen months. He became sick after drink
ING cider in which he had put saleratus,
but the confession denies that its author
had anything to do with his death. He
had made will in her favor three months
after their marriage, and the Connecticut
people always believed that his wife had
hand in the old mans taking off.
During her imprisonment Mrs. Sherman
behaved quietly and obcdiently. She pro-
fcsscd TO have become religious and to be
pcnitcnt for her awful crimes. Her health
was not good and she was allowed many
privileges, taking advantage of which she
contrivcd to escape on the night of May %,
ls'i and 10 make her way to Providence
by way of Hartford. She was recapturcd
about a week afterwards, largely through
her own carelcssncss. 1t is generally sup
posed that thccscape was effected only by
the oycrconiidcncc of the prison matron in
Mrs. Sherman's penitencc--if indeed the
matron was guilty Of nothing worse than
too great credulity.
\ Derby painter, lIoratio n. Sherman,
who had been left a widowcr with several
small children, next married her, in Sep
TENDER, 1870. His youngest son fell sick
about two months after the marriage, and
Mrs. Sherman says she was full Of trouble
and thought he would be better off if she
gave him something to get him out of the
way. She put some arsenic. which they
had in the house to kill rats, in his milk,
and he went off at once. Things, how
ever, grew worse. Sherman quarrelcd with
his former witc's mother, spent his money
and took to drink. His daughter Ada was
sick and he drank up the brandy which
had been purchased for her and told his
wife to pay the doctor herself. This made
Mrs. Sherman feel bad, and her only means
OF relief was to mix arsenic with the girls
tea. Ada died the next morning, Mr..
sherman then began acting worse than
ever, drinking very hard and leaving his
family unprovided for. lie sold his wifcs
piano and went on Il prolonged dcbauch
with the proceeds, according to her account.
Having been taken sick, she gave him some
brandy in which she had put the usual dose
OF arsenic, intending. rs she says, only to
make him sick ofliquor. He drank more