The New York herald., 1879-07-05
CRIMES OF A DAY.
Mr.. John F. Seymour Shot by an Un-
seen Hand in this City.
STORY OF THE TRAGEDY
A Man Killed in a Moment of Anger
on Staten Island.
OF H E r HON ICIDES s

o T H E r H ICID E s.
John F. Seymour. sixty-one years of age. who
resided in the General Theological Seminary of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in this city, found
dead in the grounds attached to that institution.
with pistol shot wound in his breast ut
two A. M. yesterday. How the fatal wound
inflicted is matter of conjecture. no one.
far known having witnessed the tragedy.
He had left the seminary at half-past ten O'Clock
the previous evening to take walk around the spa
cious grounds his custom before retiring. to
see that ntruders lurking beneath the trees
His prolonged absence alarmed his wife, who called
Bishop Seymour her brother and upon search Of the
grounds being made at quarter past two A. M. the
found PROSTATE his face in the grass
between the graveled walk and the picket fence on
Twenty first street. near Tenth avenue. Judging
from the appearance of the body life had been ex
tinct for several hours. The screams of the horr
fed wife upon the CHASTITY discovery brought Officer
Sands OF the Sixteenth precinct to the of the
tragedy. Upon satisfying himself that life was ex-
tnct raped for assistance and next proceeded to
make thorough search of the place for pistol but
without finding any.
THE THEORY OF SUICIDE.
At first sight it appeared Us IL deceased had COM
mitted suicide, but the absence Of any rearm weak
ened this theory. From the position of the wound
and the way in which the body lying 1t was
manifest the fatal shot had caused death almost
instantly. Then what had become of the weapon II
the theory of suicide were to be entertained? The
police however. cling firmly to the belief that the
wound was sef-inficted. The result Of the autopsy
would sustain this theory If the one important
missing link suppHed-the finding Of
the weapon near the place where the body
was discovered. On the other hand. it is impossible
to determine whether stray bullet had put an end
to the mans existence. whether he had fallen a
victim to the premeditated malice of assassin.
He was pory man. whose height was about five feet
eleven inches. The seminary grounds are on q
plateau about four feet above the level Of the side
walk The course of the bullet downward,
which demonstrates that the shot could not have
come from the street. and the dminutve size of the
bullet precludes the possibility that he could have
becn red at from any OF the houses on the
side of Twentyhrst street In view Of these facts II
the mystery is to be explained at all it can only be
done by subsequent Investigation.
The grounds of the seminary occupy the entire
large block bounded on the east and west by Ninth
and Tenth avenues and on the north and south by
Twenty first and Twentieth streets At the centres
of the oblong shaped block the two stone college
buildings. measuring 2ooxloo feet The college
session being over only about twenty students are
at present living in each building. Mr.. Seymour
lived with his wife in the western end of the east
building. together with Bishop Seymour. who is
dean or the seminary. They have been living there
BISHOP sEYMouR's ACCOUNT
Bishop Seymour told the following story Of the
murder to u HEEALD reporter MIR. Seymour has
helped me- tor long time in looking after after the .
finding tramps lying under the trees, or men and
women together. Mr. Seymour often went out after
dark and walked about the grounds to drive OF such
people. came into the house Thursday evening at
about half-past ten O'Clock aud turned the big
building. which is the door at which Mr.. and
Mrs. Seymour and myself always enter. As locked
the door Mrs. Seymour called out to me from her
room, Don't lock the door; John is out looking
about the grounds. l unlocked the door. 1t was
then fastened by the night latch, but M. Seymour
always carried a key which would turn it back. l
went up to bed expecting that in a few minutes Mr.
Seymour would como in. subsequently learned
that he went out into the grounds at ten
O'clock. At half.pas one O'Clock in the morning
Mrs. Seymour knocked At my bedroom door on the
first story and sad John has not come IN yet. Get
up right OF. I'm afraid something has happened to
him l am afraid he has been murdered imme
dateiy arose. dressed myself and with Mrs Seymour
went out to look for her husband.
"The ground, as you see. is q plateau about five
feet the level OF the Sidewalk and next TO the
picket fence all around is the trench made by the
terrace sloping down to the fence. The
thought occurred to ne that no one would
have dared to make disturbance near the
west end of the east building. for there always
lights in the windows of the building in that quar-
ter and people in the building. went to the trench
in front of the east building and followed 1t along
the fence until was opposite the west building.
Then crossed over and walked entirely around the
west building The western section is made up of
during vacation Coming back to the trench. pro-
ceeded in it up to Tenth avenue
FOUND.
"Just az was turning feel along the Tenth ave.
nue. side heard the shrieks of Mrs. Seymour. she
cried, ooh, John. my husband! He Is murderedi
Come he Is herel' She had followed me about the
west building. and then had taken the path which
extends lengthwise of the grounds from the Ninth
avenue end to Tenth avenue. about twenty-five feet
from the Twenty first street fence. Midway between
the line of the Tenth fence and line
the grounds coincident with the western end Of the
west building. just to the right of the path. found
my brother-in-law lying on his face with his head
toward the northeast. felt OF his forehead and 1t
was cold / said He is dcadi'
The cries OF Mrs. Seymour attracted Officer Sands.
who was patrolling Tenth avenue. to the spot Aid
was summoned. stretcher was brought and on
GERS Sands Gill. Fay and Grer. assisted by cit
who had heard the cries, took the body to the
sixteenth precinct police station. Sergeant Blair
was on duty. Coroner Richard Flanagan called
to take charge OF tho At three o'clock the body
preliminary examination to take place Immediately.
DIR. d. A. Cushman Nhe family physcian OF the Scy-
mours). of No. ITO Ninth avenue and DR.. Z. D. Hud;
son, Jr.. Of No. 227 West Twenty second street. had
already been called to make an external examination
of the body.
Dr. Cushnan said 81 was called at halfpas two in
the morning. met DIR. Hudson and we went
to the grounds. They about to carry the body
to the station house aud we followed. At four
O'Clock we examined the body and found that Mr.
Seymour had been shot In the breast. bullet hole
found in tho region Of the heart four inches be-
low the interclavicular notch and half an inch to
the right of the median line. The course Of
the ball we did not ascertain. In all proba.
artery from the heart-and death resulted
Immediately from internal hemorrhage. There
a stream of blood down the shirt bosom below the
hole through which the ball had entered. but the
bleeding wasmosty INTERNAL" Sergeant Blair of the
police station. said that when the body was found
the hands crossed over the breast and the
were open.
SUICIDE.
Bishop Seymour said that 1t was never the custom
of Mr.. Seymour to go armed about the grounds. The
Bishop never knew Mr.. seymour to own . revolver,
and he positive that he did not have pistol
N, n tha ipht he aho Mra said
that her husband did not have pistol with him and
did not even carry He had no instrument Of
defence.
The belief Of the Bishop and Mrs. Seymour is that
Mr.. Seymour surprised a man aud In attempting to
drive him of the promises got into an alteration
with him and shot The opinion or tho doctors
who first examined the body and were among the
hrst upon the scene is that the bullet came IRON
stray shot at the hands of some one celebrating the