St. Landry democrat., 1879-04-12
THE PACAS,
The strange story OF 81 Leading Mary laDt
Family.

The Strange story OF a Leading Maryland
Family.
New York Sun. .
When John Paca, after q good long
life, and useful one, too, for he cultivated
his land Cunning the 2,7OO acres into
rich wheat fields and sending the first
expectation of breadstufs from the
United States to England), at last died,
his son William B. Paca fell heir to the
estate. William B. Paca had three sons,
John P, Chew and James Phillips
both of the latter weak minded. And
so the family lived up to and through
the war, being ardent unionists.
William B. Paca lived at Wye Hall
when the spring of 1875 opened, his sons
having grown to manhood. On the
mainland lived Mrs. Mariana E. Paca,
widow of Williams younger brother,
Edward Tilghman Pacs, and her son
John and brother, Albert Jones, both
remembered now as manly young fellows.
On the morning of the sth of March,
1875, John and Albert we've leaning
against a fence by the roadside when
William B. and his sons came riding by.
William B., who seems to have been of
overbearing manners, spoke harshly to
his nephew, bidding him leap the fence
and approach his horse. The uncle
aourished q riding whip, and John feared
that it would be drawn across his shout
ders should he obey. He therefore stood
by the fence and laughed. The two
younger sons of William B. Pacs, Chew
and James, had their ducking guns
across their saddles. AS soon as they saw
the laugh they unstrapped the guns.
"T'll take john" said Chew.
"Tll take Albert" replied James.
John and Albert turned to run, but
the aim of the imbeciles was perfect.
John and Albert fell dead in their tracks.
William B. and his son, John P. were
tried at the May term of the Talbot
county court, 1875, and found not
guilty. The imbeciles had done the
shooting. Chew and James were tried st
the May term of the Caroline county
court, and acquitted. They were imbe'
Giles, and if the killing were murder,
then the father, William B., and the
sound.minded son, John P, were respon'
sible for it. So there was no pun
ished for the crime.
Shortly after his acquittal the news"
papers announced that William B
Paca, son of q signer,' had been found
dead at Wye Hall, Queen Anness
Maryland" A year passed. John ?,
Paca, the heir of Wye Hall, moved
about like q shadow. One morning hi
body was found stretched lengthwise: o,
his fathers grave, a bullet hole in biz
head and a revolver in his grasp. Not
many months after this fourth violent
death, James Phillip: one of the in1le
Giles, took the pet dog of Wye Hall enc
led him down to the river. He tied &
heavy stone about the dogs neck anc
moved to the edge of the boat landing
He raised the struggling, swapping dog
in his arms and gave a forward toss. II
the nick of the fall the imbeeile's arn
caught in the rope, he wa dragged for
ward with the dog, and James PhiiliI
Paca, pet dog and stone went into tht
Wye with a splash, nevers.to come up
The maiden name of Mrs. VIM. B. Piacs
was Phillips. She was an excelsen'
woman, and loved her husband and Eoyt
dearly. She stood the strain for a long
time, but at the last tragedy lost he
mind. and is now an inmate of the Bal
timore asylum for the insane. One OF thu
Pacas, Chew, still lives. In the sprins
and summer he can be seen playing juml
rope with the children.
Soon after the news of the death o
Mrs. Mariana Paca (who was a tloot
relative of John P. Kennedy, the a:;tho.
of note), had reached Wye, a puff o
smoke came from the extreme end Of tn
right wing of Wye Hall. The islander
gathered quickly, shoremen ran across thu
ice from the mainland, and dreAger
ystopped their work at the mouth OF tn
Wye, sailing up to see the end of tn
Pacas. Several men hurried for buck
cts, many entered the hall to save tn
furniture, but the mass stood with thei
hands in their pockets, while the wine
whistling from the Chesapeake mad
havoc with the burning place. Their
was one thing to be saved, explainefsth'
keeper to a crowd urging them to 60 in.
what. that?" exclaimed the bystan
ders, thinking OF bags of Paca gold.
"The great painting of Governor Paca
the signer of the Declaration of Indepen
dence," said the keeper.
Yet the picture was not rescued.