The New York herald., 1879-11-01
EXECUTIONS.
Rob Boswell Hanged for the Mur-
der of His Wife.
A b L A G X FL EN- ID.
Clark Brown Expiates b Double
Murder.
[pY TELEGRAPH TO THE urnALp.l


HuLsBoRo. N. c.. Oct. 81. ls7e
Hillsboro tho oldest town in North Carolina. has
within the last few years witnessed number OF
..hangings" second to that Of place in the land.
Nearly dozen criminals have been executed here
within tho recollection of children born since the
war; last death dance being only six months ago.
when the three noted Chapel Hill burglars
publicly executed on the town common of Hills.
boro To-day the same rude. but substantial. gall
lows which ended the earthly Of Davis. An
drews and Carlton in May last was made the means
of launching into eternity the soul of Robert Bos-
WE'LL the most savagely brutal negro who ever dark
cned the doors of the Orange County JAIL This
bloodthrsty demon paid the death penalty for the
murder of his wife and two little children.
Boswell was married man. his wife being known
by the name Of Nancy Blackwell and they, with
their two children. lived in small house the
North Carolina Railroad, about two miles west Of
the town OF Durham. They did not live very peace
ably together, though the woman bore good char
acter and was of quiet and peaceable disposition.
1t was Boswells custom to go of from home in
search of work. he being of such notoriousy bad
character in his neghborhood it was difficult for
him to obtain employment by. He usually
came home about once every two weeks.
Some time in the spring OF 1877 Boswell trans
ferred his not too stable affections from his wife to
q vile female creature Of his named Rebecca
Ann Lyon the wife Of Ned Lyon. and Rebecca recip.
rocated the tender feeling. such 1t may be called.
They unlawfully cohabited together and desiring to
become man and wife Boswell actually proposed to
Ned Lyon to swap wives and Rebecca readily sec
onded tho proposition. which Lyon indignantly de
clined. After Lyons rejection of this degrading
proposition Boswell and the woman deliberately
planned the death Of Ned Lyon and Nancy Black
well. that obstacle would be in the way of the
lawful marriage Of the two fends In accordance
with this arrangement Rebccca. in July. 1877 poi.
soned her husband by putting arsenic in
glass Of milk which she had placed ON
table for him to drink. The arsenic was
purchased for her by Boswell in Raleigh.
Lyon died suddenly. and was buried near where he
had lived. Shortly after tho death of Lyon Boswell
went to Raleigh and was employed cotton farm
near that city On the evening Of the 2st of August
following he came home. remained with his wife
and children short while. and then went to.the
house of Rebecca Lyon. where he remained until
near the hour Of eleven O'Clock, and during that
time he and the woman laid their plans for the MUIR
der of Nancy Blackwell and her two little children
The house in which the woman Lyon lived was
nearly half mile from Boswells house, and on
the opposite side Of the railroad. Between eleven
and twelve O'Clock these two bloodthirsiy fenda
left Beck Lyons house. and following bypath
well was armed with axe, while the carried
heavy rolling PIN
THE MURDER
Having arrived at Boswells house the woman
stood back under the shade Of tree while the man
walked up to the door and called Nancy Black kwe.
who asleep inside. She awoke aud was told to
'.step to the door minute" Nancy complied with
this request, and just rs she opened the door Bos
wei attempted to brain nSr a with the axe; sns
on her right shoulder. With heartrending scream
the bleeding woman turned and fled through back
door and out into the field surrounding her humble
cabin home. The cruel and inhuman villain whoIns
this woman had called husband with uplifted axe
pursued her the field and, regardlessof her
screams and pitcous appeals for mercy, dealt her
blow after blow. They had thus ran about two hun
dred yards when. the woman's feet becominR
and Boswell ended her suffering by burying the
blade OF tine in her brain and splitting the skull
open. He then immediately took the bleeding and
still body of his wife, dragged 1t to the cabin
threw Il the bed therein and. with q torch which
Becky Lyon had already prepared. set fire to tho
house. ana then he ana his accomplice fed. In few
moments the neghborhood was attracted by the
aaIses. and Becky Lyon. having gone to her own
calmly looked upon the fendish work she aud Bob
Boswell had but short while before been engaged
in.
ARREST oE BOSWELL. AND THE WOMAN.
Boswell left the neighborhood ana the county, and
was not seen py any OF those VINO were asrscted to
the neghborhood carly that night and was then srd
denly lost to view caused suspicion to rest upon
him, and officers were Mt once put upon the lookout
for him, but nothing was ascertained as to his
whereabouts until about the 1st Of November when
he was arrested in Wayne county. 100 miles from
here. He brought back to this county. and the
testimony ELECTED his preliminary trial led to the
arrest OF the woman heoecea Ann Lyon. and both
against both Of them ut the spring term Of the Su
perior in 1S7s but the State not being ready
tho trial was postponed until the fall term.
At the fall term Of the Court Boswell was tried,
tho woman being used as witness against him.
Her testimony was corroborated by other wit
and by crcumstantial evidence, and Bos-
well was found guilty Of murder in tho frst dc;
day of November. Beck Lyons
tnuei until the spring term. aud as the solicitor
desired to use q confession which Bob had made
after his conviction as testimony against the
woman the Governor, at the solicitors request.
respited Boswell. so that he might be put on the
witness stand against the woman.
THE EXECUTION.
Twelve o'clock was the time fixed for the cxecu-
ton. Promptly Mt that hour Boswell was brought
from Jail, seated on coffin in wagon, strongly
guarded and followed by large crowds OF men,
cession made its way slowly to the gailows. On
irving there the coffin was put on the scaffold and
the prisoner seated upon It,, The sheriff
read the death warrant and the record OF
the numerous respites which had been granted.
He then read Doswell's written confession. which
was as black record as ever was read
even from q North Carolina gallows. In 1t he
fessed his improper relations with Beck Lyon and
the murder OF Nancy Blackwell and his children.
He said bad women and whiskoy brought him to
this ignominious end He charged Beck Lyon with
the murder Of Ned Lyon. that being part OF their
arrangement. and said she urged him to carry out
his part by killing Nancy and the children: and he,
being repeatedly urged. did so. He said ho swore
mild expression OF hope of salvation.
While tho roading was going on the prisoner
sat upon his coffin trembling violently. He for
wonder declined to speak, Rev. Mr.. Wheeler, .
minister of tho Methodist Church, made an earnest
and eloq uent address, taking for his text bad
Women and whiskey.' and then prayed. Hand
shaking was INDUCED In for several minutes.
END.
At twenty minutes past one tho rope was adjusted
and the black cap put on, and his legs and
arms pinionod. At twenty-five minutes past
one the sheriff pulled the trap. the drop
fell nnd Bob Boswell was swinging In tho
air. When the drop fell several negro women
fainted, others screamed and many moaned
and aroaned. Otherwise everything was very
auct Violent struggling and twitchings of tho body
and drawing up of the legs noticeable for
three minutes. after which tho body was still.
Though the arrangements for the execution were
perfect, and there clear drop seven foet his
neck was not broken, Thecrimiial was twenty nine
minutes dying. and died from strangulation. The
crowd numbered about three thousand. After his
confession was read there not manifested in
that large assemblage spark of sympathy for the
doomed man.
EXECUTION OF CLARK BROWN.