St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-10-22
A TRIPLE MURDER.
An Insane Man Murders Mother, Sis
ter and Step-Father, and Then
Hangs Himself.


Hangs Himself.
One of those awful tragedies which
occasionally hOrrify a community, &C.
Cured in the town of Sheffield, some Is
miles north of this place, on Tuesday
of this week. The main facts of the
case are as follows:
About a mile and a-half north OF
Wheelock Hollow, on the mineral spring
road, lived last Tuesday morning an
aged, peaceable and respected farmer
and his family, which consisted of the
following persons: Jonathan Parks, a
man upwards of 20 years of age; his
wife, few years his junior; Mrs. Parks
daughter and son by former marriage,
Alice and Byron Blake, and Alice's
husband, Edwin A. Williams. On Mon
day there had also come to board in the
family, Miss Hollis, who was to keep
the district school. Williams and wife
were young married people without
children, who had rented their place at
South Wheelock the past season, and
had gone home to live with the old
folks. Byron Blake was young man
some % years old, who lived with his
step-father and helped about the farm
work.
Some four years ago this son Byron
was adjudged insane and taken to Brat
tleboro asylum, where he remained a
year or so, and was then taken home
and although not considered of sound
mind, he was thought to be harmless,
and worked and went about much like
other people. Monday he spent plow-
ing, and Monday evening he was in at
Joseph Ingalls's, one of the neighbors,
and spent the time pairing apples with
the family. On Tuesday morning after
breakfast, Mr.. Williams started on foot
for Lyndonville, leaving the team at
home for his brother-in-law to pillow
with, and Miss Hollis went to her
school. This was the last that was seen
of the other four occupants of the house
alive.
About half past ten in the forenoon
Joseph Ingalls,, neighbor, called at the
Parks house of an errand, and on en-
tering the kitchen a most horrible and
CHASTITY spectacle was presented. There,
dead, and lying in their gore, were both
the aged parents and the daughter
Alice. An old Springfield musket, with
broken stock, showed the implement of
murder, they all three having been
dubbed to death, the dreadful wounds
upon their heads showing that the work
was thoroughly done. Besides other
wounds the right arm of the old gentle
man was broken. Such a scene as this
no one wants to see but once.
1t was at first supposed that the per-
petrator of this triple murder had es-
capped but not very long after the dead
body of the maniac, Byron Blake, was
found hung in the barn. He had taken
some leather lines of hahn and fin
ished the job where he should have be-
gun it.
The news of this dreadful affair
spread like wildfire. A messenger was
despatched to Lyndonville for Mr.. Will
liams, and also for brother of Mr..
Parks, who lives in that town. Crowds
of people fOcked to the place of the
tragedy, and kept going and coming the
rest of the day. The entire section has
received shock that they will not
soon recover from. The immediate
cause of this triple murder must al
ways be conjecture. The reasonable
theory is that after Williams left for
Lyndonville and the teacher for school,
some words were had between Mr..
Parks and Byron about going to plow-
ing-that Byron became angry and
frenzied, and Selling the old gun as
saulted both his step-father and moth
er, and upon the sister Alice attempting
to quiet him, killed all three together.
This theory has this ground to rest
upon: Byron never got along well with
his step-father-hed isliked to work for
him, and it always made him morose to
be told by him to do anything, although
he was generally pleasant enough with
his sister and her husband, and worked
for them a good deal while they lived
at South Wheelock. On the other hand
Mr.. Parks was an invalid and unable to
work, while Byron was a strong and
vigorous young nam, and there was no
reason why he should not work, and
Mr.. Parks knew it. Mr.. Williams had
walked to Lyndonville that day on puT-
pose to leave the team for Byron to
pillow with. 1t seems probable that
soon after breakfast Mr.. Parks en-
deavored to have Byron go to plow-
ing, that be was angry at it, and that
the tragedy was enacted at that time,
as the breakfast dishes were not wash
ed and the bread-sponge still remained
upon the stove. Edwin Williams is a
brother of Geo. Williams, who formerly
lived in Wheelock and run meat wag-
on to Lyndon, and Edwin and wife
we're to go this week to Providence, r,
l., to spend the winter with Welley
Blake, now the only remaining child,
Mr.. Parks and wife were well-to-do
people, both members of the church at
Wheelock. Byron had endeavored to
poison the family before he was taken
to Brattleboro, and at one time and
another his mother had been in much