The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1883-06-07

trlal. the sentence was carried INTO effect on
Limestone Hill. in Thomaston. Friends of
the Revolution regretted the exercise of such
severity upon so manifestly inotfensive vic
tim. AT the annual term of the Supreme Ju-
dica Court for Lincoln county, in l7SS, John
O'Neil was tried for the murder of Michael
Cleary. Both We're lrishmen. and lived to-
gether at Pemaquid Falls. The crime was
committed for money, which was found in the
possession of O'Neil, and which he pretended
had been given him by the deceased. The body
showed bruises about the head, and one deep
cut, supposed to have been caused by an axe or
an iron bar. ONcil claimed that the wounds
resulted from fall. At the coronerS inquest
he told several inconsistent and contradictory
stories to account for the facts. Three Judges
| composed the court: Hon. William Gushing,
chief justice. and associate justices Nathaniel p.
| Sargent and David Sewall. William LithgOn,
of Iallowe. and George Thatcher. of Bidde
| ford, We're assigned as counsel for the accused.
Soon after the trial an account of it appeared
| in newspaper. of which the following is an
| extract: This being the first capital crime in
| the county, il drew together numerous con-
course Of spectators. The solemnity of the oc-
ca>ion was still heightened by the able and
| spirited defence of Gen. l-ithgon. The trial
took up the most part of the day. and when the
| jury returned they declared they could not
agree. one of them, good man, seemed to
think he ought not to give his voice against the
prisoner, because there was no positive evil
dencc. The chief Justice then gave them some
further instructions, after which they retired
for few moments only. and brought in VeI-
diet of guilty" Before court adjourned O'Neil
received his sentence. i'll pursuance of which he
was executed III POWnabOf0, on the first of
| October. 11SS.
The statement that this the first capital
trial in Lincoln county is questionable. Grimes
mcriting the extreme penalty of the law We're
of frequent occurrence in that part of Maine.
both before and during the Revolution. The
Rev. Jacot Bailey, writing from Pownalboro
| in 111:I. SAYS: I'VE have man named Garter
(probably Mccarthy in Jail for the murder of
Josiah Parker. The prisoner has no chance
for his life. Since my residence here QI60)
five or six murders have been committed on
kcnnebec river. and neither of the murderers
nor the persons killed ever frequented any Di
vine worship"
Indictments for capital crimes We're found in
that county against Benjamin Ledite Q76U,
Jonathan sampson Q110), Daniel Mccarthy
I7713), and Andrew Cancalus Q116l No rec
ord of their disposition exists at WiscasSet.
In 1859. George Pierce, Of Otistield, was
tried in Portland for the murder of John Me
lnto>h, The parties had previously quarrecd,
words en>ued Mcintosh approached Pierce
With clenched fists. and Pierce struck him Il
| blow on the head with mallet, which caused
| his death. Pierce was convicted of man.
slaughter, it being satisfactorily proved that
the death was occaSioned in >elf-defencc. The
! prisoner was tried before Chief Justice Sargent
and justices SewaIl and Paine.
The next two capital trials were also in
Cumberland county: one being for murder and
| piracy, and The other for arson OF these. Mr..
| Wills gives the following account.
Thomas Bird and Hans Hanson, one an En-
| gli>hman, the other Il >Wedc, had murdered
the master Of Il small vessel on the coast of
| Africa in lIS!l, and brought her into Casco bay.
| where they commenced Il traffic with the in
| hahitant> Of Cape Elizabeth. They We're ar
rested and bound over TO the supreme Court.
Before the next session the jurisdiction Of
maritime causes having been yielded by the
| States to the United States. the trial was had
| in the District Court held in Portland in May.
100. The prisoners We're defended by John
rockingham and William Symmes. William
I.ithSon. District Attorney, represented the
Government. TO crafty an excited public GU
rio>itY the trial took place in Dr. Smiths meet
| in@ house AT the close of the first day the
| Jury rendered a verdict Of guilty against Bird.
| but acquitted Hanson, who was only nineteen
wears old. Sentence Of death was imprc>sively
| pronounced by Judge Sewal. which was car
| ricd into effect on Bltmhall's Hill. on the 25th
of June following in the presence of several
| thousand persons: having been the first cNccu-
tion under the law of the United States
At the July term Of the Supreme Court lr9l,
| two boys. James Tool and Francis Hilton We're
| tried for arson: they were charged with burn
! inc dwelling house in New Gloucester. One
of them had confessed having coMmittcd the
crime. They We're defended by Theophus
| Parsons, afterwards chief justice. who procur
ed an acqutal on the ground that the confes-
ing no other direct evidence against them.
In 1892. Joshua Abbott WAS convicted of
murder in York No account of the trial has
| been found. Preparatory to his execution.
| sermons We're preached to him by the Rev. Mat
thew Merriam of Berwick, and the Rev. DIR.
| Buckmn>ter of Portsmouth, after which his
| pardon read by the sheriff.
The Indictment of Henry McCausland. for
| murder in 793. at Augusta, then half shire
| of Lincoln county. excited much interest. The
prisoner was an ignorant aborer, residing in
! ltt>tOn. who had become insane upon rplig-
| iouS subjects. He was thought harmless. but
finally became impressed that the Lord had
commanded him in Il >ion to make Il burnt
Offering and Il sacrifice. The offering to be
| the Episcopal church in Gardiner, and the
! ritice woman named Warren, who lived near.
Accordingly. in August, 1913. he set fire TO the
| church, an humble. unfinished wooden cditice,
and it was destroyed. 1t only then remained
to perform the sacrifice. Two months after
the bunt-otlering. at midnight, he entered the
! house where the victim was watching sick
person. and deliberately numbering her with Il
! knife escaped without obstruction. The next
| day, great crowd. some of them armed. came
after him. but he offered no resistance. and was
quietly secured On being arraigned, he plead
ed guilty. The chief Justice stated to him the
nature of the plea. and suggested a substitution
| of not guilty He replied that he killed the
woman and did not like to tell Il lie about it.
| Thc Court did not then record the plea, but re-
manded him. ON the following day, a retrac-
tou of fine pIaa y.s .r,in ,ropospJ and r,.irct-
| cd several ,yitnrss9S wtrn thrn rxamincd .,s
to the mental condition ana condnct before, at
the time Of and after the murdrr He was
| ,n,.,r ,ortan.nI .nL ~. thora ,,-or,, no ;n,,n
asyums. he was committed to jail where he re-
| manned until his death which occurred thrty-siX
years afterwards, at the age of seventy. Dur
ING his long confinement, he was harmless and
| contented.
In .Julv, i7!S, Jeremiah P0te of Falmouth
| was convicted of the murder of his wife. with
Il shovel. while he was in fit of jealousy az
gravated bv intoyicaton He was sentenced to
De executed but dicd in Portland iail before the
time appointed arrived
In Nav 1905 Joseph Drew and Levi Quinn
bv were tried at Portland for the murder of
Ebenezer Parker, at Falmouth in January
Daniel Davis Solicitor General represented the
Commonwealth. The accused were defended
by John Holmes Stephen Emery. Stephen
Longfcllow and Prentiss Melen. Parker. a
deputy sheriff. in attempting to break and Ell
ter shop where the prisoners were at work
| to arrest Qumbv on what proved to be an illc-
gal execution. was struck to bludgcon in the
hands Of Drew. thrown by the latter bv Quinn
| by receiving wounds which proved mortal.
The prisoners counsel argued that the Of
| Tense was mansaughtcr and not murder that