The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-03-02
TERRIBLE TRAGEDY REVIVED.
One of the Murderers of the Gibbons Chill
dren in Kentucky Sentenced TO Dcath--A
Crime that was Succecde d by BIoOdsled.

Ellis Craft has been sentenced to death at
Grayson, KY, for participation in the muir
der of the Gibbons family. Before sentence
was passed upon him, the prisoner made a
speech declaring his innocence. The crime
for which Craft was convicted was the muir
der at Ashland, on the morning of Deem
Der 81, 1881. of Robert Gibbons, aged seven
teen; Fanny Gibbons, aged fourteen, and
Emma Thomas, aged fourteen. On the night
previous Craft and William Neal went to the
house of George Ellis, awakened him. and
prevailed upon him to accompany them to
the Gibbons house. They entered the house
by a window and Neal and Craft assaulted
the two girls. Emma Thomas recognized
Neal and said she would tell her mother. As
Robert was about TO give the alarm Craft
struck him on the head with an TX, killing
him instantly. He then turned to Fannie and
killed her also with the AK. Neal then killed
Emma Thomas in the same manner. They
then saturated the girls clothing with oil and
set fire to the house burning it to the ground.
At first there was no clew to the murderers,
and a reward of 81 900 was offered for their
capture. The father of the victims, j. ".
Gibbons, was suspected, he being charged
with the crime by his wife. He, however,
proved an abb.
On January 3, 1882. George Ellis con-
fessed, and implicated Craft and Neal, who
were arrested. Neal made a full confession
of his guilt. January the prisoners were
Boyd county. Early in the morning people
began to arrive, and before noon nearly 1000
had assembled, including ell the male popu-
lation of Ashland. Judge Strong, fearing
violence from the crowd engaged steam
boat, and with tn r y deputies and the sheriff
the prisoners were started down the Ohio to-
ward Ashland. The mob, under threats of
death, compelled the captain of another
steamer to get up steam and start in pursuit.
After an exciting chase as far as Ashland the
crowd gave up the pursuit, having heard that
the sheriff steamer had taken aboard seventy
soldiers at Riverton, be oy Catlettsburg.
On January 8, by special act of the legisla-
ture, a grand jury was impaneled, and re-
turned true bills against the three pr s )ners.
Craft and Neal had separate trials, which re-
suited in their conviction, and they were sem
fenced to be hanged on April IA, 1882. Ellis,
who turned States evidence, was sentenced
to the penitentiary for life. But the dreadful
crime had stirred up the people to such
pitch that life sentence st emed to them too
mild punishment for either of Il wretches
who took part in the tragedy. Accordingly,
on the morning of June :, 1882, the day after
Ellis was sentenced, crowd of
several hundred men arrived at Cat
lettsburg on special train from Ash
land, took Ellis from the Jail and thence to
Ashland by train, and hanged him to a tree
near the scene of the murders Neal and
Craft obtained stay Of proceedings pending
an appear, anu on september 10 llie court Ol
appeals reversed the judgment of the lower
court and remanded the cases for new trials.
They were granted a change of venue to
Carter county. On Cctober 80 they were
taken to Catlettsburg guarded by 22O State
troops. Thence they embarked on a steamer
for Maysville, Ky. mob, five miles be-
low Catlettsburg, were out i'll ferryboats to
intercept them. As the Granite State on
which the prisoners and their guard were,
steamed by, the crowd opened fire, which
was returned by the troops with fatal effect,
one of the crowd being killed and several
wounded. Five spectators on ii g river bank
were also killed and twenty wounded.
After lying in Jail in Lexington till Febru-
airy 5, where they had been taken after the
encounter of October 30, the prisoners were
taken to Grayson, Carter county, where they
were lodged in Jail. Four hundred troops
accompanied them tnl guarded the Jail dur
ing the trial, both infantry and artillery
being called into sc vice. There were no at
tempts at disturbance by the populace. Craft,
when called upon TO plead, sud: I'm not
guilty: it's al lie" Sub stantally the
same testimony was presented by the prose-
cution as 70 'mery. The TESTING NJ for the
defense was very weak, and there YVES no
doubt from the beginning of the trial that
the verdict would be for murder in the first
degree. The Judge sentenced him TO be
hanged May %