Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-03-05
DEAD In THE FLAMES.
a vIRarsiA FARMERS AWFUL CRIME.
After Killing HIS wirc and Three children
re tires His Home and shoots Bim-
self Dfnd

SELF Dfnd
Ga Sunday last John Glasoock, q well
known and influential farmer OF Faquier
county, Virginia, living two and half
miles from Delaphans station, on the Nir
ginia Midland road, murdered his entire
family, consisting Of wife and three
children, and then committed suicide by
shooting himself through the heart, in a
piece of woods near his house. The first
intimatiou the ueighbors had that there was
anything wrong at the Glasoock house was
the appearance Of flame and smoke through
the windows, between eight and niue
o'clock Sunday morning.
A number of people ran to the house,
with the intention Of rendering assistance
but found to their surprise, that the doors
and windows were securely bolted and
barred ON the inside aud that the building
was to all appearances deserted AS the
flames were making rapid progress it was
ne cessary to effect an entrance at once in
| some way and the first comers soon sue
ceeded in battering down one of the doors
and eventually putting out the fire.
No living person was found III the
house, but on a bed in the family bed
room, over which coal oil had been poured
aud then ignited, were found the dead
bodies Of Mrs. Glascock aud her infant
flames. Both had been shot through the
head with a revolver and the murderer, as
il to make suro of the death of Mrs. Glas-
cock, had shot her second and third time
through the body. On the floor, near the
bed, lay the bodies of the two other
children, Rodney and Emily, both shot
through the head aud the former shot also
twice through the body.
In piece of woods overlooking the
farm house, at a distance of about three
quarters of mile, was found the dead
BODY of John GlIscock. the husband and
father. who, after deliberately murder
ing his whole family and setting fire to
his house, had gone TO this piece of woods
and committed suicide by shooting himself
through the heat with the same Smith 4
WessOn revolver which he had used in kill.
ing his wife AMI children.
1t now appears that Gascock, while
labOriug under sOmo hallucination or a
fit Of temporary insanity, drove away
the servant early last Sunday morning,
murdered his family, poured coal oil
over the bed and set fire to it, fastened up
the house and then went TO the cabin of a
neighbor and pretended to be in need of a
servant to cook breakfast for himself and
family. He then returned, as his tracks
in the snow indicate, TO the vicinity OF his
own house, and fading that the TRAGEDY
had not yet been discovered proceeded 10
the edge Of the piece of woods overlook.
ing his farm, where he seems to have
watched his burning house until il was
entered aud the fire ex,inguished by his
neighbors He then retired few PAGES
farther into the woods and shot himself
through the heart.
The murderer aud suicide was the son
of wealthy parents and had very large
and influential family connection His
young wife, Maria Glsscock, was the
daughter of Harod Frazier, formerly OF
Loudon county, Va, and now a citizen OF
Missouri The father and mother and
three children were buried, side By side,
on Monday in the cemetery near Middle
burg, Va.