Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-05-07

case it was a person whose presence
caused the doctor no uneasiness.
That he would bring anyone home
with him at that late hour was con
sidered as improbable. Suspicion point
ed to the inmates, and Mrs. Cummings
ham ana Mr.. John Eckel were arrested
There were two reasons for this. The
cook and the housemaid sent com
munication to the coroner that Eckel
and Mrs. Cunningham were Grimm
ally intimate; and second. by the
death of the doctor she, as his widow
would receive one-third of his estate,
despite any will to the contrary. A
man by the name of Connery was
coroner at the time. He had been a
| foreman in The NeaU York Herald
Office, and adopted the theory that
no marriage had taken place between
the doctor and Mrs. Cunningham, but
that she had been married at the time
specified to person persOnatIng DIR.
Burdell, and that person was Eckel.
He handeled Mrs. Cunningham with
out gloves. and when she declined to
be examined as witness until she
had seen counsel he said: Officers,
go you and take her by the collar,
and bring her down. I'll have no
such humbug here. I'll let her know
we're too democratic for any such hif-
alutin notions" The clergyman who
solemnized the marriage would not
swear that Eckel was the man he
married, but thai Burdell resem bled
him, though his features were distort-
ed. No trace of weapon or blood was
found in any of the other rooms of
the house, nor was there any sign
from the ashes that anything unusual
had been burned. The eircumstantial
evidence showed that the crime was
committed by some one not residing
In the house.
In EckePs room were found IN his
secretary four paperS-a declaration
by the doctor saying that he had not
made a will before Oct. s, 1856, and
if there was such document in exist
ence it was a forgery. The second
was a general release from Mrs. Gun
bingham to DR.. Burdell of any claim
she might have upon him; the third
in The doctors handwriting, that he
would do nothing inimical to her,
and would rent the rooms to her at
$500 a year The fourth paper was
lease of the house. Eckel claimed
that the widow had asked him to
keep these papers some weeks before.
The second paper the coroner declar-
ed Mrs, Cunningham had stolen from
the safe after the murder, though
| Eckel swore he had received it six
weeks before. The servants all
agreed that at the time Eckel claimed
to have received the papers Mrs. Cum
bingham and the doctor had quar-
rel, he accusing her of stealing some
papers. 1t soon appeared that the
widow ia the first place entered the
house as the doctors mistress, and
after a time took steps to make
him marry her. She had in October
previous brought two suits for breach
Of promise IN the supreme court,
which where dismissed by the plain
tiff on Oct. %, and six days later she
claimed he married her.
AS TO Eckel, he proved that he did
not know the widow before Oct IA,
when he took rooms with her. Was
it probable, then, that he would enter
into conspiracy as accomplish in
so short time? To marry middle
aged widow with five children and
90, 900. The jury took q different
view, and rendered a verdict Of will
full murder against Eckel and Mrs
Cunningham. Snodgrass and the
daughters were held as accessories.
Mrs. Cunningham was placed on trial
at the next term of the criminal court
The trial lasted several days, and the
same evidence was rehashed. The
case was weak against her, and the
judge summed up IN her favor. The
other parties were dismissed. Acquit-
ted, Mrs Cunningham at once set up
q plea to administer on the doctors
estate, as he died intestate. While
these matters were pending, the pub
lie were startled by rumor that she
was soon to become a mother. 1t ap-
pears that she visited an alRshouse,
disguised and under feigned named,
and said she wished to adopt an in
FAINT from it's birth. She was recog-
nized by one of the officials. VINO at
once notified the district attorney of
the visit. He resolved to give Mrs.
Cunningham plenty of rope. AS
soon as the almshouse woman became
mother, the child was con-
veyed by a trusty messenger to Mrs.
Cunningham's residence. Then it
was concluded the farce had gone far
enough. The surrogate decided
against her, declaring the marriage
not proved. She appealed and was
defeated. Barnum hired her for a
few weeks in his show. and she left
for California, and few years later
kept sporting-house ia New Orleans.
While in transit from New York to
the Crescent City with a company of
cyprians she had recruited in the
former city, she went down in the i'll
fated Evening Star. Eckel, during or
just after the war, entered the distiIl-
ing business, and was arrested for
revenue or whisky frauds. He suf-
fered a short imprisonment, and some
years since died. Thus ends one of
the murder mysteries to solve which
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