St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-02-18
LOCAL AND TOWN NEWS.
HELD FOR ARSON.

and one-half days and resulted in Mr.
Ward being bound up to appear at the
next term of the county court. He
was put under $4,000 bonds. Attorney
Montgomery and H. G. Ide appeared
for the state and Elisha May and Alex
Dunnett for the respondent.
1t will be remembered that there
were two attempts to fire Mr.. Fosters
barns, one on the night of Decembe
80 and the other, which was successful
on the morning of Jan. q. On the
morning after the first attempt tive
partly burned candles stuck in two
bits of beet together with a common
tin pail were found on the floor of the
barn on the morning after the fire
tracks were seen leading from the main
road round back of Fosters house and
barn and back to the main road again.
There were also found on a cross road,
this side of Fosters, between Edward
and Elan Goodenough's, place where
some one had turned sleigh the night
before and near by was copy of the
Manchester Daily Mirror and bit OF
the CaledOnian.
1t was claimed by the state (D that
Thomas Ward had a motive for burn
ing the property and (2) that the cir
cumstances surrounding the case point
ed to him as the man who did it. I'm
der the first head the state claimed
that Ward had become enamored OF
one Olivia NJ. Amsden (Brown) who
had lived for some years in Fosters
family as an adopted daughter ;
that he desired her to marry him,
but, that, after considerable intimacy
between them, and after each had Sc
cured divorces, one from the wife and
the other from the husband, she refused
to accept him and, finally, that he
charged Fosters people with influence
ing her against him and that he threat
ened to do Foster harm and finally
fired his barns our of revenge.
Under the second head the evidence
against Ward is circumstantial. He
hired of j. Clautier on the afternoon OF
Dec. % horse and sleigh and return
ed them the next morning between
and declining to tell where he had
been. That morning Foster found the
candles, ETC., and two men who were
watching with O. Wilson in NOyesville
heard a team pass going toward St
JOhnsbury between | and 2 O'Clock
that morning.
Jan. %, at 2 p. M, Ward again APP
peared in Clautier's stable and asked
for the same horse and selected sleigh
without bells and of peculiar make
At 7 o'clock that evening G. S. Smith
testified to seeing the horse and sleigh
in Wards barn. Between 6 and 7, g.
H. Clement, E. IT. & II. X. Ide's clerk,
says he sold Ward peck of oats ten
minutes later Ward returned and in
quired for a candle but they had none
and he was directed ito N. M. SCOTS
opposite. F. E. Clark, ScOtt's clerk,
testified that at about this time he sold
Ward candle. Shortly before IL that
night w. E. Sherar, who was coming
down from a cross road beyond NOyes-
Vile, saw a horse and sleigh like the
rig hired by Ward being driven to-
wards Fosters. At 2 o'clock Mrs. A.
r. Race, who lives near the bridge in
by her house, across the bridge toward
St. Johnsbury. Ward returned the
horse and sleigh that he had hired the
previous afternoon to Clautier's stable,
at o'clock in the morning, saying, in
substance, that he had been where he
went before but by another route, but
declined to say where. By measure
ments and examination it was found
that the tracks round Fosters barns
of about the size worn by Ward and
also that the sleigh taken by Ward
was of peculiar shape and exactly fitted
the mould made by the sleigh as it
backed into a drift on the GOodenough
road the night of the fire, and also that
the copy of the Manchester Daily Mir
rOr found near by was paper taken
by Ward but not by anyone else in
the vicinity of Walden.
The defence offered no positive evil
dence in rebnttal and Mr.. Ward was
not put on the stand. A general de-
NAL of the charges was made and the
value of the circumstantial evidence
Harvey Foster was the first witness
called. Found two pieces of partly
burned candles in bits of beet and also
a tin pail, (all of which were produced)
on the floor of one of his barns on the
of Dec. 30 Four weeks from
that time, at about | 80 on the morning
of Jan. 81, was wakened by the fire.
Two barns and a shed were burned.
Saw tracks back of the barn and house.
Had had no trouble with Ward. Olivia
lived in his family four or five
years; was as daughter to them and
treated as such she was married to III.
G. Brown about seven years ago; after
that she lived for time in
Wards block, st. Johnsbury ; she
was divorced from husband last year
had heard of her intimacy with Ward
Ward was at witnesses house in fall
talking about having paid Olivia mon
ey, and that he wanted to get it back.
Later the witness came over to st.
Ill IL