Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-11-11
THE DEAD MERCHANT.
How His Body Was Stolen from It's
Vault-The FruitIess Search for IL.
New York world.t

Alexanner Turney Stewart died on
the 10th of April, 1875. His body was
inferred in the Stewart vault in st.
Marks church yard, near the Second
avenue end and equidistant from
Eleventh street and Stuyvesant Square.
The remains were to lie there until the
crypt at Garden City was ready to re-
ceive them. On the 9th of October,
1873, Sexton Hamill reported to Judge
Hilton that he had that morning dis
covered marks Of prying around the
edge of the slab that marked the tomb.
Judge Hilton gave instructions for the
employment of a watehman, fearing
that somebody was endeavoring to
steal the silver mountings ofthe casket.
A few days later the slab was secretly
shifted to point several feet distant
and the turf arranged to hide any trace
of the change. And on digging imme-
diately below. the slab would have
struck solid masonry instead of the
entrance TO the vault. Everything
was now believed to be perfectly safe.
Without Judge HiltOn's knowledge the
watchman was discharged.
At 8 o'clock on the morning of Nov.
eth, a month later, Assistant Sexton
Francis Parker, on going to his work
in the churchyard, discovered that the
vault had been opened. There had
been no attempt to dig beneath the de-
ceiving slab, but the excavation was
made directly above the vault entrance.
The coffin in which the millionaire's
remains had lain had been broken, and
lay empty on the floor. The body was
gone. A dreadful stencil came from
the vault When the assistant sexton
had partially recovered from his amaze
ment and horror, he hurried to inform
his superior, and the two carried the
startling information to Judge Hilton.
On going to the desecrated vault and
finding the stencil that came from it,
Judge Hilton concluded that it would
be an absolute imPossibility that the
body could be carried away without
discovery. The police were at once
notified, and this general alarm was
sent out:
POLICE HEADQUARTERS, Nov.7, 1878.
To All: The remains of A. T. Stew
art were last night stolen from the
family vault, st. Mary's Churchyard.
The casket was found broken and the
body removed. The decomposition OF
the remains is so offensive that they
cannot be concealed. This Is apparent
from standing at the opening of the
vault this morning; consequently the
body cannot be taken across the ferries
or placed anywhere above ground with
out discovery. Cause diligent search
to be made in your precincts as the re-
mains were evidently stolen in the hope
ofreward. INSPECTOR DILKs.
Near the vault was found a galvanized
band coal shovel, with which theearth
had been removed; dark lantern and
a newspaper, upon which the grave
robbers had apparently wiped Their
hands. This newspaper was dry. which
made it clear that the deed had been
done after O'Clock in the morning,
asit had rained up to that hour.
Every possible effort was made by
Judge Hilton to recover the body Of
Mr.. Stewart. Pinkerton detectives
private detectives and inspectors Muir.
ray and Byrnes's staff of detectives
were put upon the case, and vigilant
search was made all over the country
All sorts of rumors were af1oat touching
the identity of the robbers, but nothing
tangible was obtained to justify an ar
rest until a considerable time after the
robbery, it was positively ascertained
that hackmen named Kelly had car.
ried the remains away in his hack. But
Kelly had skipped. Indictments were
found against him and some others
under assumed names for robbery, and
they are still in the pigeon holes of the
district attorneys Office, uneXecuted.
A wear or more after the body was
stolen, ex-Postmaster Jones was the re.
cipient of q letter bearing the Boston
postmark, and signed by man giving
his name as Romain, inclosing piece
of the velvet cut from the coffin, the
cheap studs worn in Mr.. Stewards
bosom at the time of his burial, and
some of the silver screws taken from
the coffin, as proof positive that they
had possession of the body, and desir'
ing him to act as mediator, or as theil
attorney in securing the $25, 900 ransom
which Judge Hilton had offered for the
return of the body. They simply de-
sired immunity from arrest for q Ger.
tain period of time, offering to restore
the body on payment Of the money
They claimed then that the body was
on a coal barge in Canada. Judge Hill
ton, however, refused to have anything
to do with the negotiations and the
matter came to halt. On another oc'
casion a released convict led Inspector
Byrnes on wild-goose chase through
New Jersey, promising to show him
where the body was concealed, and moi
until they had travelled great many
miles by wagon and on foot, and had
finally reached the tree near the mil
which had been so graphically describ
ed, did the convict admit that he was
playing the Inspector a joke. Or
another occasion Private Detective Full
ler received all anonymous letter inclos
ing diagram of the spot in Cypress
Hills where the body had been con
cealed. For nearly one week, day anC
night, the ground was dug up, unit
one of the prettiest parts of the ceme
terry was nearly destroyed, before thi
was given up as another hoax.
Later OH information was received
which led to the belief that the body
could be recovered; that the secret 0
it's place of burial rested alone will
Kelly, the hackman, who carried i
away in his hack on the night of thu
robbery. The gentleman who received
the information consulted with Judge
Hilton, and gave him all the facts, in
Guiding the movements of Kelly from
the time he left New York until h
reached San Francisco, and convinced