The critic., 1890-12-29
NrAR TnE scENE or nIl NM
A wouid-ne rarfiside Trrcfes g. Deaii'
"a ffs .u.a

w wv ~NNMH
PENy Yty. NY. dee n-ln Nwru
Der, 1854. domestic NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. uf
long duration between flvsri hughcI
and his wife. who were vel known aud
wcll-to.do people living near Penn Nln.
eliminated We What was luirnHol O. o.
Cold-bluudCd and cuWarl.Y ASSASSINATION
uf Hughc. hy hls son Michael.
The iIughrs family owned end unn.
picd line farm iu the town uf lfrtisf.
lem. The family. besides the father ard
mother consisted If three daughters and
the son. The trouble hriwccn liuHhea
and his wife nruse frnm q dispute over thr
disposition he wished ~ make ~ certain
property. Tho daughters took sides With
their father and the son With bis mother
The quarrel was bitter ai times. and O1
one occasion Hughes made The charge
that his wife had ATTEMPTED Ga poison
him with paris green. n November
1854. the quarrel was made more bitter
than ever by Hughes deciding port on ~
his property to his three daughters.
On Sunday morning, November y ~
that year, Farmer Hughes was returning
home from church. When near the resi-
dcnoc of Barney Bergman, two miles
from Penn Yam, his son suddenly slirang
out from some bushes at the road fi
where he had been in hiding and iic
seven shots from revolver ut his father
Hughes fell on his knees before his spn
in the road at the first shot and begged
not to be murdered in cold blood but the
son cmptied his revolver firing three
shots into the old mans body after b.
bad fallen bleeding and unconscious IN
the road Five bullets in all penetrated
Hughes body. The shots were heard by
some one at Borgman's and Hughes
was picked up for dead and carried 10
Penn Yam. He lay for months between
life and death, but finally recovered, two
of the bullets not having been extracted.
The son who had made this desperate
attempt on his fathers life fled and no
trace of him was found. About the mid
die of May, 1885, 1t was discovered by
some neighbors that the wUuld-bc muir
derer was in hiding near his old home
and was visiting his mother by stealth at
night. Officers were Informed, but young
Hughes was warned of his danger In some
way and escaped A few DAYS later
registered letter sent by his mother 10 an
address in Brooklyn was followed and the
young man was captured. IL was after
ward learned that after shooting his father
he had fled to New York and sailed for
Queenstown on the steamer Oregon, on
which he had engaged passage under the
name of james Wyant He spent the
parents. In the spring he returned to New
York ON the Brittanic, and, remaining in
Brooklyn with his mothers sister few
weeks, vcntured to make the visit TO his
mother which led TO his capture.
When his case came up in the Yates
| County courts he pleaded guilty to as
sault in the first degree, and Judge Stru-
bic sentenced him to nine years in Auburn
| prison. Last spring he was pardoned by
Governor Hill, leading citizens of Yates
County having interested themselves in
| his behalf.
Up to the time that Michael Hughes at
tempted to murder his father he had been
n steady and upright young man. He re-
| turned home from Auburn Immediately
after being pardoned, but soon afterwar1
| went to Rochester. where he was arrested
| last October under the name of James
| Wyant, for drunk and disorderly conduct.
| He was sentenced TO sixty-five days in the
| renitentiary.
| lie was released from prison on Wcdnes-
| day. About o'clock on Friday morning
| Albert 1laincs, who lives on the Benton
Centre road, two miles from Penn Yam,
| was awakened by the loud barking OF his
dog, which was shut up in the barn. but
no investigation was made of the cause.
About daylight llaines. went to the barn
and when he opened the door the dog
rushed cut and dashed around behind the
barn barking and growing. The dog
was followed, and in an open field short
| Instance away the dead BODY OF man
was found lying face down in the snow.
II proved to be the body of Michael
Hughes. It is supposed that the young
man had come from Rochester and was
walking to a relatives, five miles from
here, when he was overcome by the Sc
verify of the weather and had started to
find shelter in Haines' barn. The bark
ing Of the dog had evidently frightened
him away and he started on, only to fall
in the snow and freeze to death, not fan
from the spot where he had attempted
five years before, to assassnate his father
He was ~ years old.