The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-03-28

william oliver stnnrley tho Murderer of
Mrs. -,Bina waibart nt woatheriy
PAYS Is Penalty FOR his Crino Sc Our
County prison.
Durir tho early pnrt ot the month
Of OctC III, I'm the year 1882 William
/ Oliver sadgley aged 81, years, native
of Leh ID county, brutally murdered
his laldlady, Mrs. Sabiila Walbert, at
/ Weathcrly The murderer was captured
/ The same day and placed in our county
prison, and later given a trial at which
a jury Of hi peers found him guilty
/ in tho fir degree. He was repre-
sented ~ .essrs. Barber, Mulhearn
and Bort llot 70 and the Commonwealth
attorney. j. g. Fisher was ably assisted
by Raps or o. Cassidy. The trial lasted
| live days Following the verdict, the
defence Immediately moved for O new
trial, but it was denied and later
sentence vas pronounced and prior to
Governor Beaver leaving the Executive
Chair the death warrant was issued.
In his last days Stangley maintained
the same stolid, indifferent, careless
demeanor as characterized his actions
throughout his trial aud during the
time of his confinement. He did not
seem to be q brutal, fierce or wicked
per5On;light of statue, with thick neck,
! expanded nostrils and low, retreating
forehead and deep set eyes he lacked
in many essential moral attributes,
which together with his illiteracy
caused many to Judge him as simple
minded. He expressed himself to your
representative the day before the hang
ing, as being prepared to die and
satisfied with the result. He sat on
the edge OF his cot with a bible lying
in view and laughed heartily at the
recital of a joke by a visitor present
His checks were rosy and he seemed to
be in good health. Before leaving be
extended his hand and said goodbye
in the always Indifferent manner COM
mon to him. The next we see of him
is Thursday morning when he stands
on the gallows, which were erected in
the north end of the corridor with the
light from a single window streming in
upon him. He is the same person
here without a change. During the
morning his spiritual advisors, Revs.
Heisler, Fox and Lindenstruth with
several others we're in his cell, which
had been removed to "a place opposite
the scaffold. From the early morning
until l0:55 there was singing, praying
and the observance of the holy sacra~
ment. Stangley mounted the steps
without a quiver and lmeeled while
prayer was offered, following which his
arms and legs were manacled and he
spoke to the five or six hundred people
who crowded the corridor almost to
suffocation in these words in the
German tongue; II wish that all the
people would repent and not lead the
iifA fl,nt I hrxrn 1aI - fInv, inn los
after mounting the scalfold the drop
fell and Stangley was ushered into
eternity. Ex-Sheriff Raudenbush, of
Lehighton, assisted Sheriff Levan in
the execution. The dead man did not
suffer, his death must have been in
Simultaneous his neck being broken.
At 1880 the body was lowered by
Charles MacDaniel, of Philadelphia,
and Constable RawOrth, of Lehighton,
into plain, but neat, caslSet furnished
by undertaken Schwartz, OF East Mauch
Chunk the rope and black cap we're
removed and the casl1et carried out by
four policemen, after having been
viewed by a number of people who
had assembled. The body was re-
moved to the Lehigh Valley depot and
taken to the home of his step-father in
Franklin, Washington township, Le-
high county, where twill be inferred.
The sheriff had empanalled the follow
ing jury and they were assembled
at the scafold when the drop fell:
Joseph Smith. John Conway and Sam
Campbell, Mauch Chunk; James
Gallagher, East Mauch Chunk; Richard
Miller, Nesquehoning; August Seiber,
Weatherly; W. H. Nusbaum, j. M.
Fritzinger, Lehightoni Frank Reed,
Weissport; r. j. Hongen, I. F. Arner,
Franklin; William johnson, Parryville;
together with DR. j. A. Horn, of
Mauch Chunk, and DR.. j. g. Zern, of
Weissport, the official physician and
Drs. w. L. Kutz, @. L. Horn, j. Din
ginger, L. w. Meyer and Kirby, county
physicians. The execution was quietly
conducted and was over in minute.
Stangley's step father, Valentine Waltz
and his step brother were in the prison
during the execution and accompanied
the corpse home. His appearance was
unchanged in death and appeared calm
and peaceful. Prior to opening the
jail doors four or five hundred people
on the outside formed a mad, noisy
mob, anxious to get in, but we're locked
out until a half hour before the finality
of the scene in the brutal Walbert
murder.
The scaffold from which William
Oliver Stangley was hung Thursday
morning was originally built by Con
tractor Josiah Sendel, of Mauch Chunk,
during the Mollie Mcguire troubles Of
the decade Of seventy. The rough
draught was made by an ex-county COM
missioner. Stangley made the eleventh
man to expiate his crime from this
scaffold, the others being Campbell,
Doyle, Kelley, Danahue, Fisher, Sharp
and O'Donnel in the Carbon county
prison and Hester, Tully andMcHugh
at Bloomsbury for the murder of
Policeman Rea. The scaffold is still in
good condition, little the worse for wear
and tear